Sometimes, There Is a Bad Apple...

MacBook Pro, Ready to be Shipped Back to Apple.

I've been a little surprised by my recent experience with Apple.  In an episode I would have expected following the purchase of a Dell product (I've had some ridiculous things go wrong with my last two Dell laptops), the 15" MacBook Pro I purchased in mid-February has already been shipped back to Apple owing to a hardware problem (with the power system, although I suspect that there is something wrong with its WiFi hardware as well).

I discovered the problem with the power system first because the charging cable LED would only light up if the charging plug was attached in a certain direction, and second because shortly thereafter I noticed "not charging" message fairly often after plugging the computer into the power cable.  As for the WiFi, it worked at home and in my office.  Last Friday, it worked at The Tavern.  However, I took the MacBook to Epoch on Monday night and it wouldn't connect (despite the fact that about 10 other patrons in my general area appeared to be happily using the internet on Apple products).  A return trip to The Tavern also produced some frustrating results.   This is certainly not what I was expecting from a computer with a hefty price tag and from a line of products which generally gets rave reviews from friends.

I took my MacBook over to the Barton Creek Apple Store yesterday.  The guys at the Genius Bar were quite helpful, and I didn't have to wait long for an appointment.  They were pretty eager to swap the defective laptop on the spot... until they realized that I had purchased it online.  That is when things got annoying, as I had to leave the accessible and eager to help folks at the retail store in order to call Apple directly to sort things out over the phone.   I had to work through Apple's automated system, and then go up through three levels of live humans on the phone line before the problem could be resolved (and no, the transfer of information about my computer's issue did not travel instantly from the Barton Creek store to Apple's central system).  I was transferred to a fourth person to facilitate the product return.  At this time, I asked if I could go ahead and pay to upgrade a couple of things (which I thought was a reasonable request, considering that this whole return thing was a hassle for me, interruption for my business, and a new computer was going to be shipped anyway).  The answer was: no, the only way to change configuration was to return my replacement MacBook once I received it and then to reorder.  My response: no thanks, I'll have Pivot Networks drop in a new hard drive and more RAM.

So, the take-away I'm hoping to impart here is: if possible, buy an Apple computer from the Apple Store.  Dealing with the folks at Barton Creek was easy and pleasant.  Moreover, had I purchased my computer from a retail store, I would already have a replacement.  And, since I was required to remove all of my data and applications myself and drop off the bum MacBook at FedEx before Apple would send me a new one, it's a good thing that I have other functioning computers on hand to house my files and to use while the replacement is in transit. 

I'm not upset with Apple per se for sending me a bum computer.  Shit happens, and even the best companies build some lemons.  What is important in these situations is how they remedy the problem.  Thus, I am a little annoyed with Apple because of the process of getting a replacement from the online store. Some companies, like REI will handle at retail locations product returns and replacements from online purchases.  In turn, I'm quite comforatble buying something expensive from REI because I know that dealing with potential problems will be easy.   You would think that Apple would use its retail presence to its advantage over vendors like Dell in terms of product return and replacement, but apparently not.   Furthermore, it seems kind of petty to force me to ship a defective computer back to Apple before they will send me a new unit.  The defective computer was still usable, and it would have been nice to have had it over the weekend in order to work on some video editing (my office Dell doesn't have video editing software).  I could have then done a file transfer upon receipt of the new unit and promptly shipped the defective until back.   You would think that someone willing to drop $1899 on a computer (whose home and business addresses you know, and whose American Express account information you possess) could be trusted to ship back a laptop in a timely manner... esp. when it was technically your fault for selling a defective good.

Don't get my wrong... I generally like Apple and Apple products.  It's just that my recent experience with the product return reminded me more of the John Hodgman PC character than the purported cool Mac character from the PC v Mac ad campaign.