hi guys,

i had a very arrogant and rude encounter over the phone with a customer relations staff over my wife's macbook. my wife bought a macbook mid july and it worked fine for a few days but with funny clunking and cuberling sounds coming out of the super drive. we thought maybe the sound's normal though it was fishy. on the fourth day a music cd jammed in the drive and refused to come out. i took it back to service and haven't gotten it ever since. service center changed the drive 'twice' and they still can't get it to work. i told the service center that i think the problem is not with the spare parts but with the machine itself and i requested a new machine. service center told me that they will raise the issue with apple and get back to me. today the service center called me and told me that apple insists that the customer call them direct which i did.

that's when i got the very arrogant and rude encounter with the customer relations staff. he insisted that i wait a couple more days to try yet another batch of spare parts and he confidently tried to convince me that he believes the problem is with all 2 spare parts and the original drive and not the machine - which is just as bad as the machine being faulty. why would apple import spare parts that don't work. and 3 is more than a mere coincidence i believe. he told me that if it doesn't work this time then he will issue me a new machine. i told him that we haven't used the machine ever since we bought it and it's too long already and i insisted on a new machine. he told me that it doesn't work like that and then something that sounded more like he won't entertain my request and i have to do it their way and not my way.

i have 6 dell machines in my office and dell's service is something to envy. i don't have to move from my seat. i don't have to haggle with customer support over the phone. they come to pick up and they deliver, and they even upgrade spare parts if the parts are no longer available at no extra charge.

i still feel very insulted and was looking for a link to complain to apple but to no avail. i found this page that has links for feedbacks in the bottom-right corner of the page. the 'Apple Support Feedback' takes you to a 'AppleCare website Suggestions' form and not a feedback about support. i feel that i need to complain so that apple knows about their 'customer relations' staff that think their arrogance is justified and customers need to take their sh*t. does anyone have an email link or phone number i can contact apple and complain about this incident?

thanks,

mirage3d

just call their support centre and speak to their dman manager

well... Apple Malaysia is
03 27111888.

AppleCare is 1800-803-638

the policy for replacement machine is after repairs to 3 different parts, you get a new machine. this isn't a fixed policy though, we just badger the customer service people till it happens.

anyway, when you deal with *any* company, especially Apple, you do have to do it their way and not your way

a few things are fishy from your experience. a replacement drive can usually be fixed within 2 weeks. and you *must* check it before leaving the service center. you mean that is been 5 weeks now, and its still not done? that is strange.

secondly, just because you have a problem with one part, Apple typically will not give you a whole new machine. having said that, if the issue can't be fixed with a new drive, you should get a new logic board. that's the main 2 parts that need to be fixed.

i repeat, I seriously doubt you will get an entire new machine, if *only* the optical drive is faulty.

Hi,

Just wanna ask u something about the replacement of 3 different parts thing..

I have a faulty LAN(it's lose, i need to apply force to the RJ-45 connected to be able to connect) and i asked the mac shop in amcorp, they said if i send it for warranty, they'll change the whole motherboard. Since I dont use the LAN so often, i just leave it there.

I have a faulty battery (as described in another thread)

I have a faulty power adapter, sometimes it charges, sometimes it doesn't...have to adjust and reinsert my magsafe a few times....but sometimes it's totally fine.

My MB is like out of proportions...when it is closed, the lid doesn't align with the base(very minor lah)

My MB is the 1st batch, and I dont know if it is suffering from discoloration....my hand sweats a lot...the palm and track pad area is all yellowish...but i dont know if it's discoloration or just my sweaty hands..

As described above, i have 2 different parts that are faulty....If my power adapter and my MB is suffering from discoloration, will i be able to get a new unit?

bear in mind that my macbook is more than 1 year....I have ACPP though...

xaw5126, which mac shop do u work in? maybe i'll bring my macbook to u someday and help me send it for warranty.....hehehe.....

thanks!

thanks xaw for your input, but i feel i have the right to ask for a new machine since the unit i received made all those sounds since day 1. if they allowed a faulty unit that can't be fixed to sold, it can only mean that they didn't any quality assurance. they at least should replace it with no questions asked. it's a mistake on their part and not me. why have a warrantee then? how would you feel if you bought a machine to discover that 3 drives don't work on it and they still insist on testing one more time? now how would you feel if it were a car? the macbook for my wife is a business tool and not something nice to look at.

and regarding the 'my way' i don't believe a company that has something called 'customer support' should look at things that way, nor should they employ people who suggest anything similar to be in a position to offer support. end of the day, the guy was arrogant and rude. he shouldn't be in a customer 'relations' department. he should even pick up any business call if apple knows any better. when i asked him who decides whether i get a new machine or not, he answered 'that would be me'. honestly, with his attitude i'm not so sure he would decide in my favor if the parts don't arrive or they don't work again. he didn't even try to understand that it's been more than 5 weeks and still no result.

mirage3d

It really depends on WHICH service center or shop it is sent to. Best bet would be to call Applecare and voice it out. They will advise which is the best and proper place to go to.

For all we know, if we send it to "shops" to service, they may have just opened it themselves and replace your parts with second hand ones.

actually civic, the shop was very helpful. after they couldnt' get the original drive to work they tried one spare part and it failed. they then tried another generic drive since apple has no more spare parts. they said apple told them there's a shortage in spare parts in malaysia and singapore. they called me and told me that the second drive works but not as fast and suggested that i use it temporarily until the spare parts arrive. this was two weeks ago. when i went to the shop and asked the technician to try it out, it jammed. that's when i felt like this is not gonna work. i asked for a new unit and the technician told me to leave it behind then to test the mb and ask apple or a replacement unit. all this while the shop has been calling me and updating me on the status of the machine and spare parts.

a shortage of spare parts in malaysia and singapore? i mean what kind of and answer is this ? how do you expect to support customers like this? and shortage in parts doesn't sound good at all to begin with.

i still bit the bullet and believed that this is momentarily and apple is known for good support; until my phone conversation this afternoon.

mirage3d

i'm going to keep to myself here, cos mirage3d has an issue which he should resolve privately. sorry...

Hmm.. Thats funny, I never knew Apple does repair on the spot. I doubt that they keep stock of any part. Anyway don't blame Apple for some "Malaysian tidak apa" attitude, I'm sure you get better support through Applecare.

Do let us know your location and the shop, such issues should be let out, so that we will be careful in future.

dear xaw,

i respect your posts and your position as a senior. i wish this guy did what you did and tried to understand my situation and absorbed my frustration instead of what he did. thank you for being a gentleman.


the customer relations guy was not malaysian. and the number i dialed was apple's toll free number that xaw posted above.


mirage3d

Hi Mirage3d,

You buy a brand new MacBook, expecting all parts to work as new, and since the drive is ?faulty? (A question mark there since I'm just taking your word for it) you would have considerable doubt that the entire product is of sound production? Hell, I'll be pissed as much as you (a similar situation I had before but was solved amicably)

Apple Malaysia presence is only marketing (as far as I know) and support (technical?) is handed over to Apple Gold Service Provider dealers (not Apple, remember), hence you might find some dealers trying to resolve the issue on the spot instead of bring it up to Apple Malaysia which have to liaise with Gold dudes to get some issues sorted. Its convulated, inefficient and sucks ass for a customer with a bad Apple (yea, pun intended).

I don't quite fully understand the entire situation here, whom you talked to, who they were attached to (Apple or dealer?) but try to work with the flow (and try to erase the rubbish remark "work their way not my way") and see if the customer relations staff "solution" works? I believe xaw5126 is right (hint: he works for an Apple dealer, so he knows what he's talking about); getting a brand new replacement MB with a new one is on rather unique situations (like dead motherboard, bad/cracked LCD screen, etc). If that "solution" does not work, then its time to request for an entire replacement, citing your unsatisfactory "brand new" MB's performance. If said dude firewalls on you, expect to escalate to a higher person in charge and remember to be polite at all times.

For Civic98's comments:
Applecare is not some fancy pants, special Gold card, secret dial-in Apple support number but an extended +2 years warranty coverage on their selected hardwares, so any customer purchasing AC STILL needs to go through the usual hoops to get support. And yes, Apple is to be blamed for the "Malaysian tidak apa" since Apple hired them in the first place. And don't waste your time calling the 1-800-XXX nos for local Apple Malaysia issues since they will push it back to the local dealers to resolve.

In the meantime, if you are not entirely happy with your Mac purchase experience, I would highly recommend you to write to Apple Malaysia GM (can't look it up, thanks to TM my internet tubes are clogged up) and CC it to Apple Singapore GM, ask for a response and see how it goes.

And btw, thanks for highlighting this issue and let me know how it goes...

lokgotz
I can't fix your Mac. I'm not certified.
what you should do, if you're in KL, is to go to VR Technology,
Megan Avenue II, Jalan Yap Kwan Seng, and have them fix it. it does sound like yours is faulty, but I repeat myself here,
I AM NOT CERTIFIED. so my words are just that, words. get a certified technician to check it out.

BigRedBarr
Thanks for the vote of confidence

the macbook is still in service waiting for the parts to arrive. it's not the shop's fault that the parts are not available. this shop told me that apple malaysia insisted no me calling them direct on the 1800 number, which i did and got the said response from them.
this morning i got a call from the shop telling me that they followed up on the case and apple malaysia told them that the parts have arrived but still in transit ?? so technically they're here but because tomorrow's a holiday i can only expect the mb to be delivered to us on monday, which i doubt knowing how things have been so far. i searched the apple sites for a link for contact but couldn't find any, so i asked for an email to write to and i was given one.

honestly begred, i wouldn't be so fussy about the whole issue if it were a home machine. this is a business machine. my wife uses an hp and she's complaining about windows and outlook and all. so i convinced her to convert to the mac. i even asked her to migrate all data to the mac, which luckily she hasn't yet. now the macbook is still in service for around 5 weeks and even if we had it it would be useless since we can't use the drive to install stuff or use it for playback - we do events. in the meantime, my wife still suffers from outlook not working properly - the only solution is to reinstall windows and office and everything else and then wait for another 6 months for everything to stop working again.

i'm a consumer that builds his own machines for home and games. i was hooked onto the mac and would like to convert my whole office to macs. for home i'm adventurous and i buy dells or clones and i upgrade them myself. for business i don't do that and only buy brands that i trust and expect good support because sometimes our work is very crucial and requires fast support and fix. the technical 'relations' personnel from apple malaysia sounded so oblivious to my situation. 6 weeks of waiting for a machine to be fixed IS long. no matter how you look at it and from whichever angle, it is long! what kind of relations is he building with his clients if he can't understand a simple fact like this? compare my case to this one...

http://cultofmac.com/?p=947

now that is service. the guy broke it himself. he admitted it, and they still gave him a new unit, despite how hot and unavailable it is. i'm in the service industry myself. and if i get a complaint from one of my client i try my best to solve his issue and try to be as polite as possible. i wouldn't put up an arrogant face and ask the client to wait till i'm ready and expect only what i decide. we emphasize on our staff to be as accommodating as possibly can without losing face. i must say that for a first call i was handled in a bad way.

i didn't even get a call from them even though when i called them the support guy asked me if the contact they have in my file is correct. why bother having a phone number if you're not gonna bother calling the customer for updates. that's a waste database space in my opinion. i think dell should buy over apple customer support center and run the whole show. these dudes know how to do it right. now if only dell can run os x legally.
i wrote an email this afternoon detailing my case to the email i got earlier and i'm waiting for their response. not that it would do me much good since i'd be away for a week from sunday for holiday.

i love mac and i won't let a freak incident like this to turn me away from the machine. i even have an order for 3 more machines. but i won't let them bully customers like this. the feeling i get from this board is that what happened to me is not a big deal. i hardly got a hint that a customer relations guy being arrogant and rude is 'wrong'. this is something i notice quite a bit in malaysia. seems like nobody heard of consumer rights. from the accent i'd say the guy's australian. i wonder if he could do the same if he were in australia ?

peace and out.

mirage3d

not asking u to fix it...heheh....but i remembered u work in a mac shop right??

just wanna send my unit and then u guys send it to apple service center....kinda lazy to go all the way to KL, not to mention the jam...heheh....hope u understand...

mirage3d
well, yours seems to be an isolated case. I've called AppleCare many times, both personally & professionally, and I've gotten pretty good service.
I'm not going to ask which service center you sent it to, but I'm guessing its VR in Jln. Yap Kwan Seng.
The current arrangement for service parts & availability is pretty bad, but its P&C so I can't discuss it here or anywhere else. suffice to say, its not effective.
I've already said what Apple's policy is for replacing the whole machine for a new one. If only one part is faulty, they'll replace that part. if it doesn't work, they're supposed to replace the logic board.
I am suprised the AppleCare guy was rude to you, I can only hope it was isolated. In future, if you're displeased with the phone agent's attitude, or tone, just ask for a supervisor. Do not argue the point with him/her, phone agents have to control or discretion over the policies
lokgotz
sorry, dude. service items need to be sent by the customers directly. staff aren't allowed to do it.

mirage3d
actually I've experienced your situation about a year ago. my girlfriend bought the 1st revision of macBook and it gave her lots of problem. first the logic board, we send it for warranty, then the top cover hinge, once again we send it to warranty, and then the adapter not functioning, and we send it to warranty, again. finally the superdrive could not read, and you know, again we send it for warranty. it's like one problem each month. well, my girlfriend was a long time windows user and when she decided to go for mac, that happened to her, she's also not a technical or IT ppl one, you can imagine right, what she's thinking and how am I supposed to tell her?

after the third time I send it to warranty the technician that repair the macbook told me to try request new machine and I call them requesting it. the operator/person who deal with me not rude but she keep on saying that they could not give me new machine because the problem will be solve by change the parts. how am I supposed to do? wrote to GM? will they hear it? I doubt it. I'm just a average customer that bought one mac every few years, not tansri lomkokwing. so I just let things like that. luckily the macbook does not gave any problem now. my girlfriend refuse to buy ACPP and she said that will be her first and last apple machine. "beautiful outside, crap inside" that is what she said. haha. luckily the macbook I bought later does not gave me any problem.

the apple experience was really different with my dell experience. my younger sister bought a dell 1420 laptop last month and dell delivery it using skynet to our parents house in kota bharu. it took 7 days if i'm not mistaken and the progress can be traced through their site. the first time she use the laptop, the A keys does not working. so she gave dell a call and guess what, tomorow morning a person from skynet came to pickup the laptop from her and after 3 or 4 days later, they deliver a new unit with HDD upgraded from 120GB to 160GB without any charge.

my girlfriend's macbook priced at RM5399 and my younger sister's dell laptop priced at RM2651.

lokgotz
there's a place near digitall mall that you can send your apple machine for warranty. axis computer. I've never experience any problem with them, fast service too. you can give a try if you dont want to go to KL or pay for parking at midvalley

That does not have to mean that he's Australian. A lot of outsourced call centers (even those in India) trains their staff to speak with either an American or Australian accent. My GF had to call apple support once before, and well, its pretty obvious that that was a case of an Indian fellow trying to speak with the Australian accent.

aikz....i thought u guys will send for customers...hahah...

vandetta:

thanks....i think i'll go to axis...very near to my house....but i haven't had any comments from axis.....anyway, i bought my macbook directly from axis....hhahah....they shouldnt be that bad rite...

oh dear! oh my!

i hope we won't end up like this girl...

http://girlsgonechild.blogspot.com/2006/09...t-more-bad.html

my wife's case is almost 70% as this girl's case. the drive made noises since the day we got it. it kicked the bucket 4 or 5 days later. they keep fixing it but it's never really fixed. the shop told us that apple said there are problems with macbook super drives and they also said there's a shortage of spare parts in malaysia and singapore, and they keep stalling and not wanting to issue a new machine when they sold a bad unit to begin with, and our complaint email is not answered - yet. hmmmm. why, oh why apple ?

and here's a forum about the woes of apple. i guess it's not just in malaysia, but malaysia has no such forum yet. so people don't know about bad experiences because people just don't talk about them.

http://www.appledefects.com/

and here's a very very very interesting post. looks like apple should do Exactly what dell is doing to its customers, except that you have to do some work and they wanna keep it hush hush!!!

http://www.appledefects.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=400

i think we should setup a similar forum or site in malaysia - if none has been setup already - to get apple malaysia's attention. maybe even add a sub-forum to apple byte's here on lowyat.net ?

what say you guys? some discussion about apple care experiences would only help improve things for the rest of us mac'ers ?

cheers,

mirage3d

Mirage3D,

Its the holidays yea? So enjoy it while you can?

vandetta,
Sorry to hear about your Mac experience, I bet gf is still pissed of by that experience yea? (mine was the same as well...but the pissee was myself, and I could swear my better half was thinking "Apple ain't so great after all ehh? <snigger>???". It ended well anyway, and I got a brand new Mac for my troubles...

We don't really need to be *someone* to get reasonable service, since we bought their damn products in the 1st place, and Apple products is suppose to be of superior quality and all that jazz right? So, yea, if its faulty, bring it on to the man in charge, but for Apple Malaysia, its just a sad case of "beautiful outside, crap inside" to quote Vandetta's gf.

So if you have troubles, and things don't work out well, and you feel you deserved better (cos that MB or MB Pro ain't cheap the last time I checked) let Apple MALAYSIA and SINGAPORE PEOPLE KNOW ABOUT IT.