When I was a boy journalist - many, many moons ago - I was given a stern warning on the facts of corporate technology life by my first editor. Among all the pearls of wisdom was what seemed at the time to be a rather strange one: don't criticise Apple or its products unless you're very certain as the consequences can be frightening.
I wasn't sure what she meant. At the time, Apple was something of a joke in the industry. Steve Jobs was still in his wilderness years when he spent most of his time as a sideshow at industry conferences where he could always be relied upon to mount an amusing attack to order on Microsoft. But then there was the second coming of Jobs and the revival of the Apple product line, the iPod, the iPhone etc etc etc.
My editor's words came back to haunt me a few years ago on this very site when I criticised Apple's customer care record in a 'Dear John' letter to Steve Jobs in which I pointed out that it wasn't me, it really was him (and his ghastly customer care people) that had caused the end of my affair with Apple. In the event, they brought out something new and shiny and overpriced and I of course rushed back into their arms, but that's another story!
The immediate result of my criticism at that point was a stream of invective from the more committed (and committable) Macolytes who screamed for my head - and helped send hit rates on the site up to one of their highest ever levels in the process. It's all forgotten now of course and the MacWah (an OS/X version of a fatwah!) has been lifted. I think.
But I was amused to see an old colleague of mine Tom Foremski daring to venture into the same realms with a rant of his own on the subject of Apple Customer Care. Tom's Macbook Pro - which he only uses as a desktop machine and doesn't carry around - had developed a screen problem. He called AppleCare, they said they would fix it and he sent it off. So far, so good. Then it begins:
"They sent it back without the repair. They said it wasn't covered. AppleCare only covers manufacturing faults and this was a cracked screen caused by excessive pressure on the screen. Apple designed the Macbook to withstand normal pressure therefore it is my fault. I explained that the Macbook Pro sits on my desk, it had no excessive pressure put on it."
Gotcha Apple!!! Er, not quite. You see when Apple doesn't want to help, it REALLY doesn't want to help:
"The caller went off to check and said that excessive temperature changes could have cracked the screen. I explained that it sat in my San Francisco apartment, on my desk, we have no excessive temperature changes here. It gets mildly chilly in the winter and mildly warm in the summer - often vice-versa - but we never get wild temperature swings."
Gotcha Apple? Er, no. This time the AppleCare guy just went for pure baseline stubborn unhelpfulness and refused to repair the screen unless Tom coughed up $1295 - which is a heck of a premium on top of the hundreds of dollars that he'd already paid on what was apparently useless AppleCare protection.
Clearly Tom wasn't going to be ripped off by such extortion and a quick search of the internet revealed that he could fix the screen for around $225 elsewhere - cheaper than the cost of the useless AppleCare protection. His advice to anyone else using Apple products is simple:
"My advice is that it's better to save the several hundred dollars on AppleCare and insure it yourself. That's what I should have done. AppleCare sucks - don't use it is my advice."
I have to say, I echo every single word of that and good on him for making the point.
But can I point out, it was his point.
And his words.
And his MacWah please...
- login or register to post comments
- Add to a social bookmarking site
Not always true.
I just read this article and registered so that I can give some insight and help on using Applecare. First of all, I don't work for Apple, nor do I contract for them. I am an independent consultant. I have used Applecare numerous times, and have had some issues, but never had an unresolved issue. I don't know the details of your friends experience with them, I don't know what the issue was with the display on his Macbook. What I do know is that the usual cause of cracked screens is sudden impact which is usually done by dropping the machine.
Your friend should have talked to an Apple Product Specialist after getting the laptop back and being informed that they will not perform the repair. Then inform the specialist that there was no impact damage (if there wasn't) and that if Apple fails to repair the product that you will proceed with legal action against them. Most of the time they will go ahead and fix it. You have to in all cases be nice and civil. If you start getting upset and yelling you will not get any help. That's with anybody, not just Apple. Sometimes the APS will have you take the product to an authorized repair center or an Applestore to verify the issue. I have had issues where the Applestore REFUSED to carry out a repair that the APS had authorized. I had to call him and tell him and he called the store and demanded that they fix my computer. I had an issue with the original Powerbook Titanium where the finish was peeling off. The genius at the Applestore authorized a repair to change the case and it was flagged by Apple and he had to force them to override it and fix it.
I guess my point is that if you are right about a product being defective and not the result of an accident that was your fault, then don't give up on getting it fixed. Apple has admitted responsibility and fixed several of my products and clients products and actually replaced my laptop twice. It's a question of attitude, demeanor, and just downright sense. If you have an issue that looks like it was damaged by the user, you're going to have a very hard time getting it repaired, you have to stick to your guns, and prove that it is possible that the damage was not due to the user, but a defect. Apple has had a reputation to deny defects until there are so many of the same that they repair them. Do your research on your problem, check the Apple discussion boards, search engines, etc. If you can show proof of issues, then you have a better chance of them fixing your product. It sucks, but if you have ever dealt with a PC manufacturer you know it could be worse, Dell, HP and Sony are you listening??
Why you don't need an extended warranty
Why pick only on Apple customer care? Consumer Reports evaluated extended warranties in an article "Why you don't need an extended warranty" (November 2007). In general, they "found extended warranties to be a bad deal for the customer....almost all of it will be money down the drain."
"Retailers are pushing hard to get you to buy extended warranties, or service plans, because they're cash cows. Stores keep 50 percent or more of what they charge for warranties. That's much more than they can make selling actual products.
"For the consumer, extended warranties are notoriously bad deals because:
-Some repairs are covered by the standard manufacturer warranty that comes with the product.
-Products seldom break within the extended-warranty window—after the standard warranty has expired but within the typical two to three years of purchase—our data show.
-When electronics and appliances do break, the repairs, on average, cost about the same as an extended warranty.
"We have long advised against extended warranties. In fact, we feel so strongly that consumers are being misled about them that last year we took out a full-page ad in USA Today (see below) to warn shoppers.