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
Delivered-To: xxxxx@gmail.com
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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
On Mar 29, 2008 @ 3:36 pm, Required Said:
apple stox will collapse. Steve Jobs will be fired. There will be riots at cupertino. Mac computers will start to burn for an online virus designed to revenge your e-mail.
Heads will run. sure.
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On Mar 29, 2008 @ 3:41 pm, mark Said:
ive had the same problems with apple. i tried to get my ipod fixed when i broke the screen. it cost me 40 dollars to speak with a human over the phone and after i sent it to apple, they sent it back telling me it was my fault and they wouldnt fix it. i had to get a 3rd party business to install a new screen at a pretty high price… needless to say, that was the last apple product i will ever own. now ive got a zune and am a microsoft supporter til death
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On Mar 29, 2008 @ 3:45 pm, anon Said:
Dear Mr. Honda,
I just accidently filled my new Accord with diesel, it started smoking really bad, and now wont start. I am troubled that your company wants to charge me money to diagnose the extent of the damage. I have bought 3 Honda’s before, so I feel entitled to you having your tech people spend several hours going over my car for free.
/douche
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On Mar 29, 2008 @ 4:05 pm, Name Said:
I dont like Steve Jobs he is as big of a jerk as Bill Gates but he is 100% right here.
How is Apple suppose to know how much it will cost to fix something until they get the machine and take a look at it?
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On Mar 29, 2008 @ 4:15 pm, Der Said:
He should have made a genius bar appointment… it’s free… you don’t have to call applecare….
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On Mar 29, 2008 @ 4:15 pm, Phil Said:
Take responsibility for your own actions douche bag. Quit playing online poker while you’re on the shitter, and maybe you won’t drop your laptop in the toilet next time. Expensive lesson isn’t it. Own up to it, and deal w/it son
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On Mar 29, 2008 @ 4:16 pm, Tranchester Said:
It sounds exactly like Steve Jobs to me. Individual customers are obviously important, but if you choose to bug the CEO about a trivial matter, this is about what you should expect. The sender thinks that email address is the secret bypass around Apple’s policies; that’s naive.
I’ll bet Apple employees really appreciate the boss saying to a customer what they cannot.
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On Mar 29, 2008 @ 4:20 pm, Gregg Said:
I don’t understand what is so horrible about the letter. They cannot tell over the phone what is wrong with your mac. Since you said it was water damage some one will have to do a lot of work to find out. They told you the minimum would be $300. They will possibly need to replace a lot of components. Typically they would call you once they know what is the problem.
How is this different from any Geek Squad repair?
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On Mar 29, 2008 @ 4:23 pm, Anonymous Said:
If it costs $300 to inspect the laptop for dfamage then thats what it costs. Seems reasonable to me. Complaing to Jobs is idiotic.
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On Mar 29, 2008 @ 4:33 pm, Nathan Tschetter Said:
I don’t believe this is true. I don’t think its comical I think its fake! I always hear of these people who have had problems with Apple CS. I’ve never had any. Not that there are some times when someone gets some bad help but this is unbelievable, thats why its not true. This is called a marketing scheme. I’ve never heard of http://www.boygeniusreport.com before and now I have because this story got some publicity from Digg. Good job BGR, on great publicity for free!
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On Mar 29, 2008 @ 4:36 pm, Alex Said:
I love Apple products and Steve runs the ship at the end of the day.
Although it is a shame Steve doesn’t care about his customers as much as he does “making great products”.
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On Mar 29, 2008 @ 4:43 pm, Jon Said:
This is a prime example of how people love to blame others for their problems and fail to learn how to take responsibility for their own actions. As a previous PC tech for a national corporate chain that has ceased to exist since last February. I understand the frustration that apple reps must endure for having to deal with stupid people. Also HP, Gateway, Sony, Acer, and every PC manufacture that I have done warranty work for, also charges you if you are dumb enough to spill water on your own laptop. Why does everyone think that they deserve something for nothing. Also apple users are the worse for they are impatient, and love to whine and cry like their two year olds.
I also feel that was a perfectly logical response from Apple. It could of been worse and a much more harsh response.
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On Mar 29, 2008 @ 4:46 pm, Derek Currie Said:
This customer sounds pleasant enough in his mail to Apple, but he’s utterly illogical and entirely unreasonable. BoyGeniusReport is entirely unreasonable as well if they think anyone with half a brain is going to buy their whiny sob story about this silly customer from hell. The response letter is a bit heavy with its “…you’re just looking for someone to get mad at other than yourself.” The customer was not mean or mad or seeking the suffering of others or a scapegoat. He simply has no reasonable expectations. How nice that he ’sez’ he takes responsibility for his actions. But asking for work to be done, even if it is simply diagnosis of his machine, without paying up front is ludicrous in the extreme.
I do tech support. There is nothing more common than having a customer ask for expensive repairs for his ruined machine then abandoning it, sticking the support techs with wasted hours of good will. Anyone who wants to keep their business solvent never allows this customer-as-parasite trick to bite them. Pay up front or go have the FireDog or GeekSquad kids do it for considerably more money, as in $180 per hour. Golly gee. Have them spend two hours on your box and you’re already $60 over Apple’s asking fee of $300. Get real boy!
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On Mar 29, 2008 @ 5:02 pm, Sam Roth Said:
What does he expect Steve to do about it? Send him a free replacement? Seriously, he should have contacted the proper people if he wanted to complain. I’m sure Steve gets these e-mails a lot, so do you blame him for acting humorous?
Best wishes, and hopefully in the end you get whatever it is you need fixed fixed.
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On Mar 29, 2008 @ 5:08 pm, Chris Said:
You’ve got to be kidding me. You spilled water on it and Apple’s policy is to charge for an assessment of the damage. Suck it up. I know why Apple does this. They want to get paid for the extensive troubleshooting work put into figuring it out. Being a certified Apple technician I know that with laptops it is more than 60% of the time on average is spent troubleshooting the problem. Do you expect that Apple will do it for free? Or maybe that after they determine the damage that you will say, “No thanks”. Then Apple is out 60%+ of their time working on your machine for free or not to get paid. Sheesh!
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On Mar 29, 2008 @ 5:10 pm, marcus Said:
But you still bought it. So i dont think you hate apple to much
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On Mar 29, 2008 @ 5:15 pm, Josh Said:
I suggest purchasing electronics from places that offer accidental damage coverage or purchasing insurance on such an expensive item.
I bought my Macbook through Best Buy and when my friend stepped on it Best Buy replaced it no questions asked.
I also have a rather expensive camera that I have insurance on which covers anything you can think of.
I don’t know if that response really came from Jobs, but what did the guy expect…a new computer?
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On Mar 29, 2008 @ 5:15 pm, Matt Said:
This is stupid… his complaint email was whiny and accusatory without really explaining what the problem was, and the response seemed dead-on. I’m not a Mac person but I enjoyed their reply. If you get water in your computer, expect to pay large quantities of money for diagnostics and results that cannot be guaranteed. Don’t bitch about it being the company’s fault.
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On Mar 29, 2008 @ 5:18 pm, Snoop1990 Said:
Did you watch the movie “Pirates of Silicon Valley” ? It is a movie about the beginning of Apple and Microsoft. And there is one scene, when a guy (former IBM developer) wants to join Apple (and it all looks like he gets the job). Then Steve comes and join the meeting, he does not like the way the man looks (looking like a IBM worker) and he kicks him out! No other reason give, he does not want to know about all the great things this man can do, or has done. He just kicks him cause his style does not match the style Steve wants Apple to have.
You see, there are similar things in history. For sure 300$ is a lot of money, but a Macbook Pro costs about 2000$ to 3000$. If you have such a computer, you should be able to avoid a water damage. Things go wrong sometime for sure but then be fair and pay for your fault.
And have you ever thought about the idea the mail might be from steve ? To me it seems to be the same kind of man, like the one who kicked this IBM guy. He do not like people who call them self professional but are not able to live.
I really like Steve and the way he made up Apple to what it is today (and it seems to be really hard to find somebody who can do the job when Steve leaves) ! He is a great man and he has this certain style. Do you see the difference between Bill Gates and Steve Jobs ? Bill always was this formal guy who worked together with IBM and other firms like this. And Steve ? he has gone his own way, that is what made Apple computers different. It is the culture behind. Buying an Apple is more than buying a computer, it is some kind of live style.
But those great years are over ! Steve lost his special style by canceling the powerpc. Sure Apple sale rates go straight up but, therefore we (the Apple community) loose our culture as well ! The more Apple wants to be compatible to Microsoft the more the culture dies. There are two ways to go, the high quality market, those who have the money and are willing to investigate, cause they know what they pay for and on the other side there is the mainstream. Sure you earn more money, the more people buy your stuff but you also loose culture and individuality, cause the mainstream works with Windows and it is enough for them. They do not need high end computers or the powerpc. But others, others liked them and those who really liked Apple in the past, cause Apple was something special.
And do not tell me intel is better, RISC is still the leading edge, just guest what’s the fastest chip on the server market. It is the Power6 the successor of the G5 !
I did not bother with those the Apple software engineers they do a great job and it is all just wonderful (all the SDK stuff, that is what professionals have been waiting for). But the Hardware ! I do not understand it, I really thought Apple would be that kind of company who are able to produce high quality above all the others. But going to standard intel Processors, CSIC processors. Sorry really I did not get this.
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On Mar 29, 2008 @ 5:22 pm, canadian68 Said:
I don’t know. Seems its widely believed that someone like steve jobs isn’t allowed to express himself as freely as the common man. I see nothing wrong with the email reply. Should he have buttered the man’s ass and told him in 3000 words of nonsense all the politically correct garbage that seems to be the common thing now?
these replies over oooh their customer service…. wtf? used to be not even a few years ago, you’d be told “Your water, your mac, YOUR problem.” nevermind being able to send anything to ANYONE for ANY kind of warranty work after your dumb ass poured water over it.
I’m sorry but society has become far too cute and cuddly to get anything done effectively anymore. Wish society stopped progressing in the 40’s, everyone spoke proper english, grammar was as popular as spelling, people had manners, mutual respect…. ah well. i digress.
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On Mar 29, 2008 @ 5:22 pm, Shuja Said:
that email address would receive thousands of emails a day and expecting that its steve who answers these would be utter stupidity.
Who is going to pay for hours of diagnosis on the machine?
Didn’t the guy try some pepsi or coke on it?
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On Mar 29, 2008 @ 5:23 pm, Bruce Said:
Um, there is a warranty on spills. Lenovo sells it for their laptops. Accidential coverage that includes spills, drops, and bumps with all that fun stuff. It’s expensive–about $300+ for 3 years, but hey — if you’re going to be at risk, then why not GET it?
Buy Lenovo. Buy better.
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On Mar 29, 2008 @ 5:27 pm, danieleran Said:
Dear Mr. Ford,
I crashed my car, it was entirely my fault. Can you please take a look for free to see if it can be fixed?
Sincerely,
Your customer.
(that was posted by somebody on Digg, but thought it was appropriate.)
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On Mar 29, 2008 @ 5:29 pm, mack Said:
cmon people are you seriously on the idiots side?
he takes the blame for spilling water on it but doesnt want to have to pay to have it fixed?
working in a tech shop for years this is in no way reasonable for customer to expect something else!
look at apples side and what your expecting, someone destroys their computer so for free apple should have to fix it or see if its even fixable? thats a waste of their time and money.
I dunno though maybe your all on to something, maybe i should light my car on fire and then expect the automaker to fix it, or at least inspect all the the componetes to see if it can work again, and then when my unreasonable request is denied i will cry and moan and push the blame….
but i will write in my angry letter “i take full responsibility for lighting my car on fire, i just dont feel i should have to pay for it”…
guy, shut up and go buy a disposable dell laptop. Around 300 dollars so you can water it and just buy a new one…
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On Mar 29, 2008 @ 5:29 pm, Jim Said:
LOL! Guy got what he deserved. A water-damaged laptop will probably never work again. He takes it in for repair, finds out it’s scrap and refuses to pay for the service. That’s what most people would do and Apple knows that. So there’s a $300 upfront fee. I’m not surprised and he shouldn’t be either. And emailing Jobs himself is an obvious attempt to get special treatment. Way to go Steve!
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