Apple Support: Win

seamus

So 3 days into my two-week holiday in the US last month, the wireless on my iPhone decides it doesn't want to connect to any wireless networks. Balls.

So I made do. I spent about €20 in roaming charges checking the weather once or twice and my mail once or twice. The rest of the time using net cafes or free hotel web access.

So I get home and after a week or so of messing with it, restoring, rolling back OS, etc, trying to get it to work, I give in and call Apple support. It was a long enough wait, 8 or 9 minutes, but I was in work, so I wasn't too bothered. I get some guy, explain what I've done and he doesn't bother wasting my time, instead immediately diagnoses a hardware fault. Ordinarily I would bring it back to an Apple store who would replace it there and then, but there are no Apple stores in Ireland. I was thinking this was going to be a pain in the ass.

But no, he arranges for a UPS box to be shipped out to me. This was Tuesday afternoon. The box arrives on my desk on Thursday morning. It's full of foam packaging and instructions on what to do: Pop the phone in the packaging, ring a freephone number, and UPS will collect the box. And they did, that afternoon.
The next morning (Friday), I have an email with a link to the Apple support site, telling me they've received the box in the UK, and are onto the "Diagnosis" stage of troubleshooting. At this stage, I'm expecting a call telling me they're voiding the warranty because of a 3 month old dent in the casing*. But again, I'm left happy. By the afternoon, diagnosis is complete and the website says that a new phone is being shipped out to me, complete with a link to package tracking on the UPS website.

The box sat in Cologne all weekend. As you'd expect it to. So I was expecting it at the earliest this afternoon. No again. The phone arrived in work before I did this morning.

Super happy. That's 3.5 working days from diagnosis to replacement and I didn't (theoretically) have to leave my desk. I've never seen support like that.

*I never dropped it, honest, I just found the dent one day. I reckon I bumped against something while the phone was in my pocket.

Jax Teller

lucky you

The Big Gig

seamus wrote: »

So 3 days into my two-week holiday in the US last month, the wireless on my iPhone decides it doesn't want to connect to any wireless networks. Balls.

So I made do. I spent about €20 in roaming charges checking the weather once or twice and my mail once or twice. The rest of the time using net cafes or free hotel web access.

So I get home and after a week or so of messing with it, restoring, rolling back OS, etc, trying to get it to work, I give in and call Apple support. It was a long enough wait, 8 or 9 minutes, but I was in work, so I wasn't too bothered. I get some guy, explain what I've done and he doesn't bother wasting my time, instead immediately diagnoses a hardware fault. Ordinarily I would bring it back to an Apple store who would replace it there and then, but there are no Apple stores in Ireland. I was thinking this was going to be a pain in the ass.

But no, he arranges for a UPS box to be shipped out to me. This was Tuesday afternoon. The box arrives on my desk on Thursday morning. It's full of foam packaging and instructions on what to do: Pop the phone in the packaging, ring a freephone number, and UPS will collect the box. And they did, that afternoon.
The next morning (Friday), I have an email with a link to the Apple support site, telling me they've received the box in the UK, and are onto the "Diagnosis" stage of troubleshooting. At this stage, I'm expecting a call telling me they're voiding the warranty because of a 3 month old dent in the casing*. But again, I'm left happy. By the afternoon, diagnosis is complete and the website says that a new phone is being shipped out to me, complete with a link to package tracking on the UPS website.

The box sat in Cologne all weekend. As you'd expect it to. So I was expecting it at the earliest this afternoon. No again. The phone arrived in work before I did this morning.

Super happy. That's 3.5 working days from diagnosis to replacement and I didn't (theoretically) have to leave my desk. I've never seen support like that.

*I never dropped it, honest, I just found the dent one day. I reckon I bumped against something while the phone was in my pocket.

would have been even quicjer if you gave it back to the ups guy when he arrived with the emty box!! apple support can be super quick!

Owen

I've had the same service with iPods. I had 2 third gen iPods repaced by Apple with a turnaround of about 3 days aswell, with no quibbles. Wish other manufacturers were as efficient.

mobius42

Apple's support does seem to be their strong point. They rang me up before the warranty ran out on my laptop to ask me did anything need to be repaired.

smackyB

+1 To that, apple support has been better than any company I've come across. Bought in-ear headphone 10 months ago and they broke Monday. Box arrived Tuesday with new earphones and instructions for sending old ones back. All free!

mikemac

Macbook battery failed after 11 months.
The shop rang Apple for me and the courier picked up the battery next day.
Got a new battery and new power cable two days later

Can't ask for more then that

TinCool

+1 for Apple Support. A similar issue happened with my Wifes iPhone, where the Wireless ceased to work. I tried restores, resets etc but to no avail. She was happy to keep using it without the wireless but then her Home button started playing up. I made an appointment for her at their Genius Centre in Birmingham (living in UK). She arrived, told the shop assistant what was wrong, he checked that it had not been water damaged (hence voiding her warranty), checked a few other bits and bobs and diagnosed a hardware fault. New phone was handed over absolutely no questions asked there and then with no effect to her warranty. Pretty damn cool if you ask me.