Is it possible to get better Customer Service than that provided by Apple?

Talisman

We had a 24" iMac purchased in December 2008, the screen died in April - Mactivate replaced it, it appeared to die in May but turned out to be the motherboard again Mactivate replaced it. It died again in August, Mactivate were going to repair it again under the guarantee and suggested we buy the Apple Care extension because by the looks of it we would need it once the 12 months were up - contacted Apple Customer Service instead, they reviewed the history of the faults with the computer, said to pack it up and they would collect it. Three long weeks later a brand new replacement has arrived and the spec far exceeds that which it replaced.

Old system:
2.8GHz, 2GB RAM, 500GB HD, 256MB ATI Radeon HD 2600

New system:
2.93GHz, 4GB RAM, 1TB HD, 512MB ATI Radeon HD 4850 with OS X 10.6 pre-installed

Repairs by Mactivate cost the price of the courier to collect and return the computer. Replacement by Apple cost nothing.

babypink

see it's stories like this that make me smile, content in the knowledge that we buy the right stuff!!

congratulations!

J-blk

It's only fair that they gave you an upgrade after all the problems you had with the original one, but still fair play to them. I've heard of some pretty crap attitudes from other companies with similar cases...

projectmayhem

In fairness I have heard bad stories about Apple too, but the good do outweight the bad.

I'd say your purchase of AppleCare swayed their decision to help you out regardless of warranties etc.

Simon201

Phew! ...
After reading the title I thought it was going to be a warranty complaint or something like that!
That is certainly a nice result!

Ham'nd'egger

Contrast with a friend of mine 3 years back who bought a Dell and the added on site service care(I know:rolleyes:).

It's ability to stay online failed inside a week or so from the box. They sorted out the problem only for it to reoccur a week later. 3 months later, they told him they were unable to deal with problems with it as the range he bought was taken off the market; it emerged it was on sale for just one month!

8 months later after daily phone calls to Dell to the point where the reps knew his voice and several days taken off work awaiting repair guys to turn up to his house to fix it (Which they took away for a week once to do on site that day repairs), they eventually replaced the unit with a new one. It lasted two weeks and took only 3 months to replace it in the end.

And the stupid fecker wants to buy another Dell again!!!!

whiterebel

They don't go shouting it, but normal policy is (was) to replace after 3 repairs.

ratsam

Yip after 3 repairs is a replace..! A colleague at work had a MacBook Pro that went back 3 times.... on the 3rd attempt he got a brand new MacBook Pro in the post... one of the new models too.!

Another thing is they are known to repair out of warranty products. Just this week another friend rang me as she had problems with her MacBook Pro and Mactivate quoted over 1000 to repair. It was 2 years and 2 months old. I advised her to call Apple and moan about consumer rights etc. They asked her to email her concerns and what do ye know they are going to pay for all the parts that Mactivate use...! Her repair is now going to be around €150..! Nice

Rats

jpfahy

I bought a Nike+ iPod Sensor in the Apple Shop in London. It cost £19. After a few months it stopped working, it appeared the internal battery failed. I was about to chuck it when I said I'd check Apple support online. I registered the fault. A few days later UPS arrived at my door to deliver a new one. Included in the bag was a returns bag. I packed the old one in that, rang the freephone number and UPS came back and collected to old one.
All this for a £19 item. Apple Support rocks!

My Airport Extreme BaseStation died recently, it was 11 months out of warranty but the AppleCare on my Mac Pro covered it. UPS arrived with a new one within a couple of days.

mikemac

Had a macbook and the battery failed after 11 months.

Went back to the 3G store and the staff rang Apple support for me.
Apple couriered a new battery and it arrived the very next day.
And I got a free power cable, fair play

I used to own a Dell, it failed after 13 months. Politly told to feck off by Dell, ok fair enough.
Then I bought a Dell for my sister. Dispatched from Limerick and took nine days to get to Tipp North, a mere 40km up the road.
Hell, I could cycle that in a few hours.
All the same I got a refund after several calls to their Indian call centre

Gauge

This is pretty interesting to hear! I'm about to send my Macbook back to get the inverter replaced for a third time and I'm genuinely worried about what's going to happen when my Applecare runs out in 2010 because I don't have much faith in it lasting considering it seems to go within weeks of it being replaced.

Though I'm guessing that the unofficial rule of third repair resulting in a new laptop probably only applies to major issues. It's nice to see a good display of customer service.

drunkmonkey

where's the cheapest place to get apple care warranty?, my imac is just out of warranty and your story is scaring me..:o

i've also had the foggy screen problem, which could spell trouble down the road..I want to be covered...

J-blk

drunkmonkey wrote: »

where's the cheapest place to get apple care warranty?, my imac is just out of warranty and your story is scaring me..:o

eBay - do some searches here and various sellers people have used come up. However, I think you need to activate Applecare before the original 12 month warranty expires (and in some cases, you're better off doing it a bit before the end of the warranty, 11 months in) - if you're out of warranty, you can no longer buy Applecare for your iMac...

jahalpin

After 3 attempts to repair a computer they would really be obliged to replace the item. A repair should really be permanent after the first attempt.

I normally buy Dell's and have never really had a problem with them. The one time something broke, a flat-panel, I gave them a ring at lunchtime on a bank holiday and they had a replacement to me by 10am the next day. At this stage the panel was over 18 months old.

With the huge margins Apple make on their products, they can afford to provide excellent after-sales service.

whiterebel

Gauge wrote: »

This is pretty interesting to hear! I'm about to send my Macbook back to get the inverter replaced for a third time and I'm genuinely worried about what's going to happen when my Applecare runs out in 2010 because I don't have much faith in it lasting considering it seems to go within weeks of it being replaced.

Though I'm guessing that the unofficial rule of third repair resulting in a new laptop probably only applies to major issues. It's nice to see a good display of customer service.

Say something like : "Its not on to have sent the same machine back 3 times with the same fault............" That should trigger the 3 repair conversation.

I would regard any repair as a major issue, especially if you are without the machine for more than a day.

Gauge

I'll definitely bring that up when I ring them. Just wish I'd been more proactive with getting faults repaired- both times they've reappeared within weeks of the original replacement, but I keep putting off the repair because of the pickup fees.

Breezer

jahalpin wrote: »

After 3 attempts to repair a computer they would really be obliged to replace the item. A repair should really be permanent after the first attempt.

My thoughts exactly. I'm glad the OP had a pleasant experience, but Apple is actually chancing its arm if it has a "3 repairs, then replace" policy. One fault merits a repair, but if the same fault occurs again Apple are actually legally obliged to replace or refund the product.

whiterebel

Breezer wrote: »

My thoughts exactly. I'm glad the OP had a pleasant experience, but Apple is actually chancing its arm if it has a "3 repairs, then replace" policy. One fault merits a repair, but if the same fault occurs again Apple are actually legally obliged to replace or refund the product.

Not the same fault. In for repair 3 times was the criteria,

Breezer

whiterebel wrote: »

Not the same fault. In for repair 3 times was the criteria,

Fair enough then, that's decent.