[MacSpirit] This is NOT an Apple tech-support call from hell

by Rodney O. Lain

4/30/01

A “team effort” is a lot of people doing what I say.

Michael Winner

Continually, there are people out there who never have anything positive to say about Apple. In their eyes, Apple Computer can’t do anything right. This or that feature is missing from OS X. Apple should have done this or shouldn’t have done that. This brings truth to a principle I’ve learned about Corporate America and human nature: we often withhold praise, but are quick to offer negative criticism.

I thought for once, as artlessly as possible, that I would attempt the former instead of the latter.

One of the worst-performing areas of most businesses is the customer service department. In the computer industry, that translates into the dismal tech support with which I am sure that many of us have dealt You’ve been there before: you have a problem with your computer or a piece of software or a piece of hardware you’ve just bought. You call the 1-800 number and you are connected to some patronizing geek who treats you like you’ve never touched a computer. Or you get the tech-support guy who hasn’t a clue about Macs, much less your problem. Or you get the person who tells you that the problem isn’t their software or hardware; it’s your Mac that’s causing the problems (never mind that you just bought it today, and that you haven't installed anything but THEIR hardware/software).

I’ve experienced each of these, either through phone tech support or from dealing with some CompUSA employee. However, this isn’t what I’ve experienced recently.

Last summer, I bought a PowerMac G4 Cube and the 15” flat-panel display. Every now and then, whenever I tried to boot the machine from a CD-ROM, the machine wouldn’t start. Usually, I’d repeat my actions, and the problem would go away. Over time, the problem worsened. In March, it got to the point where I couldn’t reboot from any CD-ROM. I noticed this when I was trying to install OS X. I had no idea what was wrong.

I called Apple’s tech support line. I was led through a few troubleshooting tasks I hadn’t considered, like booting into the machine’s firmware, for example.It became clear that whenever I had the LCD display plugged in, I could never boot from a CD-ROM, but when I replaced it with my VGA monitor, everything was copasetic. We assumed it was the graphics card’s ADC or the CD/DVD drive.

Obviously, I had to send the machine in for repairs -- local Apple shops can't work on Cubes. Apple shipped me packing materials overnight. I packed my monitor in one box and my Cube in another. Apple paid for overnight shipping to its repair facilities (the Cube went to Callifornia; the monitor went to Austin, Texas). They repaired the optical-disk drive (also, I noticed that they’d repaired/replaced the shielding on the Cube so that it didn’t shutdown or go to sleep whenever I touched it anywhere on its surface -- a common problem with the first versions; I don't have one with the Radeon card or the CD-RW drive, dammit). I received my machine and monitor by overnight mail. Total time elapsed: three days.

I plugged everything in and tried to boot from a CD-ROM. The problem hadn’t gone away. Once again, I called 1-800-275-2273 and skipped over Sinbad’s recorded introduction. I get my problem escalated to higher-level tech support. The tech I spoke with listened to my ranting, then takes down my descriptions before authorizing the shipment of more packing materials. He also gives me his direct phone number and email address. I’m impressed with his professionalism and consideration. He actually treated me like I was not an inanimate object.

Three days later, I have my machine and monitor, and I notice that they replaced the disk drive. Everything works this time. Even though Apple charged me $35 for finding nothing wrong with the monitor, I’m pleased with my tech-support experience.

Recently, Apple was awarded for excellence in customer service. If my experience is any indication, this award is well deserved. I have dealt with customer service reps on various occasions and know that good customer service is a lost art. Any company that practices this lost art deserves honorable mention.

Now, I’m sure that next week, I’ll probably rag on Apple for some real or imagined slight vis-á-vis its products and services. But for now, I’d like to give due credit for their doing a damned good job in taking care of my problems, and I hope that the rest of you will be able to echo my comments and my experiences with the company’s customer service group.

Fini.

This column is © 2001 Rodney O. Lain. All rights reserved.

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About Rodney O. Lain

A former journalist and college prof, Rodney lives in Minnesota, where he freelance writes by night and works by day as a junior manager for a Fortune 50 company (daily he bemoans the fact that he was assigned a Gateway laptop by the IT guys). He has a soft spot for H. L. Mencken, Steve Jobs, Prince, Richard Wright and other well-known status-quo breakers. Rodney also writes "iBrotha" for Mac Observer and "Things Macintosh" for Low End Mac. Also, he writes about religion, race and culture at his website iBrotha.com.

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