It’s not often that I write about my personal experiences with customer service, but this is one that I thought was worth sharing. I’ve owned a MacBook Pro for about a year and a half now (it was my first Mac), and the computer has held up amazingly well. Of course for that price you expect the thing to be flawless, but no matter how good the computer is things are bound to fail at one point or another. That’s where customer service comes in.
In the past I’ve dealt with support services from several other computer manufacturers (Dell, HP, Averatec, and a few others). For the most part I never considered my experiences with them to be so bad that I wouldn’t buy another machine from them, but more often than not getting the PC fixed required a lengthy call to a technical support person. And they always seemed to connect you with someone that didn’t care what sort of technical knowledge you possessed, and they’d ask you to try rebooting your computer even if you had told them 20 times that you already rebooted it. They must think that they have magical powers that will traverse through the phone lines and wind up at my computer, but only during the reboot cycle? I’m the kind of person that researches problems I have to see if other people have come across the same issues, but the support person doesn’t really care that 500 other people in a forum have all had the same problem. They are determined to fix your computer with a simple reboot, and if that doesn’t work there’s always the wonderful “format your computer” option.
How does Apple compare to the others? I bought Apple’s extended warranty (AppleCare) with my Mac when I first got it. For me things always seem to fail after warranty period expires almost as if they are on a timer. I’ve had several gadgets fail on me literally days after the 1-year warranty period had elapsed.
A few months ago I started experiencing issues with the trackpad on my MacBook Pro where the tap-to-click would all of a sudden stop working. To resolve the issue I’d have to go into the settings, disable tap-to-click, and then enable it again. This would sometimes happen several times a day, and I always attributed it to a software issue. I didn’t bother researching it, however, until just a few weeks ago after finding an error message in the Console (the Mac equivalent of the event viewer) that appeared to be related to the trackpad. I started trying things like resetting the PRAM, repairing permissions, and eventually went as far as wiping the computer entirely. After further research, however, other people who were experiencing similar issues said that it was actually a hardware issue. Some people said that replacing the “top case” (essentially the top framework that includes the trackpad assembly) would fix it, and others said that replacing the logic board resolved the issue.
Armed with this information I called AppleCare. I didn’t know what hoops I was going to jump through, but I was pretty much prepared for anything. I was almost instantly connected with a technical support person who did one thing very well, and that was listen. I explained to her the problem I was having, the steps I took to try and resolve it, and the information I found on the Internet that said what parts may need to be replaced. She created a case number for me, and said that I’d have to take my machine to an Apple Store so that an on-site technician could take a look at it. I was on the phone with her for only about 10-minutes.
I ended up taking it into the Michigan Avenue store in Chicago, and since I had an appointment it only took a few minutes before I was helped. I showed them the error messages I was receiving in the Console, but naturally the problem is impossible to reproduce on demand. So there was no way I could actually show them what was happening. They pulled up my case from the phone call though, and saw the references I had found with people who had similar issues. He said that the fastest turnaround would be for them to send out the computer to a repair facility, which was an idea I wasn’t too fond of. It was a Monday evening, and he reassured me that I should have it back back before the weekend. He said they would overnight it to the facility, and then have it overnighted back to my house. At that time I hugged my computer and said my goodbyes. I spent about 20-minutes in the Apple store (including my wait time).
The thing I was the most afraid of wasn’t the period of time that I would be without a computer… because I have others that I can use. Instead it was not knowing whether it would come back unfixed if they weren’t able to reproduce the issue. Well, it didn’t take long for me to find out. The computer was sent out the next day (Tuesday), and Apple lets you monitor the status of the repair on their site. The facility received it on Wednesday, possibly fixed it (details weren’t given on the site), and shipped it out the same day. I received the computer at my house on Thursday. Needless to say the turnaround time was pretty remarkable, but the real question is whether they actually did something or just sent it back in the same condition it was in.
I opened the package, and in the box was a sheet of paper stating what items they had replaced. To my surprise they replaced both the top case and the logic board, which according to some sources one of those two items were normally the culprit. I’ve had the repaired machine for about two-weeks and I have yet to see the problem show up again.
What am I getting at here? I told them up front that I’ve done a lot of different tests to try and resolve the issue myself, and that I was confident it was a hardware issue. Not once did they make me feel like they didn’t care what sort of troubleshooting I had done, and as a matter of fact they thanked me for saving them so much time by doing that before even asking for support. And then to top it all off they didn’t try to take any shortcuts by just replacing one of the possibly troubled components… they just replaced them both. In my book that is good customer service.
Many people may argue this, but to me Apple’s support is worth the premium price you have to pay for their hardware. I’ve also had two other encounters with Apple support that make them look even better in my eyes:
- About 9-months after buying my iPhone 3G the back case cracked by the port connector. I’m guessing this is because of the constant docking and undocking of the phone, but it wasn’t my fault and shouldn’t have happened. So they swapped it out with a refurbished one on-the-spot. Yeah, it may not have been a new one, but I didn’t have to wait for it to get fixed. Not only that, but the case on the refurb was so pristine that it was hard to distinguish it from a new iPhone 3G. I’m sure Apple replaces the casing on all the phones before reselling them though.
- At the same time I was getting my iPhone replaced I also asked the “genius” about the battery on my MacBook Pro. I told them that Apple’s site says you should still have 80% capacity after 300 cycles, but I was at 80% capacity after 140 cycles. I figured it couldn’t hurt to bring this up sense I was already there. The girl explained how batteries are something they don’t replace because the wear and tear varies depending on how you use the device, and since I had owned my computer for over a year that this result was pretty typical. I thought I had gotten shot down, but she then went on to say that she’d replace it anyway. She grabbed a brand new $129 battery off the shelf and popped it into my computer.
I believe there are various reasons that people purchase products from Apple, but the deciding factor for me now comes down to support. Honestly, if the their support was on par to what Dell and the others offer I could guarantee that my next computer would not be an Apple. Right now I don’t think I’d buy anything other than an Apple.
[Michigan Avenue Apple Store photo via burgermac on Flickr]
I think it’s great to hear stories about good customer service. However, I couldn’t help thinking as I read this story:
Apple Laptop trackpad – broken after only 1-1/2 years
Apple iPhone case – broken after only 9 months
Apple Laptap battery – lasted only 1/2 as long as expected
We have both Apple (Mac Book) and HP computers (desktop and laptop, inkjet and laser printers) in our home along with several iPods. I have never had any problems with my HP equipment, and while I have had pretty good service experiences when taking Apple gear in for repairs, I’d rather not have to go there in the first place!
You had paid them extra for that service. I did that too with my graphics card and guess what? I called them and they told me to send the old one for them and they sent me new one at the same time without even checking the old one. So I was only about 20 hours without my computer…
Normally people don’t pay extra for special warranty so that’s why those situations are not comparable. But ofcourse for those prises you expect to have a good service.
True, but I’ve had problems with Dell computers, HP, computers, and several others (especially if you count the number of people I’ve helped with their machines). No manufacturer is void of these flaws. What it comes down to is how well they deal with the issues. And sure the battery lasted half as long as they expected it to, but to be honest the last two Dell computers I had wouldn’t hold a charge AT ALL after a year of owning the laptop. At least my Mac would had 80% left.
I have also had good service with Apple. My first gen iPhone screen stopped responding and they replaced it on the spot even though I only got it to reproduce once (it was fickle about when it wanted to work). The refurb still works great a year later. I also had my mighty mouse with me that day and the genius cleaned out the roller ball for me, even though I just asked how to clean it.
They are little things, but they add up.
Oh I forgot! My girl friend spilled some water on her MacBook a few weeks back and it fried the logic board (we think). After taking it in and telling them she spilled water, they told her it would cost $800+ to replace all the damaged pieces.
So I opened it up, cleaned out all the water deposits, and put it back together. I didn’t see any scorching, but if they looked closely they should have been able to find the damage. I was hoping they wouldn’t look too close. Turns out they didn’t! She took it to a different Apple Store, and they replaced 8 different parts. She got it shipped back in under a week.
I 100% Agree.
To add to this. I have worked at Microsoft and worked closely with Dell and other Vendors. On Desktops and Servers.
Apple support is on the mark.
To add I got a Macbook 1 year ago the white one after warranty was over, faced HDD issues it was 160 GB one, since Apple updated there Mackbook’s to unibody beleive it or not.
Apple store at Charlotte gave a Bran New Macbook within a day.
I use both Macs and Windows.
For me talking to a person and excellant support and peace of mind makes all the difference.
Have to say , since I do extensive troubleshoting before going to apple store, most times nail the issue.
Apple does not have detailed Support Articles compared to Microsoft.
Still for the end user that should not matter going down to Apple store is peace of mind for most.
I believe Apple support is EXTREMELY good. I had a new Airport Extreme Base Station and my work VPN would erratically disconnect. My company’s idea of support… we don’t see anyone else having problems, you need to repair or replace your Apple router. Apple’s support was just the opposite. After searching the support site but not being able to resolve the issue, the web page asked if I would like and Apple engineer to call me. I clicked yes, and within 5 seconds (no joke) the phone rang and the caller-id showed Apple Inc. Amazing! Even more amazing, they told me what setting to change. Haven’t had a problem since. I could give other examples. Needless to say, its made me rethink what level of service I give to my customers.
You have to have experience with multiple Dell service options. With a MacBook, you are clearly paying a premium price and should expect good service.
If you want to compare the service experience with Dell’s, you need to consider that Dell, like Apple, has different support options.
For example, my last Dell laptop experience (I have 3-yr at-home service) involved a similar 10-minute phone call with an experienced tech. A special Dell keypress boot sequence debugged the hardware issue in tones he could hear on the phone and knew exactly what was wrong immediately.
In LESS THAN 24 HOURS a Dell tech was in my kitchen, and replaced the graphics card for free while I ate lunch.
Leaving the house and waiting in line at the mall wasn’t even part of the process.
own a Dell and Macs
Dell – Warranty – for starters is very expensive.
Macs – even if you don’t take Apple Care one can go down to Apple store for support and hardware defects are covered and replaced within one year.
Talking to a Human at a Company store is much more re assuring.
I’ve had Dell’s most expensive support options (their premium dedicated XPS support), and it in no way compares to what I experienced with Apple. Yes, it is nice that they come on site to fix the machine. BUT that was only after spending like two hours (and talking with 3 different people) that they agreed to replace the part. They treat me as if I know nothing, and that really irks me considering how much time I spend researching problems.
Same, I got Dell laptop with the 3 yrs premium care, the laptop mobo was failure (did all sort of trouble shooting) and request them to replace… it took whole day (WHOLE FCKING DAY) and talking to 3 different technician, each of them request me to do the SAME thing (like take out your battery and plug in ac adapter to boot up, insert the troubleshooting disc) then only able to issue a report to replace the mobo…
Oh well I am glad to listen to great macs service as I just got my new MBP pro to replace my died Dell laptop (it last only another year and after my warranty ended)
I have no experience owning apple products simply because they didn’t ever appeal much to me. And yes i have casually tryed ipod/iphone/mac-laptop ’s … never understood all the hype …
In my country warranty is 2 years minimum, and i hadn’t much problems with stuff even a couple years after it is over … I only had a trouble with a laptop screen lamp, and it was within 2 years of warranty.
Really? 2 year warranties are standard in your country? That would be awesome if that was the case here. Do things cost more there because of that?
Yep.
I dont know if in all European countries all warranty is valid for a 2 year period, but in mine it is. I went for a brief search and saw that in spain they too have 2 year warranty and probably france and germany too as many other countries should be similar. Probably all countries submitted to the European Union standards have that rules.
In UK i dont know, but i believe its only one year.
We dont pay more because of that. But that USD to EUR conversion rate made for instance XBOX360 and PS3 more expensive here because SONY and Microsoft dont convert USD to EUR at current currencies … the same happens to games and software at times.
UK uses to be more expensive than other EU countries due they still dealing with pounds, while other countries have adopted the euro currency.
Sometimes there’s products (electronics and tools) than come with 3 years warranty (mostly from germany as they are top reference in reliability). 2year period supported by the store and the extra year supported by manufacturer. Its very common to see german products with 3 year warranty.
For instance when XBOX 360 came out with a 6 month warranty and then extended to 1 year by Microsoft, that would be illegal and Microsoft is demanded to support products over 2 years or they can’t do business. So while US dudes were desperate with it, we simply returned consoles and expect new ones.
The same happens in Apple products …
So since i believe companies aren’t making products for two markets with two warranty times, i believe that if they only made 1 year warranty products they couldn’t sell them here.
I remember now i had 2 CRT’s from LG fixed within warranty period at 1,5 years i bought it.
I saw recently the wallmart of yours style of warranty extend programs being copied here and they have some success on laptops and more expensive electronics. On 400€ bellow, after two years … you better save more for new one …