Hard to beat Apple's service...

N

NetJunkie

[H]F Junkie
Joined
Mar 16, 2001
Messages
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Apple's service makes it hard to want to get a competing product. About two months ago I dropped my iPhone 4 in my driveway and cracked the screen. My case wasn't going to protect a drop straight face down... Anyway...phone was functional, just ugly. I finally went to the Apple store the other day to see what the current charge was to swap it for a refurb (still $199...parts are down to around $100 now to do it yourself, fyi). Even though I was 10 days out of warranty (and it wouldn't have mattered anyway) they gave me an exception and handed me a "new" refurb phone for no charge.

Great service. I didn't even ask. Just asked what my options were.
 
i had a $600 raid card die in a Dell server.
i called them and they advanced 1 day shipped it to me guaranteed 9am delivery. without any holds on my credit card. nothing more than a name and address to send it with the trust that i would mail my broken one back. (FYI, Dell voids your warranty if you dont send it back, i know this from Dell employees)

then, the same tech i spoke to on the phone called me up around 10 am and asked if i needed any help
installing the raid card.

(just FYI, i wasnt even the registered owner, and it wasnt shipped to the registered owners address, but i did have all their information as verification)



I spilled something on my dell laptop and the speakers blew. they replaced the speakers and the mobo "just in case". i broke my ac cord and my battery stopped charging. i knew it was the charger but they replaced my mobo also, "just in case"
finally, the first time it actually broke by itself, and i submit the request, the tech guy says a supervisor wants to talk to me. he tells me, hey, this is the third time we are replacing your motherboard. you have a lemon. we would like to trade you for a new laptop.

i went from C2D 1.83ghz 2GB ram, 160Gb HDD, 8400M vista 32 -> i5 2.4ghz 4GB RAM radeon mobility 36 something. windows 7 64

for free.

i like dell.
 
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both great stories but I'm gonna have to say that these are the exception not the rule. I've never had to use Dell's service but I've had to use Apple's and it was a mostly good experience. Nothing shocking in any way but at least they were nice, that's more than a lot of places can claim.
 
Procyon12 said:
i had a $600 raid card die in a Dell server.
i called them and they advanced 1 day shipped it to me guaranteed 9am delivery. without any holds on my credit card. nothing more than a name and address to send it with the trust that i would mail my broken one back. (FYI, Dell voids your warranty if you dont send it back, i know this from Dell employees)

then, the same tech i spoke to on the phone called me up around 10 am and asked if i needed any help
installing the raid card.

(just FYI, i wasnt even the registered owner, and it wasnt shipped to the registered owners address, but i did have all their information as verification)



I spilled something on my dell laptop and the speakers blew. they replaced the speakers and the mobo "just in case". i broke my ac cord and my battery stopped charging. i knew it was the charger but they replaced my mobo also, "just in case"
finally, the first time it actually broke by itself, and i submit the request, the tech guy says a supervisor wants to talk to me. he tells me, hey, this is the third time we are replacing your motherboard. you have a lemon. we would like to trade you for a new laptop.

i went from C2D 1.83ghz 2GB ram, 160Gb HDD, 8400M vista 32 -> i5 2.4ghz 4GB RAM radeon mobility 36 something. windows 7 64

for free.

i like dell.
Click to expand...

Oh, so YOU'RE the guy who had a great experience with Dell, I've heard about you. Good to meet you dude!
 
santaliqueur said:
Oh, so YOU'RE the guy who had a great experience with Dell, I've heard about you. Good to meet you dude!
Click to expand...

a) dell has good service to anyone from the XPS/business or Server line, OR if you know what your talking about, and let them know it. Dell is the only LARGE company i have ever dealt with where i can say, "look, i know what im doing about, dont send me through 1001 trouble shooting steps before you warranty me.

b)the point of my story was not to boast about Dell but to show that one act of good service does not mean good service on the agregate. since most people hate Dell service, i thought it would be a useful example. i guess not.

c) the final blow to my laptop was actually the famous 8400M problem[1] thats really an nVidia problem. during this time i read on some forums, and there was a guy on business in Europe when this happened to him. he called Dell and said, "i know my warranty is valid inside US only, but im a US resident in EU at the moment. they sent a local EU rep to his hotel to replace the motherboard." WOW.

Im not the only one who gets good service from dell.

[1] http://www.engadget.com/2008/07/10/all-nvidia-8400m-8600m-chips-faulty/
 
In the spirit of the thread I do keep reading quite a few comments on something getting fixed/replaced from apple. Happens all the time in situations where you won't expect. Yes it costs more but they seem to stand behind it just fine.
 
My experiences with Apple are numerous. My 27" i7 iMac died after about 4 months (video card)....they handed me a new one at the store so I didn't have to wait on a repair. I had my iPhone 3GS swapped for a problem in under 10 mins in and out... Other examples with our notebooks over the years. It's been consistent, and that's my point. The volume at the stores has increased GREATLY over the last few years and yet they continue to do a good job.

Know several people that have gotten out-of-warranty gear fixed for no charge and even been given current models to replace them. Builds very good brand loyalty.
 
I get great service at the Apple store, but their IT techs/service over the phone are one of the worst. The first thing they should ask is if there is an Apple store 15-20 miles away, and to not waste your time over the phone if there is.
 
yeah their phone service is really crappy, going into a store is definitely the way to go.
 
Procyon12 said:
a) dell has good service to anyone from the XPS/business or Server line, OR if you know what your talking about, and let them know it. Dell is the only LARGE company i have ever dealt with where i can say, "look, i know what im doing about, dont send me through 1001 trouble shooting steps before you warranty me.

b)the point of my story was not to boast about Dell but to show that one act of good service does not mean good service on the agregate. since most people hate Dell service, i thought it would be a useful example. i guess not.

c) the final blow to my laptop was actually the famous 8400M problem[1] thats really an nVidia problem. during this time i read on some forums, and there was a guy on business in Europe when this happened to him. he called Dell and said, "i know my warranty is valid inside US only, but im a US resident in EU at the moment. they sent a local EU rep to his hotel to replace the motherboard." WOW.

Im not the only one who gets good service from dell.

[1] http://www.engadget.com/2008/07/10/all-nvidia-8400m-8600m-chips-faulty/
Click to expand...

Your joke-o-meter must not come from Dell, because that needs servicing pretty badly.
 
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