Full FeedIts a Fact: AppleCare is Amazing (Again)
Although this may sound like something off a broken record, there is one thing I must say about Apple. AppleCare and Apple service centers are absolutely, positively amazing. I’m just puttin’ that out there. Keep in mind that I did not even go to an actual Apple store for the latest repair, only an Apple specialist.
A few weeks ago, I was very disappointed when I opened my less-than-a-year-old MacBook and I was greeted with a sizable crack in the top casing. It was about an inch long, about an eighth of an inch in, directly above the status light and infrared receiver. Now, keep in mind, this problem was purely cosmetic and caused no detriment to functionality. I talked to a friend of mine, Appletell writer Adam Fisher-Cox, and he said that he doubted it would be covered by AppleCare. Now for the good news. Two days ago, I finally decided to try my luck with a local Apple service department, and see if anything could be done. They said that, yes, it would be covered by AppleCare. They ordered the part, and said to expect it within a week. I give them an “F” on their estimation skills, but a “A+” on their timeliness. Surprisingly, the part arrived yesterday, only the day after the order. Maybe I got lucky with a shipment, maybe not.
Today I brought my computer in to get the part installed, and they said that it would probably be ready within a day or two, possibly, though doubtfully, by the end of the day. Again, “F” for estimation, “A+” for promptness. My computer was ready today at around 5:00, only 7.5 hours after I brought it in. And for the icing on the cake, not only did they replace the top case, but the keyboard and trakckpad (maybe they’re connected? I don’t know), both of which were not really damaged at all. My computer looks new again!
Leave a note in the comments about any AppleCare/Service experiences, good or bad.
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Mark - I used to work as an Apple Tech, and part order estimation was always a matter of procedure, as opposed to reality. If I were to order a part that I knew was in stock, Apple would ship it immediately through DHL, sometimes overnight. We were told to add a few days to every estimation, just to set an expectation with the customer. If the part arrived early, and we got it installed quickly and before schedule, the customer would be very happy. If the part arrived late, or it took more labor hours than anticipated to install, to the customer everything still appeared to be on schedule. This works well unless there’s a part shortage, like there was with the eMac PAV boards, or the iMac G5 Midplane assembly.
Some of my co-workers thought this was just an extension of the Reality Distortion Field, but I strongly feel it was good customer service. Setting proper expectations makes things much easier, should something go wrong.
I must admit, the 7.5 hour turnaround is very impressive. Especially for a laptop. Congrats!
on April 24, 2008 at 09:51 AM - LINKMaybe it’s just me, but if I opened any laptop to find a crack in it, that I hadn’t caused, I would expect that the damage be repaired under warranty not just under a plan that I had paid for. To me that is a design or manufacturing fault. It shouldn’t just crack under normal usage conditions. That said, Kudos to Apple for the quick turn around.
I, though, can do you one better (I think). The covering for the wire leading from my Magsafe Adaptor to the computer had melted just next to the Adaptor. My computer was (is, happened this week) 18 months old with no AppleCare, so 6 months out of warranty. I took it into an Apple service centre, here in Korea, They took it and assessed the damage, it took them a day and a half (not quite 7.5 hours), and then replaced it for free. I do wonder whether any of the other computer companies would do the same.
on April 24, 2008 at 10:38 AM - LINK@ Mike: I think that the mere fact that they took it when it was half a year out of warranty (its not like they were making an exception for someone who’s warranty had expired the day before) outdoes my story a bit.
Also, the reason why I was surprised that it was under warranty was not only was it a very insignificant that was purely cosmetic, it can also be hard to prove whether a crack like that was actually due to faulty manufacturing or just customer misuse.
on April 24, 2008 at 11:02 AM - LINKI agree that these things can be hard to prove, but what I have found at Apple is they usually take you at your word or at least will take the item for testing to determine what happened. In my experience, they have never dismissed any problem I’ve had out of hand. That is very important for a company. Yes, they will get swindled a few times, but in the main the 95%+ of honest people will walk away happy knowing they got excellent service because they were believed.
on April 24, 2008 at 11:12 AM - LINKI just took my 15” Macbook Pro in because the Optical Drive had stopped burning DVD’s. The Apple Genius had told me that it would take 3 days to replace the drive. I got a phone call just 5 hours later confirming that not only had the drive been replaced, but that the top cover and keyboard had been replaced as well! Excellent customer service, excellent service, and one of the only warranties I actually believe in.
on January 22, 2009 at 03:02 AM - LINK