Dealing with Apple?

[MartiInChico]

There isn't really a place for dealing with Apple Tech Support in this forum, is there?

So I hope it is OK if I put my experience here. Folks who have Mac problems may find it worth knowing.

The User -> Tech Support interface at Mac.com has been radically changed - improved about 1000%!!!

I have a moribund iPad - it is 2.5 years old which is practically Paleolithic in computer terms, & nothing lasts forever, but I just dreaded having to call Apple, because my previous experiences have been so gruesome - one techie there flat-out lied to me, but usually it was just impossible to get through to them, because there was this interminable automated voice thing that responded to all my replies with "Sorry, I didn't understand that". Because I have autoimmune dysphasia, and my vocal cords are occluded with scar tissue and those voice-operated systems cannot understand me. (Human beings, dogs, birds and llamas don't have any difficulty - just automated voice-operated systems).

Then a few months ago, I got through to a guy (sometimes I have dragooned a friend or my husband to get through the robots to the humans) and he was very sympathetic and I could hear him leafing through a book, I think it was an "accessibility" manual or something of the sort, and after a bit he said, "Hmm, I don't see anything here, but I'll look into it, OK?"

Well, I don't for a second claim credit for the changes, but day before yesterday, I had to call about the iPad, and expected the same automated run-around, and was just astonish that after about three keystrokes, I was connected to a PERSON!! I was so stunned I said, "Are you a recording or a human being?"

And she said, "I'm a human being" but I could tell she was having trouble talking on account of laughing so hard.

I am so thrilled - I can't wait to tell my bank, my health insurance company, my online pharmacy and all the other outfits that employ robotic abuse to deal with customers, "Hey, if Apple can do it, so can you!"

cheers
marti

 

[Ian]

Now that's good news . Automated systems rarely seem to work for me too and it's so frustrating being "stuck".

I've moved this post to the off-topic section, as it's probably a little more suited to there than the suggestions forum.

 

[Liberty99]

I recently had an eye opening experience with Apple support too. Having been a rusted on supporter for almost 30 years I didn't think they could surprise me any more but sure enough they did.
I just received an online order of a new mac keyboard, unfortunately it had been damaged in transit. I took a deep breath and contacted customer support. No problems getting through, but that's not the surprising bit. I explained my dilemma fully expecting to have to somehow send back the damaged keyboard in order to have it replaced. The young man I spoke to checked my details and then said "Here's what we're going to do, you dispose of the damaged keyboard as you see fit and we'll send you out another one". and that he did - it arrived (undamaged this time) within three days. Awesome!
The other really cool thing about this interaction with apple support was that Chen (the Apple support man - we were now on a first name basis) - told me, without prompting, that he was located in Singapore. Here in Australia we have a lot of issues with organisations using call centres overseas, but pretending to be in Australia. I had assumed he was located somewhere out of Australia, but it was totally refreshing to find such an upfront approach to an issue that is usually kept hidden. Honesty is still the best policy! Cheers T