Apple saga continues

[Brad_]

>>> To those who are trying to use google results to make a point, don't bother. They're useless.<P>

 

Yup, absolutely worthless. When you google: horrible mac customer service (without quotes)<P>

 

And you get a lot of hits like: <a href= "http://eschreiber.blogspot.com/2009/01/my-horrible-dell-customer-

service-saga.html">this response that's actually about a horrible Dell issue</a>, as well as many other hits like I posted up above (poor Panasonic service, etc),

you gotta wonder. I'm not the only one who knows how google search works without quotes, right?

[garrison_k.]

<blockquote>

<p>Yup, absolutely worthless.</p>

</blockquote>

<p>Google search results are useless?</p>

 

<blockquote>

<p>I'm not the only one who knows how google search works without quotes, right?</p>

</blockquote>

<p>No. But it's clear I'm the only one of us two that's reading the posts of the other while arguing.(11:25 "I don't search with quotes. Just used them here to differentiate in my text. But searched fair I thought?") I suppose we agree on something, finally.</p>

 

<blockquote>

<p>But instead of telling me I was SOL, the guy said "We'll get it taken care of." He wrote it up as a graphics card failure that killed the processor, and wrote the work order up free of charge. Free. Of charge. Obviously everyone has their own experience, but mine has been positive to say the least.</p>

</blockquote>

<p>I love hearing of stories like this when it is no sweat off anyone's back, Preston. I'm glad they came through for you.</p>

[digitaldog]

<p>No company is prefect. But statistically, Apple is tops:<br>

http://money.cnn.com/2010/09/21/technology/pc_satisfaction/index.htm</p>

<blockquote>

<p><em>Apple's (<a href="http://money.cnn.com/quote/quote.html?symb=AAPL&source=story_quote_link">AAPL</a>, <a href="http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune500/2010/snapshots/670.html?source=story_f500_link">Fortune 500</a>) satisfaction rating also rose last year, blowing past its rivals with a score of 86, up from 84 in 2009. This year marks the <strong>seventh straight year in which Apple led the PC category.</strong></em></p>

</blockquote>

<p>http://www.tuaw.com/2010/11/29/apple-asus-top-pcworld-satisfaction-survey/</p>

<blockquote>

<p><em>Apple has garnered yet another win in a customer satisfaction survey -- this time it's PC World<a href="http://www.pcworld.com/article/211074/the_tech_brands_you_can_trust.html">conferring the honors onto Cupertino</a>, as Apple has topped both the laptop and desktop categories for most reliable and well-supported computer products.</em></p>

</blockquote>

<p>Consumer Reports (web site requires log in)</p>

<blockquote>

<p><em>Laptop reliability has been mostly undistinguished. Apple had the best technical support, while Acer/Gateway/eMachines had the worst.</em><br>

<em>Apple was the most reliable among desktop brands. It also had the best technical support, while Acer/Gateway/eMachines had the worst.<br /></em></p>

</blockquote>

[digitaldog]

<p>As for Google searches and then the numbers provided (as evidence to back up your point):</p>

<p>Garrison is a transvestite: About 631,000 results <br>

Garrison wears army boots: About 65,600 results <br>

Andrew eats dog food: About 694,000 results <br>

Apples cause impotence: About 193,000 results</p>

<p> </p>

[kyleweems]

<p>well put Andrew, thanks for that.</p>

<p>Mac customers aren't somehow special in the way they do or do not complain.. people who are upset complain about it, people who aren't don't.. that's just how it goes. It doesn't mater if we're talking macs, pcs, donuts or widgets. This inherently skews things when you only look at those who complain and use it as an estimator of how many people are unhappy. </p>

[andylynn]

<p>Garrison just has some problem with Apple. This comes up all the time. You guys can show any number of surveys with statistically significant numbers and he'll dismiss them because that's what people do when they've already made up their minds.</p>

<p>It's the pushing Dell that I don't understand. I've never had anything but trouble with Dell laptops, from the surveys I'm not alone and from the recent lawsuit over the motherboard problem it's not limited to laptops. I had an Inspiron laptop that needed its top cover replaced 4 times, because the hinge broke, because Dell had <em>used aluminum foil as a structural material</em>.</p>

<p>Then when I was in architecture grad school, Dell had somehow talked a couple dozen of the students into buying Precision "workstations". These were plastic Inspiron 8000 laptops (in an ugly silver tone) with Precision badges and midrange Quadro video cards for several hundred dollars extra. One of my friends had bad RAM but she couldn't get results from their tech support on the phone so she had me talk to them and after an hour I got them to agree it was bad RAM and ship a replacement. I took the memory panel off the bottom, replaced the DIMM and... still nothing.</p>

<p>So I called Dell again, and they said, oh, it must be the other DIMM. I said, what other DIMM? and the guy replied, the one under the keyboard of course. So now I had to remove the bezel and keyboard, but they couldn't talk me through it (just something like "find something and pry it off") and it took me probably 15 minutes to get them to agree that if I broke the bezel or keyboard in the process they'd replace them, but I did get the thing fixed. What do architecture students who own these awful plastic things and don't have techie friends do?</p>

[digitaldog]

<blockquote>

<p>Garrison just has some problem with Apple. This comes up all the time. You guys can show any number of surveys with statistically significant numbers and he'll dismiss them because that's what people do when they've already made up their minds.</p>

</blockquote>

<p>His behavior about DNG is nearly the same. Its a pattern.</p>

[Brad_]

Don't make me Google: Garrison has a problem with Apple

 

I'm certain it won't be pretty...

[digitaldog]

 

<blockquote>

<p>I'm certain it won't be pretty...</p>

</blockquote>

 

<p>About 374,000 results!</p>

[garrison_k.]

<p>Oh Andrew, that's just not true. I have a problem with all big business and oligarchies. I've pointed that out a few times but you've already made up your mind. It's just easy to pop your bubble, that's all.</p>

 

<blockquote>

<p>You guys can show any number of surveys with statistically significant numbers and he'll dismiss them because that's what people do when they've already made up their minds.</p>

</blockquote>

<p>Yeah. Just like the "useless" google results with thousands of pages of posts exactly like the very start of this thread. Do you remeber the topic of this thread? Sad Apple customer service.</p>

 

<blockquote>

<p>It's the pushing Dell that I don't understand.</p>

</blockquote>

<p>What's not to understand? I feel they're best of the worst. Especially when bought at Costco.</p>

[andylynn]

<p>You can just keep making stuff up or using bizarre methods like citing to number of Google results as if that were as statistically significant as a large survey (there are 2,000,000 Google results for counting google results is useless - so it must be true) then playing it off when you're called on it, but it's not going to give Dell better customer satisfaction than Apple. Maybe when compared to other computer models sold at Costco?</p>

<p>BTW, if it's big companies you don't like, doesn't Dell have about 3x Apple's market share?</p>

[garrison_k.]

<p>Putting words in others mouths? Where or who has said the Dell provides better customer service than Apple? This is perhaps why you have troubles with some here.</p>

<blockquote>

<p>BTW, if it's big companies you don't like, doesn't Dell have about 3x Apple's market share?</p>

</blockquote>

<p>Hence the "best of the worst" comment.</p>

<p>Lets have a great weekend and get away from the monitor!</p>

[andylynn]

<p>Well, there was the bitching about Apple, the bit about the number of Google hits and the part about how you won't see these stories about Dell (after describing a fact pattern remarkably similar to the motherboard fiasco Dell is being sued for) so yeah, I think it's reasonable to infer your intent to represent that Dell has better customer service, or satisfaction if you want to use that instead, than Apple.</p>

<p>BTW, I have troubles with, really, only you, Garrison. I write a site where I give computer buying advice, so I look through this board every couple months to see what's up and it's always you, giving bad advice or bitching about Apple.</p>

[Ian Taylor]

<p>My 2007 MacBook Pro is a champ. Only needed service once (in Calcutta) and they were great.<br>

Some people love to hate.</p>

[kyleweems]

<p>Not strictly about this topic I know, but since Dell came up I figured I'd mention it. Dell service for the average customer, and Dell business service are night and day different. If you have a reasonably sized business account, they'll show up same/next day and fix stuff for you on site, and bend over backwards to help you. If you're a normal customer who calls in for service, you're more likely to get a response of 'ha, good luck with that' followed by a dial tone.</p>

[Ian Taylor]

<p>I had a Dell and the service was OK but the machine was a complete nightmare. And that's the one I had after I sent the first one back when it wouldn't boot up straight out of the box. My Mac just works.</p>

[digitaldog]

<blockquote>

<p>I have a problem with <strong>all big business</strong> and oligarchies.</p>

</blockquote>

<p>Well that’s so telling. We call that being prejudiced. Pretty narrow minded. So how do you manage in this modern world living off the grid? And while you have a problem with all big business, it appears you have no problem supporting them with your $$ (that Dell, apparently whatever ISP you use to “communicate“ here, etc). </p>

[shadforth_stephen]

<p>Tommy, what city do you live in? Did you take out Applecare as well? Maybe its a local resource issue.</p>

<p>We are in Sydney, and Apple service here is legendary here. I also think they put you at the top of the warranty repair queue if you also have Applecare.<br>

As for the rest of the PC brigade...Dell, Toshiba, Sony. These guys take forever to fix things. HP is pretty good. We have one of theirs...its got a dead power supply and I'll fix that myself.<br>

We have three iMacs and only ever had one blow a graphics card once in 5 years. Yes, it takes a week to get it fixed, buy they never quibble about it.</p>

[rgerraty]

If Apple made ugly bloated, slow, immediately obsolete computers would this thread have got started? It's more like

my tall, beautiful, athletic, brilliant, kind, rich girlfriend needs a filling and it's so unfair because she can't meet me for

lunch today. Apple service in Melbourne is great too, although I haven't used it much of course. There were a few

design snafus as mentioned above. I only have to go to work to turn on the PC and wait and wait and wait to rejoice

in the Apple control of the rest of my life. If only they could become a world wide monopoly. I was wondering the other

day how many billions of dollars of lost productivity the world's industries suffer each year with all of us waiting for start

up or login on PCs.

[Uhooru]

<p>Garrison, did you ever read Cervantes' Don Quixote? Why does that seem apt? I can't believe this thread is still active.</p>

[BelaMolnar]

<p>I ad my stories too; Being a photographer, digital started, so I needed a computer. I'm a 72 years yang man, and no knowledge of computed at all. ZERO. Having a friend, a computer technician, I bought my first PC. Then learned to use Email, Internet browsing, and mainly Photoshop for my new digital photo files. Then my friend visited me at list, twice a mounts, sometime every weeks to massage my computer, sometime up to midnight, when I thrown him out. Almost two years of frustration, I decided to buy a MAC. My friend was a mac hater. When he heard this, he stopped to talk to me, no visit no call for 2-3 years. One day he called me, to my surprise, and wished me a happy birthday. What happened, I said to myself. A couple of day after he called me again. " How is your mac working?" "?" Two weeks later; what do you think of the mac mini? "?" Then he told me; he bought a mac. Story short, he started to tell me, how great is the mac operating system, and so on and so on. Little more then a year, working / servicing PCs and MACs, he said; "I hate PCs. "?" I have since three MAC and all the three are working, and I never needed a computer technician or such, and I'm totally idiot for computers. Only learned to use them. One of my old iBook 12", my granddaughter pounding it as a 20 year old doing it from morning to evening and a damn MAC still working without any glitch. And since, I'm working with MACs, my blood pressure are back to normal.<br>

Please excuse my poor English.</p>

[miikka_anttila]

<p>Garrison, I googled: excellent apple service ,and got about 25,000,000 results, does that make apple service most excellent?</p>

[patricklavoie]

<p>not being the modarator here, but maybe whe can stop bashing Garrison and move to something else? ... or if someone have something else helpfull to add taht could be good?..</p>

<p>maybe you can have a look at my website for a change ; )</p>

<p>just saying...</p>

[andylynn]

<p>That's a fantastic web site!</p>

[garrison_k.]

<p>Thanks P. You're a gentleman. But I have walked into a Hells Angel bar and pointed out Harley Davidson isn't as good as some seem. Interesting though, to see who likes to show up late and get a few kicks in when a man's already down and out cold.</p>

<p>Good one, Barry. A philosopher too. And Brad. I know it must have been tough but thanks for the restraint ;P</p>

<p> </p>