Apple doesn’t care about its customers
We here at BGR love Apple products as much as the next guy, but we think this crossed the line a little bit. Thanks to tip from a close friend of the Boy Genius Report, we’ve uncovered a truly amazing exchange between Apple and a customer. The customer, an owner of a recently water-damaged MacBook Pro, called Apple customer care to get information about repair costs. Accepting full responsibility for the water damage, the customer was still subjected to confusing and contradictory information about the repair. Frustrated with his experience, he took matters into his own hands, emailing sjobs@apple.com (a widely acknowledged direct line to high-level Apple customer care). The customer’s email is as follows:
Dear Steve Jobs,
I wanted to write and express my concern about some recent problems that I have had with Apple Care. This week, my MacBook Pro unfortunately sustained water damage. I understand this is entirely my fault but it is still something I would like to get fixed. After three or four calls I was finally able to get a straight answer. While I was happy to get a straight answer, I was not at all happy with the answer. It is very worrisome to me that the only way to get my computer fixed is to pay almost $300.00 up front with no guarantee that this will fix the problem. I was horrified to learn that their is no system to assess the problem and bill once all damage is known. I am reluctant to put money into a problem that could easily grow. I have had three Apple computers in a row. I love using them but I am not sure if my replacement will be one. I feel powerless in the situation and the whole experience has turned me off of the Apple company.
Sincerely,
Xxxxxx Xxxx
Reasonable? We think so. Shortly after, the customer received the following response:
Xxxxxxx,
This is what happens when your MacBook Pro sustains water damage.They are pro machines and they don’t like water. It sounds like you’re just looking for someone to get mad at other than yourself.
Steve
We find that response totally comical! Don’t you? While we’re guessing Steve Jobs himself wasn’t on the other end of this, it’s certainly a direct response from the @apple.com domain, which is only available to employees of the company. This means that someone directly representing Apple was responsible for this stunt. Come on, Apple. Seriously, this isn’t a good way to treat your customers, though you do get major points for the witty and comical response.
UPDATE: Full email after the break!
From: Steve Jobs <sjobs@apple.com>
Date: March 27, 2008 6:53:46 PM EDT
To: [email removed <xxxxx@gmail.com>
Subject: Re: Apple Care Concern
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Xxxxxxx,
This is what happens when your MacBook Pro sustains water damage. They are pro machines and they don’t like water. It sounds like you’re just looking for someone to get mad at other than yourself.
Steve
On Mar 27, 2008, at 3:01 PM, Xxxxxx Xxxx wrote:
Dear Steve Jobs,
I wanted to write and express my concern about some recent problems that I have had with
Apple Care. This week, my MacBook Pro unfortunately sustained water damage. I understand
this is entirely my fault but it is still something I would like to get fixed. After three or four calls
I was finally able to get a straight answer. While I was happy to get a straight answer, I was
not at all happy with the answer. It is very worrisome to met that the only way to get my
computer fixed is to pay almost $300.00 up front with no guarantee that this will fix the problem.
I was horrified to learn that their is no system to asses the problem and bill once all damage is
known. I am reluctant to put money into a problem that could easily grow. I have had three
Apple computers in a row. I love using them but I am not sure if my replacement will be one.
I feel powerless in the situation and the whole experience has turned me off of the Apple
company.
Sincerely,
Xxxxxx Xxxx
Uh…duh?
What do you expect, a free handout or something?
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Although I have always been a consumer advocate, I don’t see this particular case is in anyway Apple’s fault … water damage, you needed someone to take apart your computer, evaluate the damage, labor cost that much everyone (US$ 300, I assume this is in the US,) think about it, to look at the potential damages, some technicians probably will have to take apart the whole laptop and look at every single part of it, even if they couldn’t fix it, they probably have to clean it out for you, the time involved wouldn’t be just a couple of hours of work! … and of course there is no guarantee that the computer could be fixed, this is water damage we are talking about … so, what’s the point of the letter, you want someone to look at your outside-of-warranty damaged computer for free? You want someone to guarantee repair for a water damaged computer before evaluating the damages? I think THAT is the unreasonable part in this story!!
In respond to that, I think the response with a little sarcasm toward this sense of entitlement is not unreasonable …
I am more disturbed by all these comments slamming Apple in this particular case … rationality is dead!
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I doubt this is true.
Why don’t you post the entire email with complete RFC822 headers intact?
Hearsay at best.
I once knew a guy who know a guy who’s brother knew a guy that….
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I have to admit that I’ve had GREAT service with apple care. I’ve had 2 “white screened” iPod’s during my iPod tenure and within 3 days of calling and requesting service I’ve had a new one in my hand.
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While I’m disturbed at this post making BGR, I’m reassured by the response it has garnered in the comments. The post suggests that this is somehow representative of Apple’s policies and practices - to email jackass responses like that. This was the act of an individual, not the corporation. It is extremely unfortunate that this individual felt the need to respond how he/she did, making the problems and stress of the customer who just lost a computer that much greater. Hopefully the CS rep will be found and dealt with accordingly.
I’m glad to see most people understand that the $300 charge is reasonable, and understandable given the situation. I work in an Apple authorized repair center, and I sometimes wonder if everybody expects the impossible (or free) when it comes to getting their computers repaired. Its refreshing to find there are people in the world who understand its not MY fault when they break their iMac LCD with a baseball.
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Ok so maybe its just me or is everyone missing the point that the person said he knows it is his fault and he will pay the cost. Problem is that there going to charge $300 for labor (which I think is too much, im not expecting it to be free but that seems too high). Also that there is no system to assess the problem and bill once all the damage is known. For all he knows, this could turn into more money then what he thought.
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This actually does sound like Jobs really said this. The guy is as arrogant as they come. And exactly why Bill Gates pulled off the deal of the century and not Jobs, he doesn’t know how to talk to people.
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Wow that response sounds like it came straight from a phone scoop ’shop talk’ user!!anyone know what i’m talking about??
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Hello !!!! Everyone what large corporation does give a crap about you? None they all want your money and nothing else your complaints cost them money. Try the Visa commercial on TV. Your like the guy using cash or writing a check. It pisses them off to no end. They should all be in the extortion biz.
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Dunno, that e-mail response sounds fairly Jobsian to me.
While it’s blunt and not very polite (and yes, it is rather funny), I’m not sure what the customer expects. The damage is user-inflicted and accidental (which AppleCare doesn’t cover), water damage is notoriously hard to evaluate and fix, and the estimate from Apple isn’t at all unfair.
Personally, I find trying to pressure Apple to fix damage that you’ve inflicted on your computer by threatening to abandon the company kind of…. obnoxious.
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While I’m not a hugh Apple fan, I 100% agree with their policy. Yes, the CS rep was a little flippant, but the $300 is VERY reasonable. I work on and repair electronic equipment every day. H2O damage is the death nell of these items. I would not have even offered to look at the notebook. Just get out your card and buy a new one…
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Sorry but that seems a little fake to me…
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How could they possibly know how much it will cost to repair “water damage”? The response seems spot on.
Also, that the writer now “admits responsibility” is a bonus in his or her defense? First, that is what we should expect. Second, how could one reasonably expect “water damage” to happen any other way after the product is out of the box?
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I don’t think Steve wrote that email, but I won’t be surprised that he did or instructed someone to do that in his behalf. Anyway, Apple could handle this matter way better than the overpriced products they have been producing.
A better repair policy could be like the following:
1. Fixed charge for diagnosis, such as $150 or so. $300 is a little bit too steep just for diagnose, but typical Apple style tho
2. If repair needed, subtract the diagnose fee or certain percent off of the diagnose fee from the total repair cost.
3. If it is non-repairable and customer wants to purchase new equipment instead, subtract the diagnose fee from the total purchase price.
4. If it is non-repairable and customer doesn’t want to get another replacement, apple keeps the fee for diagnose of the problem.
I like apple’s designs and products, but apple is too spoiled to make me considered letting them to have my hard earned money yet.
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Steve Jobs does not care about black people.
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Are you guys serious about this post? If your car breaks down or if a home appliance breaks down, are you expecting a mechanic or repair person to “assess” your problem for free? Maybe if you have a good relationship or if they’re a mom/pop shop, but it still takes them time to figure out what the problem is.
I’m not offended by the response from “Steve”. It’s stating the obvious and I think that the customer is expecting way too much.
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I’m confused. He’s openly admitted to doing something that voids the warranty, thus agreeing that this isn’t a free warranty repair issue. He wants someone to open the machine, poke around and give a professional assessment as to what needs to be fixed. And he wants Apple to do that for free?
I think Jobs was being generous. My response would have been far snarkier and verbose.
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Makes sense to me. Forget the $300, he probably just needs to buy a new computer. He likely needs a new motherboard, hard drive, display, connector cables, etc. The only thing that might be salvageable is the shell and considering the work required he will end up spending more than the price of a new computer. This is why people don’t repair VCR’s, TV remotes, etc - replacement costs are lower than repair costs. Sucks for him, but I’ve lost a cell phone due to water damage (my fault) and didn’t see a reason to complain to T-mobile or Samsung or even bother trying to get a repair estimate. Sad but true, this is our world.
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I don’t believe that this entire exchange is even true. I believe that this is just another lame attempt at Apple bashing.. and it’s boring.
First of all the $300 will go towards the repair if it’s repairable.. and $300 is WAY less than the entire repair is going to be anyway. So he either coughs up the money and start the repair process or throw the computer away.. but expecting a company to put their employees to work taking apart the computer then replacing item by item to isolate the problems… WITHOUT GETTING ANY MONEY FROM THE CUSTOMER BEFOREHAND???
IT’S RIDICULOUS to even expect them to put in hours of work with no money upfront. Give me a break.
Wake up people!
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Let me try to put it nicely, if I receive a request to repair a water damaged notebook I will treat it as a joke.
Water and electronics don’t mixed and when they mixed it game over and time to get a new one period.
All i can say this guy got my sympathies for receiving such a reply from Apple, assumed it is from Apple, but then I will probably emailed him the same reply for assuming that a water damaged piece of electronic equipment can be repaired.
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I had the exact opposite response and reaction when I confronted Apple with a problem. I spent a few months on the phone with a lady from CC about my iphone and it’s sync issues. It never really got respolved but eventually they gave me an astounding $300 off any laptop I wanted. I was like, yes please.
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So does that mean that a regular Macbook would be ok with water damage, as it is not a “Pro” machine?
While I do find his (I have absolutely no doubt that Steve J himself was the author) reply comical, witty, and maybe even true, that is no way for the cheif executive of a multi-billion dollar company to address his consumers.
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@ Kanye
Dying!
@ Everyone else
The email is 100% legit and nothing has been edited besides removing the customers name. Additionally, we’re not saying Apple is wrong in how they go about their service policies, nor are we commenting on the customer’s problem. We’re simply saying that the response received from Apple directly is not the right way to handle the situation. Is there a part of us that’s saying, “Hell yeah! You got sonned!”? Sure. But there’s a bigger picture than that, and that’s how Apple operated in this situation.
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My story:
I have an original issue (rev A) iMac G5. It ran perfectly fine for 2 years then failed to sleep or wake from sleep afterward. Good thing I purchased the extended support because just a month shy of the 3 year expiration date, it failed to boot at all.
I brought the unit to a local Apple store for the repairs and was told it qualified for full coverage (I thought that’s what I’d paid for - but, they held up their end). A few weeks later, I received my working iMac again. They also provided me with an itemized list showing what was replaced.
I was shocked to see what this would have cost me had I not paid for the extended warranty (or not “qualified” for the fixes). A new motherboard, CD drive and power supply were accompanied by some labor charges. The grand total was just about $1000! I could’ve bought a new iMac (Intel version, no less) for nearly that amount. Had this been a PC, not only could I have done the hardware swap-out myself, I could have done so at a third of the price.
My next computer will most likely not be a Mac. They do make excellent equipment - and we all know there’s a premium to be paid. But I don’t think we expect that premium to be paid twice.
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Apple customer service blows big time indeed. Last year i tried to get my G4 ibook upgraded from 10.3 to 10.4. Paid like $130 bucks for the 10.4 cds and it wouldn’t install. When i spoke to apple, they couldn’t find a single rep that could give me an explanation other than “sometimes these things happen”.
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