Is it just me????

[Junk Yard Dog]

The people you talked to are low level, task oriented employees. They have no authority to authorize the things you wanted, and you should have known that.

Rather than fighting with the peons, you might have found out the name of the district manager, brought him on-board with your project, and gotten far more than you were trying to achieve in the first place.

I applaud your desire to benefit the WWII soldiers. My uncle (mother's brother) was killed on Omaha Beach on June 6, 1944 (actually, a couple of days later). But, to slap people around, trying to get your own way, is not the answer.

--
Gary

A hundred miles is a long way in the U.K.
A hundred years is a long time in the U.S.

 

[Chipsthe1]

The people you talked to are low level, task oriented employees.
They have no authority to authorize the things you wanted, and you
should have known that.

Very true Gary, which is why I called Apple corporate office in California and apparently the people there could not authroize anything either Hey, Gary, I tried every approach I could think of.

Rather than fighting with the peons, you might have found out the
name of the district manager, brought him on-board with your project,
and gotten far more than you were trying to achieve in the first
place.

See above

I applaud your desire to benefit the WWII soldiers. My uncle
(mother's brother) was killed on Omaha Beach on June 6, 1944. But,
to slap people around, trying to get your own way, is not the answer.

Nor did I slap anyone around but I was very surprised by the attitudes of those with whom I spoke which was basically, there is nothing we can do, cannot send out a tech, cannot provide a loaner, just make an appointment at the Apple Store in Tucson.

--
Shoot lots of pictures, always fill the frame

 

[Chipsthe1]

No, no, I do not live in a nursing home and I do drive, not at night but that is another story.

I do not like to drive into Tucson and get caught up in the traffic there. I will doit when necessary but I sure do not like it.

I live in Green Valley, AZ, which many residents refer to as God's waiting room. Hey, we may be old but we can laugh about it.

Appreciate your comments a great deal
--
Shoot lots of pictures, always fill the frame

 

[Grant Hutchins]

I stand corrected, I thought he said he was in a nursing home, he said he was in a retirement community. There is a great variety of ranges in health at that age (look at John McCain) Some at 76 are in great shape, having incorrectly remembered what he said (nursing home vs. retirement community and mention of Dr. appointments) I assumed he may have been a little closer to the other end of the spectrum. I meant no disrespect to the guy, it was just burning me a little that he was getting so much hateful cr@p here as if it's somehow inconceivable that a Mac Genius could have been anything less than helpful to him.

Even in great mental and physical shape, technology can be daunting enough for anyone, let alone for those who are not immersed in the latest of it all day long, especially since Apple is now heavy in the, "It just works" campaign. My dad (75) is great with his computer, in relatively good health, and probably mentally sharper than I am, but when he switched from dial up and OS 9, to cable and OS 10 and an iMac he struggled a bit. The cable company that was his provider had no clue how to set up mail on a Mac and left him to his own devices. He hired a 3rd party that made house calls to help him out. All the guy did was tell him not to use the mail box he is paying for whether he uses it or not, and set him up with a Yahoo account (which my dad already knew how to do). He charged him the full price for an hour or two of a house call and basically did nothing for him he didn't already know how to do himself. Even though my father is a very savy guy, the tech simply took advantage of him and did the bare minimum that was easiest for himself, rather than doing what my father was paying for because the guy figured my father wouldn't no the difference, which he did. That wasn't an isolated experience, he's gotten the same treatment from other techs he's had out for other things.

Driving distances in a metro area when you feel a little iffy about can be a bit scary, even if you're fit and sharp. Although the Apple store may not have been in a position to give him exactly what he wanted, a little compassion and empathy is fast and free to offer. It goes along way towards diffusing frustration at finding yourself up a creek without a computer when you really need one and making multiple trips to get it fixed is troublesome for you. This is another assumption on my part, but I'm guessing if he had gotten a little more of that, he might have felt differently about his experience even if the overall outcome about getting his computer fixed was the same.

 

[Junk Yard Dog]

Why didn't you help your dad out? I talked my 92 yo mother into configuring her Mac for iChat over the phone, and once we connected, I took over her computer and set up her email, etc.

This is what I'm seeing from the last few posters. They buy a Mac, and want Apple to do everything - cure cancer, drive them to the golf course, fly them to Rio for brunch, etc.

Folks, it a computer, and a damned good one, with excellent support, but they are not your nannie.
--
Gary

A hundred miles is a long way in the U.K.
A hundred years is a long time in the U.S.

 

[Grant Hutchins]

Understandable question. I help him when I can if it's something I can do over the phone. Sometimes you have to be there and see the screen for yourself to see what's up. I live 5 or 6 hours away. Although I wish I could see them more often, I only see my folks a few times a year. My sister and her family live 15 minutes from him but they're PC folks, so for stuff I can't be phone support for, and he can't wait 'till the next time I'm home to look at, he calls someone if he thinks it's over his head. He has an Apple store near him. He has no problem driving during the day when it's not the busiest time, but he has macular degeneration and can't drive at dusk or at night, so in the winter months the times he can get to the Apple store is limited.

He does most stuff himself, he's used computers all though out his career, but they were much different beasts (punch cards and then 10" tape drives the size of a refrigerator, than DOS). He bought a Mac because he thought it would be the easiest to learn. All in all, it has been. When OS X came out, he had to learn again all over. He says he just isn't as confident as he used to be trouble shooting computers if things get too far out of his realm of familiarity. When everything is working he's reluctant to go beyond his comfort level. He's concerned he'll do something he can't undo. He's retired and manages his stocks and what not all day long via the internet, so being without his computer for long makes him antsy, it's his lively hood.

 

[Junk Yard Dog]

Grant, check out iChat for videoconferencing. It is wonderful, especially in your situation. Not only for visiting, but you can take over his machine and do whatever you need to do.

A friend of mine has 3 children, all in different towns. They all video chat together as if they were in the same room.

--
Gary

A hundred miles is a long way in the U.K.
A hundred years is a long time in the U.S.

 

[nburton]

I'm sitting here laughing my head off at this thread!

Working with a bunch of people on my 50th h.s. reunion -- and they run the gamut from technically savvy to technically don't give a flying fig. Was at the home of one of them the other night and took over their computer . . . in my usual form, I had about 5 windows open and was cutting and pasting stuff to create a document. About a half hour later, my friend came shrieking "come here quick, something's wrong with the computer, the window is half gone, I think we broke something." I nearly lost it I was laughing so hard. I had shoved a window down in a corner to get it out of the way and forgot to close it. When she saw me "replace" her broken window, she was awestruck. This is a person who knows how to bring up her email and answer it . . . and to open MS Word and write a letter and save it. She hasn't the foggiest idea of where it goes when she hits "save." But who cares...lol. It works for her.

Growing old is great! And one of the nicest parts -- to me -- is when you get stuck with a problem, you look at those sales and service people with a pathetic look and just say, "Hey, I'm old, what do I know." When they quit chuckling, they usually come 'round and help out.

Let's hear a loud cheer for geezerdom -- wave those canes and toss those hearing aids into the air! Old Coot Power rocks!! It just rocks a little faster with the help of a Mac (or PC).

nancyb

--
. . . if something's worth doing, it's worth doing badly

 

[Grant Hutchins]

Thanks! Video conferencing is something I haven't paid much attention to. I foresee a gifted web cam in my folks future.

 

[tgreene]

I have had similar experiences with the Apple Store in Palo Alto, California.

The 'geniuses' are anything but....

It is ridiculous that you have to pay $300 for the warranty on your
computer then have to make an appointment to get it fixed.

It took Apple 6 weeks to replace the optical drive in my Macbook.

Apple computers are great if they don't break. If they do, then the
repair experience is somewhere between OK and awful.

Feeling lucky??

 

[f8BeThereToo]

The only thing that I can fault the Apple store employees for is initially insisting that he reschedule the appointment. Fortunately, that was corrected while he was still in the store and the Mac was examined. The kind of repair the Mac needs is usually not going to be accomplished while one waits... any busy computer store is going to have an existing backlog of repair work and one must gracefully accept that they will be joining the line for service based on a first come, first served basis.

My local Apple dealer routinely has at least a three day wait with the computer in the shop before they can even diagnose the problem, much less fix it. A few months ago I needed a G5 iMac motherboard replaced under AppleCare; I was told that it would be at least three days before they could look at it and up to two weeks total time in the shop depending on when Apple got the part to them. In the end it took a total of five days to complete the repair; the shop had given me the worse-case scenario based on their experience and it turned out to be a very reasonable time period.

When I personally needed repairs done on a couple of iBooks (including a bad optical drive...) the total down-time was three days: two days shipping and one day in Apple's repair facility. Apple arranged and paid for the shipping and even provided the shipping container. I think that qualifies as excellent service.

What got me going was the OP's attitude that he was owed a level of service that just wasn't realistic considering the circumstances... starting with his not allowing enough extra time for his journey even though he knew the freeway system was going to be congested and then expecting a free replacement Mac while his was in the shop.

Come on... he called the Apple corporate offices expecting some kind of special treatment? I never thought of going that route...

Of course his project is important to him, but out of necessity and respect for other customers it is no more important than any other computer-based project no matter how strongly he feels about it... And the original post just reeks of the kind of weird anti-Apple bias that Windows fanboys love to vent on online forums. It doesn't make me very sympathetic to his plight when he bashes Apples and Macs in that manner and makes broad statements about how screwed-up Apple customer service is; favorably comparing Dell's notoriously spotty customer service to Apple's just adds insult to injury.

Computers seem to have a tendency to develop problems when you want to use them the most and Macs develop hardware problems just like any other mass-produced electronic device. While the Apple operating system has become much more reliable and easy to use, the hardware hasn't fared quite as well...

In the 13 years or so that I have been associated with Apple I have seen the reliability of the hardware go steadily downhill as Apple has attempted to meet consumer demand for ever-cheaper computers. The only time I buy an extended warranty is when it comes to Apple's portable Macs... I figure that it is a necessary cost that must be added to the purchase price of the computer. I would prefer that Apple charge 15% more and use more robust components like they once did, but American consumers in particular seem to be blind to everything but the sticker price, and you definitely get what you pay for...

So I advise my clients to have at least one backup of their data, preferably a cloned bootable volume on an external drive so they can keep using their Mac should the drive die on them (which every drive will do, sooner or later) until they can get the drive replaced at their convenience... People who depend on their Mac for their livelihood or other reasons? Have at least two computers available because the cost of a second computer is nominal compared to the possible loss of income or customers should their primary computer go down.

The Bottom Line: computers are not yet appliances like washing machines. Software and hardware can get screwed-up at inconvenient times; it is the nature of the beast whether it is a Mac or PC. Printers that worked just fine yesterday will suddenly act like they are on Mars instead of being right next to the computer to which they are connected. Internet connections evaporate for no apparent reason; is it the modem, router, computer or my ISP? Working under a deadline or waiting until the last minute to work on a computer project increases the probability that something will go wrong; I suspect that most of us have had such an experience.

I work with people of all ages for pay and "pro bono" and more than a few are as old as the OP... Serious hardware problems are relatively rare and I do my best to get things up-and running ASAP and most people are understanding about it. But unlike the old cliche, the customer isn't always right when he is rude, demanding and acts "grumpy" when things don't go his way. Life is too short to put up with that, and that customer is free to find another service provider that is willing to try to satisfy him.

 

[steelslider]

--Green Valley is a LONG miserable drive to the La Encantada Apple store in the Tucson foothills. The drive alone is enough to annoying Kaptain Kangaroo!

Ya know pal, some days are just that way...you'll calm down, get your machine back and get your project completed...

all the best, every electronics biz has similar stories...believe it, quality control has tanked...grim reality, grin n bear it...

Gary

 

[joehewes]

I just bought my first Mac after a year of nagging from all my Mac co-workers. It's a nice computer, I needed a new computer anyway.

But I realize now that it's just that - a computer. Apple is just a company. They both do some things very well and others not so well.

Switching from PC to mac will not change your life or give you clear skin. Many find the OS etc. very liberating, and yes, the Mac does do many things very well. But I did not hear the Halleluia chorus when I turned on the Mac for the first time.

--
Joe

 

[rebotfc]

You were late, and they were busy, deal with it.

Just because you were old doesn't mean you have the right to be an ass.

 

[Chipsthe1]

rebotfc wrote:
just because you were old doesn't mean you have the right to be an ass.

Nor does it mean that Apple personnel are the Lords and Masters of my universe. After 5 phone calls where the reaction of the Apple reps was how dare anyone have the unmitigated gall to ask us if there was a possible solution other than, "our policy is. . . ."

Oh, and the fact that you are young does not mean that you have the right to call me an ass.
--
Shoot lots of pictures, always fill the frame

 

[danegeld]

Oh, and the fact that you are young does not mean that you have the
right to call me an ass.

And getting old doesn't automatically make you a good or nice person. You earn the treatment you get. As I get older, I constantly fight my growing impatience and intolerance. So far, I'm winning that battle. It's a pity that you've lost it.

--
----------------
http://www.pbase.com/tmalcom/

 

[Wm. L.]

I prefet to use a multi-vendor area computer firm for repairs and support to spare the obnoxious experience in the Apple store. The Apple stores are ugly, loud and usually full of smug people with minimal knowledge outside of their comfy circle.

As far as phone-based Apple does a good job with parts and RMAs but no better than the other first tier vendors I deal with and unlike those other vendors they're too often daft to any issue outside of their own circle. By that I mean first tier paid support with other vendors gets people more aware of and willing to accept issues from other parties, protocols and applications.

The one that really gets me are the stooges who flock to the Apple Store like it's part of their social life. The marketing manager at one of my sites regularly pays much more money for the same items at Apple Store than we buy from CDW and Dell and somehow thinks the smug attitudes of their staff is cool.

Too often Apple's staff and product users are the smug jerk in the Mac vs. PC advertisements. It's also funny to hear the MacLoyal defend Apple when parts don't arrive fast they think it's because they somehow use special components and Apple's off shore phone support people are somehow OK but not for other companies. More power to Apple and the stock holders he he he.....

 

[danegeld]

I prefet to use a multi-vendor area computer firm for repairs and
support to spare the obnoxious experience in the Apple store. The
Apple stores are ugly, loud and usually full of smug people with
minimal knowledge outside of their comfy circle.

As far as phone-based Apple does a good job with parts and RMAs but
no better than the other first tier vendors I deal with and unlike
those other vendors they're too often daft to any issue outside of
their own circle. By that I mean first tier paid support with other
vendors gets people more aware of and willing to accept issues from
other parties, protocols and applications.

The one that really gets me are the stooges who flock to the Apple
Store like it's part of their social life. The marketing manager at
one of my sites regularly pays much more money for the same items at
Apple Store than we buy from CDW and Dell and somehow thinks the smug
attitudes of their staff is cool.

Too often Apple's staff and product users are the smug jerk in the
Mac vs. PC advertisements. It's also funny to hear the MacLoyal
defend Apple when parts don't arrive fast they think it's because
they somehow use special components and Apple's off shore phone
support people are somehow OK but not for other companies. More power
to Apple and the stock holders he he he.....
--

Smug? Stooges? Jerk? Might want to look in a mirror.

--
----------------
http://www.pbase.com/tmalcom/

 

[Paul Barnard]

And did you apologize to the people through the rest of the day who had late appointments because you were late for yours? May be they had important stuff to do too. Or did you simply think of your own situation?

I did a 200 mile round trip to an Apple store yesterday to have my MacBook Air fixed. I arrived on time and the genius did not keep me waiting. That is good service and the way it should be. Its a situation of mutual respect.

 

[Chipsthe1]

I did a 200 mile round trip to an Apple store yesterday to have my
MacBook Air fixed. I arrived on time and the genius did not keep me
waiting. That is good service and the way it should be. Its a
situation of mutual respectI

If your Mac is stiill under warranty or you have Apple Care, then Apple will send a tech to you since you are more than 50 miiles from an Apple Store but I am sure they explained that when made the appointemnet.

I am glad your experience went well, mine did not, and after 5 phone calls trying to find an alternative method for solving the problem, yes, I had gone way beyond "mutual respect."

My experience may be a rarity,although some posts indicate that isnot the case. My experience was not a good one nor even satisfactory and I see no reason that should not b e made known to others. As I have made it known to Apple.

--
Shoot lots of pictures, always fill the frame