Credit to Apple

[London Headshots]

I'm really blown away by this:

I bought an iMac in 2010, with AppleCare. It was the 27 inch model, with everything else spec'ed to the lowest, because I'm tight.

In the middle of last year the screen became tainted with a black streak that looked like it had been burnt somehow, and Apple agreed to take it in to be replaced under the AppleCare warranty.

The new screen was fitted, and the burn was gone, but in it's place, it now had a weird dancing pixel effect that was only visible from an inch or so away from the screen. So, not great for retouching. They, again, agreed to replace the screen.

The second time it came back, it was perfect, but I started a temperature monitor app, and it recorded a high temp. AppleCare figured that this was probably the cause of the screen issue in the first place.

Anyway, long story short, rather than take it in again, Apple are sending me a new model core i7, 27" iMac with a 1TB Fusion drive. A way higher spec than I had originally. No extra charge, just a direct replacement.

I was going to upgrade to it at the end of the year anyway. Now they've given it to me for free, just to keep a customer happy. I'm totally blown away.

There is no other company I can think of that looks after their customers in that way, in this day and age.

Anyone else had this kind of treatment from Apple? As I understand, it's not uncommon at all.

 

[Nick_1981]

Great to hear

I heard of a few experiences like this with Apple

 

[tezmed]

i wish i had customer service like this from the shops i use..... the amount of money ive wasted on warranties etc only to be told after teh cover doesnt cover the only fault that seems to be wrong

well done apple!!

 

[Pmc2011]

That's exceptional service and certainly not the norm last time I had service like that was from Sony

 

[Pookeyhead]

While it may seem like great service... I feel it was only appropriate for any company to replace it... because they had failed to repair it... three times! That's not so great.

 

[ThelVlenace]

I'm really blown away by this:

I bought an iMac in 2010, with AppleCare. It was the 27 inch model, with everything else spec'ed to the lowest, because I'm tight.

In the middle of last year the screen became tainted with a black streak that looked like it had been burnt somehow, and Apple agreed to take it in to be replaced under the AppleCare warranty.

The new screen was fitted, and the burn was gone, but in it's place, it now had a weird dancing pixel effect that was only visible from an inch or so away from the screen. So, not great for retouching. They, again, agreed to replace the screen.

The second time it came back, it was perfect, but I started a temperature monitor app, and it recorded a high temp. AppleCare figured that this was probably the cause of the screen issue in the first place.

Anyway, long story short, rather than take it in again, Apple are sending me a new model core i7, 27" iMac with a 1TB Fusion drive. A way higher spec than I had originally. No extra charge, just a direct replacement.

I was going to upgrade to it at the end of the year anyway. Now they've given it to me for free, just to keep a customer happy. I'm totally blown away.

There is no other company I can think of that looks after their customers in that way, in this day and age.

Anyone else had this kind of treatment from Apple? As I understand, it's not uncommon at all.

That's great news!! You did pay a considerable price with warranty! So it's only fair! Dell are another company that are good like this as well. A friend of mine had an old dell desktop in 2006 with 4gb ram, stand alone graphics etc (back then it was the muts nuts). He purchased it with a 4 year extended warranty and in 2010 it took a **** and the mobo died! Dell sent a tech to the house, along with parts - but because it was an older model, the parts wouldn't fit. So they replaced it with a more current spec (2010) being an Alienware aurora. Similar kind of story...good company!

 

[Marcel]

They did exactly the same for me, with exactly the same model

I got a 28" and it had a screen issue...Apple took it in under applecare to replace the screen....twice before swapping it for a brand new 27" widescreen with a brand new 3 yr applecare.

 

[Brian G]

The fact that they are giving you free a brand new replacement indicates how little it's cost is to Apple.

In most cases, when it comes to computers, it's cheaper to replace than repair.
After all, Time is Money, as they say.

 

[Studi0488]

While it may seem like great service... I feel it was only appropriate for any company to replace it... because they had failed to repair it... three times! That's not so great.

Mr neg as usual..... It's great service, they could have done a like for like, or another repair, its actually a good news story and praise to apple, its why they have a very loyal customer base.

 

[London Headshots]

Yeah exactly. They could've just repaired it again or given me a reconditioned model. The fact that they chose literally the most expensive option is mind blowing to me.

 

[London Headshots]

The fact that they are giving you free a brand new replacement indicates how little it's cost is to Apple.

In most cases, when it comes to computers, it's cheaper to replace than repair.
After all, Time is Money, as they say.

Doubt it's cheaper to courier a brand new machine all the way from China than it is to stick another screen in it from the repair centre ten minutes from my house

I really doubt they did it for economic reasons, they could sell the machine they're giving me for £2000. That probably covers 10 LCD's

 

[Studi0488]

Yeah exactly. They could've just repaired it again or given me a reconditioned model. The fact that they chose literally the most expensive option is mind blowing to me.

And good service travels, you will tell everyone how great they are, as you are, so they win win win.

 

[neil_g]

Mr neg as usual.....

I just Lol'd

But yes Apple have some good customer services especially if you take AppleCare (same with dell if you take their extended warranty), and other times they have clangers where they stick 2 fingers up at the customer.

 

[Steve]

Mr neg as usual..... It's great service, they could have done a like for like, or another repair, its actually a good news story and praise to apple, its why they have a very loyal customer base.

Hardly negative.... three attempts to repair seems a bit lame to me...a new replacement would be the minimum I would expect after three failures.

Hotpoint replaced my four year old coffee machine with latest model after two failed attempts to repair it...again minimum I would expect after paying for an extended warranty.

Nothing special here imo.

 

[Nick_1981]

Have I misread the first post? It suggests 2 repairs (the second of which worked) then a replacement can't see 3 failed repairs?

 

[kullas]

I'm happy to hear this!
Too many people bashing Apple all the time, but I've always had a good experience with them. I had an acer laptop few years ago, in the two years I had it, it broke down twice, got viruses all the time, and kept over heating. And I looked after it as well.
Finally got sick of it and took it back to PCWORLD, they gave me a voucher to use in store and I bought my Macbook pro, only had one thing go wrong with it, it kept freezing on a grey screen after a month of owning it. Phoned applecare, they told me a way to reset something on it, and that was it, two years on, never had any problem yet.
Have since got an imac for my mother, and an old G4 for my sister. Apple nerd family now

 

[Pookeyhead]

Mr neg as usual..... It's great service, they could have done a like for like, or another repair, its actually a good news story and praise to apple, its why they have a very loyal customer base.

Sorry for having an opinion! :bang: I'm sure I'm not the only one who feels that it's not THAT exceptional considering the trouble you've had with one of their products.

My Eizo failed a few months ago, and they repaired it under warranty, and it failed again three weeks later. They replaced my 4 year old SX3031W with a brand new coloredge version worth £600 more without a quibble.. AND reset my warranty for another 5 years, and that was after only one failed repair.

I'd expect service like that from a premium company like Apple or Eizo. I'm not saying it's not a good thing... I was saying it's expected really... three failures of a product, all unrelated.. they're probably cutting their losses actually. Repair costs, cost of man hours, and shipping for a third time would have probably been getting close to the cost (not retail price... cost) of a new one.

Stop confusing negativity with logic and pragmatism

Hotpoint replaced my four year old coffee machine with latest model after two failed attempts to repair it...again minimum I would expect after paying for an extended warranty.

Nothing special here imo.

Glad there's someone else with common sense in here.

 

[Brian G]

Doubt it's cheaper to courier a brand new machine all the way from China than it is to stick another screen in it from the repair centre ten minutes from my house

I really doubt they did it for economic reasons, they could sell the machine they're giving me for £2000. That probably covers 10 LCD's

Yes - they might sell it for £2000 but that's not what it costs Apple. The markup on these things is astronomical.

Consider what the hourly rate for their tech support guys is, maybe £100/hour. It probably takes 2-3 hours to replace, align and test a screen. I doubt the complete machine is worth any more than that to the company.

 

[PJ S]

They did exactly the same for me, with exactly the same model

I got a 28" and it had a screen issue...Apple took it in under applecare to replace the screen....twice before swapping it for a brand new 27" widescreen with a brand new 3 yr applecare.

28"?
Apple never made a 28".
20 & 24 aluminium before changing to the relatively recent 21.5" and 27"
17", 20", 24" in the white plastic frame G5 & first iteration of Intel)

 

[MWHCVT]

28"?
Apple never made a 28".
20 & 24 aluminium before changing to the relatively recent 21.5" and 27"
17", 20", 24" in the white plastic frame G5 & first iteration of Intel)

Has it occurred to you that might just have been a typo???

 

[faddius]

Consider what the hourly rate for their tech support guys is, maybe £100/hour. It probably takes 2-3 hours to replace, align and test a screen. I doubt the complete machine is worth any more than that to the company.

You plucked that pay figure out of thin air didn't you?

I know apple aren't cheap but I doubt that their labour charge for repairs is £100ph for people sending in items. Or very very little would be economically viable to repair and even then only very basic quick jobs.

And apples labour charge is wholly different from those techies actual hourly wage. Apple won't be paying those techies £100 an hour so 2-3 hours wont cost £200-£300 to them. That would put a full time repair techie on around £192k per year....

Halve that figure...then halve it again...and again and I think that is a more likely yearly salary for apple repair techs.

 

[Nick_1981]

Guys, the OP started the thread to say he was pleased with the service he received.... He didn't say other companies don't offer good service or that Apple are the best at everything. Most of us will only give a company a review when we've had bad service so it's nice to see someone wanting to share a good experience.

So why have we now descended into taking stabs in the dark at labour rates, screen sizes etc etc

Debate... Yes, opinion.... Yes; but constant nit picking just because someone dared to mention Apple... Zzzzzzzzzz

 

[Brian G]

You plucked that pay figure out of thin air didn't you?

Yes. Go down your local dealership and see how much an hour a car mechanic is charged at, then consider how much more (in theory) a computer tech is expected to know.

I know apple aren't cheap but I doubt that their labour charge for repairs is £100ph for people sending in items. Or very very little would be economically viable to repair and even then only very basic quick jobs.

Exactly my point. These people don't 'repair', they just swap out the faulty sub-assembly, which will usually only take a few minutes and costs little in terms of the components themselves. These days the labour component is the the major amount in any repair, not the parts used.

And apples labour charge is wholly different from those techies actual hourly wage. Apple won't be paying those techies £100 an hour so 2-3 hours wont cost £200-£300 to them. That would put a full time repair techie on around £192k per year.....

I'm talking about what it's worth to Apple, not how much they are actually paying their tech staff, so it could easily be worth £200 to them, which is probably not far from the production cost of the computer itself. Hence it's cheaper to replace than repair, and at the same time ensure customer satisfaction, which will lead to further sales in the future.
I'm not knocking them for it - just pointing out that, although replacing the entire unit seems a generous gesture, it's not necessarily as generous as it appears to an end user.

In business there is a large difference between wages and what the customer pays, that's where profit margins come from.
You may have noticed that Apple are an extremely profitable company.

 

[Nick_1981]

:bang::bang::bang:

 

[London Headshots]

I'm so glad I don't know people like this in my day-to-day life.

Anyway. Really pleased Apple just upgraded me without any argument, hassle or resistance whatsoever.

 

[tiler65]

Nothing wrong with asking more questions and debating the issue of what it actually costs for a replacement but what the OP forgets to add that when he 1st purchased said machine and bought applecare...it cost money and therefore allowing apple an 'insurance' if something went wrong.

Apple products generally cost more to buy but not necessarily more to produce. Their mark up is used to help pay for their excellent customer service.

 

[London Headshots]

Actually, the AppleCare was completely free.

They even gave me free AppleCare with this new machine, AND refunded me the difference of the remaining AppleCare onto my iTunes account. 13 quid.

Oh, and they told me to keep the bluetooth keyboard and wireless mouse, so now I've got those, along with the brand new ones that come with the new iMac. Finally, I didn't even have to leave my house. They came and collected it. I didn't even have to drop it at the repair centre.

Really, the service is stunning. And I know to some people, it's just not that much of a big deal, but the reality is that this NEVER happens without having to get pushy and make tons of phonecalls and spend ages in queues.

I called Applecare-who answered within 2 minutes-and said,

"My heatsink temp seems a bit high".

"Oh", replied the guy "that might explain why you had the screen issues, can you hold the line?"

"sure", I replied

He was gone for about 7 minutes before he came back and said,

"I've spoken with my supervisor, and we're going to just replace the whole machine, I'll call you back in ten minutes and we'll spec a new one for you".

And that was that. He called back ten minutes later and spec'ed a brand new machine. I've been on this planet for 33 years, and that has never happened to me.

I know Apple are rich, and mighty, and whatever, but regardless of that, it doesn't mean they automatically HAVE to make things as painless as possible for you. They could just be like every other company and make you jump through hoops speaking to multiple people, but they don't.

Oh, and to the guy ludicrously suggesting that Apple techs are paid £100p/h - Get real.

That's a pro rate income of £200,000 a year. For replacing parts in a repair centre, Apple techs get paid more than bankers? More than solicitors, barristers, doctors, and just about every other professional sector worker in the country?

LOL, I love the idea of someone posting a great experience and a bunch of people saying "Hold on a minute, while you might be chuffed, let me show you why you shouldn't be..".

It's that intense negativity that you only find on British photography forums. Doesn't exist anywhere else.

 

[John Young]

I had similar service from Currys whatever happens warranty.

I bought a Nikon D90 had it nearly two years and it started to develop a fault with focus. They took the camera away by courier (their expense) and then a few weeks later I was told that it was unfixable and they would give me the money value. When they said that I thought they would give me today's value or even take off the value of use I had got out of it but No they give me the FULL amount I had paid for it.

The next camera I got I made sure I got the same warranty again

 

[kullas]

LOL, I love the idea of someone posting a great experience and a bunch of people saying "Hold on a minute, while you might be chuffed, let me show you why you shouldn't be..".

I love this bit
I get annoyed by all the negativity towards Apple, not because I'm a fan myself, but because people my age walk around with Iphones and Macs, and Ipods, using them day in, day out, and still jump on the bandwagon of calling them a greedy so and so.
I love Apple, I think their customer care is beyond exceptional, but I don't bash other services either. Its just down to personal experience.

Oh and while I was happy enough with Currys giving me the money back, it turns out, that the anti-virus software they sold me when I bought the laptop, was the reason it kept crashing. They said that it doesn't work with that brand of laptop, and all I thought was, why did you sell it to me then?

 

[Studi0488]

Actually, the AppleCare was completely free.

They even gave me free AppleCare with this new machine, AND refunded me the difference of the remaining AppleCare onto my iTunes account. 13 quid.

Oh, and they told me to keep the bluetooth keyboard and wireless mouse, so now I've got those, along with the brand new ones that come with the new iMac. Finally, I didn't even have to leave my house. They came and collected it. I didn't even have to drop it at the repair centre.

Really, the service is stunning. And I know to some people, it's just not that much of a big deal, but the reality is that this NEVER happens without having to get pushy and make tons of phonecalls and spend ages in queues.

I called Applecare-who answered within 2 minutes-and said,

"My heatsink temp seems a bit high".

"Oh", replied the guy "that might explain why you had the screen issues, can you hold the line?"

"sure", I replied

He was gone for about 7 minutes before he came back and said,

"I've spoken with my supervisor, and we're going to just replace the whole machine, I'll call you back in ten minutes and we'll spec a new one for you".

And that was that. He called back ten minutes later and spec'ed a brand new machine. I've been on this planet for 33 years, and that has never happened to me.

I know Apple are rich, and mighty, and whatever, but regardless of that, it doesn't mean they automatically HAVE to make things as painless as possible for you. They could just be like every other company and make you jump through hoops speaking to multiple people, but they don't.

Oh, and to the guy ludicrously suggesting that Apple techs are paid £100p/h - Get real.

That's a pro rate income of £200,000 a year. For replacing parts in a repair centre, Apple techs get paid more than bankers? More than solicitors, barristers, doctors, and just about every other professional sector worker in the country?

LOL, I love the idea of someone posting a great experience and a bunch of people saying "Hold on a minute, while you might be chuffed, let me show you why you shouldn't be..".

It's that intense negativity that you only find on British photography forums. Doesn't exist anywhere else.

At the end of the day, you live and die by your customer service, and product, apple have both tied up, if you like them or not, the fact is they are very successful, and very good at what they do.

 

[Raymond Lin]

You can't praise Apple here (or any UK based forums) without someone else having a dig.

The English has this unnatural hatred of successful people/companies/businesses, no absolutely no reason that I can fathom.

Some woman at work hates Andy Murray because of an interview he gave after winning a match...she has never met him, nor can she remember she he said.

Lots of people hates Jamie Oliver, the guy did nothing but cook, created a brand and try to get our nation's children in school to eat better and be healthy.

I remember people used to HATE microsoft back in the day, now they are not as big as Apple now they are loved. What changed?

At the end of the day, a business is a business. Apple is a business and they are not breaking any laws as far as I know of and they create great products with great customer service. A product that as a customer I am more than happy to hand over my cash over compare to the competition. If however they don't, my cash goes elsewhere. It is that simple.

The latest example being I upgraded my old iMac from Lion to Mountain Lion for £13.99 last year.

Last night i thought it is time to upgrade my MBP now I added a SSD and 8G Ram so it can run it smoothly. Fully expected to pay the £13.99 again, as you do with Windows, but when clicked on the "£13.99" button in the App Store, it said I already paid and it downloaded and installed without costing me an extra penny. So that is 1 licence per user, not per machine.

Thumbs up from me.

 

[neil_g]

on the flip side, nobody is directly slagging off apple here but the pro-apple people tend to get a bit defensive at the slightest hint..

all some people seem to be saying is that very good service would have been it was fixed and/or replaced first attempt.

 

[London Headshots]

What does "pro-Apple" even mean? They're a company that sells consumer products, not a complex moral argument or ethically contentious medical procedure. If you identify on either side of such a stupid spectrum, you're probably in dire need of some fresh air.

 

[neil_g]

What does "pro-Apple" even mean? They're a company that sells consumer products, not a complex moral argument or ethically contentious medical procedure. If you identify on either side of such a stupid spectrum, you're probably in dire need of some fresh air.

Oh for goodness sake.

 

[Pookeyhead]

You can't praise Apple here (or any UK based forums) without someone else having a dig.

Oh stop being such a fan boy.

No one had a dig at Apple. I've no idea what thread you've been reading, but it's clearly not this one.

I suggested that it's not exceptional for a company to replace something that has failed three times under warranty!! It's expected!

 

[Raymond Lin]

I don't mean this thread specifically, it's not even Apple specific even, it is my observation on people's opinion on various things so I don't know why you are calling me an Apple Fanboy, if might as well call me Andy Murray Fanboy, Microsoft Fanboy, Jamie Oliver Fanboy while you are at it because I mentioned them too. I mentioned Apple because it is what the thread title is.

And I never said Apple shouldn't have replaced it...when did I say that? :shrug:

Perhaps I should have quoted this was the post I was referring to specifically.

Guys, the OP started the thread to say he was pleased with the service he received.... He didn't say other companies don't offer good service or that Apple are the best at everything. Most of us will only give a company a review when we've had bad service so it's nice to see someone wanting to share a good experience.

So why have we now descended into taking stabs in the dark at labour rates, screen sizes etc etc

Debate... Yes, opinion.... Yes; but constant nit picking just because someone dared to mention Apple... Zzzzzzzzzz

 

[dejongj]

To me the last few posts on here explain exactly why I just don't bother generally saying anything apple related, there are a few focal ones that just keep on going on and on against it. I think the op is spot on, why all this sides business. Anyway I just keep using my stuff, rather then putting other people's experiences and stuff down all the time.

 

[neil_g]

the same happens if you mention any brand, its not specific to apple.

 

[arad85]

there are a few focal ones that just keep on going on and on against it.

That'll be me then

I only go on and on when people post bland "it's way better than a PC - they just work, just buy one" when that is a totally subjective point as there are a fair few "help, my Mac has gone ...s up" threads here. They are just integrated PCs after all and suffer the same fate at the end of the day.

As to the OP, to me, it looks like pretty good service TBH. But you have to ask if the reason it was swapped is to avoid potential problems in the future. Given the particular units history and someone else had exactly the same problem on the same model, perhaps there is a design flaw in that particular version of the machine and this was just preventative medicine to avoid claims in the future.

Whether that is the case or not, the way it has been resolved is what matters and if I was given a new machine, of better spec. than the failing one, I'd be pretty pleased (and be spreading the word about how great the service was). +1 to Apple (and no, that didn't stick in the throat saying that )

 

[Studi0488]

Oh stop being such a fan boy.

No one had a dig at Apple. I've no idea what thread you've been reading, but it's clearly not this one.

I suggested that it's not exceptional for a company to replace something that has failed three times under warranty!! It's expected!

You seem to be very aggressive in your posts these days?