So, I’ve had plenty of wacky customer support experiences – some bad (Best Buy), some good (Oakley). My Macbook had a problem the other day – the lip from the top plate of the laptop, near where my right wrist rests, snapped, and a chunk of it had broken off.
I took my ‘book to the Genius bar, wondering whether it was covered by warranty. They said it would be, but they’d have to order the part. So, I waited a couple days, got a call from ’em today, and took it in. They said they could do the repair while I waited, so I bit on that. Brought the thing home half an hour later, and here I am, typing away.
What strikes me as odd is that they didn’t just replace the plastic piece – they replaced the entire “section” of the laptop. New trackpad, new trackpad button, new plastic piece, entirely new keyboard. Which feels great – feels like a brand-new laptop, honestly.
So, score 1 for Apple in the “good” category. The Genius Bar system’s sort of a pain in the ass, but only compared to “good” customer service elsewhere. Compared to any other laptop manufacturer, it’s stellar.
I’d guess that they couldn’t just replace the part that was broken; the trackpad and other components are probably assembled and treated as a single part.
All in all, I think the genius bar is pretty darn good. The only problem is that it’s perenially crowded, but what can you expect for free support?
In the “good support” category, I’ll mention my “last week” recent cast …
I have Giro bike helmet from 2001. I was thinking about replacing it, since it’s 6 years old, because the pads are worn out (no cracks or anything).
I sent Giro an email asking what it would cost for new pads. I got an email back the next day saying they were free and they would send them out right away … did I mention for FREE!
6 years old! Crap, I was happy. Maybe other helmet manufacturers have similar deals, but I couldn’t have asked for better service.