Worst Tech support ever by Apple

[Brickster]

Originally posted by: psiu
Send an email to both Apple, CNN, Fox news, a local station (make sure it's cc'd so they know and point it out to them) about this terrible experience and see what happens.

That's exactly what you should do...after you get your good RAM.

Make sure you talk to someone high up. Find a way to "schedule an appointment" with a senior manager for products. Do a little research on the right person to talk to, and you should find someone who has the power to hear you out.

When you do finally talk to this person, be clear, be polite, speak slowly and calmly. Be frank, factual, and try your damndest to convey the seriousness of the situation without sounding angry at the person you are talking to.

Explain the entire situation in a low serious voice, and then say things like "So, are you able to understand my frustration?"

If you are not able to get what you need, send the whole thing back. Not sure if this is an option, but hey, if it doesn't work for you...time to cash in your chips.

Good luck.

 

[Steve]

Originally posted by: Netopia

I don't see how it's analogous. My mom uses 98 on a 450 with 96MB RAM and doesn't have any complaints. I couldn't possibly do my job on it, but it works for her. Use the right tool for the job, after all.

I'm surprized you don't see it. OS-X's structure should have made it easy to port whatever they had to from Solaris (I'm guessing that is what's on SGI's). They had to port it from Solaris to Linux, so that work had to be done no matter what.

As far as power, Mac's running as SuperComputers hold two top 10 ranks of the world's 500 fastest.... one (currently off the list for upgrades) is at Virginia Tech (Link) and the other was just purchase by the Army (Link)

So... the Operating system was viable and the hardware is plenty fast... but he still went with PC's and Linux or Macs!

Joe

SGI machines run IRIX.

 

[pmoa]

Originally posted by: thejackal1
I was using the 15" g4 powerbook at work and man that thing is hella sweet.

oh yeah! i have one and havent regretted the purchase! its schweeeeeet....

 

[VIAN]

Yes, MACs suck ass, no offense to any MAC fanboys.

They should just die cause we have no need for a closed system like the MAC.

And the tech support is terrible, OMG, just that ipod incident from before and now this. - these guys don't have a brain in their heads - just really big LCD screens.

 

[Stark]

as a one time apple technician, all a can say is "APPLE SUCKS"!!!

 

[ViRGE]

Originally posted by: VIAN
Yes, MACs suck ass, no offense to any MAC fanboys.

They should just die cause we have no need for a closed system like the MAC.

And the tech support is terrible, OMG, just that ipod incident from before and now this. - these guys don't have a brain in their heads - just really big LCD screens.

I don't know, the Internet would be a total waste without MAC Addresses; nothing would work. Then again, we could just play Bolo Star on our Macs all day long, and that would be fine.

 

[subflava]

Jesus, 3/4 of the posts are "MAC sucks/MACs are sweet" flames. Enough already...

br0wn - If you want to get your problem solved, you need to get to the root of the problem...which is the fact that

Apple has a batch of memory in mislabeled boxes!

I know it's infuriating, but try to look past the "Apple tech support sucks!" stuff.

Think about it, you call some tech support person sitting in front of a computer. He/she pulls up your customer info with your computer specs and he/she agrees with you that the memory is bad. This person then clicks some buttons and submits your order to the "parts department" for the correct part. Problem solved as far as this person is confirmed (and correctly too).

As you've said, the problem is that the boxes are mislabeled. You just need to find the magic person who is bright enough to understand this concept. If their call center has 300 people, my guess is that maybe 4 of them actually know what happens after they click the "order replacement part" button on their screen. For the rest of them their job ends after "submit." Once you find the magic person, they should be able to start the process of getting information from you about where your part came from, then they can track down that lot and verify what you're saying. After that, everything else should fall into place and the return issue should be cleared up also. Easier said than done I know, but you just have to speak to the right person.

 

[edmundoab]

i just know they have so many different parts for the Mac, I bought a stick of Ram myself and I had to clarify that it is for the particular model that I was looking for.

one hell of an Apple to deal with

 

[edwardhchan]

Next time, send them a p-p-p-powerbook instead

 

[ProviaFan]

Originally posted by: edwardhchan
Next time, send them a p-p-p-powerbook instead

LMAO.

Sorry to hear of your troubles. I don't have much advice, but to follow what these knowledgeable people in here recommend. Good luck getting a quick and satisfying resolution after this long and painful saga.

 

[Flexicon]

Originally posted by: arod
Maybe but I bet since apple support has a good name, I dont think Steve would want that name tarnished (lord knows you already are paying for it ).... he might want to investigate it to make sure it doesnt happen again because I would bet apple sells alot of laptop memory upgrades and if it happened to you it will happen again.

Agreed. Personally, I think you already muffed it by spilling your guts on Anandtech. Obviously you enjoy working there. So how do you think that's going to look if/when your boss finds out you're trashing the company on a well-known public forum like this? You should always try to solve the problem in-house first.

That being said, your frustration is perfectly justified.

 

[Tchen811]

any updates?

 

[br0wn]

I have finally received the correct kind of RAM for my powerbook. The last two product specialists that I talked to on June 30th and July 1st are awesome. They apologize and let me keep the RAM that was returned to me. I was also sent a new RAM (not a replacement part).
I consider this case closed. Thanks to all the support and great advice, its a happy ending.

 

[imported_causticVapor]

Originally posted by: Deadtrees

Originally posted by: br0wn
no scoop from me.........i have to sign NDA (Non-Disclosure Agreement) to work there. It means that they can sue me if I say anything related to their projects.
I can tell you about the working situation there though. Its probably the best company to work for. They really care about their employees. They have kitchens everywhere in the building (a room containing fridge filled with milks, breads, sodas, cereals, coffees, fruits, ...) They are all free. The complex has a theatre swimming pool, gym, massage therapy, soccer field, basketball court, volleyball court. Each department in pixar redecorates their spaces into their unique tastes. The animation department has an open bar. Free beer every Friday. Free bagel every Monday. Free cookies at 4pm. Free lunches sometime (they have a cafe in their building). Everyone is genuinely very happy working there. You can take classes in pixar university (drawing, directing, sculpturing). All of these are free except massage ($9 for 20 mins). Free movies almost every week.

I wish Karl Marx were alive.

Bingo.

 

[AzNmAnJLH]

Originally posted by: br0wn
I have finally received the correct kind of RAM for my powerbook. The last two product specialists that I talked to on June 30th and July 1st are awesome. They apologize and let me keep the RAM that was returned to me. I was also sent a new RAM (not a replacement part).
I consider this case closed. Thanks to all the support and great advice, its a happy ending.

right on buddy.... glad it worked out



sidenote: noticed 3 new members with 1 postcount each using the same avatar... weird

 

[conbon]

time to hit ebay, eh?

yeah, that's probably the default avatar, no?

 

[m3a2]

Yeah, I love it there. Every once a while you get the cool Pixar toys (like t-shirt, toys, posters, ...) .

Yeah but does your desklamp dance around the table and jump up and down on your keyboard?

 

[alkemyst]

My brother has a similar problem...a dual processor machine just randomly died.

The funniest part was them telling him how they are 'trained in networking'.....he is only a CCIE.

Eventually they had to send him a new box.