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Before you spend your money on a new computer, consider the issue of customer service…
Since I started buying computers back in 1987, I’ve gone back and forth between PCs and Macs. But in recent years — ever since the release of the Vista operating system in 2006 — I’ve stuck with the Mac.
I prefer the Mac because it’s easier to use and it needs very little upkeep. When I had a PC, I had to have the repair guy on speed-dial. With a Mac, I almost never need that kind of help (knock on wood.) I don’t even mind that the computers cost more than PCs because I figure I recover the cost by virtue of savings in repairs.
But Apple’s customer service? I’m not such a fan.
Recently, I needed to update my computer. I ordered the new computer (by phone), and that’s when the problems started. They didn’t have what I wanted in stock and it wouldn’t arrive for 10 days. The trouble was, I was going to be out of town that day.
No problem, I thought. I don’t want to be around for the arrival of a new computer anyway. Could I hire them to transfer all my data? Yes, they said, but I’d need to book an appointment with the Genius Bar.
(Does anyone else find this name offensive? Programming a computer may take some brains but it doesn’t require the mental power of an Einstein.)
I told them to go ahead, but that wasn’t the end of the story. Not by a long shot.
First, I would have to be in the computer store the day it arrived to sign some papers. Couldn’t I do this in advance, I asked, and drop off my existing computer the day I left town? No way, they told me. Their system wouldn’t allow this. I tried sweet-talking them but it was clear I couldn’t succeed.
Eventually, I decided to get my adult son to do the paper-signing on my behalf. But when I tried to arrange his appointment, they wouldn’t let me. That’s because the new computer wouldn’t arrive for 10 days and the Genius Bar books appointments only seven days in advance. No exceptions. They were cheerful but immovable. I had to write myself a note in my daytimer to contact the Apple store precisely 168 hours ahead of time.
I did this, albeit unwillingly, as soon as the store opened on the day in question. The clerk told me she wasn’t able to book the appointment because the electronic calendar hadn’t advanced, as it should have. “I don’t know why this has happened,” she said. “I’ve never seen it do this before.”
I called back that evening and the problem was the same. The calendar wasn’t operating. I begged the clerk to book me an appointment with a paper and pencil, but she wouldn’t.
I called again the next morning and still no luck. I left messages everywhere I could, desperately trying to solve this problem before I left town. Finally, someone called me back and awarded the appointment to me. I felt as though I’d just finished a marathon with a gold medal. Still not the end of the story, though.
Then, people from Apple started phoning me. Not so much to apologize — oh no — more like to explain why their system had failed. They were upgrading the booking system for the Genius Bar. It will work so much better in the future. And their system has failed them, too. A good 30 minutes of yacking with three different people, when I really needed to be working.
I love my iMac but I dislike Apple’s rules, bureaucracy and fake bonhomie. In future, I’ll buy my new computer from a reseller with a better understanding of customer service.