I used to be a non-apple person, but 2 ipods, 2 iphones and one Ipad later - we are slowly shifting into Apple domain and its not only the quality and fun factor of their products, but their customer service which is just mind boggling.
Their store policies are just amazing. They will exchange or refund without any hassle. Its because they are probably the only store selling their own product, at least exchange is a no brainer at their store and they are not too tough on even coming up with a receipt. I had an Ipod headset exchange that way. Lady just took my old headset, took out a new one from her drawer, handed to me and said thank you. That is it. No questions, no signatures, no forms- nothing.
Yesterday I went there again after I heard of the IPAD2 launch as we bought IPAD on 26th. They guy said that I am covered and can come back on the day of annoucnement to either get a free upgrade or if original IPAD price goes down, I can receive my credit.
You know, I think this is how apple builds a loyal customer base. Their prices are fair based on the quality of their products ,and they keep their customer happy.
Share your experience if you hate, love or just indifferent about Apple.
Well, for me, I was an Apple fan but the problems I have with Apple now are pretty much summed up by Jobs himself. I have same issues with Apple as his first and sixth ‘thoughts’ on Adobe Flash.
^ The word ‘forcing’ is the key. The corporation forces consumers to use the gadgets how they want, forces developers to stick to their tools and forces hardware manufacturers to confirm to their standards.
It is not only about Flash. It is the whole package. Apparently millions of people like Apple’s gadgets but I don’t like being limited to behaving how a corporation wants me to.
The Apple Store in the Arndale Centre in Manchester , UK, is brilliant - apart from its always so busy and waiting to see a guy from Customer Service can leave u to be pretty miffed off- however, once u can get urself thru the wait and" queue rage"- the guys in this store are really brilliant …also cute .. … the Liverpool 1 store one is more quieter and their Service Centre upstairs is really cool- theres online training going on with IPADS and stuff!:k:
** I also had to use them “online” as I was in the UAE when my IPOD went all .. so I was prettty amazed with their rapid response via email- in about 2 days- all thru emails and 1 call- my IPOD was sorted- despite an International call- all was done:k:**
Well my original iphone in 2007 become bricked after i fail to unlocked it, so i took it to apple store in downtown manhattan, they replaced it with shiny brand new. even though i used it for like two months.
after few months i took my one month old macbook pro, the speakers were having some problems - well at genius bar they can’t able to fix it, so hence they need to send it to factory or something. tech guy give me two options either i can brand new and they will transfer all the data or i can wait 3 days.. i took the shiny brand new macbook pro with my existing data transferred in 30 minutes..
last month i exchange my apple tv for free again, ..
final verdict: no body can match Apple customer services, they do charge premium but consumer also get peace of mind.
I would have to agree here. Anytime I walked into Apple store, I encountered most friendly folks working here. Ready to help me and advise anything apple related I wanted to know.
The fact remains that Apple caters to people who appreciate the customer service aspect… as opposed to people who have the know-how and capability to help themselves if provided the appropriate resources/guidance without having to pay the “premium”. Nothing wrong with this at all! it’s a great niche marketing strategy and kudos to them for their effectiveness in CRM.
That being said, people like me who define “quality” in terms of functionality will never be satisfied with Apple’s quest to control customer behavior by binding them to specific standards and rigid mechanisms. This “my-way-or-the-highway” approach doesn’t bode well with technology savvy users. In the metaphorical equation of value where value=quality/price, people like me always feel like we’re not getting the quality end-user experience for the price we’re paying… and hence, will always look for ways to “jail-break” out of the default standards… or look for alternative products and services.
^ I think our perception of Apple is too clouded by their release of Iphones and Ipads. Please remember that before that, they had (still have) Ipods and mac computers.
Ipods are as much of close hardware as Zune or any other MP3 player is.
if you have a know how, you can upgrade your mac pro hardware as easily. Apple laptops are the same.
as far as proprietary hardware is concerned, Compaq and Sony are more (or equally) notorious players than (as) Apple.
I dont agree. I am not sure what you mean by Tech Savy (I guess IT guys!) but people in music industry, graphic designs and such prefer macs over PCs. Its not what you are but what you do determines whether apple is a better choice or PC. I like to believe (I dont have and statistic to back up my claim) that the amount of energy, time and money that we have to invest to secure our PCs against malware and virus, almost balances the premium that apple charges up front.
I’ve never been much of an Apple customer but yes their customer service pretty darn good. Especially when one of your best friends works there and gives you a 27% employee discount
I agree with your statement about what a person does… but the roles you’ve highlighted aren’t necessarily tech savvy - they’re just creative roles… also, the thing about their preference of macs over PCs was certainly true 7 - 8 years ago, but isn’t true any more - recent market stats shows no specific platform preferences even for people in these creative roles.
Also, having worked in IS Security, I can tell you that the whole Apple OS being more secure than Windows is simply a myth. Apple has its own share of vulnerabilities, some issues even more gaping as compared to Windows.
It may feel like I’m attacking Apple unnecessarily which I’m not. There’s plenty of good in their products and servies… product design, interface usability, and customer service come to mind… but again, their apps are not meant for productivity… just utility.
Here is another example of their customer service.
I just came back from their store. Original Ipad is down by $100.00. I bought mine on 20th of Feb and my 14 day return period is expiring on 6th. Ipad 2 is shipping on 11th. I asked them and they said that for people who bought Ipad within last 14 days are covered for free upgrade for next 14 days, that means 16th is my new expiry date. But I am going to be out of town (in Orlando) from 10th to 16th. Off course I can replace mine at the Apple store in Orlando but I told the guy that I might be busy and may not have time to go to the store and stand in long lines (that we see for first few days of apple product launch). He said that dont worry, if that would be the situation then when you come back, we will take care of you, however try your best to get it replaced in Orlando.
face time and white IPAD2, here I come .. yeahhhhhhhhhhhhh
You mean the tablet and iphone apps, right! cause I believe their mac notebooks and desktop apps are as full fledged as any other platform, in fact all major productivity applications are available in both mac and Pc version.
But if you are indeed talking about tablet and mobile apps then the same is true for android, blackberry and Palm platforms. Mobile apps are mere utilities and can never replace a productivity suite.
You are suggesting the two are mutually exclusive. It’s not unknown for Apple users to be 1337 geeks too. The fact I choose to use an Apple product does not mean I am thick; I may not want to carry on using bash or coding everything in assembler after finishing work.
Apple create good quality products, wit thought and care to user interaction. Saves me time and hassle, fine if you have time stick to BSD, Linux or whatever takes your fancy. But please dont generalise users of a product as thick.
^ I never used those words - au contraire, I said that for some users, there really is no need to delve into the system aspects beyond what is visible and apparent. I also said that these people may in fact constitute a very bright/intelligent bunch including the likes of designers and architects. What I’m saying here is it is far more likely for a Windows user to be self-sufficient in performing system tasks and upgrades, than an Apple user because Apple keeps a lot of this stuff hidden/difficult to manipulate for the end-user and hence, creates a dependency on their customer service for these things.
I was looking at high end Macbook but the processor was just dual core and around 2.1 gigz and the price was already pushing past 1500. I ended up getting a Sony Z (it is more expensive) but it comes with SSD and a more powerful processor. I could have gone with another choice like a hybrid drive, which would be cheaper in a dell laptop for example, but apple’s exclusive doesn’t allow that.
I do have to say that Sony’s home service is crap so that I had to sent in the computer to the depot. I am waiting to see how they perform before I make any final judgments.
…also cute 
.. … the Liverpool 1 store one is more quieter and their Service Centre upstairs is really cool- theres online training going on with IPADS and stuff!:k:
.. so I was prettty amazed with their rapid response via email- in about 2 days- all thru emails and 1 call- my IPOD was sorted- despite an International call- all was done:k:**
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