here’s a letter to Steve Jobs Re the issue I had:
Who knows if he’ll read it. I sent it registered mail. I also filed a better business bureau complaint against Apple and TD Curran. Havn’t heard back. I am all for making businesses be accountable to us for their product and service. Lets hit them where it hurts–bad press and last sales.
November 30, 2007
Steve Jobs
Apple, Inc
1 Infinite Loop
Cupertino, CA 95014
Dear Mr. Jobs,
I am writing this letter to make you aware of my frustration with your product and your service. I have filed a complaint with the Better Business Bureau, but their space is limited and I would like to tell you the full story. It seems I have been sold a defective computer, and then charged more money by your company and by its affiliate to try to fix the symptom of the defect without replacing the computer or fixing the defect itself. Let me present the facts and see what you think. My incedent number with Apple is blank.
In June 2007 I purchased a Macbook with OSX for $1408.12. I enjoyed three months of problem free usage. In September 2007, the computer began crashing randomly about 3-4 times a week.
When the problem persisted for a month, I called Apple Customer Support. After I described my problem, the first thing your employee said was in order for him to help me without being charged for the phone call, I would need to sign up for the Applecare Protection Plan. At the time, I did not question that I was already covered under a one-year warranty, so why would I need the APP when seeking assistance with a defect that should be covered under warranty? Nor did he say, when he was selling me the APP, that I needed it because my issue was a software issue; he said it was because my 90 day free phone services had run out. Foolishly I agreed to it and shelled out another $269.92. He walked me through several diagnostics and disk repair utilities, told me that they should fix the problem but to call back if they did not and Apple would perform an Archive and Reinstall on my computer. Never once did he mention software updates.
The same problem persisted in the weeks that followed our conversation. I called the support number again a week or two later. After I waited 20 minutes on hold, the employee who answered seemed eager to get me off the phone. He seemed to think that I should just know how to do the archive and reinstall myself, and when I said I’d need to find the installation disks, he wanted me to call back later after I’d found them. I insisted that he say on the phone while I located the disks. He walked me through the first part of the archive reinstall, and then told me it would take about an hour or two, which he had not mentioned before I began the process. Then he got me off the phone as quickly as possible, without leaving me any instructions of what to do in the second part of the archive and reinstall. I could only hope that I’d done it correctly.
During our conversation, I had asked him if there was a Mac service center near me, hoping that if the problem continued, I could take the computer in and speak with someone face to face. He told me that TD Curran was the closest place that serviced Macs in my area and gave me their phone number. When the problem persisted in the following weeks, I took the computer in to TD Curran, who charged me $92.14 to update my software. Attached is a copy of the letter of complaint I sent to them after the very bad service I received from their employees. I have also filed a Better Business Bureau complaint against them.
What TD Curran claimed is that the problem of my computer periodically freezing up was due to me not regularly updating software. If this is true, I should have been told the first time I called Apple that software updates were causing the problem. However, I don’t see how that can be the problem, when the default setting is for software to update automatically and I have never once changed that setting (I didn’t even know it existed before last week). I know one specific other Mac OSX user who does not regularly update his software, has the exact same software as I do, and has never had the issue I have. I have since spoken to the Information Systems experts where I work, who handle about 50 networked computers for our small credit union, and they all agreed that they have never heard of a computer crashing due to not performing software updates. They suggested that the problem might be because a driver is failing or it might be due to overheating or battery issues. One of them even said that crashes were more likely to happen after software has been updated.
It seems to me that if Joe Blow pays $1408.12 to have a computer where backed up software updates do not cause random crashes, my $1408.12 should buy the same thing. A TD Curran employee told me that the problem I was having was not a common problem that all Macs have and that a variety of factors could be at the root of it. It seems clear to me that it is ultimately a hardware defect causing the problem, even if backed up software updates trigger it. My complaint goes beyond that, however, to the poor service I have received from your employees, who tricked me into buying the APP and then did not even want to help me on the phone once I’d bought it. Also, I know you do not have any control over the operating practices of your affiliate, TD Curran, but you may want to know the reputation that affiliate is casting on the Apple brand (see my letter to them).
At this point I am very frustrated, having paid $1770.18 for a three month headache. I am also saddened because I really liked my Macbook at first, and I thought that Apple was a trustworthy brand that backed up its product with excellent serice. That is why I paid more for this computer. If I pay less for a cheap Dell, I expect to have some service issues.
At the very least, I would like a full refund of the $92.14 from TD Curran, and the $269.92 for the Apple Care Protection Plan, along with replacement of this Macbook with one that works. Failing that, I would like to return the computer for a full refund of my $1770.18 from Apple. Either way, I would like a letter of apology for the poor service I have received and the stress this has caused me.
Sincerely,
Selah Tay-Song
