Think different! ...think hard! ...think again!

When I bought my G4 Quicksilver Dual 1GHz, I also added on the extra it took to get an AppleCare Protection Plan. According to the advert it is supposed to extend the product warranty to a total of 3 years, and it includes free phone support for the same period. The advert also states that experts will be ready to help me with almost any problem I might run into when using my new Mac. I've been around Mac's for years - but as I'm not an expert, it felt good to know that qualified help was within reach - but I was dead wrong! I've had them on the phone for like 20 times now - all cuz these almost endless numbers of OSX bugs. I actually did believed that the AppleCare-experts could "brainstorm" these problems with me, and give me some ideas on how to get around them - or at least come up with some "cool" hints on how to solve them ...temporarily. But all they do is crawling around on the web looking for answers on my questions - sure they wont find any, Apple almost never post any stuff about bugs and other problems with their products (the way they've been dealing with this pretty scary FireWire issue, is a good example). The only stuff these guys seem able to deal with, is the straight forward and easy elementary stuff - like plugging the power cord, installing and reinstalling the OS etc - does anyone really need that kind "nursing" for as long as 3 years?! The only good they do is pointing me to the AppleCare web site, where I can join the discussion ...and hopefully get some decent help from an ordinary Mac users - that I can do for free This "Plan" is nothing but an extended warranty! The help I get is useless!

Get 3 years peace of mind! ...and I'm quoting from the "smooth" advert again - I wonder if they really believe that. It feels like this warranty only gives me the privilege to argue with them ...for 3 years. Some guy at the phone support once said that "Apple almost never replaces any faulty products with new ones" ...probably right.

Listen guys! ...am I dreaming here? ...is this the real world, or what? ...what would you have done if you where in my shoes? - I welcome all kinds of decent suggestions on how to deal with this. ...guess my snowboard wont carry any flashy Apple logo this winter!

Erik

Sorry for bad English ...it's not my native language

btw - I posted this on the AppleCare Discussions web site a few days back ...but it got kicked out less than 1 hour later. I did also post it at the MacWorld forums - it didn't get pulled, but the forum admin Chris Breen stopped it! ...what do they fear? ...the truth?

Think different, think hard ...think again!

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Listen guys! ...am I dreaming here? ...is this the real world, or what? ...what would you have done if you where in my shoes?

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I'd have probably gotten real pissed off and started to raise my voice to those Apple reps who are supposedly the experts. I had a similar experience once so I doubt that you’re exaggerating.

First off, you might just have to come to terms with the fact that they fooled you. They ripped you off. It ain’t your fault. If what you say is true about how the Applecare Protection Plan was advertised then you couldn’t really have known any better (unless you’ve been following Steve Jobs closely the last few years). What to do about it? Keep calling them. Keep demanding that you be satisfied. The sole reason that thalo.net exists is to give a voice to people such as yourself so that Apple can regain the quality and purpose that they once had. They’re losing it fast these days. They’re screwing people. They’re being dishonest. They’re being all the things that they once made fun of in that famous 1984 commercial.

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...what do they fear? ...the truth?

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Frankly, yes. If one deludes one’s self enough, then OS X is perfect and Apple hardware is 100% reliable and those who disagree are either trolls or mentally ill. People such as yourself have to be kept in their place - and silent - for this delusion to persist.

Oh man, stuff like this makes me insane.

When what one of the Mac Faithful wants is just so damn simple, but it becomes a big production... like OHHHH, you wanted HELLLPPP, well,---

Sweet mercy. Stop. Just give the guy a little help. What's the big deal? Tell the friggin' truth. That the reason he's having problems is because the OS isn't done yet.

In my day, I've spent a ton of time on the phone with Apple, and I've seen and heard it all. I know all the tricks they pull to get out of doing their job, get out of having to stick by their products. My favorite is the way they try two or three basic quick and dirty troubleshooting things... and if those don't work, what happens? Hands? Right:

"Return the hardware to its factory config, then we'll talk."

Oh, bite me. That means factory RAM, HD, no cards, no peripherals, yadda yadda. That's not real-world help. That's dodging. Blame shifting. They know nobody will do it. They go to the ends of the earth not to take responsibility for having their crap work.

They're always getting out of it. It always boils down to one simple truth: The Mac Faithful are shit out of luck if they have to rely on any software or hardware other than that provided by Apple. You'll get: "you need to bring that problem up with Adobe/Macromedia/Microsoft/Quark/etc."

Nah-ah, I want YOU GUYS to bring it up with them. I want YOUR OPERATING SYSTEM to work with more than iTunes and iPods. It's supposed to work with these applications. I paid for them. If it doesn't, it's sleazy to say it's my fault for buying apps that have always worked with Macs.

We've got our work cut out for us, my brothers. Apple has become shifty. Crafty and evil. Worse than Scientologists. They've stopped seeing you as somebody to respect and serve. You're job is done after you make a purchase. Then it's to hell with you. You've got a warranty, which they'll honor, but you have no protection that anything will WORK for you for any reasonable amount of time. You basically sign something that says you'll crap settle when you agree to the software license.

Well we shouldn't. We need more accountability. We need more guarantees that our purchases will give us working products. I can't tell you how many times I've been burnt. Bought an upgrade that didn't work, only to buy the upgrade to the upgrade that didn't work. Bought a periph that didn't work, only to have to buy another that didn't work... albeit less egregiously. It's absurd.

So often Apple throws its hands up in the air. Nobody is calling them to task. Nobody going, hey, SHOULDN'T this stuff work better than it does? Isn't that your JOB? YOUR RESPONSIBILITY? Where does Apple take responsibility? And doesn't it seem like they take it less than they ever did? If they were totally honest, as in "every time you upgrade this software, something new will break which will cost you more money. You will never find a lineup of software and hardware that wil work reliably for you. Ever." People would laugh at them.

I don't remember them trying to weasel out of everything like they do now. Look at how hard it is to get replacements of defective hardware. Used to be... jeez, thalo, sorry, hang tight, we're shipping you a new one right out. Now, Apple will replace hardware that's screwed up, but man, it's like pulling friggin' TEETH now. You have to go so over-the-top thalo squeaky wheel... but it will happen if you stick with it. It just won't happen fast.

You have to write snail-mail letters and make phone calls. Keep climbing further and further up the ladder.

They will try everything to make it not worth it for you. Like a kid testing limits with bad behavior. But they will do it, if they know they screwed up, and you're not going away til they make good. It just has to be a problem that can only be resolved by replacing. For example, you can't expect them to give you a new TiBook because of a scratch on the paintjob, even if it was there out of the box. You really have to document and demonstrate that you got a lemon... that when you fix one thing, something else goes south. Can of worms city. That's when you get a replacement.

The old days? Hell, if you weren't happy, that was enough. Repair or replace was more "replace" than repair. Now, it's sometimes cheaper to buy another than it is to lose all the time trying to go through ten repair cycles and all the shipping back and forth.

So what's changed? Glad you asked. Now we're chimps instead of valued customers. Now geek aristocrats are in charge, and the user base is something to be scorned and disdained, taken advantage of. It's more about wool-pulling than providing quality. More about hype and flash than it is about reality. It's harder to simply say: THIS DOESN'T WORK... because you'll get a Scientology reply to deflect the real issue. "Maybe it's YOU that doesn't work, chimpie... are you a geek? Right, of course you're not. Well, our geeks say this shouldn't be a problem. Goodbye."

Apple has NO PROBLEM saying "tough shit" to us now. No problem looking down its nose and abandoning any type of user that doesn't fall into the profile of those most easily duped. Everyone else is the enemy. It's more about preserving the delusion brother Brad is talking about, than it is about creating a superior product.

Now, the product is crap... but the PR engine SAYS it ain't. Believe that, you're an X-Man, a digikid dupe, a believer. Question it, ask for better... you're abandoned.

The only people rallying, are drones. And it gives me chills to realize this, because Apple used to be the antithesis of Big brother. Run the old 1984 ad now and how friggin' HOLLOW does it ring? Huh?