How good is Apple's customer service?

[Rivers]

I sold a 15" MacBookPro early last year to a fellow gun enthusiast. It was about 2.5 years old, with 6 months of warranty left. I found out that it just started having a problem with the display going dead. So I picked it up and did some checking. It was definitely a hardware issue so did a Google search with the description of the problem. It seems that this specific model had a known NVidia video card problem.

So I called Apple's AppleCare and gave them the serial number. They confirmed that it COULD be one of those affected by the video issue and made an Apple Store appointment for me later that morning. I took the MBP to the store where they tested it with a tool from NVidia. Confirmed, that was the problem. The fix would be NO CHARGE and Apple would call me in 3-5 days to pick it up. They called two days later, work completed at no charge.

The Apple tech said that had the bill not been covered by (an expired) warranty, it would have been $902. Apple replaced the logic board and everything apparently attached to it. Works like a charm now. And despite the fact that the laptop was well outside of warranty, Apple took care of the problem at no cost to the customer! That's why I buy Apple. Oh yeah, and I never spoke to anyone with either an Indian or Pakistani accent!

[zenmastar]

Let me guess.... BGA solder issue during the ROHS phase in period?


Typing this on a 10.6.7 Hackintosh with a Gigabyte GA-P55-UD3 mb, core i7-870, Radeon 5770 GPU, and some other components.

[Mister BLASTEE]

Apple's CS has always been good to me

[paul0660]

Nice. But of course $902 is just a number picked out of the air.

[CALI SHOT DOC]

their the best. never had an issue

[Gryff]

If the product is still in warranty, their customer service is great. Unfortunately, if the product is out of warranty, their stuff costs a fortune to repair.

[farmerjoe]

I've always had great luck with Apple, both at work and home. I've had to send several Macbook Pros for a variety of reasons (bad motherboard, bad display, bad hard drive, etc) over the years and they've always taken care of the issue ASAP, either at the Apple Store or overnighted to where ever their repair depot is.

Currently, we have a mixture of PBG4's, First Generation MBP's and current MBP's. All total, about 175 of them. I won't touch anything else.

[desertdweller]

I got two MBPs fixed under the defective replacement, and both were out of warranty.

+1 for Apple

[den888]

Excellent. The folks are very customer facing and effective technically - a hard to find combination.

[Rivers]

If the product is still in warranty, their customer service is great. Unfortunately, if the product is out of warranty, their stuff costs a fortune to repair.

As I posted, this computer was well out of warranty. Apple fixed it for free because it was a known manufacturing defect (albeit one caused by a supplying vendor to Apple).

This is not the first time that Apple has repaired a Mac for me that was out of warranty but had a known issue. Every time, it was a part that Apple bought from an outside vendor. Apple did the job for free and in a prompt manner.

[Gryff]

As I posted, this computer was well out of warranty. Apple fixed it for free because it was a known manufacturing defect (albeit one caused by a supplying vendor to Apple).

This is not the first time that Apple has repaired a Mac for me that was out of warranty but had a known issue. Every time, it was a part that Apple bought from an outside vendor. Apple did the job for free and in a prompt manner.

True. If it is an admitted, relatively widespread problem they will sometimes offer a issue-specific warranty extension. But other times not. on my last two Apple laptops, but the optical drives failed 15-18 months after I bought the computer. Apple refused to repair for free, despite that research shows that this is a relatively common failure on early MacBook Pros.

Despite this, I am an Apple loyalist. If I have to spend my own money, a Mac is what I'm getting. I'm just not blind to some of the limitations of the brand/company.

[i1800collect]

My Apple customer service story:

Several months ago I was going through a TSA security check and clumsily dropped my MacBook Pro while I was putting it back in my backpack after it was scanned by the x-ray machine. Even though the outer shell of the MacBook Pro is aluminum, it didn't stand a chance against the steel bed that it hit.

Aftermath:
The steel corner that it hit punctured straight through the aluminum clamshell on the LED display side:

Close-up shot:

What the LED looked like:


My MacBook Pro was still under AppleCare's extended warranty at the time, but I was obviously 100% at fault for this and AppleCare, unfortunately, doesn't cover end-user negligence.

I visited an Apple Store and explained to one of the employees truthfully what had happened. The employee confirmed that I would be on-the-hook for the repair costs, but to my surprise, he said he would be able to waive all replacement and repair costs under a "one-time exemption"! I left my MacBook Pro with them, they ordered a new LED clamshell, repaired it, and I had the laptop back working good as new in 4-5 days!

Needless to say, I was more than happy with Apple's customer service on that occasion.


My only other experiences with Apple customer service have been when the product was still under warranty. As others have stated, Apple CS is always terrific when the product in question is still covered by it's warranty. I've had an issue with an iPod Nano and my younger brother had his iPod Touch's "home" button stop working. On both occasions the Apple Store employees simply confirmed that there was a problem and replaced it on the spot with a "like new" refurbished unit.

[Noobert]

Shoulda replaced the aluminum shell with one made out of hardened 4130

[Kodemonkey]

Apple has great customer service. I left an iPhone 4 in a pocket and the wife washed it. I took it in, and I admitted what happened. I asked how much to fix it. They said it was toast, but wanted to keep me as a customer. They gave me a new phone "this one time" free of charge. I was shocked. But I told everyone I knew about it and I bet they are considering Apple products now. Good marketing, because I'm actually thinking of replacing my windows laptop with a MacBook when it dies.

I can actually understand the fanboys out there. I used to write software for windows OS (hence my screen name). Ive owned apple computers and PC based computers. I am starting to gravitate back to Apple, because it can do 90% of what I need it to do and if I have to I can always boot a mac to windows. And to be honest, most of the apple interfaces are intuitive and get done what I need to get done without hassle. My time is becoming more important to me, and a few $$ extra for the mac is probably worth it at this point.

[Dubels]

Nice. But of course $902 is just a number picked out of the air.

Actually it is not. I worked at Apple and the number include labor and parts. Parts if bought direct from Apple would cost that much. I love Apple support because I can walk straight into a store and deal with all my issues instead of being on hold. But at this time I cannot afford to replace my stolen macbook pro.

Key is to be nice and try to get the Genius to understand what your situation is. Before and after I worked at Apple I have had countless things replaced outside of warranty. Genius really don't mind working with you to try and find the best solution. Just don't go in there demand things acting like you have an absolute right to get things replaced and to treat them like crap. Saw that way too much, while people that came in with cracked iPhones and other water damaged things got things replaced for free just by treating everyone with respect.

I once opened 9 brand new iPads for a customer because she noticed a small defect on the previous 8... I just nodded and went back to the Genius room and got permission from the lead to keep finding replacements for her. This was when the iPad was still in short supply too, and we had closed 30 mins ago.