As a dyed-in-the-wool fan of Apple Computer, I’m having a tough time dealing with the fact that my Powerbook still has not been shipped back to me.
From all accounts, Apple’s service is quick and efficient. When I called last Wednesday for the repair, a box arrived the next morning to ship the laptop. I sent it right away, and waited. They told me to expect it back Monday.
It’s Wednesday again, and nothing. According to their repair status website, it’s ready to ship… since Friday.
05/30/2003 14:24:00 PT Begin Testing
05/30/2003 14:24:00 PT Ready to Ship
05/30/2003 11:57:00 PT Begin Repair
05/30/2003 11:30:00 PT Unit Received
05/29/2003 07:17:00 PT Request Acknowledged
05/28/2003 14:32:20 PT Repair Requested
As you can see, the last entry in their log was Friday. FIVE days have no passed with no information on what is happening with my PowerBook. Yesterday I called only to be told that the second, super-secret repair log system indicated that it’s on “engineering hold,” whatever that is. The rep didn’t seem to know, and instigated an “escalation.” Which would take 24 to 48 hours. Cripes, that’s as long as the repair itself was supposed to take!
The only thing wrong with my PowerBook was flaking paint. They only needed to put a new case on it. What in the hell could be happening, and why don’t they keep customers informed? Letting a customer sit for 5 days with no information about his very pricey laptop computer is not what I’d call excellent service.
Speaking of excellent service, Dish Network (which is still embroiled in a dispute with Albritton) has been running messages from their CEO, Charlie Ergen, on the 4 shut-off ABC local channels. He takes phone calls and e-mails on the subject and answers subscriber questions as plainly and clearly as possible. (He also does this every month on a special call-in show called “Charlie Chat.”) Meanwhile, Albritton’s responses to viewers are in the form of a misleading e-mail and recorded phone messages. I’ve always been impressed with Charlie Ergen and the radical idea that a customer should be allowed access to the CEO of a corporation. It’s an unusual thing, and I wish that Congress and the White House would take a look at this interesting way of doing business – give access to the people.
