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Reason # 2,643 to buy Apple; Customer Service. (self.apple)

submitted ago by FriarNurgle

Just got off the phone with Apple customer service. Called them about the Magic Mouse that came with my new (refurb) iMac. I am having one hell of a time getting used to using the damn thing. Just for the fun of it I though I’d see about the possibility of exchanging it for a Tackpad if possible as I'm used to it on my MBP. Nice fellow by the name of Mike listened to me whine and then asked if I’d wait on hold for a minute or two. He came back and said they will ship out a Trackpad to me for FREE and I could just keep the Magic Mouse too, because I might get used to it if I used it more.

Epic. Thank you, Apple.

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[–]minkus962 39 points40 points ago

Reason #1, actually.

[–]FriarNurgle[S] 4 points5 points ago

Good point. I just wanted to exemplify there are a multitude of reasons.

[–]civildefense 7 points8 points ago

I thought #1 was that they came with a free beret and turtleneck.

[–]octafed 13 points14 points ago

I had to take a break from combing my mustache to say: "How dare you, sir?!"

[–]asdfasdfballlzzzzz 21 points22 points ago

As an Apple Care adviser, this makes me incredibly happy to see. All I hear all day is how people are so unhappy with Apple as a company or their product. I really get empowered when someone recognizes I am trying to help and thanks me. Thank you!

[–]Coldmode 15 points16 points ago

Man, you need to read /r/apple more often. It seams that at least once a week someone posts a story about how either their computer was fixed pro bono or Tim Cook personally saved their cat's life.

[–]opie2 3 points4 points ago

Actually he saved my owl. But he was very gentle with it. Did a great job. Then donated to the local raptor charity. Good guy, that Tim Cook.

[–]johns2289 1 point2 points ago

i wanna get tim cook pregnant. hard.

[–]asdfasdfballlzzzzz 0 points1 point ago

This made me laugh pretty hard. Thanks.

[–]happycj 1 point2 points ago

I was one of Apple's very first phone techs back in 1991 in Campbell, CA. It seems that Apple Support hasn't changed much since I wrote those first SOP docs back then!

Make people happy. Impress the shit out of them.

And that's part of the reason I do all my real work on Macs still, to this day.

[–]asdfasdfballlzzzzz 0 points1 point ago

Way to go!

[–]shook_one 1 point2 points ago

Why don't you just read some NPS feedback?

[–]asdfasdfballlzzzzz 0 points1 point ago

I do read those! Every week. Most of them are super nice and the ones that aren't are really silly. People get made when I tell them they need to call their internet provider to get their wireless password and stuff.. Good stuff though.

[–]Saigon8n8 0 points1 point ago

I love you people at Apple Care - You are awesome. :) Thanks for being there and take all the shit that are (mostly) ID10T related issues. ;)

Thank you :)

  • A happy Mac User

[–]jjalsop 2 points3 points ago

I feel like, as an Australian, I miss out on the whole "Apple service is godlike".

The nearest Apple store is an hour and a half away in Sydney. All support I've needed has been done over the phone and it hasn't really been anything special :(

[–][deleted] ago

[deleted]

[–]adamadamhillhill 1 point2 points ago

FYI, Toronto has at least two Apple stores that I know of - Yorkdale and Eaton's Center. And AFAIK, Kitchener-Waterloo has or is getting one too.

[–]happyendingsforall 0 points1 point ago

2 apple stores in all of Canada? I think you may be confused..

[–]inkaudio 0 points1 point ago

There are 22 Apple stores in Canada - 4 in Alberta, 9 in Ontario, 4 in Quebec, 4 in British Columbia, and one in Manitoba.

http://www.apple.com/retail/storelist/ and choose Canada.

[–]cliph 0 points1 point ago

I cound a lot more than two;

http://www.apple.com/ca/retail/storelist/

(hint: 22!)

[–]BaconOverdose 1 point2 points ago

Europe here, Apple support is almost non-existent.

[–]MsBatty 11 points12 points ago

One of the managers in my hometown Apple store literally pulled a dollar in quarters out of the till and handed it to me when I ran out to feed the parking meter... just because I mentioned having to feed it with dimes when I first came in.

[–]nocubir 2 points3 points ago

Something that's really irritating about them though, is that you always hear these customer support "angel" success stories where somebody scores a free something even though they're out of warranty. The thing that really irritates me is that it's not Apple policy to do this, and I have just as many stories from personal friends and relatives where they've taken in something that's out of warranty in to be repaired, and they're told flat out that they will have to buy a new one, or cover the cost of repair. Their "helping hands" stories are far too inconsistent.

IMHO it opens them up to serious legal liabilities, if someone can point to their regular practice of making exceptions like this, they could rightfully claim that Apple is actively applying discrimination to repair or warranty issues. If you got a free Magic Mouse, why the fuck didn't my 72 year old mother get a free iPod when she brought in her 1st gen iPod Nano that she'd never used until well after the warranty expired, but it never worked when she turned it on? She was heartbroken, and they simply brushed her off with "you'll have to buy a new one, we don't make that model anymore". I was personally really pissed off, because I'd heard these stories where Apple makes exceptions, and expected that an old lady coming in really upset that her i thingy never worked would be one of those instances. Nope. To me it smacks of discrimination.

EDIT : I have multiple Apple products, including computers. I love their products, but I'm beginning to seriously frown upon some of the practices and behaviour of the company itself.

[–]hellweaver666 1 point2 points ago

I'm with you. I kept hearing stories of free replacement iPads for various reasons, so after my 6 month old iPad2 got demolished by my 18 month old son I took it to the Apple store in the hope they would be willing to sort it out. Nope, was told I would have to pay nearly £400 for a replacement or put it on my home insurance.

I know I shouldn't have got my hopes up but I couldn't help hoping I would be the recipient of one of these amazing cases of awesome support.

[–]nocubir 0 points1 point ago

See, in your case, I can understand why they might not - accidental damage is a far easier reason to deny service - no manufacturer's warranty covers that. But in the case of my mother, it was an UNUSED iPod, basically it sat in the box because she was too intimidated by technology to try it out herself. When I finally found out (she was a bit ashamed), I said I'd help her out and it would be fine. Try to turn it on, and lo and behold, it's dead on arrival. And so I told her "Don't worry, I've heard so many stories like this where they just give you a new one".

Nope. Nada.

If their employment practices are as disciminatory, they're well on track towards a massive lawsuit. I'm not saying they should extend those exceptions to ALL customers, but as a company, they have a responsibility to insure a consistent quality of service. Either EVERYBODY gets free stuff out of warranty, or NOBODY does. The way they're doing it now is almost as if they give managers discretion to reward up to 10% of customers in this way, and they simply write it off as a "PR" Expense. Because honestly, that's the only reason I can think of why they do it - everybody's heard these stories, and it creates a myth that their support is actually better than it is in reality.

[–]grizzgreen 0 points1 point ago

from what i've gathered, and heard first hand. most of these stories come after the product was in multiple times prior to the warranty being up or just shortly after. happened to my brother, his screen became unresponsive on his phone and they replaced the screen for free.

[–]diewhitegirls 0 points1 point ago

You think that the human nature of the many different technicians working at Apple across the world...the technicians who are given free-range to do almost anything for a customer...opens Apple up to serious legal liabilities? It's thinking like this that caused the "one-time exceptions" to disappear like the dinosaurs. These technicians are making judgment calls on an individual basis, factoring in many parts of an equation, but to the rest of the world it seems that someone is being taken care of and someone else is being screwed. After everyone and their mother came in expecting their destroyed iPhones to be replaced, Apple had to put the axe on that, because it was no longer great customer service, it was now expected.

[–]nocubir 0 points1 point ago*

I really think you completely missed the point. Apple NEVER "put the axe on that" - that's precisely my point. To this day, Apple selectively applies "exceptions" to some people, with seemingly NO logic. Why should THAT guy get a free iPod even though he's out of warranty, when my mum, who was out of warranty and never used the iPod in question, is told she has to abide by the letter of the law?

I say again, but - you completely missed the point.

[–]diewhitegirls 0 points1 point ago

Actually, good sir, I did NOT miss that point...you did. As I stated, there are reasons other than, "I hate this guy's grandmother, no soup for her." You're approaching this as someone who does not understand the reasons that exceptions can and are created.

And Apple DID put the axe on a lot of exceptions. I would know, as I saw them disappear with my own eyes.

[–]nocubir 0 points1 point ago

And Apple DID put the axe on a lot of exceptions.

And therein lies my point. It's discrimination. It's obvious that apple makes these exceptions to spread good word of mouth - it's a blatant PR move, and it's completely unfair. Some customers get treatment above and beyond what the law allows for the sake of Apple's PR machine, and most actually don't.

If they were behaving as a responsible and transparent company, they would treat everybody the same, and exceptions would be extremely rare and guided by specific conditions which were, you know, documented and shit.

[–]diewhitegirls 0 points1 point ago

You're just not at all paying attention to what I'm saying and you're continuing on your completely misguided agenda. There are certain PRODUCTS that in October were no longer eligible for one-time exceptions.

I just can't explain to you how many light-years off you are. There are incredibly specific instances for what you can and cannot make exceptions for. The Genius team is given complete autonomy as to how to create exceptions in instances that are qualified and then work with management in situations that warrant it. If you approach a manager and give a compelling reason for breaking a rule that no longer has an exception available to it, they will listen and determine whether or not it's within the scope of reason. Pay attention to that: it's not up to the management or the corporate entity to make those decisions...it's the Genius team. It has nothing to do with Apple's PR machine.

I'm not sure where your sense of entitlement is located, but Apple is about customer service. If you walked into an Apple store with your shit attitude, I would hope that the Genius would laugh you away. Act like a normal person and pray that your situation falls into the scope of what can be taken care of outside of the boundaries of your warranty so that the Genius could help you.

tl;dr- you're just of by a thousand miles and just wrong, wrong, wrong. Your perception is misguided and you're making assumptions without all of the facts available to you.

[–]nocubir 0 points1 point ago

If you approach a manager and give a compelling reason for breaking a rule that no longer has an exception available to it, they will listen and determine whether or not it's within the scope of reason. Pay attention to that: it's not up to the management or the corporate entity to make those decisions...it's the Genius team. It has nothing to do with Apple's PR machine.

You just proved my point. All you're saying is that they're consistent and diligent with their inconsistency. They're still inconsistent.

Bottom line : either make exceptions for everyone, or don't make them at all, ever. Do you think the customer cares whether it's a "Genius" or a grunt making that distinction? You've actually quite concisely proven the point about why it irritates me so much. You're basically saying that the discretion is up to individuals, and some rules, but there are certain individuals are able to bend those rules more than others. Which basically means it's completely down to personality, or whether the schmuck in the "Genius" bar was having a bad day that day or not.

[–]diewhitegirls 0 points1 point ago

I can't possibly continue conversing with someone as dense as you are. You're so hellbent on "being right," that you manipulate things to "prove your point," which has changed three times since we started this conversation.

I award you no points and may god have mercy on your soul.

[–]nocubir 1 point2 points ago

There is no fucking god, you dumb cunt.

[–]diewhitegirls 0 points1 point ago

/r/atheism is <---thataway and learn2internet.

[–]popeyoni 1 point2 points ago

Just a warning. The Magic Trackpad somehow doesn't quite "feel" like the MacBook's trackpad. It's probably the location (to the side instead of below the keyboard). I like my MacBook's trackpad and yet I hated the Magic Trackpad on my iMac.

[–]flash84x 0 points1 point ago

I love both of them.

[–]shadowdev 0 points1 point ago

I put my trackpad under my keyboard ... can you not do the same?

[–]gne1217 1 point2 points ago

Ive had problems with my magic mouse, I really hate it. Rather have a trackpad. I have had my iMac for 15 months, still have applecare covered on it (I believe for three years from when I purchased, Nov 2010). Is it possible to exchange my magic mouse for a trackpad? Like I said, I hate it.

[–]FriarNurgle[S] 0 points1 point ago

I just got my iMac a couple of weeks ago. 15 months might be stretching it, but you never know. There is always aftermarket sales.

[–]celesfar 1 point2 points ago

... Unless you're not in the "Apple World" and have to buy from certain "premium resellers". The local one in my country gave me hell and refused to recognize a problem I had with my MacBook Pro under warranty and even threatened to charge me.

[–]PhotoNate 0 points1 point ago

Reason #1 why I bought a MBP back in the day was to try something new out.
Reason #1 for why I love it now is that support. They've done more than their fair share every time (and I don't even have a plan).

[–]FriarNurgle[S] 0 points1 point ago

I've told people having an actual functioning trackpad is more than enough reason to buy a MBP.

[–]PhotoNate 0 points1 point ago

Sadly this is very true. I'm always stunned by how bad lots of trackpads are when I use friends' nice new Windows laptops. I've gotten so used to the MBP's anything else seems so hard to use

[–]kickstand 1 point2 points ago

Apple has the best customer service in the PC business.

[–]afsdjkll 2 points3 points ago

Yes. Lately I just cite this as one of the first "get a mac/iphone/ipad" reasons when people ask.

[–]unsoundguy 1 point2 points ago

yep, the want to help. Apple dude looked at my 08 unibody macbook for about 45 min. Never did find out why it was doing what it was doing, but 45 min of free tech support...you do get what you pay for. (was ment to be pos not sure if that came out right:) )

[–]chewmieser 1 point2 points ago

Like I told ya: keep at the mouse. Takes a bit to get used to, but totally awesome when you finally adjust to it. And grab MagicPrefs.

[–]FriarNurgle[S] 0 points1 point ago

I'll try. Just for you.

[–]CarolineTurpentine -1 points0 points ago

Customer Service is why I love my Apple products. They're always so nice and helpful, and the onetime my hard drive crashed, they replaced it free of charge in about 4 hours.

[–]fozzyfreakingbear -3 points-2 points ago

Can I have your magic mouse?

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