Date: Mon, 30 Aug 2010 09:48:08 -0700 Subject: Very poor experience with returning a Mac Pro From: Mihai Parparita To: sjobs@apple.com Alternative subject: I shouldn't have to care about Apple's org chart Hi Steve, I'm taking the liberty to email you since I thought you might be interested in a rather poor experience I had with returning/getting replaced a non-functioning brand new Mac Pro. I realize that Mac Pros probably represent a single digit percentage of Apple's sales, but I expected something better when dealing with a "flagship" $5,000 product. Background: A day after receiving my brand new 12 core Mac Pro, it wouldn't turn on anymore (after I left it running a memory test overnight). After going through the obvious steps (check the power cord, reset the SMC, etc.), I made a Genius Bar appointment at the nearby (Palo Alto) Apple Store. Once I got there, they confirmed that it was dead (likely a bad power supply or motherboard), but told me that it was too new for them to have parts or replacement in-stock, and that I'd have to handle it through phone support (i.e. I couldn't have the store's repairs section return it). I called support, and there was much confusion as to how to handle this scenario. The initial support person was confused as to whether or not desktops can be returned for repairs (vs. for a replacement). She eventually transferred me to what was going to be the right returns department, but after waiting on hold for a while an automated message saying that that department closes at 4 PM on Sundays came on and hung up (this was at 4:30PM on Sunday). The person that transferred me should have been aware of that. I tried again the next day, and after having to repeat my story multiple times, having someone transfer me to the Apple Store (which was a dead end), having someone else suggest that I try a different Apple Store (without any confidence that that store would have the right parts/machine in-stock) I eventually ended up with someone who understood that an RMA was needed, generated the RMA number, and emailed me the FedEx shipping labels. I actually got three emails from FedEx, which probably confused the tracking process. I sent back the Mac Pro on Tuesday. After not having received any acknowledgement from Apple that 1) they had received my returned Mac Pro or 2) that they had shipped me the replacement, I called again today. I had to repeat my story again, and was told that the support department could not find out at what stage the replacement was. After initially getting my hopes up to say that it would be shipped today, I was transferred to the sales department; all they could tell me was that the Mac Pro takes 5-7 days to build, and but they didn't know when the build process started or how far along it was. It is not encouraging that the replacement does not show up on the online order status, but apparently that is "normal." It is now 3 weeks since I originally ordered the Mac Pro, and I don't expect it to receive a functioning machine for another week. To recap, the problems were: 1. The Apple Store cannot handle returns or RMAs for desktops. This may be a retail vs. support split, but as a customer I shouldn't have to care about that. Same thing about support suggesting that I try different Apple Stores without being able to tell me if any of them could actually handle the repair. 2. No good tracking of what the customer has already said. I ended up calling Apple support 4 or 5 times, and despite entering my case ID at the start of every call, I had to repeat my story every time. Better tracking of the actual problems (and/or having the support agents glance at that before taking the call) would make things much less frustrating. 3. Support cannot tell if a replacement has been built and when it will be shipped out. This may be a support vs. manufacturing vs. sales split, but again, I shouldn't have to be bounced around between departments and put on hold repeatedly to find out what is going on. In case it matters, my original order number was W241247802 and my support case ID is 174408281. I can be reached at 650 555-4582. Thanks for you time, Mihai