I’ve lived in Australia, Japan, Korea, and America. Each country has its own laws, but I’ve bought Apple products in each and had them serviced at stores in other countries. So what if it’s legal in Australia but not in Japan, or Japan but not America, or America but not Korea? Company wide standards need to be applied regardless of national laws because another reason I buy Apple products is knowing that if I’m in the middle of an international trip, I can go to any Apple Store.
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I don’t agree.
Even though a lot of is covered under ACL, it’s still a lot less effort and hassle to get repairs/replacements done when a product is covered by AppleCare. Some people enjoy arguing the point and the satisfaction that comes when winning that argument, personally I do not and I find it to be a complete waste of my time.
AppleCare also gives you peace of mind of accidental breakages in some cases.
In saying that, I haven’t bought AppleCare since my iPhone 3G S in 2009. I’ve never needed it enough to justify it.
If any of my devices were mission critical to my income though, I would absolutely get it.
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My current MacBook Pro has AppleCare until March 30, 2018. So far I have:
- Had 2 snapped MagSafe Adaptors replaced. Currently on my 3rd.
- The battery, which caused this thread, was replaced.
That right there is more than AppleCare cost me, and I still have that year of AppleCare left. Worth it. One thing I need to figure out is that my E and A keys are really worn versus the rest of the keyboard, and I need to figure out where I can get replacement keys. I won’t want to sell this when the time comes with the keys like that.
I’m meticulous about keeping my Apple products as close to unboxing condition as possible, and I always return everything completely clean and fresh to the original packaging, including all plastic wrap, etc. I want my buyer to have that “brand new unboxing” feeling, too. It really keeps the price up.
I’m discovering that customer loyalty seems to account for little at Apple these days, although depending on the representative you speak to it can sometimes help influence their decision personally.
I had a defective power adapter replaced as a “gesture of good will”, but service declined for a MacBook Air battery that started failing (<80% FCC) within the 12 month Apple Limited Warranty. Eventually an AppleCare senior advisor issued a warranty exception to get the Apple Store to move on what should have been covered to begin with.
I received a replacement Logic Board and Top Case under warranty exception for my 15-inch Mid 2012 MacBook Pro recently because the labels on the board were misprinted from the factory, essentially a minor manufacturing defect that was being silently recalled. Consider that one a stroke of luck.
I’ve seen customers come in with machines in immaculate condition just outside the 2 year Australian Consumer Law warranty with defective MLB memory being declined, but customers that have dropped or spilled water on their computers covered under a warranty exception. Computers with known issues that would otherwise have been covered by a repair program declined service because they’re days outside of the coverage window, but smashed iPhones covered because it’s a gesture of good will on Apple’s part. The customers that are entitled to a repair with a valid reason aren’t necessarily the ones that get covered. It makes zero sense.
AppleCare support agents also seem to have a tendency to send customers into Apple Authorised Service Providers with the expectation set that their iPhone will be repaired or replaced on the spot, when it’s Apple’s own corporate policy that only the Apple Retail Store can offer a same-day in house repair or replacement. Needless to say, customers don’t like driving 45 minutes to be told that the information the AppleCare support agent provided wasn’t correct.
So I wouldn’t consider receiving good customer service these days a matter of loyalty as much as luck, depending on who you speak to on the day and what mood they’re in.
If they do however take brand loyalty into account, it’s the individual rep personally acknowledging your product history rather than adhering to some unspoken corporate policy of rewarding customers with a long history of purchasing Apple products. As far as I know, no such policy exists.
So someone who’s only owned one MacBook for many years, that is now faulty, doesn’t deserve the same support service as someone who’s owned every Apple device in recent memory?
An adroit point which I tried to champion when my eMac failed after 18 months, and I learned that many many Apple customers, who purchased the eMac as their first ever Apple computer, were all having absolutely disgraceful experiences with Apple. If they had coughed up another $500 for the iMac, which suffered the same failing, they’d have been covered. But it took Apple more than 6 months to announce a Repair Program for a fault they’d known about DURING the sale of the faulty eMacs.
Apple is always like this with me but then as they should be… When you’re good to them they’re good to you.
iMac G3
PowerMac G4 Gigabit Ethernet.
Power Mac G5
iMac G4
13" Macbook Aluminum
13" Macbook Pro x 2
Mac Mini
iPhone 4
iPhone 4S
iPhone 5S
My small list of products purchased over the years should lead to some sort of recognition.
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So more to my saga from the other day with the iPhone 6.
After the screen replacement, I started noticing that the home button wasn’t always responding and TouchID was very very sensitive, often for a single tap it would do the ‘double tap, screen drop’ thing.
Took it to the store on Friday. Was told that there was a very slight bend (iPhone 6 has been in an Apple Leather Case since day 1) and the new screen was dead straight and thus the home button was slightly lifted and they could only offer a refurb at my expense. His solution was to turn off “Reachability” so that it doesn’t respond to the double TouchID tap.
The rep was totally unwilling to even explain how a $1,000 device bends from normal usage (ie. putting in pocket!) and was incredibly rude, unhelpful and condescending…
Not sure what to do now, thinking I might try calling Apple Support again?
Utterly disappointed from Apple. The Genius Bar used to be really great, but these two experiences have soured things a little 
/endrant
Escalate it/make a fuss. When I got stuffed around with my MacBook in 2015 I just had to be persistent. I was firm but polite, regardless of how rude the Apple Store was.
I agree with Oldmacs. Not literally make a fuss, but calmly explain why this response was ridiculous and unacceptable. More helpful still if you can do a bit of lawyering. One of the ways I avoid a second “no” is to explain, in detail, why I firmly believe that coverage in this case is warranted, and why any reasonable individual would. One assumes, of course, that you actually believe it. I have never asked for service I didn’t firmly believe I was owed.
Yeah sorry - making a fuss is maybe not the best description, but ensure you don’t get palmed off, be persistent.
Sometimes it doesn’t work talking to the first rep. You have to find someone else that is more willing to hear your cause. Also explaining your cause clearly helps as has been stated above even if it means reiterating what you just said.
I literally got an iPhone replaced out of warranty that had previously had its screen replaced and half its parts missing. Replaced with an out of warranty repair unit and 1 year of Apple care just by doing a bit of badgering.
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Yeah in hindsight I shoulda done that. Will go back and try again…
To close the loop, I called back Apple Support. They were excellent. A replacement iPhone is on its way to me right now. They said the store was out of line and the phone should have been repaired. I sent them some photos and they could see the issue with the home button and also agreed there was no bend.
Hopefully some constructive feedback makes its way to Apple Chermside. 
Any idea which genius it was at all? I’ve had one or two there that’ve been a bit funny too.
Nope I don’t think they even said?? But I may have missed it.
The last guy I dealt with there was Sheldon, but the staff turnover rate is so high it doesn’t even begin to matter who you’re dealing with. There’s a strong probability you’ll never see them there again. The only reason I remember names like that is because of links to other things, such as Big Bang Theory. I once dealt with a Mustafa there also (Lion King.) That’s pretty much the only reason I remember names.
They actually do have some long standing staff members there. I have a good memory for names and faces.
From The Sizzle today.
I’m six of one half a dozen of the other. I recently had a third party repaired phone replaced. I could probably badger apple about this over the phone to get the repair fee refunded but I’m not sure if I’ll just end up in another circular argument.
You can’t tell without trying it out though. I might give them a call tomorrow.