Two weeks ago I was hours away from taking my iMac in for repair for the fifth time. One failed hard drive, two failed optical drives, and the second screen failure which was about to be repaired. This is not the reputation for quality and reliability that Apple has built its reputation on and I decided to give them a call to see what could be done.
Their response was to replace the computer outright; I mailed the old one in and they sent me the latest comparable model, all at no cost to me. They even allowed me to pay for an upgrade when making the switch, allowing me to end up with the computer I would have purchased if I had been buying a new one. And this has been just like buying a new one: new computer, new warranty, new operating system, new experience. The machine even has that new computer smell; the smell of the scratch-prevention clear plastic sheets covering every surface: screen, mouse, and keyboard. (I would bet that long-term persistent exposure to these fumes would not be good for your health but I inhale deeply, knowing they will disperse quickly and the magic feeling will be gone.)
Almost every aspect of the transaction has been exactly what we all want customer service to be. When I called and was passed between customer service agents there was always a hot-hand-off (no being put on hold and transferred). The customer support people all had access to my information, used it, and I never had to repeat myself or re-tell my story. The incident was not settled during the first call but follow-up calls and emails were quick, clear, and effective. I've dealt with technical support for other products and none have offered an experience this great.
Furthermore, last night I was having trouble with the new version of the address book program and with no obvious solutions on the internet, I decided to give Apple another call. Actually, I had them call me when a customer support person was ready; Apple's website starts the process by putting you in the call queue before a phone call is even made. In less than five minutes the problem was solved. My mistake was embarrassingly simple and it was clear the guy on the other end was not reading a script, making me jump through silly hoops before actually trying to understand the problem and work on a solution. Best of all, he never spouted company propaganda in response to my statements. There is no better way to make me, the customer, feel like a demoralized cog in a technical support machine than to respond to my words with virtually automated replies.
This I firmly believe; you generally get what you pay for and when you buy an (arguably) overpriced computer one of the things you get is incredible technical support.
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