Apple Goes Above and Beyond

I only touched on it briefly back in March, the experience of Mi Manzana (MacBookPro 1.0) having a taste of Riesling and rejecting it. Seriously rejecting it. I tried various tactics of drying it out, such as paper towels in a closed laptop that was stored upside down, then standing it on its end, and taking the cover off of it. Despite being quick in trying to get the liquid out, it did not work.

About a month ago, I tried turning it on and there were signs of life, and it quickly died again. Troubleshooting and noticing that the machine does get power when plugged in, I thought that perhaps it'd need a new battery.

However, I got liquid in it. My Applecare warranty doesn't cover damage of this type. So I didn't take it to the Genius bar, because I really didn't have the funds at the time to fix it (online searching brought up repair costs of at least $350.) Reports I'd read suggested keeping the mouth zipped on the source of the problem.

That didn't work for me. I couldn't come up with a story to justify my Mac going kaput to the point that I bought a new one three days later to do my school work. I couldn't explain why suddenly, my keyboard has a 'condom' on it. Not without lying and I'm not very convincing on that front.

We had occasion to be right up the street from the nearest Apple store tonight (30 miles from our house) and I suggested to Ed that I make an appointment with the Genius bar. Heck, if it's a $350 repair, that's cheaper than a whole new Mac. He's had minor Mac envy since I got the laptop. Mainly because when we started dating, he owned an LC II-he was the original Macfan in our house.

He's now the recent recipient of an iPad, so the envy isn't so great (for him, that is), but I still think that it was worth it to take the Manzana in to see what the Geniuses had to say.

When the appointment time arrived and the Genius called us to the back of the store, I was upfront. We were dealing with a lot of stress that night, Ed poured me a glass of wine, and I pulled a klutz move and knocked the wine glass onto the laptop.

What happened next surprised me. The gentleman handed me a work order to sign: and the charges to me were $0.00, when a Level 4 repair costs double what I had hoped. Even better, they're going to keep my Applecare warranty on the machine.

I am truly blown away. The expectation was that this was going to be a costly repair, but they understood that life happens (the story of our lives the past couple of years) and gave me a pass. They're even going to ship Mi Manzana directly to us after the repairs are done.

Yes, friends have laughed at how gung-ho I've been for the Apple brand since getting my iPod in 2005. I love their products. The second MacBook travels to work with me every day and I find there are things that are soooo much easier to complete on it then on the dual monitor PC sitting on my desk.

So, thanks Brandon Genius Bar. Thanks for understanding that it was an accident that was the topper to a very bad day and doing what you did. It just cemented my high opinion of the Apple brand.




Comments

Meghan said…
That's awesome! Isn't it wonderful when you find great customer service people like that? I'm glad it worked out for you :)
Unknown said…
I love Apple's product, as well. And their customer support is outstanding - most of the time. I have never been a fan of their pricing, however, and it's their keeping of the Mac product so close to the vest that supports it. If there was ANY competition in the Mac marketplace prices would be lower, there'd be more software for the Mac, and there would be more Mac's out there - if for no other reason, because of the lower prices.
Suzanne said…
I agree on the pricing, Lou. That was why the MacBook was my graduation purchase. It was twice the price of my previous laptop.

If the Apple machines were priced one third less, it would still be a decent profit margin for them and would entice many others to 'come to the dark side'.

Popular posts from this blog

Glad that I'm not "Guilty By Association" on this one

Wal Mart Your Zone $500.00 Gift Card Contest!

Webmaster Alex speaks Anonymously