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allenpa5
02-10-2012, 08:49 PM
The title says it all! Almost... I used my MBP last night to DJ a bar show, shut it down, put it away in its case, and took it home. No bumps, no drops, no crazy temps, no nothing! I get up this morning to record a new mix and wouldn't ya know it, the screen is completely black. I try to restart the computer, reset the computer, pull the battery, etc... nothing works. The lights on the keyboard (caps lock light, backlight, etc...) still work, so I know the actual computer is ok, but the screen just won't respond to anything - completely black.

I called Apple immediately after I tried to troubleshoot, spoke to two different people about the problem, and was told that the model MBP I have actually has a manufacturers defect with the graphics card! However, since it's so old (about 4.5 years old), they refuse to pay for the needed repairs (which would've totaled almost $1000). I talk to the supervisor there and speak with her about what we can do to go around this "no" that I kept hearing. After assuring me that there was no way to bypass the system, I calmly told her the following: "You know, I'm really hoping you're one of the good ones over there. I didn't have any intention of calling in and yelling and screaming at you, and I still don't. But I just can't take your answer of No as a final answer. I've taken amazing care of this computer and really hope that Apple can offer that same level of care for me. Now, isn't there something else you can do for me? I'd really appreciate it."

Well, guess what. She tells me to wait on hold for a sec and she's going to make a call to another department. After about 5 minutes on hold, she comes back on the line and enthusiastically tells me that she'll take care of the problem! All I have to do is take it into the Apple store tomorrow and let them know there's a credit on my account.

I gotta say, I'm really impressed with their customer service. It only took me about 2 hours, maybe a little less, to get through to someone who could and WOULD actually help me. I've had similar issues before with HP that took WEEKS!!! I never thought I'd admit to it, but I guess I kind of like Apple.

JuxtaPoser
02-10-2012, 08:52 PM
Damn, I'm impressed, I was genuinely expecting this to be some horror story about you losing your computer. What a result! It just goes to show how valuable it can be to be polite and measured when dealing with people.

LiteTrix
02-10-2012, 09:24 PM
I've heard so many similar stories. It's the reason apple has top rated customer service. Glad your going to get it fixed!

DJ Special K
02-10-2012, 09:41 PM
Nice! I'm surprised they would do that! But good for you :)

Dj_4-$hure
02-10-2012, 11:00 PM
Good job on not flipping out and keeping composure, we can learn a lot from this.

thehadgi
02-10-2012, 11:45 PM
Wow, same thing happened to me, ended up having to buy a new one. Good job on talkin to em :tup:

DJNR
02-11-2012, 01:19 AM
Congratulations on getting the fix. To be honest, I'm surprised that Apple of all companies "caved in", but that's great for you!

JohnnyGraz
02-11-2012, 01:37 AM
By any chance do you remember what graphics unit is in your card? Perhaps the nVidia 8600 ? I remember the HUGE recall they had on those. The actual graphical chip on the board had manufacturing defects which led to the premature failure of most of the units.

mostapha
02-11-2012, 03:05 AM
I had a similar story a while ago. Got the runaround at an apple store, another told me it'd have to go to the depot for service. I decided that wasn't good enough and contacted the executive customer support team. The next morning I got a call that there was a new one waiting for me and that they'd clone the hard drive as soon as I got there.

Seriously…awesome customer service.

The guys at the genius bar are also the only level 1 techs I've ever talked to (there have been a lot of them) that immediately trusted my diagnosis of a specific hardware and escalated the issue because of the way I'd prep'd my computer before it got there.

Manu
02-11-2012, 04:20 AM
Heard of apple horror stories that got solved because their customer service does care.

Bought one of them computers a couple of years ago and it came with a faulty keyboard. I gave a phone call and they sent me a replacement and upgraded me to wireless free of charge. I asked them where should I send the faulty keyboard and they told me not to bother. I was surprised in the best way possible, leagues away from any other customer service I had to deal with...



A friend of mine got run over by a car, the macbook pro in his backpack took the impact, though barely a dent on it. He tried to contact the customer service and they covered it. Replaced the casing but also the mouse pad because "they didn't like the sound of the click on it".

imallama
02-11-2012, 04:55 AM
Patience is a virtue. Nice job OP. It's amazing what people can do for you if you're just nice/polite to them.

Andrew B
02-11-2012, 05:06 AM
Congratulations on getting the fix. To be honest, I'm surprised that Apple of all companies "caved in", but that's great for you!

It's pretty typical of Apple, actually. I would've been more surprised if he didn't get a free fix or a new computer.

fueledbymusic
02-11-2012, 09:32 AM
I didn't think apples ever break

Stripe
02-11-2012, 09:52 AM
It pays to keep your cool at times :tup:

Dj_4-$hure
02-11-2012, 10:00 AM
A friend of mine got run over by a car, the macbook pro in his backpack took the impact, though barely a dent on it. He tried to contact the customer service and they covered it. Replaced the casing but also the mouse pad because "they didn't like the sound of the click on it".

WTF:lol: I'm going to start wearing those things as bulletproof vest, if that's the case! Good one Manu, good one.

allenpa5
02-11-2012, 10:38 AM
By any chance do you remember what graphics unit is in your card? Perhaps the nVidia 8600 ? I remember the HUGE recall they had on those. The actual graphical chip on the board had manufacturing defects which led to the premature failure of most of the units.

yes, it's the Nvidia 8600M GT graphics card. There's an article from Apple floating around acknowledging the problem, too. The CS rep even sent it to me!