AppleCare and I have had quite a long relationship, ever since I purchased an iPod. Before August 2002, I’d never really had a problem with any of our computers. The Macintosh II that we owned lived for a very long time. In fact it was working perfectly when we decided it was taking up too much room and got rid of it. The Performa 5200/80 and Performa 6500/350 were also wonderful workhorses (although long obsolete). Even the PowerMac G4 Digital Audio we own (and still use today) has never had a problem, save the modem being destroyed by France Telecom’s faulty phone lines.
However, ever since my first generation iPod, I feel I’ve been dealing with AppleCare in one form or another (telephone, Apple genius, etc), at least bi-yearly. My first generation iPod was replaced two times before I finally caved in and purchased a third generation model. It didn’t take too long before that too began to have problems and was replaced. My current 4th generation one (knock on wood) has been a charm, but like the others, it’s too early to know whether it will have any problems as I’m still under warranty! In addition, my 1st generation PowerMac G5 also has had work done on it, having it’s logic board replaced, as well as, video card. However, Apple’s support for their pro-machine has been more than stellar - although I purchased the AppleCare extended warranty on it, I received on-site repair which had my machine fixed in about an hour. Plus, having telephone support on hand is also handy for simple questions that I might not know the answer to!
Now, I’m dealing with AppleCare once more because of my PowerBook 12″. I purchased the machine just about a year ago and it’s worked mostly like a charm. I had an issue where a key fell off (snapped off) although, this was caused when I first received the machine. The genius at the Apple Store in SoHo first tried to explain that I had broken the key, but after I told him I’d simply been waiting a while because of my travels to get it repaired, he said he’d “try to do what he could.” A few minutes later, he simply popped in a key from the storeroom and all was good. About four months into my use of the PowerBook, white spots began to appear on the screen - akin to the one’s that Apple had on their 15″ PowerBooks which they later offered replacement screens for. As an aside, I’m *very* careful with the machines I own. I use padded cases, screen protectors, Apple authorized screen cleaners, etc. My PowerBook has been well treated. I couldn’t really do anything about the white spots on the screen as I use my PowerBook heavily during the school year, and during Winter Break, I had taken it with me to use in France. Therefore, I had resolved to fix the issue during summer before the warranty expired. Hence, my current situation with AppleCare.
During WWDC last week, I decided I’d finally get my act together (with about a week left in my warranty) and go to the Apple Store in San Francisco. I headed over on Wednesday last week at 4:00 PM, signed up for a time (7:00 PM) and showed the machine to the genius on hand. She said that this was “not normal” and that it would need to go in for repair, which I had of course expected. She told me it should be covered, especially since I took good care of the machine. Thursday, Apple’s online repair center showed it being enroute, and on Friday I received an e-mail stating that the repair had been started.
Now, the bad part. When I returned to Hamilton on Saturday, a telephone message was awaiting me from AppleCare. The tech who phoned said that the damaged had been caused by the user (read: me) and that it was a Tier 4 repair, meaning that it would cost $1240 + tax to fix. Yes, I only paid about $1400 + tax for the machine. Of course, the first thing I did was return their call. I explained how I had taken care of the machine, but the technician, who was obviously annoyed at having to deal with the situation (I don’t blame him as I would act in the same manner as there is no good answer) said there was nothing that could be done. I asked how I could refute the decision and he told me I would need to call Apple Customer Relations on Monday.
So, it’s Monday now. I’m at work but will be phoning Apple as soon as I can, perhaps at lunch time. I’m not the only one with this problem. If you go over to Apple’s Discussion Forums, you can see other’s with the same problem. Two threads come to mind; White Spots on 12″ (May 2004) and More bright spots.
Copyright © 2000 - 2007, Aram Kudurshian. All rights reserved.
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