Is Apple's Customer Satisfaction Slipping?

Haven't noticed a change, have helped every time I've needed them. Am very satisfied with both tele-support and the Genius Bar.

While I'm quite pleased with the MacBook Pro I got last November and the iPod I got last May, nearly every smaller item I purchased online or from the Eaton Centre Apple Store (Toronto) has developed some defect: the Mighty Mouse, the in-ear headphones, the AirPort Express, and a DVI-to-HDMI cable not even made by Apple. That's a sharp fall-off in quality from my perspective as an Apple customer of 13 years.

Do the current Mac products have less defects than 10 years ago? It doesn't feel that way. Seems with more users and more products, the same type of issues and defects surface as years ago, but more users equal more complaints. I think customer satisfaction will continue to decrease based on the greater number of individual products being offered. Will this stop us from buying Apple? So far, as a PC and Mac user, I see no clear indication that my Dell is any more or less better produced.

I am happier with Apple this year compared to last year.

Last year I had a Macbook and an iPod.

This year I have a Macbook and an iPhone (and an unused iPod). The iPhone is an unbelievably fantastic v1.0 product. I can't believe Apple was able to pull off the iPhone. I was so very, incredibly skeptical that Apple had anything to offer to the cell phone market (boy was I wrong).

I have visited the genius bar many times this year and have received excellent service (a service that has NO equivalent in the Wintel world).

I just wish all the jealous, negative people that have nothing better to do with their stinking lives than bash Apple would simply just DROP DEAD!!!!!

As a long term Apple customer and user I find the customer service is still tops, especially when you go to a store. However, the quality is long gone. I've purchased two MacBooks in the last year, both have had catastrophic hard disc (Seagate) failures. I don't believe this is a statistical anomaly. This has delayed indefinitely my purchase of the 17" MacBook Pro or any other Mac computer. If the current drive goes I'm not sure what I will do.
(No problems with my iPod)

It seems to me that Apples are still superbly-engineered, but not nearly as well-built.

My old PowerBooks used to be built like tanks...then again, my old PowerBooks used to cost $4000...

It's a trade-off, people...

Apple's desktop machines are great. Apple's tabletop machines are horrible. I bought my MacBook in January 2007. Three times since then, it has been sent to Memphis for a new palm rest and keyboard. Thank you for the inconvenience, Apple.

Who can forget about those two dog tabletops, the AlBook and the TiBook? What a horrible piece of excrement those two machines were?

My solution? Sue Apple for antitrust violation. Everything the lower court and the appeals court wrote about Microsoft to support a guilty verdict applies to Apple. Everything.

Since Apple's EULA forces people to run Macintosh OS on those terrible tabletops instead of solidly built laptop, then let's sue for antitrust.

Is Businessweeks Customer Satisfaction Slipping? I heard that a few people unsubscribed and that the quality has gone down. Please let me know!!!

I got a MacBook Pro in June, and I've been exceptionally happy with it. No comparison whatsoever to my previous Dell and Acer machines. Stunning design, performance, speed, and tech support (which I only had to call because of a dumb beginner's question).

I'm one glitch-free user, at least.

I have been an Apple user forever...The MacBook I bought in January,2007 works as well as any other Apple product I have ever bought...zero defects..end of story!

I run 6 Macs and 5 iPods in my family and business. The oldest is 70 months old. In the last 12 months I had to replace the MacBook Pro battery only. And as it was built in week 13 off the production line I would say that is pretty good for a new product.

Apple has millions of new customers, and many new stores and staff. That they have maintained their sense of quality, design, style, ease of use, innovation and service speaks volumes. Next year will see them again at over 80% I'll bet.

Let's remember also that there are a lot of the negative folk out to stymie Apple's great progress.

I'm a 3 year customer of Apple products and I had two issues in the past 2.5 years with my older IMac G5 and in both instances it was handled with stellar service. The first time it was at the dealer depot and the second at the local Apple store.

I also own an HP portable that is actually in repair (as this writting) and they it took 2 monnths of tests and diagnostics over the phone before they finally decided to replace the motherboard of my machine. Everything had to be done over the phone and via courrier.

So i just replace my old G5 last week and by a new IMAC that was purchased at the local Apple store and i can tell you that no other PC company offers the level of support and services that Apple has to offer.

I'm very happy with Apple and will never go back to a PC vendor no matter who it is.

Jean

I'm still happy & satisfied with my 4th Mac, the treatment I get my local Apple store and EVERY time I remember I don't have to suffer under the alternative.

My new mac mini is kinda on the slow side and applications lock up way too much. Other than that I love it.

It's kinda funny 'cause everytime somebody has something negative to say about Apple, the Apple freaks get up in arms that the "Apple bashers" are at it again. Ya know... if someone has a bad experience, it's a bad experience. Apple can suck one day and be great the next like any other company (including Microsoft, Dell, etc...). But I, personally, will NEVER purchase an Apple _computer_ EVER again, speecifically BECAUSE of their support.

I have been a huge fan of Apple for years. My recording studio used Macs exclusively. I am on my 3rd iPod. I have endorsed and created sales of countless other iPods for friends/family. I was in line the first day and bought two iPhones (one for myself, one for my fiancee). And recently I attempted to switch our company from a Microsoft shop to a Mac shop! I felt that Apple had made huge steps in recent years and was ready to "jump ship" and steer our company down that direction. So there you have it... I LOVE Apple!

So....I loved the company... and will still support the "toys" they produce.

What happened? My company attempted to purchase 3 MacBook Pros for two of our developers and one of our admins for starters. We're talking over $10k in initial investment by the time you add accessories, etc. And that was before software and everything else. We took advantage of Apple Leasing to do the transaction, and that was where the trouble began. First there was the turnaround time for the lease (perfect credit, instantly approved once the paperwork was finally processed...but took forever...). Then the time for the order to actually be placed was almost ONE FULL WEEK!!! *AFTER* approval!!!!

And then there is the best part.... unlike Dell, Alienware, etc. where you have 412 options on your new computer that can take weeks build... you have basically TWO OPTIONS on a MacBook. Okay I am slightly exaggerating.... but the ONLY options we changed were memory and hard drive. IT TOOK FOUR WEEKS for our laptops to be ready to ship. This was after being told that from order to delivery was less than 2.

During this ENTIRE process, NOBODY at the Apple Store was of ANY assistance whatsoever. When we called we either got blown off or was told to call their "800" number (even though they were more than willing to help when getting the sale). When calling the "800" number, we constantly got thrown around to multiple departments and resources.... many of which were unable to help us even with an order number, first name, last name, company name, order dates, lease IDs......

It was an absolutely MISERABLE experience and after three weeks we finally cancelled the orders when we found out it was going to be ANOTHER 2-3 weeks. All for pre-fabbed laptops. Not a truly customized machine that could warrant such things.

And the best part? When we got an automated email telling us our machines were delayed AGAIN... the email had a 1-800 to call "if we wanted to cancel our order" (their exact verbiage... CANCEL the order....). When we called the number, after getting tossed around THREE DIFFERENT PEOPLE.... the guy who ultimately got on the phone told us that we couldn't cancel the order. That is wasn't actually possible to CANCEL the order! And then it took two days to finally figure that out.

Crap.... absolute garbage. Flipping PC users to Macs is tough enough. And marketing gimmicks claiming "Macs just work" while convincing people that PCs are for dorks and Macs get you laid will only work for so long. Customer service will always be key.....

I love Apple for their toys and gadgets and will continue to do so. My life doesn't end if my iPod goes on the fritz. If my iPhone dies ATT&T will give me a temporary until it gets fixed. But I will *NEVER* trust my business-critical machinery to that company ever again. In my personal experience, they failed miserably and I can't afford that risk.

The same could have happened with any other vendor. But unfortuantely it was Apple and I have never experienced this with anybody else. Flame away.....

I've been a Mac owner since 1986, and have experienced both horrible and terrific service from Apple over the past 21 years.

Regarding my recent service experience with Apple, I would have to say that I am extremely satisfied, over all. That's not to say that there haven't been any hiccoughs.

Bad Experience - I purchased a MacPro and a 30 inch Cinema Display through an authorized Apple Reseller last October. When I connected the monitor to the computer, rather than get the gorgeous 2560 x 1600 pixel resolution I was expecting, all I could get was a stretched 1920 x 1200 resolution. I called Apple and was told that since I had purchased the Cinema Display at an Authorized Reseller, they couldn't help me and I'd have to take it and the MacPro back to the reseller. Well, of course that's not true - I could have taken it to an Apple Store and had it fixed. If it was actually broken. The dimwit I spoke with didn't tell me that although there were two ports on the video card, only one supported the 30" display. I clearly had the display plugged into the wrong port.

Great Experience - Fortunately, this result is not the norm. And can be nicely centrasted with my experience last week. Last Wednesday, I purchased an AppleTV and the new Apple Airport Extreme Base Station. I plugged everything in, and the AppleTV set up as advertised. The problem was that I couldn't connect the Airport Express router to the new network (used to extend the wireless signal from my office to my bedroom). Nothing I did seemed to work - both Airport Express routers suffered the same problem - they wouldn't reconfigure to the new basestation.

After exhausted all resources (various help sites, including Apple's Discussion boards), I called the Apple Help Desk at 8:30 on a Sunday evening (they are opened to 6 pm Pacific time). I was on hold for 15 minutes, which was to be expected on a Sunday evening. I finally did get a support technician and he worked with me for almost 40 minutes. I do confess to being a difficult customer - I had driven 15 hours over the last 2 days and was very tired and cranky. The tech was pleasant and patient. When it became apparent that he could no longer assist me, he forwarded me to a second level support technician who specialized in Airport related problems. By this time, it was well after 9 pm.

Eric, the Airport specialist, was frankly confounded by my problem - and by this time, I was ready to pack everything up and return it. He, too was very patient with me - and although we could not find a reason why my older Airport Express base stations would not reconfigure to the new network, he was able to provide a solution that seemed to work.

The trick was now making sure that everything worked in the remote location - three flights straight up. So, I put Eric on hold, grapped the laptop and the Express router and ran upstairs. Only to find that the call was disconnected!

I plugged everything back in, and much to my delight, the Express router found the Extreme base station and I was able to use my laptop wirelessly. And then the phone rang - it was Eric from Apple - he got my telephone number and was calling me back to make sure that everything was working properly and to continue troubleshooting if it wasn't. I would also like to note that the time was 10:55 pm, nearly 2 hours after the Help Desk was officially closed.

This experience is pretty typical of my interactions with the Apple Help Desk - knowledgeable technicials eager to resolve problems and willing to go the extra mile to do so. Yes, there are those who just don't seem to care - as with the one I spoke with regarding the new MacPro and Cinema Display problem - but honestly, that was the first time that had happened, and I don't expect it will happen again.

This article is such BS. Let's look at customer service complaints across the board on Windows satisfaction AND PC satisfaction - and compare that to Apple.

In the last few weeks alone, we've had numerous problems from big to small with our PC's at work. People are so used to Windows crashing or their Dell crashing or getting a virus that it's not even a big deal anymore.

EVERY PC USER I KNOW has had major problems with their PC's in the last year. EVERY SINGLE PERSON.

Not so with Apple.

@janine richards
As per your comment...
After YOU m'lady!

I wish all the Apple Zealots who think anything not made by crApple is crap - would drop dead.
Nothing but a bunch of Brainwashed Mindless zombies!

Like Jay,
I loved Apple products, ipods, computers, just everything that we wanted and needed, for a family of 4 (2 tweens in the family) I will never again buy from them because of our experience. Worst customer service I have ever experienced. We bought a NEW computer, but what we ended up with is a computer on it 5th repair. HARD DRIVE, 2GB RAM, 1GB RAM, LOGIC BOARD and OPTICAL DRIVE all being replaced on a computer that has been in our possession for 12 weeks(Apple Store had the computer for 23 days in for it's first repair). We asked for a replacement, but they are not budging on their policy of "considering replacement on a case by case basis." We were told after our 2nd repair, if the computer still did not function correctly they would "look in to a replacement."
So we paid $3032 for a supposed NEW computer, and in reality we have a refurbished one, as there is no gaurentee that the parts used were new.

Below I include an unbeleivable email I received from APPLE, I'll not tell you the lengths I had to go to to get this contact info!

Dear Catherine,

Thank you for your email. We understand you are
requesting assistance with your iMac. Due to the nature and complexity of
technical issues, Apple does not offer product replacement assistance through
written correspondence.

We regret that you have experienced hardware failures with your iMac.
Although we are committed to providing the best personal computing experience to
our customers, Apple does not warrant that the operation of the product will be
uninterrupted or error-free. Apple may request that you replace defective parts with
new or refurbished parts that Apple provides in fulfillment of its warranty obligation.

If your unit is currently experiencing issues, hardware failure must be validated by
AppleCare. You may receive technical assistance over the phone by calling 800-APL-CARE
(800-275-2273). Help is available seven days a week from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. central.
There is no charge for this support for 90 days following the product's original date of
purchase.

We appreciate your support of Apple products and services. Your concern has been
documented in Apple case number 81819899.

Best regards,

Ryan
Apple Customer Care

All I wanted was a replacement then my faith would have been restored.

Jay,

Your rant makes no sense whatsoever. Funny that your business looks to be Microsoft based, too, based on the web link you provided!

Fake us out much? Are you guys this scared of Apple taking over that you will lie about bad experiences just to spread FUD? Oh, yeah, that is actually been going on for awhile now, hasn't it?

Oh, come on, "Jay is a fake" -- what's more "FUD" than Apple's latest Mac ad campaign?

Not sure why this sort of thing is such a religious matter for so many involved. Machines fail. People are imperfect. Not everything goes swimmingly, and that applies to everyone, everything, everywhere.

Ummm... I am a fake? Hehehehe... speaking of rants that make no sense. Is the word Microsoft even on our site?

This article was originally about Apple's CUSTOMER SERVICE. NOT the quality of their machines. As my article also said (ya know.. the NICE stuff...), we used Macs exclusively at the recording studio. And I am sure my MacBooks would have worked great if I ever would have gotten them! And I even would have been fine with waiting IF SOMEONE WOULD HAVE COMMUNICATED WITH ME!

I provided an honest review of a very recent experience that I had that was specifically on topic with the article. Ironic that my opening statement made reference to people getting offended anytime anyone had anything bad to say about Apple, no? Thanks for solidifying my point...We primarily do enterprise Java development. All on the open source stack. All cross-platform. It will run on a PC or on a Mac. Or how 'bout Linux? There are other options besides the big two that are plenty reliable and cost effective, ya know? We are about the best solution for our clients based on their needs and environment.

We also do design work (branding, web, et al). But the end result of those solutions are mostly technology agnostic (print, media, HTML, etc.).

Not turning this into a "look what we do"-type deal here... but I am completely in awe of the ability to label us a Microsoft shop when we do nothing Microsoft. We have done a few .NET projects when requested by smaller clients. We try not to do them specifically because we are NOT a Microsoft shop. But we will work our way through a simple desktop app if requested.

So once again, where in the world did you get a Microsoft-bias from our site? Apple can take over the world and the rest of the galaxy for all I care. Our Java apps run fine on Macs as well... and our web sites will look just as pretty (arguably prettier) on an iMac or MacBook.

Despite Apple's good customer service reputation, I have only had.. customer service that is worse than what I have ever experienced anywhere else.

I was hoping that it would be better this time, but I just spent a very frustrating hour (more, actually) on the phone because the replacement battery I bought a month ago is bad. The upshot? I have to wait for it to unexpectedly shut down my computer yet another time before I can call Apple back to get it replaced.

I don't care about the brand I'm using, I just want it to work. I've put PCs, Macs, and Amigas through the tasks over the last 20 years and have been happy with all of them.

My major complaint with Apple right now is the customer service retail stores. I've never had a good experience there, and that very quickly deteriorates my perception of the company in general.

The Columbia, MD store has no counter or cash register, hence no obvious lines. Hip kids walk around with price guns and hiptop computers. That may be fine when you have a handful of customers in the store, but on a busy day, it makes the buying experience confusing and much longer than necessary. I knew what I needed, had the money to pay, and was in a hurry, but it took me nearly 10 minutes to get anyone's attention, and that was only accomplished by loudly asking, "Who do I hand my $300 to so I can get out of here?" in the middle of the store. I hate being that guy, but nothing else worked.

In the last week, my 14" iBook G4's battery capacity has deteriorated from 1.5 hours down to about 20 mintues. Frustrating, but understandable as its nearly 2 years old. I'm about to take off on another long trip, and called every store in Maryland looking for a replacement battery. No one near me had it, but the Montgomery Mall store says they have "plenty" and there's no need to even reserve one.

I drive the 60 miles out to Montgomery Mall, which took 1.5 hours thanks to construction. A young kid (and I'm only 29) hands me a battery and says, "Here ya go." then walks away. He hands me a battery for a 17" G4. Then he hands me one for a 12" G4. Then a 15" Powerbook. It becomes very clear he doesn't know what he's doing, he doesn't care, and he doesn't have what I was very clearly told was there. No one else in the store seemed to care either, including the other young kid who assured me they had plenty.

At that point I know they can't work magic, but a simple apology or the remote sense that they understand the situation would have been appreciated.

... I know that's the general state of customer service these days in other stores, but a premium brand like Apple could at least make the extra effort to not just hire any dumb kid. They should know full well the kind of damage that poor service does to their retention numbers. Or maybe its now just about conquest and not retention. Who knows? Shame their OS is so good...

I purchased my iMac g5 in July of 2005. The fan was very loud right out of the box, but according to what I was reading at the time that was merely a minor inconvenience that did not affect the performance of the machine. Unfortunately about a year and a half after purchase my computer started slowing down drastically and shortly after the slow down the random shut downs began.

After doing some research I discovered the apple repair extension program for iMac g5's. Great I thought, I won't have to spend more money on my expensive computer that does not work only a year and a half after purchase! WRONG - I owned the iMac g5 revb (ALS) 17" and only the iMac g5 revb (ALS) 20" were covered by the repair extension.I did further research and read that many, many people were having to replace the logic board and the power supply MULTIPLE times on iMac g5's. Sometimes apple was covering the cost, whether or not the computer's serial numbers were in the range eligible for the repair extension program or not, sometimes the owner was forced to cover the cost.

I opened up the back of my iMac and observed no bulging capacitors and the leds seemed to indicate a problem with the power supply. I replaced the power supply myself and my computer worked fine for a couple months, but only a few days ago the fans started revving up and are getting loud again and the computer is slowing down.

I have owned apple computers since 1995 and have been happy with the quality of service and products in the past. Something is seriously wrong now though and apple doesn't seem to care that they are alienating their customers - guess they think the iPhone & iPod will keep them afloat.If I spend close to $2,000 on a product I expect it to work for more then a year and a half. The idea of purchasing insurance (apple care) as a necessity to ensure such an expensive product will continue working for more then a year is ridiculous. Not only that, but what incentive does that give the companies to ensure they sell quality products? Seems like if you can get more money from people, because they know your product is likely to break and so they will also purchase expensive insurance as well as the machine then you might actually want your computers to not be so reliable. Terrible cycle for consumers :(

Like many of the posts here, I have had Apple products since 1986. Of the twenty-one years, I have had 11 units (four were laptops). Five of these machines are still alive and in service in my home. In this span of time, I have only had to call Apple three times. Two out of three were really good experiences. One was really bad.

My most recent experience involved defective fans in my MacBook Pro. I called on a Wednesday. The packing box arrived that Friday. DHL picked the package/my laptop up Monday and my laptop was back in my hands on Wednesday. The end product was they replaced both of my fans, the good one and the defective one. While I must live close to a service center to get my machine back so quickly, the fact is that the service was exceptional.

The bad experience was when they charged my for the battery during the recall. The new battery came in a box that did not have a return receipt. Because I work all day and am away from phones, it took several calls to Apple and DHL to get a label and have it shipped. A week later I noticed that Apple had billed me for the battery. I was furious and called Apple. They said I did not meet the deadline to return my battery. Apparently, they have a ten day deadline for such returns. I could not find it in the documents I had, so I went around and around with the customer service person. He finally sent me to a supervisor who fixed the problem in three minutes and had my money returned.

Overall, my experiences have been satisfactory. Considering all the complaints I hear from my colleagues on their Dell and HP machines and with their technical support, I will stick with Apple products for the time being.

BTW - to the guy who wants to sue for anti-trust. New Intel macs run Windows. Come to think of it, perhaps he should sue. My MacBook runs Windows better than any of the machines in my agency, new or old. So they might be becoming a monopoly (hee, hee).

Continuing the Customer Service/Defective products nightmare.

I have spent on average of hours per week on the phone/e mailing/ faxing Apple representatives who are dealing with my case. I did in fact receive a replacement computer for my defective one. It just takes a bit of time to find the right people to speak to. (No use shouting and getting angry. It has taken time, but calm and persistant is the key.)

Now this calmness is depleting at a very fast rate.

The replacement computer is also defective, so I have had to spend rather a long time getting another replacement.

Apple Customer service initially tried to persuade me that I should have it repaired. I requested a refund. The asked me to give them one more try. I agreed, but wanted assurances that if the 3rd computer did not work, I would be given a full refund. I did get a verbal agreement on this, so am kind of satisfied. All I want is a working iMac, because I do really like them (Though I have virtually no confidence in the product anymore. My next replacement better be perfect to restore any confidence).

My comments of customer service are this. The employees of Apple are doing the job to the best of their ability. Each individual had different abilities. Since July 8th to the present day, I have only encountered 2 obnoxious, rude, condecending customer support staff, 1 person who was stammering and very flustered because I was calling about my REPLACEMENT computer that was also defective. (I had waited about 2 weeks for the replacement.) I have only twice recently been transferred to the completely wrong person, who didn't have a clue what was going on and I had to repeat my tale all over again. I have generally been given the run around by customer service, and even when I get to the correct person, they seem unable to proccess my (within my rights) requests in a satisfactory and timely manner.
The company is growing,and it is hard to maintain consistency in quality of service and product. Doesn't make my case any less real or mindblowingly frustrating and stressful.

becoming a bigger company DEFINITELY played a role in Apple's declining customer service. I'm on the phone RIGHT NOW over a HUGE faded display area in the middle of my monitor, as well as dead pixels-the day before the warranty stops, no less. and you know what they want to do? -they being the sleu of sales reps, technicians, supervisors and their supervisors i had to repeatedly ask for- they want to give me a refurbished part with only a 90 day warranty.

I own 5 macs, and relied on them for my business needs. now i'm out 2 weeks of pay, and probably a whole lot of clients who used to trust me.

They won't even offer me a new part, or an extended warranty on the refurbished one. NEVER BUY A MAC. THEIR CUSTOMER SERVICE IS NOT WORTH THE HASSLE OF LOSING THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS.

and you'd better believe i'll be calling in the better business bureau as well as dateline, to see if anyone else in the entire world can help bring this company back down to earth to help the little people who made it what it is.

apple has provided the most inconclusive and ineffective customer service to me across the line. iPod, iPhone, Mac, and OSX have all had problems, and were all an incredible hassle to fix.

I have been an Apple user for about 20 years now and I have never been as frustrated as I am right now. The not even 60 day old MacBook I have is overheating and an Apple "genius" certified that it was a-ok. Apple seems to not care that the customer is having a problem, just what their Genius says. Now mind you I will NEVER go back to using a PC again like I did a few years ago, but I do have a very large problem with any company that takes your money, especially for an extended AppleCare agreement, and doesn't work with you to fix problems. I would only wish that they went back tot heir old way of replacing an item and letting you send in the defective one, rather than telling people that they are nuts and that their machine is fine when in fact it is not.

Note this is not Apple bashing, this is a long term user seeing a problem that desperately needs addressing by the Corporate entity.

I purchased a Mac computer about 2.5 years ago and was thrilled with the quality of their customer service. So, when my husband needed a new computer, I raved to him about the quality of Mac's product AND customer service. Since he got his new computer, a Macbook with Leopard, we have had nothing but problems with Mac service. The wait times are lengthy, and the service is provided by people who are often clueless. His experience is entirely different than what I had 2.5 years ago, and it's very discouraging.

I've been an apple customer for 18 years.. that's coming to an end here in a few months...

Worst. Customer. Service. Ever.

The company has changed greatly in the last ten years...

my problems with apple are here..

http://www.denvertvguy.com/2007/12/breaking-up-is-hard-to-do.html

Greg

mac users love to say "it just works," well, maybe that used to be true. these day, at least in terms of customer service, "it just sucks."

seriously, if you buy a mac DO NOT waste your money on the applecare service/extended warranty. the people at customer service are poorly trained, and the wait times are RIDICULOUS.

it. just. sucks.

I was given a year of tutoring -- Apple's "One to One" program -- as a gift when I bought my iMac a few months ago. A couple of months after I bought the machine, Apple released the next version of the iMac with updated software. Since that time, all of the "tutoring" has been nothing but sales pressure to upgrade to the new software. Any question I had about the product I had purchased just a few months ago was answered with "Buy the new upgraded version."

Shawn Malone
Austin, Texas USA

We bought a Mac book in October. The hard drive crashed a week ago. The explanation -- things happen. I couldn't be more disappointed. I was sold a defective laptop and Apple could care less.

yes

Who do I contact regarding the plate that covers the keyboard on my MacBook? It is "pealing" on the edges and breaking off. I can't believe it is doing this. Makes it look tacky and cheap. I've had to put tape on it to keep more of it coming off. Thank you,

i placed an order for an Iphone on Nov 04 to be delivered on Nov 06.Nothing happened. The delivery promise is 24 hours! I had to renegotiate (YES) a new deliver date.
I think Apple's success has gotten to be bigger than they can cope and it don't matter no more that it's the millions of us that helped shaped this company!

Let's make a distinction between customer-satisfaction, and customer-driven companies. Apple is not a customer-driven company. Rather, it is a design-driven company that has a relatively good track record at predicting what will satisfy customers. BUT, where its own design-driven focus does not please customers. THEN TOUGH LUCK.

Remember, Apple has a monopoly over the OSX system, and it can, and does what it likes.

Take, for instance, the recent removal of the matte screen option from all its computers. Do a search of online polls for MATTE GLOSSY POLL, and you'll see that between 45-55% of people prefer matte screens, but Apple pulled those from their line. Why? Because glossy screens look beautiful, and it fits Apple's desire to design beautiful works of art. Sure, many people swear by glossy screens, but equally as many hate gloss screens to their guts. And Apple refuses to cater for both sides.

To reiterate: Apple marches to its own drum, and if people happen to like their products. Great. If not, go jump.

The following polls show that 45-55% want matte screens, but Apple can't care less. Steve Jobs said that a majority like glossy screens, but 45% - who want matte -- would be a large enough group that other customer-driven companies would heed. But not Apple.
_____________

POLLS:

What type of screen do you prefer on the MacBook (Glossy or Matte)
Glossy 32.31 % (10007)
Matte 44.04 % (13639)
Don't Know 23.65 % (7324)
Total votes: 30970

http://www.macpolls.com/?poll_id=527

What are your feelings on the glossy-only screen in the new MacBook Pro (and MacBook)?

Love it, already ordered one! 5.73%
Looks sharp, planning on buying 15.92%
Looks good, but no plans to purchase 16.97%
Need to see it in person before judging 14.75%
Dislike glossy screen, but will buy anyway 15.06%
Hate glossy screens, will not buy because of it 29.41%
Other? 2.15%

http://www.macosxhints.com/polls/index.php

View Poll Results: Gloss or Matte? [are you well?]
Gloss - I like to shine! 50.00%
Matte! - I'm all about the dull sheen... 48.39%
Yes, thanks... I'm well! 33.87%
No... I'm having a shocker!!... 9.68%

http://digital-photography-school.com/forum/showthread.php?t=8489

View Poll Results: Glossy or Matte (Not Glossy) MacBook Pro Screen?
Glossy 24.14%
Matte 68.97%
Neutral (Doesn't Matter) 6.90%
You Can Choose? 0%

http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=244206

View Poll Results: Glossy or Matte Display ? (new imac vs old imac)
Matte 50.00%
Glossy 50.00%

View Poll Results: What's your display like?


Poll Options:
My matte is great 54.10%
My matte is bad 3.28%
My glossy is great 39.34%
My glossy is bad 3.28%

http://forums.macnn.com/69/mac-notebooks/318569/glossy-vs-matte-poll/

View Poll Results: Glossy or Matte screen ?
Glossy 27.27%
Matte 72.73%

http://www.cableforum.co.uk/board/19/33640023-matte-or-glossy.html

Definitely, I am a professional who has used Apple computers for many years, and have been directly responsible for at least 100 of my clients' decision to purchase a Macintosh computer. I am one of those consumers who likes to brag about about a good product, which is why I will NOT be pushing Apple computers or products of any sort. As a long time user of Apple computers, and formally a very loyal user of Apple Computers, I have to say that their customer service officially sucks, and their products are getting less and less reliable.

I truly hope that Apple does some soul searching and goes back to what once made it a very strong and dependable brand.

My husband bought me a 30 gb ipod,large black one at walmart to help me through my chemo treatments,It never worked and walmart would not exchange it.My son took it to an apple store and they inform him that the hard drive is bad.My question is how can it be bad we never got to use it.What a waste of 295.00.

I bought an IMAC G5 ALS, 20-INC IN AUGUST 2005 along with 3 year warranty. Jan 2008 went dead, was a power supply issue and was replaced by Apple. April 17, 2009, system working on and off, taken to Apple store. Seems that the logic/mother board is the reason why power supply gone bad again. Will cost over 1100 $ to repair, and this for a system bought in Aug 2005 for close to 2000$. Apple store genius bar said they have no authority to suggest anything else except contact apple care. In Jan 2008 the power suppy was replaced at no charge as part of a recall program, I was told. To back up data, it is free if I buy a new mac, or else do it yourself I think. Contacted Apple Care, a voice asked for my case number, and it is not there in the genius bar work authorization, so I called the store again and got the case number. The apple care rep said such issues can be taken up with customer relations department, during weekdays. I am waiting for weekend to get over and to speak to someone in that department. In summary -deeper issue of product quality perhaps due to quality of components sourced, and more important, the lack of empowerment of genius bar folks and store managers, and even customer care rep on taking care of this issue. I understand that the issues in my IMAC is not unique. I am really concerend that having paid almost 40 % premium, and also investing in warranty for 3 years, I do not have a good return on investment. Positive-The apple store staff and customer care staff are very polite and courteous!

This thread is old, so it may be inappropriate for me to continue it, but I absolutely agree that Apple customer service is crap. If everything is working (and it mostly does) and all you want to do is buy some cool new lifestyle tech, they are great. Even when I have had problems in the past they have been occasionally helpful, but as of this week, in trying to order a new battery for my laptop and asking a few technical question and then just trying to get tracking info on the shipment, I have had what has certainly been the WORST customer service to which I have ever been subjected. 30-40 minute hold times, Customer service people who are obviously reading from a script and who equally obviously know nothing about the product, an operator who hung up on me as I desperately though politely begged to be connected to someone who could help, and a person at the apple Store ( 150 miles from where I live) confirming that they did sell the thing I needed but would not check to see if he had any in stock.

I really believed in apple as a product and as a company, but now I just feel taken. Steve Jobs, I am very happy to hear that you are feeling better and I hope you have a complete recovery, but you suck. Thanks for nothing.

Rex, your story sounds familiar. I bought my computer in February 2007 and when Apple geniuses talk to me, they call my computer an "older computer." Come on - Am I supposed to buy anew computer every year??? I bought the extended warranty -good thing. The Apple Store has replaced my main logic board and the power supply, but I still had problems with the computer. Brought the computer back in and it has been sitting in the back room of the computer store for over a week. They just called to say, it will be another "48 to 72 hours" before they can fix it. I have basically been without my computer for about a month now. I don't want to hear another "Gotcha", "Absolutely", or "Awesome!" The best was, "It's just as frustrating for us" Oh, I bet it is...
Just fix it and get it back to me in good working order. Is that too much to ask? Evidently, yes.

Just recently sent my iPhone 3Gs into get fixed because of crackling noise and charging issues. Have owned the phone since release dates just like I have all the iPhones. I check the link Apple provided to see the status of my phone, and it says accidental damage and/or abuse. So I call very confused as to what had happened. Asked to speak to a supervisor and Dom the senior blah blah blah of whatever tells me that the phone was sent with a cracked screen and theres nothing that they can do about it. I am still very angry and dissapointed as I told him I sent the phone to get repaired for crackling noise in the speaker and charging issues and now im getting a phone back that doesn't really work with a crack on it, how does that work? He said were sending you the phone in the condition that we recieved it VERBATIUM. I am very displeased. He did however offer me a discounted amount of 100$ to fix the screen (off of 200$) I said what other choice do I have. I couldn't beleive they couldn't fix the phone for me free of charge seems how shipping or they cracked my precious screen!!! I will be selling this phone when I get it back on Tues. along with my macbook pro and other apple products. Uneccesary!

Just recently sent my iPhone 3Gs into get fixed because of crackling noise and charging issues. Have owned the phone since release dates just like I have all the iPhones. I check the link Apple provided to see the status of my phone, and it says accidental damage and/or abuse. So I call very confused as to what had happened. Asked to speak to a supervisor and Dom the senior blah blah blah of whatever tells me that the phone was sent with a cracked screen and theres nothing that they can do about it. I am still very angry and dissapointed as I told him I sent the phone to get repaired for crackling noise in the speaker and charging issues and now im getting a phone back that doesn't really work with a crack on it, how does that work? He said were sending you the phone in the condition that we recieved it VERBATIUM. I am very displeased. He did however offer me a discounted amount of 100$ to fix the screen (off of 200$) I said what other choice do I have. I couldn't beleive they couldn't fix the phone for me free of charge seems how shipping or they cracked my precious screen!!! I will be selling this phone when I get it back on Tues. along with my macbook pro and other apple products. Uneccesary!