Follow Up on the Trek Recall

A few months ago, I mentioned the Trek recall of certain bikes with defective front quick release mechanisms.  I took mine in to the Bicycle Sport Shop earlier this summer.  They fixed the problem in under 10 minutes (while I shopped for parts) and handed me the $20 gift certificate when the recall repair was over.   Quick and easy.

Trek Bike Recall

Unfortunate news:  Trek Bicycles has issued a recall of almost 1M bikes manufactured between years 2000-2015.  According to the Consumer Products Safety Commission, the recall includes all bikes with front disc brakes and a quick release level that can extend more than 180 degrees (the bikes with these levers were made in Taiwan and China then sold for price points between $480-$1650).  The lever can come into contact with the brake disc, thus resulting in sudden stopping of the front wheel or complete separation from the frame.  It has been reported that one person has been rendered paralyzed by injuries caused by the defective quick release lever.

If you own a Trek bike which fits the above description, you are advised to immediately contact an authorized Trek retailer to arrange for a free replacement of the defective lever (in Austin, the listed retailers are Mellow Johnny's and the Bicycle Sport Shop).  Owners of the recalled bikes are advised to not ride them until the problem can be fixed.  For your trouble, Trek will throw in a $20 gift certificate for its line of Bontrager gear.

Another Bite at Apple

2011 MacBook Pro

Apple's "Magic Mouse"

My extreme displeasure with Apple's online store was followed by a further deepening of annoyance this morning.  Apparently, despite telling me that a new MacBook would be shipped to me upon my deliverance of the defective MacBook to FedEx, I was informed this morning that not only had my replacement MacBook not shipped... but it had yet to be configured and assembled.   This was the situation described by the online store, despite the fact that the store reps assured me during the set-up of the return that I'd have a replacement MacBook in time for SXSW Interactive and a business trip scheduled for the weekend.  [note: the Dell Lattitude E5400 pictured with the new MacBook cannot travel, as it's power inverter for the screen is blown and thus the display doesn't function; this part broke right after the 1 year warranty had expired]

I expressed my irritation to the folks at the online Apple store.  They decided to refund the purchase so that I could go and buy a new MacBook at the Barton Creek retail store (and, we'll see how easy getting the refund turns out to be).  This actually turns out to be a bonus for me, considering that Apple introduced it's 2011 line of MacBooks just two days after I received my defective unit (it had the i5 processor and a 320GB hard drive) Thus detached from my connection to the online store, I drove over to the Apple retail store in Barton Creek mall.  Unfortunately, the retail store does not stock a 15" MacBook Pro with the glossy, high res screen.  However, the new model of MacBook comes with an Intel i7 quad core processor standard, along with a 500GB hard drive and a fairly cool graphics chip.  I ended up paying less for the new MacBook than I had for the defective one.   While I kind of miss the high res screen, the screen on the new unit is still very nice.

I've had the new MacBook for an afternoon and I can already tell that it's a better machine than the one it replaced.   It is charging without any problems.  The WiFi is working well.  Also, the Apple "Magic Mouse" is working well and I'm taking as a sign that the Bluetooth is functioning better on this machine than the defective one.  On the defective MacBook, it was so slow that it was basically unusable (and this was unfortunately, as I couldn't find another mouse which connected directly into a laptop via Bluetooth, without the need for some kind of USB receiver).   It turns out that a functioning Magic Mouse is actually kind of cool, thus I'm glad its working with the new system.   

So, at a minimum I can say that a new 2011 MacBook Pro is better than a defective 2010 model.  It remains to be seen whether I take to Mac OS or default back to Windows 7 (which, having been a Windows user for about 16 years, I find fairly easy to operate). 

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.