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I do realize this is labeled as an opinion piece, but what is the point of relating a single poor experience at the Genius Bar? That's not even an opinion, just a way to vent (or more cynically fill up column inches, grab some cheap page views).

You should get a replacement.

And ain't it handy having a forum like this to get it off your chest? :-)

My idea of a "lemon" is if you take it in 3 times, and they do a complete work-up so to speak, and it's still bad. That's when you get a new one.

You should get a new one and NOT a refurbed one either.

Awful lot of whining in that article- like they called you at home boo hoo. Also I'm kinda shocked a writer for "MacWorld" has a four year old computer. Don't they have any budget to keep you guys with up to date gear?

Stew: "fill up column inches" "grab some cheap page views"

Are you labelling your thoughts as an opinion piece?

If so, fine. If not, why are you responding at all to this opinion piece? Relating your opinion or just getting some Stew views?

Just wonderin'.

I think you're unfairly misrepresenting Apple with your particular tale of woe--not that it didn't happen--but that you broadcast it on Macworld and as a supposedly responsible writer.

There's no such thing as failure--only lack of persistence. To be fair you could have at least held off with this report until your computer was actually fixed, thereby giving the story a happy ending.

I've been a happy Apple customer since the late '70's and I've enjoyed good value for my numerous Apple Care extended warrantees.

I believe there are few other companies with comparable levels of customer service.

This is entirely justified, even if it's a one off. Apple customers should never have this experience. Apple sell a premium product for a premium price and you have every right to expect premium service. Really, this is not good enough.

This site seems to be overrun with Apple apologists these days.

vfx

Is it always a good idea for the editors to have the latest equipment for their own use, or does real world testing help as well, as in longevity of the device, how new OS upgrades work with older equipment, etc.

I like that some of the editors/writers have older computers and the experience with them. Frankly, isn't that part of why we buy Macs? Because they last longer and work better than most if not all of the their PC counterparts?

I don't think I could be happier with the staff at the local Apple store.

Several years ago when I bought a refurb G5 from the online store that had severe problems on delivery, they went to bat for me when the folks in Cupertino didn't want to hear it. Once they got involved I got a new machine at the refurb price.

When the Core Solo mini came out I bought one online (new this time) to use as a media hub in the living room. It had really badly disrupted WiFi. Five minutes in the store was enough to demonstrate the issue (seriously...can't pick up a good signal in the Apple store itself) and they took the unit with no further questions and handed me a new one, letting me test it before I left.

The mini that replaced that G5 in early 2009 developed a fussy optical drive late last year. Finally this spring, with the warranty almost up (I can't justify the price of AppleCare on a mini) I brought it in and the genius was friendly, patient and helpful as I spent several minutes (because of course, it was behaving itself) working to reproduce the problem. I'm fairly savvy and can say he asked all the right questions that would apply to the majority of his customers who were less up-to-speed.

vfx2k4, on 21 July 2010 - 11:59 AM, said:

Yeah what a whiner, he pays $1200 for a laptop and gets a doorstop. I've got a house brick here, do you have $1200?

Well, obviously the Genius bar isn't going to be able to handle *every* repair, and your case may be a difficult one to diagnose. If you do get it fixed, think hard about buying the Applecare warranty before your 1 year warranty is up. Probably worth doing with laptops since they notoriously have a 15-20% failure rate.

Good luck. Be patient. I have had nothing but good experiences with the Genius bar, and minimal downtime. Hopefully your situation will improve.

Where is the opinion?
So does customer service generally suck? Yeah, pretty much.

A RAM error code and a logic board failure are two different things,and if anything, this article demonstrates that the use of the word "genius" is most likely a sarcastic one.

Gee, I wish I had a column connected to a nationally recognized Mac magazine so I could vent about my bad experiences with Apple service and thereby get prompt attention.

This piece seems more self serving that opinion.

nutjob has it right, in my opinion.