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[number386]

I know I overreacted now it was a mistake and I snapped, I was under a lot of stress lately and that was a easy excuse to vent my frustration. I'm not one to hold a grudge, and I vented. I'm not going to call apple corporate to complain, or the BBB. And I'm going to call the apple guy's and apolagize for my behavior.


OK I called the apple store and apolagized to the manager, I did it partly to make myself feel better I just feel awful for the way I treated him. I feel a lot better now and I'm kind of on a natural high right now. I reread my post on another topic and just had this epipheny about how irrational I was being. Wow I was a total cock, wow is all I can say.













I have been a big Apple supporter and been singing their praise on a daily basis for about 5 years now, I have even got 2 friends to recently convert to apple one bought a 20' inch G5 iMac, other a mac mini, got 10+ people to get iPods.

So I noticed my brand new 17" powerbook screen would shimmer on part of the screen when it the powerbook was moved. I called tech support on tuesday and spoke to someone named Walter he said It sounded like a defect, and that if I bring it into an Apple store they would inspect, and repair it for me. I specifically asked him if I could exchange it for a new unit at the store, he said yes. I also told him I bought it at Amazon , he said it would not be a problem, and I could exchange it.

( sorry GAFazon but when I ordered it GAF was down due to the hacking incident, I didn't know when it was going back up, and the mail in rebate was going to expire soon)

I took the day off yesterday and went to the Apple store in Roosevelt field mall in long Island New York. ( I decided not to go to the soho store in NY I didn't like the idea of carry around a brand new powerbook with it's snazzy box alerting every passerby to the fact that I am carrying a 17" inch $2700 powerbook computer. Felt like going for a drive anyway.) I told the sales associate my problem, and the manager was called. I told him I spoke to walter and detailed our conversation and gave him the tech support number to reach him.

He said he didnt need the number they had all the numbers in the back. I said OK thanks. 5 minutes later he comes back and asks for the number, still in a good move I said sure no problem. So I wait about 5 more minutes he comes back and says the serial number is not registered and not showing up I said thats impossible I just registered it yesterday, he says OK goes back I wait another 10 minutes later. He comes back and says he found the note left by the tech guy I spoke to and that it only stated that I should bring it in for inspection, and repair.

I told him I absolutely 100% asked walter if I could bring it in and exchange it, and I also mentioned walter said it was OK to exchange it despite buying it at amazon. I than asked to speak to walter on the phone he said their was a bunch of walter's working their, I replied shouldn't the memo left by walter have an employee ID number on the message he said no and cant find out who left the memo. I was 99% sure he was lying memo's are tied to employee's ID number's who have specific ID log in's' and passwords. I find it very hard to believe a company a high tech computer company no less would not do that.

This is the point I start to get agitated, I'm 99% sure this guy was lying and blowing smoke up my ass. I then ask to speak to walter on the phone, he goes back and and 15 minutes later he says walter is out to lunch and that he spoke to walter's supervisor and said the exchange cant be done and it's not their policy, but I can get the unit fixed through them via genious bar and the turnaround time is 7-10 days. He gave me some idiotic analogy saying if I bought a computer at comp USA it would be like me returning a computer to circuit city. I told him that analogy was innacurate, as I bought an apple computer and you are an apple store owned by the parent company apple computers. I also mentioned to him circuit city would not repair the computer for me, if I bought it at comp usa. I told him that was unacceptable, and that I would like to speak to walter and wait for him to get back from lunch.

So I wait about 15 minutes he comes back and says that was a different walter who went out to lunch and they cant locate the walter I spoke to. He says their is nothing they can do that's policy, and said they sold the computer to amazon and my powerbook has nothing to do with them anymore, I once again pointed out if it has nothing to do with them why is the warrenty covered by apple? At this point he says I love my job, and I love working here (this infuriates me even further because he's lying and feeding me some grade A bullshit, I have worked 4 years in retail during college, I know what reatil is about) and says right now I'm not having fun, I'm doing all I can to help you, If your not happy with my services I can get another manager. I then tell him I'm not having fun either I drove all the way out here to exchange a computer and was told I could do so, but apparently I cant how do you think I feel?. I then demanded to speak to walter.

Another manager comes out says he cant help me exchange and anything could of happened, he also says the computer could of got damaged in shipping (WTF cant you fuckers take any responsibility???), and policy states I could only get it repaired turnaround time being 7-10 days. I said OK let me speak to walter please, he says he is a tier 1 technician and they cant find him, and asked me what I would like to do. I was so disgusted and said I'm leaving and told him I want to see what amazon return policy is before I do anything. I told him I was going to leave a complaint with the BBB and apple corporate the smug bastard says would you like my card? I told him no.

I guess people are right about apple store employees being pricks. I remeber someone posted a link to apple store workers in the hollywood store who talked shit about celebrities like melanie grifiths, and levar burton I wonder how much of those stories by the apple employees are true now. I was inclined to believe the apple employees but now I just dont know.

I mean how the fuck can you not locate an employee named walter??? I have a feeling they were lying to me, I think they spoke to walter and he confirmed he did tell me I could exchange it their, and they wanted to cover it up.

I am so pissed about this experience, it just sticks in my craw I was in a pissy mood all day today. Not to mention I took a day off and basically wasted yesteray for nothing. I can exchange/return the powerbook through amazon because it's defective, but the question is should I ditch Apple? I love their computer but I know those smug fucks got a good laugh at my expense yesterday I keep picturing them in my mind and it makes me very angry, I'm usually a mellow guy to boot. (I worked in retail for 4 years during college I know what kind of fuckers some of them are, especially the managers) The problem with ditching Apple for me is that I recently bought cinema4D it's a 3D modeling/anamation program for $700 maybe they will be generous and let me exchange it for the PC version. Depending on weather I'm going to ditch Apple I may have to contact them and find out.

Am I over reacting?

should I ditch apple?

I have not contacted apple corporate, or the BBB what should I do?

WOW this thing took me about an hour to write and shows how pissed I am at apple over this.

 

[xsarien]

The moral of the story - and a useful point of fact in general - is that if you're going to buy an Apple product, the one thing you should do is buy it through Apple so this kind of finger pointing doesn't happen. Because of Apple's tight price fixing, it's not like you're going to be saving that much money anyway.

As for your situation, I think the easiest thing to do - or to have done - would be to follow up with Amazon and their policy on defective hardware. They might need some kind of assurance from Apple that it's officially defective, but I'm not sure. It's probably outlined on their website.

 

[AntoneM]

I don't know, you appear to be a big apple supporter and I can guarantee you that your experiences with any PC manufacturer wouldn't be much different/better than this run in with Apple. That said you can build your own PC, fully customized, and it will be cheaper than an Apple, plus you get the added bonus of being able to play any game out there. If you're looking to PC's for better customer support you might as well just stay with Apple.

 

[border]

Make love to Shogmaster?

 

[number386]

The moral of the story - and a useful point of fact in general - is that if you're going to buy an Apple product, the one thing you should do is buy it through Apple so this kind of finger pointing doesn't happen. Because of Apple's tight price fixing, it's not like you're going to be saving that much money anyway.

As for your situation, I think the easiest thing to do - or to have done - would be to follow up with Amazon and their policy on defective hardware. They might need some kind of assurance from Apple that it's officially defective, but I'm not sure. It's probably outlined on their website.

Actually I did save a lot of money. Amazon had a $200 mail in rebate promo on the 17" powerbook, as well as them not charging tax to new york. So I saved over $400 by not buying from Apple directly.

I did follow the amazon policy they state to first contact the manufacturer if defects are found, exchanging it ot returnig it would not be a problem as amazon will take back the defective computer.

The question is should I ditch apple? This situation has left me extremely pissed.

I remember when goodcow posted how his drycleaner messed up his pants, I thought it was trivial when I read it. But now I kind of know what he is going through, the first and foremost thing that bothers me the most about the whole experience is the lack of respect.

I'm not thinking about calling the cops though :lol

 

[tetsuoxb]

You behaved like an asshole.

If you really worked retail, then I have no idea how you could not understand what they were saying to you. Lets look at it how I read your post:

You called Apple tech support about your defective apple product. Tech support is large. They told you to go to an apple store and to get it repaired. You said can I exchange it. They say yes. - Check, everything to this point is ok.

You get to the store and tell the story to an employee. He tells you that he can contact tech support for you and doesnt need the number. (see: trying to be nice to you) when he comes back out, he couldnt contact and wants the number to try and contact for you (still trying to be nice). When they cant contact him, they try to look up the serial number (which you just registered yesterday) and cant find it. Now - think about it from their perspective. You want a brand new laptop for a broken one. The laptop is not in their computer, and they are having difficulty contacting someone who you had a conversation with. You dont want a repair. You want a new laptop..... it smells like fraud. They tell you honestly that they cant help you right now, and a guy tells you that if you arent happy with his service you can speak with someone else (that is called good customer service). You keep getting aggitated and think they are lying to you. They arent lying. It seems they made a concerted effort to find "walter" but could not. Without "walt" all they could offer you was a repair. However, you went the classic "if i get loud and act like a baby ill get what I want" route.

I would have kicked you the store at that point... but the guy humored you threatening him, and professionally offered you his card.

Dude, you acted like a prick. Didnt think about how it could possibly look from their side, and let your attitude talk yourself out of getting what you actually wanted.

If you would have shown patience, not gotten aggrivated, and been completely nice the entire time, you probably would have been helped better. However, your comportment and story screamed shrink, and you didnt do anything to change that.

People are generally nice. They want to help you. If you treat them with respect and courtesy, it makes them even more eager to help you. Your post makes it seem like you did neither.

 

[Akia]

Go to the other store. This is the first bad thing I've heard about Apple store workers. You should put the big black case in a duffel bag to carry it around. Trust me getting a proper screen is worth the wait/walk. IF all else fails the have the people at the Genius Bar try to fix it. Honestly though your better off with Apple on customer support. They really help out, but all the instances I've read about are from people that bought directly from the Apple Store. Hopefully you'll get things sorted out.

 

[number386]

You behaved like an asshole.

If you really worked retail, then I have no idea how you could not understand what they were saying to you. Lets look at it how I read your post:

You called Apple tech support about your defective apple product. Tech support is large. They told you to go to an apple store and to get it repaired. You said can I exchange it. They say yes. - Check, everything to this point is ok.

You get to the store and tell the story to an employee. He tells you that he can contact tech support for you and doesnt need the number. (see: trying to be nice to you) when he comes back out, he couldnt contact and wants the number to try and contact for you (still trying to be nice). When they cant contact him, they try to look up the serial number (which you just registered yesterday) and cant find it. Now - think about it from their perspective. You want a brand new laptop for a broken one. The laptop is not in their computer, and they are having difficulty contacting someone who you had a conversation with. You dont want a repair. You want a new laptop..... it smells like fraud. They tell you honestly that they cant help you right now, and a guy tells you that if you arent happy with his service you can speak with someone else (that is called good customer service). You keep getting aggitated and think they are lying to you. They arent lying. It seems they made a concerted effort to find "walter" but could not. Without "walt" all they could offer you was a repair. However, you went the classic "if i get loud and act like a baby ill get what I want" route.

I would have kicked you the store at that point... but the guy humored you threatening him, and professionally offered you his card.

Dude, you acted like a prick. Didnt think about how it could possibly look from their side, and let your attitude talk yourself out of getting what you actually wanted.

If you would have shown patience, not gotten aggrivated, and been completely nice the entire time, you probably would have been helped better. However, your comportment and story screamed shrink, and you didnt do anything to change that.

People are generally nice. They want to help you. If you treat them with respect and courtesy, it makes them even more eager to help you. Your post makes it seem like you did neither.

I forgot to mention I brought my reciept with the serial number on it, and shipping invoice which I promptly gave him immediatly along with my driver's license he said he didn't need any ID from me. their was absolutely no way they thought it was a fraud, and the shipping invoice stated that I recieved it on 4/11 which was this past monday two days prior and yes that qualifies as being a brand new computer, is requesting a new computer rather then them fixing a defective one asking for to much especially when I was told I cold exchange it for a new one???. I even suggested when he said the serial number did not come up to contact amazon. There was no way he could of thought I was pulling a scam.

I forgot to mention he said he typed in the serial number wrong, when he told me they could not find walter. Like I mentioned earlier whenever a tech makes a entry into a file their is an ID imprint And I started to lose my cool about 45 minutes into this fiasco. It's not like I lost my cool in 5 minutes.


And another thing have YOU ever worked retail? he called tech support to verify my story which is much different from being nice. It's standard retail policy.

 

[xsarien]

Actually I did save a lot of money. Amazon had a $200 mail in rebate promo on the 17" powerbook, as well as them not charging tax to new york. So I saved over $400 by not buying from Apple directly.

I did follow the amazon policy they state to first contact the manufacturer if defects are found, exchanging it ot returnig it would not be a problem as amazon will take back the defective computer.

Then that's where this should've ended. Apple's store will fix your computer - as they offered - because, yes, they're merely an extension of the corporate entity and in that context, it's their responsibility to honor warranties. However, on a retail level, since you didn't buy it from them, it'd be hard for them to give you a point-blank exchange. They may if they decide to come back to you and say that the damage is irreparable. As with most things, there are hoops to jump through, you can't just skip to the end. Asses have to be covered.

The question is should I ditch apple? This situation has left me extremely pissed.

I wouldn't. They didn't treat you any differently than a Dell retail store would have if you bought a computer in the same condition from Amazon, and took it to Dell for an immediate exchange. Again, before you make buys like this, it's dreadfully important to read every little sentence in the warranty docs, which should be readily available on the manufacturer's website.

 

[Kung Foo Kid]

I kinda agree with tetsuoxb. Just not as harshly.

First you talk to Customer support. I would think and maybe I'm going to go out on a limb that customer support proabably has alot of people working there and say just a small number of Walters...

Customer support tells you can exchange, so you go to the store they offer a repair, not a exchange. Fine you request that you were told you could exchange fair enough to this point.

This is where I'm not with you. You didn't buy the product at a apple store, you bought it at amazon. So right there I would never give you a straight up exchange. I don't know how you expected them to track down a random customer service rep named "Walter". Then they couldn't even find a registration number in the system another mark against you at this point.

I think the repair offer was fair considering all of the circumstances above that effect the product, any exchange should have to be taken up with Amazon.

I just think your massively over reacting.

 

[Pochacco]

Why would you ditch Apple products over a bad sales experience?
That's just dumb.

 

[galeninjapan]

You didn't knock over any magazine racks? You are a disgrace to gaf.

 

[xsarien]

You didn't knock over any magazine racks? You are a disgrace to gaf.

Apple stores don't have magazine racks, just stack and stacks of iPods. And I'd imagine that kicking one of those over would make you pretty intimate with the more nuanced details of the mall security office.

 

[keeblerdrow]

Maybe you should have gone there with better grammar skills. It might have gotten you better results.

 

[cvxfreak]

I think asking for a flat exchange was unreasonable. The fact is you didn't buy it at the Apple Store means you really shouldn't have gotten an exchange. I think you should have just taken the repair, but thankfully Amazon is repairing it for you.

 

[number386]

Then that's where this should've ended. Apple's store will fix your computer - as they offered - because, yes, they're merely an extension of the corporate entity and in that context, it's their responsibility to honor warranties. However, on a retail level, since you didn't buy it from them, it'd be hard for them to give you a point-blank exchange. They may if they decide to come back to you and say that the damage is irreparable. As with most things, there are hoops to jump through, you can't just skip to the end. Asses have to be covered.

Once again I will reiterate I called apple tech support like the warrent stated and asked walter if I could exchange it at an apple retail store for a new one and he said yes!

Is it wrong of me to then to go to the apple store the next day and expect to exchange it?

Maybe I did over react, and if they were able to contact walter and he said sorry he got the policy wrong at least then I would of got closure and left. You dont have to believe me but I really would have. The next part is when I got angry

The part that annoyed me was when they could not contact walter, and the part when he said the memo was not traceable to the tech employee who left it. I was 99% sure that was a lie as any company worth a damn has specific ID in's to trace any employee memo's. This was about 45 minutes in and this is where I lost my cool when he told me this most likely lie.

Reflecting back now when I mention the memo's are tracable through employee ID numbers I probably caught him off guard, he probably didn;t know the answer and he lied and said no. I knew he was most liekly lying and this is when I lost my cool because I dont like being lied to.

 

[number386]

I think asking for a flat exchange was unreasonable. The fact is you didn't buy it at the Apple Store means you really shouldn't have gotten an exchange. I think you should have just taken the repair, but thankfully Amazon is repairing it for you.

Please reread the post I called tech support to find out what my options were, and walter from apple tech support said I could exchange it at a apple retail store for a new one. Was it it unreasonable for me to expect an exchange?

Amazon is not repairing it, they are replaceing it, or refunding my money back at my discretion.

 

[number386]

I kinda agree with tetsuoxb. Just not as harshly.

First you talk to Customer support. I would think and maybe I'm going to go out on a limb that customer support proabably has alot of people working there and say just a small number of Walters...

Customer support tells you can exchange, so you go to the store they offer a repair, not a exchange. Fine you request that you were told you could exchange fair enough to this point.

This is where I'm not with you. You didn't buy the product at a apple store, you bought it at amazon. So right there I would never give you a straight up exchange. I don't know how you expected them to track down a random customer service rep named "Walter". Then they couldn't even find a registration number in the system another mark against you at this point.

I think the repair offer was fair considering all of the circumstances above that effect the product, any exchange should have to be taken up with Amazon.

I just think your massively over reacting.

I dont mind criticism about overreacting, which is why I asked if I over reacted on my original post, but I'm constantly having to reiterate my post here. Once again WALTER FROM APPLE TECH SUPPORT said I could exchange it at an apple store!!! So was I being unreasonable when I expected to get an exchange at an APPLE RETAIL STORE? The point is walter said I could get an exchange at the apple retail store which is why I went to the apple retail store.

I gave him the tech support number for walter, I also gave him my recipt with the serial number on it, which he somehow inputted wrong the first time. The serial number was in the system under my name.

 

[tetsuoxb]

btw: how do you know how your file looks like in Apple's system? Im positive if they could have found walter, they would have.

Nice pain in the ass customers usually get what they want to get them out the store... pain in the ass customers just get out the store.

It sounds like you had proper documentation, but you still should have shown some patience and work with them... the "this is what I want and ill be a 6 year old until I get it" doesnt always work, especially when you are talking thousands of dollars.

 

[number386]

btw: how do you know how your file looks like in Apple's system? Im positive if they could have found walter, they would have.

Nice pain in the ass customers usually get what they want to get them out the store... pain in the ass customers just get out the store.

It sounds like you had proper documentation, but you still should have shown some patience and work with them... the "this is what I want and ill be a 6 year old until I get it" doesnt always work, especially when you are talking thousands of dollars.

Like I mentioned in an earlier I lost my cool about 45 minutes I showed patience! I got angry when I believed he lied to me, 45 minutes is a long time I did not throw a temper tantrum, I did not curse either I was firm and started to use power words like unacceptable.

I dont usually lose my cool easily. Look at this from my perspective. I took a personal day off of work a day I could of used to go down to the beach or something. I drove all the way to long island, and back. Because I was told I could exchange it. I spend a total of close to 4 hours on the road driving, about about 1 hour and 15 minutes at the store. My whole day was shot.

The part when he said the memo was not traceable to the tech employee who left it made me angry. I was 99% sure that was a lie as any company worth a damn has specific ID tags to trace any employee memo's, and notes left on customers profile. This was about 45 minutes in and this is where I lost my cool when he told me this most likely lie.

Reflecting back now when I mention the memo's should be tracable through employee ID numbers I probably caught him off guard, he probably didn't know the answer and being on the spot probably panicked lied and said no. I knew he was most liekly lying and this is when I lost my cool because I dont like being lied to.

 

[tetsuoxb]

Or you may just have a notes section on your account page that doesnt log things like that.

Your anger was based on assumption... entirely. Which is exactly why you did not get what you want. When you assume the person who is trying to help you is an asshole, you remove any and all motivation for them to continue to want to help you.

 

[fart]

how brand new is it? if it's within a couple weeks amazon probably has to exchange it

 

[Space Age Playboy]

Yes, dump Apple. Their stuff is overpriced and they obviously don't appreciate your business.

 

[number386]

Or you may just have a notes section on your account page that doesnt log things like that.

Your anger was based on assumption... entirely. Which is exactly why you did not get what you want. When you assume the person who is trying to help you is an asshole, you remove any and all motivation for them to continue to want to help you.

That may be but I find it highly doubtful though, I didn't say I was 100% sure, and yes my anger was based on assumption. I was misinformed by Walter they would of not exchanged it in any way, shape, or form that is company policy. I was very friendly with the manager for about 45 minutes, and in that time if he could of done the exchange I'm sure he would of. My getting angry had nothing to do with the end result of not getting the exchange. I'm going to call tech support again tommorow and ask if memo's are traceable, if he says no, I'm going to own up and call the roosevelt apple store and apolagize to the two managers. In a way this has been theraputic, I'm not as angry as I was before. I'll probably stick with Mac's too.

 

[mrkapawutzis]

I'd suggest you bitch about it on the internet. That'll probably fix it.

:lol :lol

Walter was obviously mistaken. Get over it annd return it to amazon.

 

[ChrisReid]

It sounds like Walter got it wrong. Your insistence on talking to this Walter guy earned you the treatment you got. The store policy is whatever it is. If they say they can/can't do something, they're not going to do it. Trying to get some minimum wage phone tech support guy in a different state to try to back you up is a worthless move that would have only aggravated the situation. So what if you did get this Walter character on the phone to say he said what he did? Apple's tech support and their stores operate separately, and the store manager has the authority on exchanges there, not some tech support guy on the phone. With your four years of retail experience, you should have understood this before you even walked in there and saved yourself a day's worth of hassle once they said they weren't swapping it for you.

I'm going to call tech support again tommorow and ask if memo's are traceable, if he says no, I'm going to own up and call the roosevelt apple store and apolagize to the two managers.

Gah, just forget about it. The night's over and they've forgotten about you. They don't care about your apology. It'll just remind them of the previous day's unpleasantness.

 

[number386]

how brand new is it? if it's within a couple weeks amazon probably has to exchange it

I just got it this past monday. Shipping took forever though, I ordered it a couple of weeks ago when GAF was down. So yeah it's brand new. I already contacted amazon exchanging/returning it is not a problem, free return shipping to boot.

I'd suggest you bitch about it on the internet. That'll probably fix it.

Sarasm aside I feel much better. You know it's funny it's like one little thing can set you off. I was literally pissed all day yesterday, as well as today. Maybe it was the stress at work or that I hate my job so so much. Also any day off is so precious to me, or that I was stuck in traffic for about 2 hours getting there yesterday didn't help much, it's that feeling your getting squeezed on every concievable angle and than you pop.

I feel much better now for some reason, maybe I'm all angered out, I'm not much on holding grudges, maybe it was the couple of mike's hard lemonade I just had or being called an asshole:lol, or that it's friday now, but I'm OK. I'll call those guys at the apple store tommorow and apologize. Like I said I worked retail before difficult customers suck no matter the circumstance. And yeah I did over react.

It sounds like Walter got it wrong. Your insistence on talking to this Walter guy earned you the treatment you got. The store policy is whatever it is. If they say they can/can't do something, they're not going to do it. Trying to get some minimum wage phone tech support guy in a different state to try to back you up is a worthless move that would have only aggravated the situation. So what if you did get this Walter character on the phone to say he said what he did? Apple's tech support and their stores operate separately, and the store manager has the authority on exchanges there, not some tech support guy on the phone. With your four years of retail experience, you should have understood this before you even walked in there and saved yourself a day's worth of hassle once they said they weren't swapping it for you.



Gah, just forget about it. The night's over and they've forgotten about you. They don't care about your apology. It'll just remind them of the previous day's unpleasantness.

I worked at J.Crew and banan republic. J.Crew's return policy is very liberal as catalog returns, and exchanges are interchangable

Banana Republic policy was you can return any BR clothes to any store. In fact in Japan there are BR boutiques inside department stores, and a customer came in who bought something in japan and we accepted it the in the US and mailed the item to japan and then they issued the refund, no questions asked. Granted this was back 5-7 years ago, I'm not sure what the return policy is now but I know it's much stricter now do to massive fraud BR got. This was kind of the situation I was in so I didn't pay any mind to it.

And yes sincere apologies do make a difference.

 

[tetsuoxb]

I just got it this past monday. Shipping took forever though, I ordered it a couple of weeks ago when GAF was down. So yeah it's brand new. I already contacted amazon exchanging/returning it is not a problem, free return shipping to boot.




Sarasm aside I feel much better. You know it's funny it's like one little thing can set you off. I was literally pissed all day yesterday, as well as today. Maybe it was the stress at work or that I hate my job so so much. Also any day off is so precious to me, or that I was stuck in traffic for about 2 hours getting there yesterday didn't help much, it's that feeling your getting squeezed on every concievable angle and than you pop.

I feel much better now for some reason, maybe I'm all angered out, I'm not much on holding grudges, maybe it was the couple of mike's hard lemonade I just had or being called an asshole:lol, or that it's friday now, but I'm OK. I'll call those guys at the apple store tommorow and apologize. Like I said I worked retail before difficult customers suck no matter the circumstance.

Yeah, most pissy customers arent pissy just to be pissy.. they have their reasons. If you do end up going back to the store, I am sure an apology will get you even better service than usual. Of course, I am the kind of person who naturally forgives and forgets (unless you bitch about my mizuguchi interview ) so it might be different, but if you end up going back, it wouldnt hurt.

 

[fse]

Every Apple product shipped from all stores should report the serial number to apple. Seems amazon didn't. You need to call and ask for some form that you send to apple along with your reciept. Then wait, and then go back and get it fixed.

 

[fse]

I mean how the fuck can you not locate an employee named walter??? I have a feeling they were lying to me, I think they spoke to walter and he confirmed he did tell me I could exchange it their, and they wanted to cover it up.

Ofcourse. How many Walter's could there be.

 

[Lhadatt]

You may have worked retail, but you have obviously NOT worked in a call center.

"Walter" might even be a made-up name. I doubt it is, but you can't count on the retail store to be able to get any information out of tech support.

What you should do is call Apple and request an exchange directly. They are the ones offering the warranty, so do it now before the first 90 days is up. Don't bother with the retail stores - you should know by now that most retail lackeys are dunderheads. I also strongly suggest buying Applecare, since that will ensure pretty much anything gets fixed within the reasonable usable life of the laptop.

 

[MrPing1000]

eat bananas

 

[akascream]

You behaved like an asshole.

If you really worked retail, then I have no idea how you could not understand what they were saying to you. Lets look at it how I read your post:

You called Apple tech support about your defective apple product. Tech support is large. They told you to go to an apple store and to get it repaired. You said can I exchange it. They say yes. - Check, everything to this point is ok.

You get to the store and tell the story to an employee. He tells you that he can contact tech support for you and doesnt need the number. (see: trying to be nice to you) when he comes back out, he couldnt contact and wants the number to try and contact for you (still trying to be nice). When they cant contact him, they try to look up the serial number (which you just registered yesterday) and cant find it. Now - think about it from their perspective. You want a brand new laptop for a broken one. The laptop is not in their computer, and they are having difficulty contacting someone who you had a conversation with. You dont want a repair. You want a new laptop..... it smells like fraud. They tell you honestly that they cant help you right now, and a guy tells you that if you arent happy with his service you can speak with someone else (that is called good customer service). You keep getting aggitated and think they are lying to you. They arent lying. It seems they made a concerted effort to find "walter" but could not. Without "walt" all they could offer you was a repair. However, you went the classic "if i get loud and act like a baby ill get what I want" route.

I would have kicked you the store at that point... but the guy humored you threatening him, and professionally offered you his card.

Dude, you acted like a prick. Didnt think about how it could possibly look from their side, and let your attitude talk yourself out of getting what you actually wanted.

If you would have shown patience, not gotten aggrivated, and been completely nice the entire time, you probably would have been helped better. However, your comportment and story screamed shrink, and you didnt do anything to change that.

People are generally nice. They want to help you. If you treat them with respect and courtesy, it makes them even more eager to help you. Your post makes it seem like you did neither.

You are completely off base. I don't care how shitty you think your job is, the customer is king. Period.

 

[tetsuoxb]

You are completely off base. I don't care how shitty you think your job is, the customer is king. Period.

Im off base, but only in the fantasy land your comment originated from.

I suspect you have never worked retail. If you have, then you must have been asleep every single second of the job. When you see the endless stream of bullshit people try to pull that is stealing by any other word (not this case but in general) you would quickly change your opinion on this matter.

The customer is indeed king, but being king is not a pass to be an ass. Asshole kings end up beheaded, or in this case, going home empty handed. Store policy is store policy no matter how bad you whine. The OP would have known this had he actually had a printed receipt from an apple store. However, he didnt, which is all the more reason he should have not lost his cool.

 

[Musashi Wins!]

Store policy is store policy no matter how bad you whine.

Patently not true in practice, which is why it pays to whine to management, right up the ladder and not the bitter plebes who actually make the company function in the trenches.

 

[akascream]

Im off base, but only in the fantasy land your comment originated from.

I suspect you have never worked retail. If you have, then you must have been asleep every single second of the job. When you see the endless stream of bullshit people try to pull that is stealing by any other word (not this case but in general) you would quickly change your opinion on this matter.

Again, I don't care about how hard retail people think they have it. Newsflash, most people have to deal with shit they don't like at work. Welcome to real life.

The customer is indeed king, but being king is not a pass to be an ass. Asshole kings end up beheaded, or in this case, going home empty handed. Store policy is store policy no matter how bad you whine. The OP would have known this had he actually had a printed receipt from an apple store. However, he didnt, which is all the more reason he should have not lost his cool.

Actually, short of violence, it very much is a 'pass to be an ass'. But you will no doubt be completely baffled to discover, most customers hate this bullshit too! They wouldn't be reduced to it if your company had half decent customer service capabilities.

I'm not going to blame the employees, because thier frustration is always a result of an inability to help the customer, and the resulting conflict. This is the fault of apple. With proper customer service, the situation at the apple store would have been completely different. But even if there had been a miscommunication or a mistake (they happen), there are so many ways that encounter could have gone where both parties would have left in a positive way. Even if he didn't get to do an exchange on the spot.

Your throwing somebody out of the store comment is so laughable, I don't even know where to begin. If you are still in retail, I suggest you get out before you lose it and wind up in jail or some shit heh.

 

[Phoenix]

There is a separation of church and state between the online stores and the retail stores. They aren't that well connected.

What Walter told you was probably true - if they could find your system at the retail store. Without that, the retail store isn't going to give you jack. I've dealt with Apple tech support people who have directed me to the stored before without incident, but I usually had my unit for over 6 weeks before having to contact them.

While I can understand some of your outrage, I hope that you extend it to all businesses that you deal with. The next time you get cold food from a fast food drive through - teach them a lesson by not going there anymore! I personally don't take it to that extreme, but I most certainly sit there at the window and make their manager give me a refund and then drive somewhere else (noting the incident in my Treo for when it reaches a certain threshold and I just send a letter to their corporate office).

Anyways, Apple corporate will take care of you.

 

[Cerebral Palsy]

I've never had a problem with Apple. They've always replaced defective items for me (iPod). Two of the little rubber feet fell off my powerbook recently. They friggin next day shipped new ones to me. Can't beat that. But I've been lucky though with major purchases, which have all worked perfectly. I just always buy all hardware from Apple's site, and never deal with the goons at their retail stores.

 

[number386]

I'm having mixed feelings again about this. I'm not as angry as I was before but I'm still annoyed at how this played out. I have never had any situation like this in my 27 years of life, and I never got angry buying stuff before at retail stores before. I have worked in J. Crew, and Banana Republic, and the customer service, and policy in both stores were exceptional, and put apple's customer service to shame. I cited examples in a previous post.

These are the facts:

1. I was told by walter that I CAN EXCHANGE THE COMPUTER IN THE APPLE STORE FOR A NEW ONE.

2. I took a personal day off from work, I am a Financial Analysts where my week can consists of 60+ hours a week, a day off is a big deal for me, in fact I have to go to work tommorow saturday because I took a personal day off on tuesday (I have to evaluate and chart effectiveness of various business models, analysis deadline is tuesday) to exchange the Powerbook. I mean seriously I have to go to work tommorow now because of this, which is weighing heavy on me now, not to mention I'll probably be working to about 10 PM tonight *sigh*.

3. It took me around 2 hours to drive there, and another two hours to drive back. Not to mention the 1 hour and 15 minutes I was in the store.

4. I was very patient and friendly with the manager for 45 minutes. Think how long 45 minutes really is, if your standing around a retail store waiting for help. Also the manager was also joking around with the store employees in between this period and I even overheard his conversation talking about the yankees for a minute or two with a co-worker, which was a severe lack of professionalism especially with me just standing there.

After reading this do you think my anger was justified?

I'm leaning towards yes. I'm going to stick with Apple, but I dont think I'm going to rave about them as much anymore. In the end all we consumers are is $$$ to corporations.

 

[Cerebral Palsy]

You got stuck working with a shitty Apple employee. They exist everywhere. If this is the first problem you've had in retail... You have been very lucky.

If I was you I would have insisted you wanted to ship it back to Apple for a replacement. I would only buy hardware from Apple's site from now on, and avoid dealing with the retail locations at all.

 

[Kung Foo Kid]

These are the facts:

1. I was told by walter that I CAN EXCHANGE THE COMPUTER IN THE APPLE STORE FOR A NEW ONE.

This Walter thing annoys me. Obviously "Walter" miss understood something in your conversation, perhaps he assumed you would have documentation and that the system would be registered. Unless I'm missing something you didn't have any physical documentation.

2. I took a personal day off from work, I am a Financial Analysts where my week can consists of 60+ hours a week, a day off is a big deal for me, in fact I have to go to work tommorow saturday because I took a personal day off on tuesday (I have to evaluate and chart effectiveness of various business models, analysis deadline is tuesday) to exchange the Powerbook. I mean seriously I have to go to work tommorow now because of this, which is weighing heavy on me now, not to mention I'll probably be working to about 10 PM tonight *sigh*.

That is your issue not the stores, it is not like apple made you choose to take that day off. Are the apples stores not open on weekends?

3. It took me around 2 hours to drive there, and another two hours to drive back. Not to mention the 1 hour and 15 minutes I was in the store.

Wasn't that your choice to go to that store instead of the soho store in NY. Plus you said you wanted to go for a drive.



Basically if you really feel you got screwed it is the store manager that you should be disconcerned with. Not Apple. Not "Walter". Not the store itself. It was the managers final decision on the matter not Apples.

 

[number386]

These are the facts:



This Walter thing annoys me. Obviously "Walter" miss understood something in your conversation, perhaps he assumed you would have documentation and that the system would be registered. Unless I'm missing something you didn't have any physical documentation.



That is your issue not the stores, it is not like apple made you choose to take that day off. Are the apples stores not open on weekends?



Wasn't that your choice to go to that store instead of the soho store in NY. Plus you said you wanted to go for a drive.



Basically if you really feel you got screwed it is the store manager that you should be disconcerned with. Not Apple. Not "Walter". Not the store itself. It was the managers final decision on the matter not Apples.

1. I dont really want to get into this again dont have a lot of time today. PLEASE REREAD MY POSTS AGAIN, AS POSTED EARLIER I HAVE BROUGHT THE RECIPT AS WELL AS THE SHIPPING INVOICE, AND IT WAS REGISTERED UNDER MY NAME, REGISTERED BY WALTER.

2. What's the difference of going to the apple store on saturday, than wednesday? EITHER WAY I LOSE A DAY. I made a mistake on the other post when I said tuesday rather than wednesday. Your point made absolutly no sense. Besdies I wanted to exchange it as soon as possible rather than waiting.

3.Like I mentione earlier I didn't feel comfortable walking around with a brand new powerbook, in it's origonal box, and I didnt have a bag big enbough to fit the box inside. I still would of lost my time.

4. That point makes no sense. The manager is a apple employee thus an apple representative, speaking on the behalf of apple. Thus he is Apple.

 

[Zelda-Bitch]

Destroy the mothership. That may demoralize the horde(fanboys) and finally send them into hiding!

 

[Lhadatt]

1. I dont really want to get into this again dont have a lot of time today. PLEASE REREAD MY POSTS AGAIN, AS POSTED EARLIER I HAVE BROUGHT THE RECIPT AS WELL AS THE SHIPPING INVOICE, AND IT WAS REGISTERED UNDER MY NAME, REGISTERED BY WALTER.

2. What's the difference of going to the apple store on saturday, than wednesday? EITHER WAY I LOSE A DAY. I made a mistake on the other post when I said tuesday rather than wednesday. Your point made absolutly no sense. Besdies I wanted to exchange it as soon as possible rather than waiting.

3.Like I mentione earlier I didn't feel comfortable walking around with a brand new powerbook, in it's origonal box, and I didnt have a bag big enbough to fit the box inside. I still would of lost my time.

4. That point makes no sense. The manager is a apple employee thus an apple representative, speaking on the behalf of apple. Thus he is Apple.

You are letting your anger and lack of rational thought cloud your judgement. The issue is not whether you took a day off from work (oh boo hoo you have to work on Saturday, well I have to work tonight at midnight, so stfu), it is not who you talked to at Apple, it is not what the manager did or did not want to do for you, it is not whether you should be pissed at Apple or not because you got the run-around from what is most likely an innocent mistake, and it is not your wasted time.

The issue at hand is you're behaving like a spoiled brat.

Consider:
- You work 60 hours a week
- You have not consulted your warranty and repair documentation that came with the Powerbook well enough to notice that Apple does indeed say they will fix stuff like this
- You think you have the right to get royally pissed off since "Walter" told you the wrong thing, even though in most cases his advice is correct
- You then ignore logical decision making and decide the best place to get answers is GAF

These facts lead me to believe that you have little patience for things like this, not to mention in general. I suspect this is because of the job, as being a financial analyst is probably a little stressful. If you were thinking logically about this, you would have already asked Apple Corporate if they can just exchange the unit.

I don't really understand what sort of solution you want out of all this. You keep arguing with people, trying to justify your indignation through Walter's apparant mistake and the store's supposed incompetence, so I guess you want to be vindicated. Sorry, most of the people reading this thread already know you're acting like an idiot.

The proper solution, reiterated once again for your benefit: Take the problem to Apple Corporate. Call up tech support, tell them the laptop is brand new, and ask for a replacement unit. Do not let them give you a fix, since the product is new enough to warrant replacement according to most logical warranties.

 

[Phoenix]

Well I won't say you're acting like an idiot or a spoiled brat.

There was a breakdown in communication somewhere - clearly. Whoever's fault it was, that breakdown in communication led to problems. While we can all say that you shouldn't be upset - you ARE upset, so it doesn't matter. What needs to happen now is to step back a minute and look at the situation. Nothing in the past can be undone - can you get over it and deal with Apple or any other retail establishment again.


Advice

Since this was clearly a communication issue, be more diligent with gathering the facts before you go to the store or get off the phone with who you're talking to. Keeping a record of what happened will help. you.

If you felt that the managers jerked you around, call the store and ask how you can get in touch with the regional manager. Keep working your way up the chain until you get someone who will listen and take action to correct the problem. This assumes, of course, that you want to have the problem fixed and not just complain about it. You'll find that the regional folks will pretty quickly deliver a smacking hand downstream until someone explains the situation.

Once you've done these things, there isn't much you can do other than move on. Don't change your behaviors because of a bad incident with the stores. If you want to deal with the stores - that's your right as a customer. If they mess up again, you'll have good documentation of the incident to bring back to the regional manager and the store manager will be disciplined and possibly fired. Hey if you can't do your job - go do something else

Summary

Don't let a bad incident dictate to you how you are going to live just because of one incident. The people at the top don't want these things to happen so if some people below them are screwing things up - those people need to go. And believe you me, I ALWAYS stick onto something until I know for certain that the problem is resolved.

 

[Lhadatt]

Well I won't say you're acting like an idiot or a spoiled brat.

You have way more tolerance than I do. :lol

For the record, I do believe Mr. Llama is capable of being A Good Consumer Citizen and A Worthy Mac User. He just needs to act a little less like a beheaded chicken.

 

[UltimateMarioMan]

People like you Flying Llama are the reason I don't work at the computer store downtown anymore.

 

[number386]

You are letting your anger and lack of rational thought cloud your judgement. The issue is not whether you took a day off from work (oh boo hoo you have to work on Saturday, well I have to work tonight at midnight, so stfu), it is not who you talked to at Apple, it is not what the manager did or did not want to do for you, it is not whether you should be pissed at Apple or not because you got the run-around from what is most likely an innocent mistake, and it is not your wasted time.

The issue at hand is you're behaving like a spoiled brat.

Consider:
- You work 60 hours a week
- You have not consulted your warranty and repair documentation that came with the Powerbook well enough to notice that Apple does indeed say they will fix stuff like this
- You think you have the right to get royally pissed off since "Walter" told you the wrong thing, even though in most cases his advice is correct
- You then ignore logical decision making and decide the best place to get answers is GAF

These facts lead me to believe that you have little patience for things like this, not to mention in general. I suspect this is because of the job, as being a financial analyst is probably a little stressful. If you were thinking logically about this, you would have already asked Apple Corporate if they can just exchange the unit.

I don't really understand what sort of solution you want out of all this. You keep arguing with people, trying to justify your indignation through Walter's apparant mistake and the store's supposed incompetence, so I guess you want to be vindicated. Sorry, most of the people reading this thread already know you're acting like an idiot.

The proper solution, reiterated once again for your benefit: Take the problem to Apple Corporate. Call up tech support, tell them the laptop is brand new, and ask for a replacement unit. Do not let them give you a fix, since the product is new enough to warrant replacement according to most logical warranties.

1. Well I have never been in this situation before, everything has worked out fine in terms of purchases, guess I have been lucky thus far. Do I have little patience I doubt it, but I'm open to the idea I may have. What is at the heart of the matter is what is important, in which I was venting letting out my anger and it worked voila like magic. You know write everything down, and let it all out. You never vented?

2. THE PROPER SOLUTION HAS ALREADY BEEN REACHED THROUGH AMAZON AND NOT APPLE if you READ through the entire topic I said I was sticking with Apple and also mentioned that Amazon is going to do an exchange for me. I wouldn't say I want to be vindicated some of the people who commented has seemed not to read my posts, or read what they wanted to and posted. I never wanted vindication I wanted feedback, 2 totally differnt things. I was open to the idea that I over reacted and in my original post I asked if I over reacted. I also conceded to tetsuoxb my anger was based on an assumption.

3.I corrected gross mistakes of various posters not for vindication but for accuracy.

Don't let a bad incident dictate to you how you are going to live just because of one incident. The people at the top don't want these things to happen so if some people below them are screwing things up - those people need to go. And believe you me, I ALWAYS stick onto something until I know for certain that the problem is resolved.

It's all good phoenix, I know I overreacted now it was a mistake and I snapped, I was under a lot of stress lately and that was a easy excuse to vent my frustration. I'm not one to hold a grudge, and just wanted to vent. I'm not going to call apple corporate to complain, or the BBB. And I'm going to call the apple guy's and apolagize for my behavior. Thanks for your constructive posts, and I'm glad your back.

 

[number386]

So, I've been out of work since Friday. Of course, I've been spamming resumes off like mad since.

I applied for a technical writer position this afternoon. I don't necessarily have technical writing experience other than college, but I know I can do the job.

I got home tonight after hanging out with a friend, and found this in my inbox:

-----
Subject: RE: Tech Writer/ Documentation/ Design (BWTW)
Date: Tue, 8 Feb 2005 18:42:52 -0500
From: "****, ****" <****@****.com>
To: "**** ****" <****@****.net>

your resume does not reflect technical writing!

**** ****
-----

This is close to the most unprofessional thing I've ever seen. The only thing that I can recall that tops this is the way I was let go from my job.

I'll be contacting her supervisor tomorrow morning. She should have simply thrown away my resume instead of being snotty. I know I'm a dime-a-dozen out-of-work generic tech guy, but I think I do deserve at least the professional courtesy of a polite brush-off.

BTW, if anyone knows of any IT-related jobs in Austin, I'd appreciate a PM.

http://forums.gaming-age.com/showthread.php?t=35071

I knew I knew you from somewhere.


WOW I really have to thank you Lhaddat, after reading this topic again, it reminded me how irrational some people can be. And I was instantly ashamed of myself for this topic. Things happen you can either move on, or get pissed and angry. I now choose to move on.

 

[cvxfreak]

Please reread the post I called tech support to find out what my options were, and walter from apple tech support said I could exchange it at a apple retail store for a new one. Was it it unreasonable for me to expect an exchange?

Amazon is not repairing it, they are replaceing it, or refunding my money back at my discretion.

I'm well aware of the fact, but tech support can make a mistake; it's happened before and it probably happened here. Or Walter lied. Should it be the latter, then it's not unreasonable to expect an exchange, but it's also a bit unreasonable to expect it granted to you on a whim, especially if a majority of Apple didn't approve of the replacement.

Next time, it's best if you had Tech Support send you an invoice via email or postal mail with Walter's exact words, or something of the sort.