An ongoing saga of Apple's customer neglect

wow. a week to ten days. somebody is really unpatient. want to know why you were being treated like you in't matter? beause a squeaky button dosn't really matter. If your computer wasn't working at all, then they might have cared. People that have never worked in retail don't really understand, there are reasons beyond that person's control why you can't have your way, because the company really dosn't want to turn away any customers.

First of all, I am impatient. Not unpatient. I am not blaming the Apple store, but the Apple policy. And this frustration comes more from the treatment than the issue itself...which is why I provided the translation above.

As Nate said, you're impatient. After that, customer service is a funny thing. If they manage to help you , it's great. If they don't,it's awful.

Second, all customer service is created equal. Look at the Geniuses, they're all young puppies. That's what the 20something generation has asked for and gotten. At that age, where's the experience.

Third,most of the time an informed customer goes up the food chain.Which is to say that you should have asked for the manager. If that didn't work, the Store manager.

This is what I've done with problems at the Apple Store and it always gets results. Apple has no interest or benefit in serving you, or anybody, less than filling your needs or questions.

I'm not apologizing for Apple either. I've managed a retail photo store and run my own business for more time than you care to know.

Jim--you are exactly right. Truth is, the problem is annoying but not killing me yet--and I was in a rush. Nonetheless, there are MANY stories about the poor service.

Customer service/support is difficult. Some of us build our whole business on it, so perhaps I am hyper-sensitive.

A week to 10 days is one thing when it is your home computer, but when it is a business productivity machine, that equals downtime which is not acceptable. I can't put my business on hold for 10 days because my MacBook keeps shutting down. Apple needs to figure out a way to serve it's business customers better- because though we are an all apple shop - we shouldn't have to buy extras incase one breaks. Apple needs to take a note from Dell, and reduce the wait time for business customers.

Yes, Jim is right. Hence you'd find as MANY stories about great service. Apart from being a "Genius" these people are faulty humans like everybody else. I'm sure there are a few assholes among them and yes, maybe they shouldn't have direct customer contact, but we are expecting them to know or have heard of any and all of the little problems that could occur. Impossible.

And unfortunately 95 % (uneducated guess) of the people they deal with, don't know that "the long key" is called spacebar... Which leads to condescension, which is really annoying to us, who know a bit more... I don't think you are really talking about Apple policy.

My experience is that unless it's an obvious, really common, already documented malfunction, you have to insist that it is unacceptable and you will be heard. I also prefer to call AppleCare instead of lining up in a store to talk to a stressed out person, but it's a great service! Tell me what other computer maker offers that possibility? Exactly.

Last, but not least, Apple does offer a ProCare maintenance plan to people like you, who use their Macs for business and have no time. Yes, you have to pay for that kind of service, but as I have witnessed in New York, you bring your problem in, announced by a prior phone call, and 3 "Geniuses" will tend to you immediately...

You had a squeaky key. But did the key work? Maybe the clicking is too loud and you wanted to see if yo could turn down the volume of the clicking. Your track pad problem on the other hand is a real problem not an aesthetic one. I'm surprised the Genius came up with your solution immediately. You just didn't like the solution.
What's this blog about anyways. Oh yeah my keys make noise and I don't like to wait for service.
Please for the sake of the wasted bits in your blogs trade in your Mac for a Dell. And blog PC users with your inane blather

Dave,
One significant point. You comment on being a business user, then show up at the Apple Store with laptop under your arm like "joe home user". At that point, the Genius/Technician can only assume you're a general user and regardless of that distinction, there is nothing they can do outside of packaging the laptop off and sending it out for depot repair. That is their standard policy, and to be honest, quite similar to the vast majority of manufacturers out there.

If you wanted repaired immediately or a loaner issued, you should've arranged that with the vendor you purchased your laptop through since you consider yourself a business user, since no manufacturer I know of will issue a loaner of any sort without a contract specifically stating a loaner will be issued.

And even then, a loaner would simply be a piece of equipment meeting the most similar specs, not guaranteed to be identical much less would it be procedure to backup your system and restore it to the loaner for you, then reverse the procedure when your laptop would be done with depot repair.

And if the laptop's issued by IDG's tech department, they should be the ones to issue you the loaner and ship your current system off to Apple for repair, the Apple Store and Genius Bar should for the most part be a non-issue in this case. If the laptop was not issued to you by IDG and was purchased by you to use at IDG, then neither them or Apple are responsible to you for being a business user as the machine is not owned by a business, but by a "home user" who uses it at work.

And no, I do not nor have I worked for Apple, but I have been the technician that had to tell a customer "No we cannot service this equipment in our shop due to vendor requirements, and no you do not have a loaner provision in your contract, therefore we cannot swap out your hardware while your system is at the depot". Stinks on both sides of that conversation.

LMAO! I walked into the Apple Store in Tampa with my iMac. It took me a whole 5 minutes to meet with one of the Genius guys. After describing what happened he said, "Sounds like your power supply blew. Can you hang around for 10 minutes?" So I think..."Oh, Sure". I went and looked at the new iPods and the guy comes back and gets me. I look at my watch and a whole 9 minutes have elapsed. He says "Here you go...I put in a new power supply. There's no charge" Bingo...I'm outta there in under 20 minutes. I sure wish Apple would treat me better!

Odd your experience. Maybe it is the way you and I approach people that differs and causes the outcome. I have had maybe two problems ever in the 10 various Macs I have bought for myself or my family, and they have all been repaired if needed, quickly and efficiently. Just as a note, Mac IS a CONSUMER computer company, not enterprise. They aren't Dell. Most people don't want them to be. As huge an emergency as noisy keys can be and the huge hurry you were in, it is amazing they did not see how important you were and just JUMP to help you. Wow man. Take a look at yourself. And as other posters have mentioned, if you want that extra level of service and cannot live with with squeaky keys one more day or be without your Mac for a week or so, buy ProCare. I did and when my pet bird chewed off the keys on my MacBook Pro, they took it in the back and replaced them on the spot. Oh yeah- I was happily surprised, not expecting it. Like I said, a matter of approach to life. Rethink yours maybe.

And this is supposed to be journalism? Give me a break!

A week to ten days isn't that bad. Apple has had my MBP 2.16ghz on two differerent occassions. The first was about a week. The second was over a month. These were mail in repairs, not through the Apple Store.
I did buy a Macbook that had issues with it (flickering screen) from the moment I got it. I was very busy and couldn't get to the Apple Store w/in the 14 days to return it. I brought it in on Day 28, and the Genius was going to send it off. I asked to speak to the manager, and explained to her that I had bought the MB as a backup for the MBP, which was in the shop, and that I couldn't afford to have to Macs in the shop at the same time. She gave me a brand new machine on the spot. And since my MBP came back two days later, I used my new udpated sales receipt to exchange it for the iMac C2D.

I love my Macs, but both the portable lines right now are 1st edition. The general rule is that you do not buy 1st edition Macs if you can avoid it (portables mostly) because it takes a generation to get the kinks out. I'm hoping the quality improves with the next generation.

Hey Dave,

If you're trying to seek attention by posting trash, then congratulations, you achieved that goal.

Your article not only wipes out any form of credibility you were trying to attain, but it also categorically classifies you as one of technology's biggest idiots. 'Squeaky keyboard?' LOL

It's so sad to see how they let just anyone publish anything these days.

>I will continue to be a self-loathing Mac user for as long as Apple >continues to treat me, and a growing majority of its customers >and supporters like the enemy.

The majority, huh?
I think you should speak for yourself, and not for others. I have NEVER received better service than from an Apple store.
I think you have issues!

Also I am confused. I thought Apple just won some PC best customer service award fot the sixth year in a row. Was I mistaken?

I just don't know where to begin.

Like most Americans, you wanted to be treated like you are the most important person on earth and screw everyone else. Apple has millions of customers. What makes you and your issue more important than anyone else? If the Palo Alto store has 300 repairs to do, what makes your repair so important it should jump to the top of the list? Simply because you are you?

Having not read your other articles, it seems to me at this point that you are talking using your experience with ONE store and ONE group of employees to make a conclusion about Apple, AppleCare, Apple Stores, and all Geniuses and Genius Bars. That is neither a fair nor just nor valid extrapolation.

How do you define a "common" problem? The Genius was correct. if you search the Internet long and hard enough you will most likely find someone else complaining of the same issue with the same product as you. Should you be surprised? No. Does this make the issue, "common?" Hardly. If Apple sells 100,000 MacBooks and 1000 have a squeaky space bar, that is not a, "common," problem by any stretch of the imagination. That's barely 1%. But if all of those people post comments on the same blog, it sure will look like a, "common," problem. However, if you apply a little common sense, your undies won't get in such a bundle.

What is unacceptable is that one thinks that running on a business on a single laptop is acceptable. What if it were stolen, dropped, lost, etc. If you can't bear to deal with a repair, then get a backup! Also, I'm that time was quoted as a maximum. I've typically had repairs from Apple (both serious and minor) turned around in 48 hours, despite the 7-10 days being quoted.

Unfortunately, your story is all too common, and all the people that have never had a problem can say what they like, but yes, Apple service really IS that bad, and consistently so. A close friend here just spent 4 weeks fighting with the Dallas Apple Store. They finally replaced his machine after I told him to ring Apple Customer Relations. That should not have been required though. Don't let all these goof ball Apple-luvos without a brain tell you you're just being a jerk. I've been a Mac user since 1986, and have always been a Mac user. I have easily spent $60,000.00 over the years with Apple. What does it mean to Apple that I'm such a devoted customer, always buying every release they come out with? NOTHING! Absolutely nothing!

Apple, THINK DIFFERENT!!

Hmm, is this another "let's bash Apple to get attention" column or is this a "I got slighted by a CSR and I am going to use my power as a writer to get even" column? "Why, you Apple geniuses will never work in this town again".

please, try taking you Dell or HP back to the Dell or HP store.

You didn't try Applecare??! I have nothing but good to say with my experiences with Applecare. I have had zero problems with them and I have used them a few times.

This has nothing to do with the result and everything to do with how the result wasn't accomplished. In short, it's a service problem. These kids working in the Apple stores have not the first idea about how to handle a rough customer. As an alumni of one of the world's top service organizations, I can tell you, it is perfectly possible, if you handle it correctly, to have a customer walk in the door screaming at you, to not be able to do a thing for them, and yet have them asking to write your manager about your great service on the way out. It has everything to do with empathy, approach, training, and empowerment. That this particular incident happened at all speaks to quality control, but that it was handled the way it was, that is the result of a corporate culture that occasionally produces an exceptionally poor service attitude, particularly at the retail level. As an aside, I have had, and continue to enjoy, exceptional, world-class service from Apple. However, increasingly, I hear more and more horror stories from others. Apple has turned itself around in a spectacular fashion, but it is stalled, and I highly suspect that arrogance and hubris, particularly among its younger employees, are playing a critical role in that. Given Microsoft's disastrous performance over the last couple of years, there is no reason that Apple should still be sitting in the single digits of computer market share, except for the fact that, as the columnist points out, Apple sometimes just doesn't listen.

I don't think many of the people commenting get it. Maybe they didn't click through to my story to hear about my experience. I was treated courteously (and ultimately like a king)...but I still went for two months without my laptop, and this despite my having AppleCare and ProCare. I would have bought ReallyCare if I thought it would have helped.

Ultimately, they wanted me to send my machine back because they were unwilling to send me the screws they had inadvertently forgotten to screw into the computer when they fixed it last (and by "last" I mean for the third time in as many weeks). I refused - I had already been without my laptop for two months, there was no way I was going to extend that unproductive period - and they made me pay for the screws. Insanity! (In fact, Apple PR thought so, too, and called AppleCare to have them send the screws for free. That they would need to do so is complete lunacy.)

As for those who suggest this is normal behavior, it's not. IBM was fantastic when I used to use ThinkPads. I was not a business user to them. I was just a random guy (sometimes without a support contract). They sent me replacement parts, almost no questions asked (and then I'd send them the broken parts). They were able to diagnose the problem over the phone (as, I suspect, Apple can) and then send me the correct parts. They overnighted everything. It was amazing how fast they fixed things. It was the Nordstrom of customer support.

Apple makes the best hardware and software, but they are the Wal-Mart of customer support. Even when, like me, you pay $450+ extra to get premium, long-term support.

I have had several instances with Apple, all were good. Customer service is something I have done for a great while and have noted a tendancy. Certain behaviors dictate certain customer service behaviors.

Beyond that, one problem I had was a Powerbook hard drive died 3 times (in 3 years), obviously not the hard drives. Each time they were replaced. But on the 4th time, Apple "offered" to put me into a new MacBook Pro for $500. 2Ghz Dual Processor, 2 Gb RAM and largest hard drive available. A huge upgrade for $500. HUGE!

Another incident years ago was a blown motherboard on a 5300c laptop, from "me" replacing memory. I admited to Apple that I caused the problem and the cost of a new motherboard was $1500. It was 1 year and half out of warranty. They had me send it back and the next day I had a new computer, with my old hard drive installed. No cost.

Bought a 17" iMac recently and there was a problem with one USB port, whch acted flakey. With no questions asked, they opened a new machine, transferred all my data and sent me home with a fully functional, fully tested iMac.

Hmmmm, Apple really treats their customer's poorly. And people wonder why I worship Apple and their products. Proof is in the pudding.

A couple of thoughts on this and other related issues:

-On Monday I recieved my replacement iPod for the one that went bad. There was little if any effort needed to get this taken care of. I was thoroughly impressed with the service and responsiveness of apple. Furthermore, I have purchased more than 10 hardware products from apple and besides this iPod that went bad I have not had to service any of my Apple products.

-being in retail managment and sales support for 12 years, I can say with certainty: Several times a front line employee offers poor customer support skills that are not in line with the vision of the company. That is not representative of what I have experienced (even at the apple stores that I have visited).

I'm sorry that you have had a bad experience, but I believe apple to be one of the best out there.

Dave,
You are comparing your experience in the consumer market with a Dell apparently purchased under a business contract. You even reference a server. As I respecfully disagree with some other posters that the Mac is stricktly a consumer machine, I submit to you that Apple has the level of support you are seeking, you just have to pay for it.

As a professional computer consultant, I install and support Macs in business all day every day. If you choose to purchase it, Apple has expedited support available. For the XServe, businesses can purchase "AppleCare Premium Service and Support for Xserve or Xserve RAID" for about $950.00. This provides 24/7 phone support along with on-site repair service with a stated response time of 4 hours during business hours, or next day if called in after business hours. I've used this service for my clients for everything from quick questions to major problems, and the staff is top-notch and patient.

If you need even faster repair service, you can purchase an XServe service parts kit for about $850.00 with which AppleCare staff will help you install most broken parts "on the spot".

Having dealt with Dell support on numerous occassions, I know that the business support you describe is something they do not make available to the average user. Businesses have to purchase that level of support.

No company is perfect. Even a company with a 95% customer satisfaction rate (which no company achieves - I'm just using it as an example) has 5% of their customers they've dissappointed. It sounds like you've had a combination of bad luck and misguided expectations in a consumer environment. If you want to get business support from Apple, you definitely can, you just have to pay for it, just like Dell or any other company.

On a final note, while we are talking about repair turnaround, let us not forget that Apple is unique in having an actual store available to the average consumer to answer their questions and diagnose their computers, on the spot and for free. You can even log onto Apple web site in the morning and make an appointment for later in the day so you don't have to wait so long in the store. I know of no other computer company which offers anything like it.

I hope this, and some better luck, lead to better experiences for you with Apple in the future.

My Apple experience is similar. My 17" MacBook Pro (Apple's most expensive computer in its base configuration) had two problems two weeks after I received it: clicking sounds coming from the hard drive (and subsequent disk failure) and system freezes remedied by squeezing the case near the HD, and a screen with a large black spot. I told the 'Genius' about the HD problem and I was told that it was 'just a sound that all computers make.' Uh huh. A month later, my disk failed.

As for the screen, I was first told that my very well-padded laptop case may have caused the problem. I laughed at that, and they opted to repair the screen. However, after a week, they replaced it with the wrong screen (needed glossy, got matte instead). I returned it to the Apple Store for another repair. This time, I wanted some form of compensation for the delay. Instead, they offered to replace the screen the same day so long as I brought the laptop in before noon.

They called my office when the screen arrived and yelled at my officemate. Apparently, it was his fault that they called me after noon so I couldn't get it replaced the same day.

Sure, you can say 'Apple isn't a business company' to defend their shoddy repair policies. However, if I buy a ThinkPad or a Dell, I get onsite repair free or for a cost much lower than AppleCare. Also, Dell and IBM manage their repair system much more effectively (in terms of parts allocation), so my university can repair my laptop if it breaks.

People all over my department ask me why I have a Mac, when they get such great service from IBM and Dell. Increasingly, I have no good answer.

Tony,

Dells NOT under a $950 support contract also qualify for onsite repair.

I can think of nothing else I've spent $3000 on that I've been so dissatisfied with.

Dave,

It is the exception, not the rule, that a computer is replaced outright when the customer is not 100% after a purchase. I have had similar experiences from Dell where DOA computers were repaired with refurbished parts.

This is standard practice in the industry. Before you badmouth Apple for not giving you a new computer for your squeky space bar look into how other manufacturers treat there customers as well.

Dell may send someone out to change the keyboard, if you are an Enterprise customer, but it won't be a new part. Also if you are a consumer you are likely in the same boat as Apple sending your computer in for repair as well as talking to someone in India to get everything prepared.

There are pros and cons to all vendors. They all treat there customers with contempt (Apple is not exlcuded from this list) but you seem to be looking for some special treatment that is different than what the rest of us are getting.

Get over yourself.

Jordan Winkelman

We have hundreds of Macs and we've experienced an increase in problems with Macs over the past year and service can rate rather poorly. Particularly in laptops and G5s seem to have a lot of problems.

Business customer getting priority treatment over home user? I don't think this is valid. 10 days is way too long to have to wait for anyone. Three days is reasonable and next business day is what most companies would pay premium support for. You have to realize that most repairs don't take that much time to do in labor. Typically, packing and shipping take more time if the problem is obvious. Intermittent problems that take diagnostics can take longer (if the problem is unknown). You can't argue that Apple can do MUCH BETTER if they wanted to and if service were a high priority. Apple talks world-class service if they want you to buy it. But more often than not it's worse service than most computer companies.

Over the past ten years, I've had to use Apple service twice. Once was for my G3 tower's keyboard and the other time was to help my friend with his iMac G5. Both times, I got exemplary service. Does that make Apple perfect? No. Neither does a few people's (relative to all of Apple's customers) bad experiences make Apple's service rotten.

Anyone who has worked in retail will know that there are people with whom it is not worth doing business. They want something for nothing and think they deserve to be treated like royalty. They get indignant when they're treated like EVERYONE ELSE because "I'm responsible for purchasing thousands of dollars of equipment... I'm in business... blah, blah, blah." Hopefully, Apple has got the names of these people in a database so that when they show up Apple employees try to get rid of them for life. These people will never be satisfied and will always find something to bitch about. By the way, it's got nothing to do with being young (I've gotten rotten service from old people) and it's got nothing to do with being American (lots of non-Americans have superiority complexes).

I can sympathize--the small cohort size of today's twenty-somethings means that a clean shirt and a pulse are enough to get a job in retail. You should have seen the War Babies.
However, good customer relations management includes identifying those in the low-profit segment, and scraping off. Google "Fire the Customer!" It's hard to identify them by sight, but I bet that butting in line at the Genius Bar and expecting another laptop because this one has a squeaky key is on the list.

Hi Dave,

Great read...and certainly not unique. I completely empathize w/ what you experienced.

Patience has nothing to do w/ it. Like you, I can think of a lot of things I'd rather be doing than standing around in a computer store...

The whole "Genius Bar" thing is a joke... I was told to "make an appointment" to see a repair guy when I brought my Macbook in. I arrived at 4pm and the appointment thing said they were 'booked'. There was only 3 ppl at the counter, so I asked if I could get some help. I was pretty much told to pound sand and come back tomorrow, so I returned it. When the mgr came out and said, "oh, we can get it fixed/replaced for you right now." I said, "Don't bother...just give me a refund." If it takes getting a mgr to get anything done, then I don't want to have anything to do w/ it.

I went and bought an HP (my 3rd, in fact) and it's been running fine since last June--no problems except the optical drive died two weeks ago... Called HP, they sent me a new drive which took >5min to replace...paid all shipping, no downtime. :)

So this is the "journalism" we get from blogs?

{Dave says: No. This is the truth is stranger than fiction inanity you get from blogs. Go read a book}

I'm really shocked at the seemingly blind defense of Apple here. I've had great support from Dell both in business and as a private consumer. As a business customer, I've had on-site repair. As a customer, they mailed me a new HDD when I emailed them saying that I had detected bad sectors on my drive. Very fast (3 day turnaround), very good experiences all. However, if someone comes along and says they were put on hold for 3 hours when they called Dell support and then got lousy service anyway, that's still unacceptable no matter how my own experiences were! The fact is that that Macs are sold as premium computers, yet have recently been suffering from as many, if not more, serious issues than competitors' products (specifically the shutting down / overheating of the notebooks due to faulty assembly). This does not make Apple an evil or worthless company, but it does mean that if you pay a little more to get a nice new Mac, you will not necessarily be getting a more reliable product.

It's a legitimate complaint, and everyone would benefit from Apple improving their QA processes.

I actually have been extremely impressed with Apple support. I happened to be checking the apple support website when I noticed that it suggested checking my MacBook Pro battery serial number to see if it qualified for an "exchange". I checked, and low and behold, my battery was one of the serials avaaible for a new battery. I punched in my address, email etc. and was told that I would receive a new one withing 3-5 days. Suprisingly, I recived one next morning by courier from California! I live and work in Toronto Canada. I call that responsive! Way to go Apple.

Sorry Dave, you took the wrong pill.
First of all, I think you mentioned that the machine is a MacBook. Assuming you didn't mean a MacBook Pro, you started out wrong by buying a consumer laptop. I'm not saying the support agreement is different, but the "Genius" may have handled you slightly differently if you had an indication that you were a business customer.
Then, since we're comparing Apples to Oranges here, Please tell me the last time you walked into a Dell, HP, IBM, Lenovo or Cisco retail store and requested service.
The Apple store is not designed for Business consumers. I sent my dad there to get a repair on his iMac. But I call Apple directly to get my PowerBook repaired. In fact, I call the Enterprise Support number that they gave me when I purchased "hundreds of thousands of dollars of computer hardware and software" from them. And they do actually hire Geniuses to handle Enterprise support.
Next time, compare Apples to Apples.

You people should take the author at his word and not try to do the VERY SAME THING that he says Apple did. Give the customer the service he is looking for. I've had the same bad Apple service both from stores and Applecare. It is a real problem.

Buy ProCare and stop your complaining...Apple has bigger problems to fix then your "squeaky spacebar." The fact that you waited 3 hours for that is simply ridiculous...obviously your business isn't doing that well if you have that sort of time!

As a general consumer, i cannot fault the service apple provides us with. If i buy a sony product, where do i go? I call up sony support, they tell me my warranty is return to base. Rubbish.
I get a mac, it breaks where do i go? Hmm i can call up Applecare for the same service or i can visit an Applestore also available in European and Japanese flavours (sounds good if im a business user abroad).

Personally I have had very good luck with Applecare and Apple customer service in general.

That being said, I don't think any of the reasons listed above excuse the apple store employee's apparant bad attitude. I've worked retail, too, and it's poor form to treat a customer crappily, whether they buy a $250 iPod or a $6000 Mac + monitor.

1) 7-10 days quote for a repair that has to get sent out is not at all an unreasonable quote. Figure 2 days shipping, 1-2 days to repair and then 2 back. You're at 6 days and that assumes you don't fall between a saturday and a sunday.

2) If you are running a business, you need to have backups. Period. Backup files, backup computers. It never ceases to amaze me how many people I know that run businesses that don't have redundant systems for even just basic running. You don't have to get two identical systems, but even if you can have a system that lets you work at 50% that's better than 0.

3) While I'm sure the genius was quite sympathetic that you can't be without your computer that long, neither can anyone else, and the reason it's taking that long is because everyone else wants their computer worked on too. Question: How would you feel if your computer was next in line to replace, but then some big wig from a bigger and better company who makes more than you do each hour got your system bumped so he could get his back sooner? Why is it that everyone thinks they are more important that everyone else?

4) To the person who talked about spending $60,000 on Apple computer equipment over the years and not getting treated any better than anyone else, again how would you like it if Apple treated a customer who spent $61,000 better than you?

5) to the person talking about how there were only 3 people at the genius bar when they went in, you do understand how their system works right? People sign in and instead of sitting around a twiddling their thumbs, they're allowed to wander and do stuff and actualy be productive and come back at their appointment. When it says they're booked for the day, it means the line is out the door, just because you can't see it doesn't mean it isn't there.

In the end, yes they could stand to have better turn around time but if people didn't insist on having repairs for a squeaking space bar (and even more inane things) it might be a little better.

It's totally stupid (excuse me for being that direct) to compare support for a squeaky space bar problem in an retail store to support of a server or a group of workstations, under a contract with any major computer brand (Dell, IBM or Apple for that matter). The involvement of the brand is completely different, resulting on different support closeness. I'm not excusing Apple, but I have to say this whole article looks so stupid to me I had to say it.
We should all demand to be treated as customers that matter, but we shouldn't behave like spoiled kids.

For those of you who believe that quality of product and technical support from Dell and HP and all those other PC manufacturers is so much better than Apple's how do you eplaing this?

From a couple of different sources as compiled by Mac Rumors (http://www.macrumors.com/)

A new report out by computer repair and support company RESCUECOM suggests that Apple is maintaining its overall high reliability scores. In the report's rating system (where a larger number is better) Apple scored a 201, second only to IBM/Lenovo which scored 243. The next-best was HP/Compaq with a score of 12, and market leader Dell only had a score of 4. Negative scores were possible, as Gateway (-12) and other manufacturers (-16) demonstrated.

"The Report calculated the following "Reliability Scores" for each computer vendor based on the percentage difference between their overall U.S. market share and the percentage of calls into the RESCUECOM call center about the particular computer vendor. The higher the score, the less likely it was that calls about the specific computer vendor to the RESCUECOM call center were received."

The report reflects similar findings to an August PC Magazine survey which consistently rated Apple at the top of the reliability and service and support pile.

"Last year, Apple's score on units needing repair was an impressive 11 percent—well below that of any other company in the survey. But according to readers, the company has managed to cut repair rates even further over the past 12 months. This year, Apple's score on units needing repair drops to 8 percent. Among first-year systems, it's only 5 percent. That's nothing less than astonishing."

Some have been eager to see whether initial Intel switch woes (battery issues, heat, random shutdowns, etc) would affect Apple's generally good reliability reputation.

Hey Dave,

Your story is all too familiar to me, my friend...

I'd love to see the "Apple Apologists" tell me that it's "my" fault for something like this...

Apple lost me as a customer w/ they "beat-up" my Powerbook when it was in for repair, then tried to blame "me" for it. The machine went in because the display went out. When I sent it in at the Apple Store, they said 5-7 days. When DHL dropped it off nearly 3 weeks later, I was shocked at how beat up it was (even had two screws rolling around in the box). I called Apple and they said to bring it into the store (another 15mi trip to South Coast).

The pictures I had of it before I sent it in really saved me because I had to "prove" that the huge dent in the bottom-case, two missing feet, and warped/bent display were not my fault when it was shipped to my house. I showed the pictures to the store manager and then they sent it back in to have it repaired (again!).

When it came back to the store, they had to send it in "again" because they keyboard keys (where the screws are) kept popping off..right at their genius bar...inevitably they replaced the keyboard and a few other things. All in all, I was w/out the machine for 6 weeks and 3 days. I remember because I had to tell customer relations about it and was met w/ absolute apathy...

This is after they told me to pay $100 for some Procare thing that they assured me they'd fix my computer in 24hrs. I said, "How about fixing my computer 'now ' and then we'll talk."

AppleCare was friendly and nice, but most clueless when it came to 'what is going on w/ my computer?'. "It's at our Depot and being repaired..". "But you've been saying that for the last two weeks?!"

When I had to send it back, the store mgr told me that he would call me daily w/ updates (never did) and promised I'd have it back in three days (took almost two more weeks). Not until I mentioned "small claims court" did the mgr contact corporate and get my computer back in semi-acceptable condition.

When I finally, finally got it back, I eBayed it for $800 (had AppleCare on it too) and bought a PC laptop (HP). No problems and customer service is 24/7.

Unbelievable. I'm contemplating switching to a Mac laptop, but I'm really loath to join up with this sad group of sycophants. "7 to 10 days is reasonable"? My god. I've used a Dell laptop as my primary machine for the last 8 years. I beat the hell out of them, and whenever there's a problem Dell sends a technician out the next day to fix it on-site.