In the New York Times today, Joe Nocera recounts his sob story about losing a Sony PlayStation3 he orderd from Amazon due to a shipping screw-up:
Nonetheless, I got on the phone with an Amazon customer service representative, and explained what had happened: the PlayStation had been shipped, delivered and signed for. It just didn’t wind up in my hands. Would Amazon send me a replacement? In my heart of hearts, I knew I didn’t have a leg to stand on. I was pleading for mercy.
I shudder to think how this entreaty would have gone over at, say, Apple, where customer service is an oxymoron. But the Amazon customer service guy didn’t blink. After assuring himself that I had never actually touched or seen the PlayStation, he had a replacement on the way before the day was out. It arrived on Christmas Eve. Amazon didn’t even charge me for the shipping.
MacDailyNews Take: That’s it. No facts from Nocera to back up why he would “shudder” if called Apple. No proof that “customer service is an oxymoron” at Apple. Nothing. Just an unsubstantiated opinion thrown in to slam Apple; one that, in fact, runs counter to most every study we’ve ever seen:
• Apple Mac desktops, notebooks top PC Magazine’s Annual Reader Satisfaction survey – again – September 18, 2007
• Apple again tops the field in LAPTOP Magazine’s ‘Tech Support Showdown 2007’ – June 19, 2007
• Survey shows Apple near top of U.S. consumers’ most-trusted brands – April 25, 2007
• Consumer Reports rates Apple best place to shop – November 24, 2006
• Apple again leads Consumer Reports’ survey for notebook, desktop computer tech support, value, more – October 16, 2006
• Apple Mac desktops, notebooks top PC Magazine’s Annual Reader Satisfaction survey – again – August 22, 2006
• Apple far outscores all other PC makers in Consumer Reports Computer Tech Support Survey – May 05, 2006
• Apple Mac desktops, portables top PC Magazine’s 2005 Reader Satisfaction survey – August 24, 2005
• Apple Computer products top PC Magazine’s annual ‘Best of the Year’ survey – December 16, 2004
• Apple Macs top PC Magazine’s ’17th Annual Reader Satisfaction Survey’ – August 10, 2004
• Apple leads PC Magazine’s 16th annual Service and Reliability Survey – July 10, 2003
Full article, Think Before You Click™, here.
MacDailyNews Take: Upon researching Nocera, we found that at one time, he had an iPod hard drive die. The iPod was over a year old, hence out-of-warranty, and Nocera had declined to purchase Apple’s extended warranty. On February 4, 2006, Nocera proceeded to pitch a hissy fit in The New York Times because he was too stupid either to protect his investment or to grasp the concept that a one-year warranty expires after the period of one year. That would seem to be the basis upon which Nocera drops his unsubstantiated, unfair blanket characterization about Apple’s customer service in today’s article.
Nocera seems to think that he’s entitled to receive services beyond which are covered by warranty or for free, because he decided not to extend his warranty. Extended warranties have a value. That’s why they have set prices. If Nocera declined to purchase the extended warranty, why does he still expect to be covered for free?
Undoing the damage caused by Nocera with his unsubstantiated statement, one that is, in fact, very well disproved by multiple surveys and reports, will be tough. We’d expect that, even if The New York Times runs a retraction and/or apology, they would bury it deep within their pages in tiny type.
That said, the contact info:
Joe Nocera:
New York Time Editor:
sounds fishy
He’ll get bombarded by emails, then write a story about the vitriol Apple induces amongst its fans. Can’t win.
People don’t believe everything they read anymore in part because of crapy writing like that.
Apple has the best customer support I have ever dealt with.
However, no company can fix stupidity. The consumer has to be more than a warm body.
Whenever I have had to deal with Apple CS directly, they have treated me better than any other company I can think of. Everyone I have talked to has said the same. They will cross-ship a replacement (meaning they’ll send the new one immediately, before they get the old one from you) and they’ll send you a new, safe, pre-stamped box to send it in.
Now, the retail stores are a slightly different story. I’ve never been treated ‘badly’, per se, but it is definitely less consistent as many employees are clearly inexperienced.
But an ‘oxymoron’? Not a chance. I think he must be thinking of Quark.
… and now I’ll get pounded.
I do customer service for a living and I believe that the Amazon person did the right thing and that whoever Joe Nocera worked with at Apple did the wrong thing. And that if Apple does, in fact, train it’s folks to take a hard line with customers when they come in, then Apple is not long for this world.
Remember Stew Leonard’s two rules of customer service:
Rule 1: The customer is always right.
Rule 2: If the customer is wrong, refer to rule 1.
At the very least, the data shows that if you make a customer angry you can be certain that they will tell 25 friends (or in Joe’s case the readers of the NYTimes) what a horrible experience they had. You, the vendor, have already lost. Was that really worth the $200 you saved the company?
Imagine if every place in JN’s piece, where it said Amazon, it said, instead, Apple. You can’t buy that kind of positive, free publicity. Amazon certainly couldn’t have. They even got free mention of the Kindle thing.
Apple should have a system in place that lets its frontline folks “comp” something if they feel they need to. At the very least, the frontline folks should be able to contact someone (right away) to get approval to comp something.
Peter
@Peter Lin
“whoever Joe Nocera worked with at Apple did the wrong thing”
He never backed up what his bad experience was with Apple!!!
heres my email to Joe concerning our experiences
Hello Joe
I enjoyed your story about Amazon, as we use them a lot and have always had great service.
But I do not understand the unsubstantiated swipe at Apple
“I shudder to think how this entreaty would have gone over at, say, Apple, where customer service is an oxymoron”
Apple has received great reviews and surveys putting them at the top in owner satisfaction and customer service
In the last year and 1/2 our family has purchased 4 computers, 3 iPods, an Apple TV and an iPhone, and have nothing but fantastic customer service! I admit we have never had to use their service for mechanical reasons, as everything we have purchased just worked, and still do. We have used their phone service for answers and help in setting a few things up, and the help spoke english! without an accent.
We even had a similar experience to you last Christmas, when someone signed for my daughters new MacBook at her collage apartment complex, not only did they send a replacement out right away, but shipped it Fed X overnight at no additional cost to us.
“And that if Apple does, in fact, train it’s folks to take a hard line with customers when they come in, then Apple is not long for this world.”
If Apple does, in fact, inject adorable manatees with radioactive sludge and feed Alka-Seltzer to innocent seagulls, then Apple is not long for this world.
Thing is, they don’t do either of these things. Not even if you imply they do.
Oh, and…
“… and now I’ll get pounded.”
It’s best if you don’t hang a sign on your straw-man that says “This Is A Straw Man.”
A few years ago, my G3 iBook’s logic board failed. Because that particular model’s boards were prone to problems, Apple was prepared to replace them for an extended period (three years, as I recall). Mine of course decided to fail a few months outside this period, and my local dealer explained that they couldn’t replace it for free, so it was now a doorstop.
However, they recommended that I ring Apple. The first voice gave the standard reply. I responded with a mild expression of dissatisfaction, and was passed to a second voice, who rang my dealer. After some discussion (evidently involving my longevity as a Mac user), voice 2 returned and said they would replace it for free.
Now, it could be argued that a laptop’s logic board shouldn’t fail after three and a bit years, but I still see the incident as good service. Had there been a different outcome my impression of Apple would have been dented.
So, I guess I agree with Peter Lin. Although I’m not excusing Nocera’s sideswipe, when it comes to customer service, you need all the good publicity you can’t buy.
Peter, you are right you should get pounded.
Customer is mostly right. I could see your point is you were withing say a week of warranty. But to say every time a customer complains that their product stopped working (IE My Apple IIc died last week) the retailer should bend over you are dead wrong.
OK Joe, try this for size…
I bought an iPod touch and after a week it stopped working. I took it back to Currys (UK) and they said they’d send it for repair. I argued that it is 1 week old and I should be entitled to a replacement, but Currys insisted that it will be repaired… I walked out with my broken iPod in my hands.
I then drove to the Apple Store Trafford Centre, showed them my broken iPod and receipt from Currys, and they REPLACED it with no questions asked.
So hows that for customer service Joe? I hadn’t bought the iPod from an Apple Store, but they still replaced it, and didn’t even ask any awkward questions.
Rule.
“The customer is always right.”
“The customer is always the customer.”
These are different. The first is a stupid way to do business and a quick way to piss off your staff and piss away your money. The second is something you should always remember, even when dealing with unreasonable demands. Yes, some customers do make unreasonable demands.
HEY, why not blame the maker of the drive. Contact them, write an article on them, and point the finger at the correct source. Where the hell is correctness in these writers.
What the hell- my Goodyear blew out at freeway speed and I am going to make the auto company pay like hell for there fault!
Yea, way to go…. stupid writer.
For him- find out who made the drive, complain, and maybe they will send him a new one.
“Times” really never change.
My .000002 worth!
I bought a refurb 24 inch iMac from the Apple Store Online and I and some screen problems of which the Genius at my local Apple Store (Santa Monica) corroborated. Apple Support gave me an RMA and I sent my iMac for an exchange. Instead of waiting for the bad iMac to be received, they sent the replacement a day later. They trusted me in sending back the bad unit. That is fantastic service.
@jamie
My friend had the same experience with an iPhone and ATT, it was 2 months old, they wanted to send in for repair, I told him to take it to the Apple store.
As he explained it “they have this genius guy, he looked it over and replaced with a brand new one!”
He spent another hour in the store and came home with a new MacBook, and signed up for the $99.00 yearly fee to help him switch!!
Here’s a whole bunch of “think before you click” links.
Just a little list of this year’s anti-Apple sentiment from Joe. He really doesn’t llike Apple very much. Maybe his regular readers know that and don’t need any evidence for the passing swipe. It is certainly of a piece with his other writings. I don’t think Joe will be won over by a flood of well-worded pro-Apple emails.
Jan. 13 07: Joe says Jobs is a great showman but what about the stock scandal?:
http://select.nytimes.com/2007/01/13/business/13nocera.html
April 28, 2007: Joe gives Jobs more heck for the stock scandal:
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=990CEEDA123EF93BA15757C0A9619C8B63
June 30, 07: Joe doesn’t like that the iPhone was hyped:
http://select.nytimes.com/2007/06/30/business/30nocera.html
July 14, 07: Joe doesn’t like the iPhone’s battery.
http://select.nytimes.com/2007/07/14/business/14nocera.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
Sept. 8, 07: Joe says the iPhone is teriffic for media and lousy for email and phone calls:
http://select.nytimes.com/2007/09/08/business/08nocera.html
While I would be unhappy if my bit of kit failed just out of warranty, I would not be expecting a free replacement, sure I would be pissed, but I, as a mature and discerning adult can not imagine every company giving away kit every single time a bit goes bung.
This incident is not even on par with an item that did not arrive at the destination, which something that can be validated by the signing off documents.
Out of interest, in your view, what is the cut off point, when you tell the customer “sorry, no can do”.
The company where you do your “customer service” must have very deep pockets.
Please name the company, as this can only be good publicity for them.
Joe Nocera is now seen as a spoilt little brat with issues, Apple must, as they always have to, take FUD like this on the chin.
Thanks though for MDN for at least filling in the gaps.
I have had nothing but excellent service over the decades with all my purchases from different VARs that happened to have some issue.
The VAR never dealt with the issue – Apple did.
I had a bummer of a monitor that sat on my 7600.
It went in to service 5 times. Each time it did the service cost was well over a grand. On the last round – Apple suggested for me to buy another three years plan and they provided me with a brand new monitor. I was overwhelmed. Apple doesn’t like lemons.
BTW – I sent that very monitor to the curb last summer. No one wanted to take it in and give it a good home. Even though after all those years that 17″ with built-in speakers still worked.
That is the type of service I continue to get.
For all those who agree here; no matter what, Apple continues to have the best service anywhere.
If you haven’t realized it yet, this is a reminder: Everything you read in the NY Times should be taken with lots of grains of salt, whether journalist or columnist.
The best things to do are to write to their editor, take them on in many blogs, and be sure not to buy the NYTimes, click on any of their ads, or buy from stores that advertise in the paper edition. Make sure you tell the editor what you’re doing.
As far as I knew, Apple doesn’t have any customer service…unless they hang around all day like the Maytag Repair Man.
Dougless,
Did that 17″ monitor with built-in speakers have a glossy screen? I bet it did because callous Apple doesn’t care about you. I hope you can still see.
Your potential. Our passion.™
Joey (can I call you Joey?)
I have some advice: put that crack pipe down man. Just put it down.
In the second Jobs era, Apple’s CS is second to none. Take this for example: http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=302181
I’ve personally taken 3 of the G5 iMacs covered under this extension progam to the Apple Store here in L.A., and they’ve taken care of it. No questions. On each occasion, I simply marched up the Genius Bar without an appointment, and the whole thing was handled.
As I brought the last one, a floor manager stopped me and asked if I had an appointment. I responded that no, I didn’t. He said they don’t accept walk-ins any longer. I said “Are you saying I can’t get this taken care of withouth an appointment?” Instead of saying “exactamundo” and making me schlep the thing back to my car, he accompanied me to the Genius Bar, entered my name into the queue, and I was out of there in less than 30 minutes.
I have actually had the exact same experience he refers to with his order of a PS3 from Amazon, except it wasn’t Amazon in my case, it was Apple, and it wasn’t a PS3, it was Mac OS 10.5 Leopard, pre-ordered online when the release date was announced.
What happened was that Apple had for whatever reason kept an old address of mine in the personal details of my account, despite the fact that I had updated it. 3 years later and from a different town, the order I made went to that old address and was both delivered and signed for.
Like Nocera, I knew I didn’t have a leg to stand on. I was pleading for mercy. After all, they could have insisted that it was my responsibility to double check once the order was made whether the shipment address was correct.
However, when the error became obvious to the Apple C.S. agent, all of 5 minutes into the conversation, a free replacement was ordered and shipped.
I’m a happy customer.
I emailed Joe to find out what his issue with Apple was/is. I haven’t recd a reply yet. I’ve been a Mac user for over 20 years and have had excellent service whenever I’ve called Apple.If the blog is correct and he’s upset because of a hard drive that failed on his iPod out of warranty, he should know better. It appears that he’s got a hard-on for Apple and is critical. I suggest he start dealing with Dell and see what that’s like. Wonder what this guy thinks of Microsoft ?
The New York Times is a bunch of losers anyway.
I wouldn’t give this guy a corn cob to wipe himself with.
That’s why I don’t read the NY Times. Maybe Apple should stop endorsing his lame newspaper.
THIS GUY IS COMPARING AMAZON’S CUSTOMER SERVICE TO THAT OF APPLE!?!
PA-LEASE!!!
Well, I’m sure that Joe explained how he was a big-wig reporter and demanded action because if not he would say how bad the Customer Service is. Thus the Amazon CS cowered.
Rules of CS
1 – The customer is always right.
1a – except when it goes against company policy.
2 – If the customer is wrong, refer to Rule 1.
I emailed Joe to find out what his issue with Apple was/is. I haven’t recd a reply yet
Email him again, and point out how bad HIS customer support is.
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I shudder to think how this entreaty would have gone over at, say, Apple, where customer service is an oxymoron.
Joey, try DELL sometime if you think Apple is so bad.
Why Dell? Once you hit that order button, its yours. Pray that it comes through, and that it works.
The New York Times…wow, wonder how a questionable story could ever appear in that bastion of unbiased journalistic professionalism. (extreme sarcasm)
Just another Old Media rag that grows less relevant by the day. Joe must feel right at home there.
I’ve had little need for Apple customer service, which speaks volumes.
But when we lost a hard drive (not backed up with over $1,000 in downloaded music from iTMS), we were quickly permitted to re-download ALL of our music from the store at no charge.
Now that’s service!
I’ve shared this once before, but I’ll do it again because it speaks to Apple’s Customer Service. My iPhone got dropped by one of my daughters friends denting it on the side in the middle, and the “4, 5, 6” numbers on the dial pad did not work.
I took it into the local apple store, made my appointment at the genius bar, and waited my turn.
5 minutes before my appointed time, the customer in front of me started to pitch a hissy fit. He had 1 pixel out on his macbook pro screen. (I looked, you really had to squint and get close to see it) He wanted a replacement screen with a loaner computer while it was being fixed, or a new computer WITH a substantial price break. The genius has been at this store since it opened and is a well knowledgeable, fair, and kind individual. He’s also a New Yorker.
I was amazed that the more the customer ramped up, cursed, threw a fit, and tried to cause a scene the more the Genius bar rep stayed calm and waited for him to quit. It went on for 45 minutes. It was like watching a two year old.
Finally the guy gave up the ghost, agreed to accept a new screen, no loaner, and no new computer with no price break. When he heard the apple rep say that 1 pixel was well within the margins of what was acceptable under general wear and tear, and that apple didn’t have to even offer that, he finally gave up. The Apple employee stayed calm, didn’t raise his voice, and resolved the situation.
When it was my turn, I told him what had happened and that I needed to send my iPhone in for repair. He gave me a refurb instead.
I’ve been buying Apple computers since the early 80’s and before the mac came out. Other than a dip in Customer service when Scully took over, it has always gone above and beyond in my opinion to go the extra mile to satisfy me when I have a problem.
I just had a HORRENDOUS experience with Apple support, and had one 2 years ago that took *6 months* to resolve.
Being best of the worst isn’t enough, you need to be good.
This is for Apple’s own good, they need to check themselves quick, I have stock and I don’t want to see the backlash if they cntinue to slide.
Here is a letter I wrote to Nocera, (oh yeah, if you read the full article, he states his neighbor signed for the package, but then proceeds to bring it downstairs??? Sounds fishy to me.)
Hi Joe,
I just read the article you wrote that was published on January 5, 2008.
While I realize your article was to praise Amazon for their customer service and at the end of your article you supposedly told ‘100 people’ about the good deed Amazon did for you, I wonder why you had to bash Apple?
Since you did, what reasons/facts do you have to back up such claims that Apple’s customer service is an ‘oxymoron’.
I am curious to know what prompted this claim?
If according to Suresh Kotha, he states that Jeff Bezos once said ‘that if you did something good for one customer, they would tell 100 customers’, then if you just said something negative about someone (Apple), then wouldn’t the person you told tell 100 people the same negative story?
I think that is highly unfair of you to say something and not back it up. I thought good journalism was to to back up claims of what you write.
Also, did you ever think your neighbor signed for the package and kept it for herself? If she was kind enough to sign for it, why would she leave it downstairs.
Regards,
Dennis
To David St:
AGREED. As a regular reader of the NY Times, I have noticed that Nocera seems to have a chip on his shoulder when it comes to Apple. Is this an attempt to balance Pogue, who has a lot of praise for the company? I don’t know, but Nocera’s articles are generally pretty bad. I mean, Apple’s not perfect, and a well-substantiated piece criticizing the company is always welcome. But Nocera picks at the dumbest stuff, blows things all out of proportion, doesn’t support his writing with facts, and while he may actually be trying to appear reasonable and fair, it sure isn’t apparent. Personally, I think he may be the love child of Enderle and Thurott.
Ok, I’m an Apple fan but I’m not fanatic….sorry.
Here in EU europe, things are going the way NY Times is saying. I’ve placed orders for my company at Apple Store since 2002 without any problem, but since last summer when they changed the site (graphics, sections, etc) they BROKE EU Privacy laws changing our data without any communication… they derlted our company name from our Apple ID so we got invoices under personal name and not company one.
I’ve sent 2 faxes to the Administration numer in Ireland, but this unkind people not even replied by mail or so.
A couple of days ago we discovered that they messed up also our iTunes Account so we’re not able to use the song we recently bought and their nice Support keeps writing me about Knowledge base docs I already know…Ridicoluos
Dear MDN,
as usual as soon as a company become bigger and the clients/users are so many it’s tipical that they start giving a worst support than before. That’s it.
I’ve started with an Apple II and I still love Apple computers and sw, but my, our Privacy is much more important than Apple soory.
I’ll sue Apple here in UE for that because they should learn, at least here in europe, to respect customers as probably they do in US.
Apple replaced an ipod Shuffle out of warranty, no receipts, on the other side of the world!
Bought an iPod Shuffle in the US in June 2006, and my brother in India took possession of it as a matter of right…oh well.. anyways….a week after the expiry of the warranty, the shuffle went dead. Apple’s Indian customer care checked the history of the shuffle based on the serial number provided over the phone, and then ensured a replacement shuffle would be available at a local reseller (no Apple sotores in India then) in the same city my brother lives. 3 days later, he got a replacement.
Even my brother couldn’t believe it it….he thought me a bit of an apple-nut…but he sure views them differently now!
the point of the above being of course, that my brother, unlike Nocera, didnt feel entitled to a replacement, and wouldn’t cry foul if it werent given. Being given a replacement out of warranty is a big plus, but it is a bonus, not your right, so dont crib if it doesnt come. Listening, Norcera?
People still read the NYT’s? A left wing commie, gay rag that lies, hires plagiarists and has no ethical or journalistic values?
What am I missing?
Forget arguing here – email this asshole.
nocera@nytimes.com
What struck me about Nocera’s story was that his neighbor signed for the $500 package, then TOOK IT DOWN TO THE LOBBY OF HIS BUILDING rather than hold it and give it to him.
Translation: he is probably a major-league asshole, and his neighbor knows better than to deal with him.
That being said, his neighbor was clearly at fault, and it is astonishing that Amazon made good on the stupidity of a THIRD PARTY. Good PR, not good business sense. Any business would have been within their rights to tell him to eff off. Apple included. It cost Amazon 500 bucks to send this bozo a PS3.
I think the only decent thing for Nocera to do would be to list the neighbor’s name, address, phone number and email……
Or maybe just a police report.
What do you expect from the liberal-commie rag?????? They’ll say anything to promote their agenda. Liberalism is a very bad disease.
I have been buying Apple products since the the Mac II came out and have never – that’s right – never had a problem with any of them. Last month, after owning it for over a year, one of my Apple TVs stopped working. I took it down to the Genius Bar at the local Apple Store and even though it was out of warranty, they replaced it. For free! This level of service was completely unexpected and greatly appreciated. Apple has fantastic service.
MDN magic word: faith
Oh yeah… I was going to mention also that a friend of mine recently ordered a 15″ MacBook Pro from the on-line Apple store. They accidentally sent the 17″ model. When he contacted them to let them know that they had shipped the wrong machine, they acknowledged their mistake and fulfilled the original order. And… they let him keep the 17″ model. True story!
mozart11:
What are you missing? Why that would be your sense of balance and objectivity. But you certainly didn’t lose your hysteria, homophobia or xenophobia.
Good for you. You must feel proud.
I have had nothing but good experiences with Apple customer service. My iPhone bluetooth was not working properly and I took it in to the store. They replaced it after about 15 minutes of tests, no questions asked.
The whole Amazon thing was wrong anyways. It was not Amazon’s responsibility to replace the item. Who’s fault was the mix up? The company that failed to deliver the package to the appropriate address/person. That company should be responsible for replacing the item not Amazon.
What the Amazon rep should have done was explain the situation to the customer and provide the customer with reasonable instructions on how to correct the situation properly. Amazon in this case has now given him the unreasonable and unrealistic expectation that the customer should get whatever they want not matter who is at fault.
quick apple customer service call last week?
Received sub-quality $80 photo album ordered from iPhoto.
Called Apple, described how it looked pixelated, etc…
Their answer? “Keep it, we’ll send you a new one and verify the quality before it goes out. Our apologies.”
’nuff said.
I don’t know if anyone noticed, but the first line of the article is already misleading. “I got on the phone with an Amazon customer service representative.” But Amazon has an UNLISTED customer service phone number.
See http://slate.com/id/2091623
@dance dance Monkeyboy
>It cost Amazon 500 bucks to send this bozo a PS3
I’d guess it didn’t cost them a cent. By allowing a neighbor to sign for it, the delivery service probably broke the terms of the shipping agreement that only the named person (or someone in the household) could sign for it. Amazon will just charge the cost of the replacement PS3 to the shipping company, and take the kudos for providing good customer service.
Is it just me, or are we blowing this out of portion? He had one bad experience with Apple. He had one great experience with Amazon and took a pot shot at Apple. He’s posted numerous articles bad mouthing Apple. Those who would believe him have that right, but the more someone complains about the same thing, the less credible he sounds and usually alienates himself from everyone who knows him. Usually if you ignore them they hang themselves or give up and sulk in a corner. That said, I apologize for giving this subject so much type when in the scheme of things it’s very minor.
Your email address for the NY Times editor, etters@nytimes.com, does not work. I sent a letter and it bounced.
Here is the text of the letter:
Subject: Joe Nocera unprofessional libel of Apple, Inc.
Dear Sirs:
In a recent article, Joe Nocera, stated, in an entirely gratuitous throw away line, that customer service at Apple, Inc. is an oxymoron. Although the article does not explain anything about that malicious comment, research suggests that the basis for the libel was that Mr. Nocera at one point in the past wanted warranty replacement of an iPod that was out of warranty.
As editors of such a prestigious journal I would expect you to excise such unprofessional, illogical, and false materials from your stories before they are published.
Why bother with all this “stumr und drang” especially here where we are all (mostly) siding with Apple. Just remember that checks go flying out of Redmond in massive numbers and some land on the desks of the New York Times reporter. He’s just earning his “vig”.
Welll…..hate to rain on this Apple love parade, but my customer srvice experience with Apple is not so great.
I remember when I bought an Apple Lombard laptop (this is back in the G3 days) – the keyboard broke, the processor sucked, it would not use the RAM in the second slot, logic board defect twice, on and on.
I tried to take it back – they wouldn´t take it.
I tried to get them to repair it – they wouldn´t repair it.
Granted, APPLE customer service may be better today, but that was the reason that our children decided on Windows computers back then – the poor quality Apple product and service.
no biggie…Amazon sells Apple products
Unfortunately, my latest experience with Apple’s customer service was terrible. I sent in my 15″ G4 laptop for repair for the headphone jack. I was informed that it needed a new motherboard. It took nearly 3 weeks to be repaired due to a world wide part search. Then when they sent the machine back they sent it to my work address after I had informed them to send it to my residence. I finally received it nearly a month into the repair, minus half of my RAM. When you call them, you get the same canned lines from customer service. It is like the repair status of your computer is top secret. Now, I am a huge Apple supporter. My wife, my kids, and I own 5 Macs in all. We also own 4 ipods.
And they treated me like this. It was infuriating to say the least.
Weird. I’m wondering what news story could be printed that didn’t provoke name-calling between the intolerant, racist, religious right and the homosexual, baby-killing, tree-hugging left.
It looks to me like a comparative study of tighty-whiteys/boxers/ commando would quickly descend into a commentard insultfest.
If you don’t feel stupid engaging in that kind of pointless bickering, you should.
Anecdotal reports of excellent or poor service are interesting, but hardly enlightening. A randomized survey of Apple and Amazon customers would be much more revealing.
I have always had a pleasant experience with Apple support.
I recall a similar situation regarding an iPod last Christmas.
The boss’s wife order two iPods from the Apple store. When the package arrived, the Apples boxes inside the packaging were empty! The wife was sure that since the package showed as being delivered, she was gonna be out $500.
Apple was called and without blinking an eye, or requiring anything other than her word, they reshipped the order to her via next day air. Turns out someone inside the shipping company was opening boxes, removing the products, resealing the boxes, and putting them back in the package stream.
This idiot is full of it in suggesting that Apple’s customer service is substandard or a problem.
I remember when I bought an Apple Lombard laptop (this is back in the G3 days) – the keyboard broke, the processor sucked, it would not use the RAM in the second slot, logic board defect twice, on and on.
I tried to take it back – they wouldn´t take it.
I tried to get them to repair it – they wouldn´t repair it. —Weed W.
Something’s wrong with this picture. All these defects occurred while this computer was in warranty and Apple wouldn’t even repair it? I don’t believe you.
Joe NOcera and the NY Times suck. Who cares about what they write or say.
I can second the info about Amazon as the result of a Christmas purchase. As a long time Apple user (Apple II Gs to 24″iMac) I would have automatically defended Apple until my recent experiences with AppleCare about my new 24″iMac. Over the course of six calls to technical service, 4 went to India where the level one tech was very poorly trained and referrals to level two took 25 minute waits and two disconnections. The Indian reps did not speak good english and their training was very unsatisfactory. I attempted to report this to the executive level and got no satisfaction. I still am a dedicated Apple user, but customer service has slipped significantly.
Funny how Apple is held to a different standard. Been reading about LCD TVs lately. Many, many people stated that after warranty period, the TV quits. But rather than complain to manufacturer, they simply buy another one saying “now they are cheaper”; not worth the hassle. Some of those purchases were thousands of dollars!
Cancelled my subscription.
Hey wait, I don’t have a subscription to all the news that’s fit to print. But if I did, I’d cancel it.
Threw the neighbors issue in the bottom of the bird cage where it belongs. Maybe I should subscribe, then I won’t have to steal the neighbors to line the bird cage since I don’t get any papers. Hmmmm.
Dear Joe Nocera:
Please send me a subscription to your paper so I can quit stealing the neighbors to line the bottom of the bird cage. After exhaustive newsprint research it was revealed that your paper soaks up the most bird crap of all the competitors in my area.
I’ve always thought that Joe Nocera was a bit of a putz, but this proves it. Besides the fact that he is pretty rabidly anti-Apple, he’s mixing apples and oranged (pardon the pun).
His alledged poor experience with Apple and his out of warranty busted iPod was a matter for technical support. His issue with an allegedly ripped off PS3 from Amazon was a matter for fulfillment. Two completely different lanes, and his swipe doesn’t even make sense.
Been an Apple customer for many years, and I will freely admit that until the return of SPJ, Apple customer support was horrid. But now, there is no company that has it’s equal. Besides the fact that Apple hasn’t outsourced its call center overseas, the people who work there really know what they are talking about, and if they don’t- you don’t get the script about needing to wipe your drive and reinstall the OS.
Joe Nocera is a tool – and he should be exposed for that.
I will have to echo the NY Times critics on this message board. That paper is utter junk…