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apple care quality

Aug 16, 2012 11:25PM PDT

I am wondering if anyone out there has had similar problems with MacBook Pros and Apple Care.

My wife has a two year old MacBook Pro running Snow Leopard, fortunately still covered by Apple Care. Back in June 2012, the computer started having problems (kernel panic, system crashes). We took it to the local Apple Store (Smith Haven Mall in Long Island). They replaced some ram. The computer continued to have problems. We took it back to the local Apple Store. They reinstalled the operating system. In late June, the computer stopped functioning when my wife was trying to back up the hard drive.

At this point, we gave up on the local Apple Store and turned to TekServe in Manhattan. TekServe did the data recovery for about $1000 and promised to replace the hard drive for free (under Apple Care). Five weeks later (first week of August now), we got the computer back in the mail, but it still was not functioning. The computer turned on to display a blinking file folder. With the DVD operating system installation disk, we were able to get a little further, but the computer could not find an internal hard drive on which to install the operating system.

We decided to try shipping the computer back to Apple to have them perform the repairs. Yesterday (August 16, 2012), we got the computer back by FedEx. Apple had replaced the logic board and the airport card, but the computer is still not functioning. It turns on to display the same blinking file folder.

Needless to say, my wife has wasted countless hours on the phone with the local Apple Store, with TekServe, with Apple customer service. In the latest round, Apple customer service, after putting my wife on hold for a couple of hours, volunteered to make her an appointment at the local Apple Store.

There seems to be some disconnect here between the popularity of Apple products on the one side and their quality and the abilities of Apple affiliated employees on the other.

Discussion is locked

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Time to call Apple
Aug 17, 2012 9:44AM PDT

and stop dealing with the local store.

Call 1-800- My-Apple and have your AppleCare agreement handy..

Run through the whole saga with them, make sure you get a Case Number and if you are not satisfied with their answer, insist on escalating the fault. Be very, very insistent but remain calm and polite.
Calm and Polite tends to unnerve Customer Support.

Get them to fix the thing again and when you get it back, at the slightest sign of trouble, call them again and quote the original case number. Enough calls with the same number eventually sets off alarms.

Despite their name, the employees at the Apple Genius Bar do not always live up to expectations.

That said, for every one horror story like yours, there are hundreds of good stories.

Good luck and keep at them

P

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RE: Time to call Apple
Aug 17, 2012 10:19AM PDT

Sound advice...
Since you still have a warranty and a case open, heading up the chain to corporate support should either resolve the issue or get you a new laptop. The major problem with individual accounts wether it's Apple, Dell, HP, etc is that the volume of customers tends to push your case further down the line. You've already got a ticket open and the issue hasn't been fixed, so demanding resolution without being condensing is definitely the way to handle it. Just give them the information, ie trouble tickets from before, and ask to ship it back for repair or replacement.

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thanks
Aug 17, 2012 1:00PM PDT

Thank you for the suggestions and encouragement. The latest news is that Apple agreed to replace my wife's computer. I believe that was the correct thing to do, and I'm glad that Apple came through in the end.

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Good to hear
Aug 18, 2012 12:16AM PDT

Thanks for the update

P

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Ask for a replacement
Aug 17, 2012 9:02PM PDT

I had a iMac a few years ago that had several issues similar to what your wife has been experiencing. When the phone tech at Apple suggested another logic board replacement, I asked him when Apple would deem this computer a "lemon" and simply replace it. He immediately agreed to exchange the computer for a new one. The replacement machine has been trouble-free. I do not know Apple's policy regarding what justifies a replacement, I don know that they do not want anyone to have the experiences that you have described. I did have AppleCare on the iMac. Good luck!