Apple rip-off alert

[Rhys]

Ok. If you're going to go the Mac route then read this carefully...


I wanted a Mac and my wife knew this so for birthdays and Christmasses she gave me Apple gift cards.


I found I had $1250 worth of gift cards in 7 cards so I went to buy a Mac.


They would only accept a maximum of 4 cards despite the fact they already have all the money.


I rang customer service and got nowhere. I have now filed a Better Business Bureau report against them. Naturally, this has left me with a very sour taste in my mouth and I have filed for a complete refund of all my gift cards. I can put the money toward several Windows systems for the same amount!

 

[Antarctican]

Sorry to hear they'd take that position, even when you spoke to customer service.

 

[clarinetJWD]

Sounds like Apple to me!

 

[Rhys]

Naturally, I want nothing more to do with Apple now.

 

[clarinetJWD]

Naturally, I want nothing more to do with Apple now.

They pulled an equally nasty trick on my friend. He has a g4 laptop, and had the problem of the video chip coming loose off the motherboard. It seems it's a common problem among that model, but apple completely denies it, and refuses to fix it for under $600! He sent it to some random guy, who charged $40 and all is well :S

 

[Mesoam]

so if you have multiple family members giving you gift cards you can't buy a computer from them? What a joke

 

[Monz]

It is amazing how companies will use your money that is tied up in gift cards it is not just apple.

 

[hawkeye]

something sounds fishy. those cards are money already paid to them, what do they care how many you use, its still cash in their pockets. Also, from a business standpoint, anyone knows that an experience like this would just cause you to lose customers back to winDoze... And you cant deny that mac users have a far better experience with than pc users, you must understand that out of the tens of millions a few hundred are bound to get upset about something, thats business. Google a problem and you'll find a few hundred complaints... out of the millions. Thats like .0001%

Anyways, the point of all this is that it sounds like a problem that could be rectified. Call someone more important. Or even better, try and use your gift cards at the apple online

Yeah, you could use your 1200 bucks on several M$ machines, but what does that leave you with? Several M$ machines...

 

[Rhys]

I'm writing to Apple's CEO now. If all else fails, I can always grab their attention with a lawsuit. People tend to sit up and recognise there's a problem that needs solving when lawsuits arrive on their desks.

 

[clarinetJWD]

something sounds fishy. those cards are money already paid to them, what do they care how many you use, its still cash in their pockets. Also, from a business standpoint, anyone knows that an experience like this would just cause you to lose customers back to winDoze... And you cant deny that mac users have a far better experience with than pc users, you must understand that out of the tens of millions a few hundred are bound to get upset about something, thats business. Google a problem and you'll find a few hundred complaints... out of the millions. Thats like .0001%

Anyways, the point of all this is that it sounds like a problem that could be rectified. Call someone more important. Or even better, try and use your gift cards at the apple online

Yeah, you could use your 1200 bucks on several M$ machines, but what does that leave you with? Several M$ machines...

Why? Because they want to make it harder to save up gift cards for large purchases. If you don't have any expensive apple products, the cards are worthless to you, but if you go out and buy a macbook, you can spend your cards on accessories. THey are basically guaranteeing that people will spend money out of their pockets in order to spend the cards later. MORE MONEY!!!

As for the experience...on all the mac's I frequently use (G5 Pro, 2x quad core intel, 4xminis) they crash easily as frequently as PCs, not to mention how much I dislike the interface. I will deny this 'fact'.

 

[Rhys]

The only thing that attracts me to Mac is the low number of viruses.

 

[hawkeye]

I will deny this 'fact'.

exactly, 1 of the 1,000,000's. See Rhys?

A bad experience one person has (maybe a few 1000), compared to the 99.5% excellent experience thats across the board. If you ask one of those 0.00something percent, of course they will tell you the company is sh*t

Fact. My macbook is more than 1 year old, its never crashed once, and I virtually never cut it off, just close the lit at the end of the night. No viruses, no hang ups, more than enough compatibility with MS office. I will say, if you are a gamer (which I am not, but used to be), stick with the PC... if you are a business person, designer, artist, or photographer.... theres not really much of a point to be made here.

Plus, this customer (Rhys) will be getting a C2D processor more than likely in an iMac or MacBook, pretty damn solid machine on the consumer level.

I do understand, however, the semi irony that when a person has a negative experience, they argue against a company (like clarinetJWD) and when a user has a positive experience (like me) they argue for a company. This is brand loyalty at its simplest form. What does this mean? It simply means that you cant go by individual opinions... not JWD's or mine. Only when a substantial percentage of buyers are unsatisfied ( i would think more than 3 to 5% or so) should you be weary and stay away. It all comes down to a choice that you will have to make on your own. Apple markets a specialty product, and if you are in the business or marketing field, you understand that you pay a premium for that. Kind of like finding a regional lexus dealership, going that extra mile to get one makes the buyer feel special. Personally, I am less and less happy seeing apple go more mainstream and ending up in Best Buys and Circuit City's. That doesnt change my happiness with my product though.

Anyways, Rhys, just a little perspective. Good luck in whatever you decide to invest in!

 

[Applefanboy]

Ive had a powerbook for 2 years and never had any trouble... It still get 5 hours of battery life!!! apples are awesome.

 

[EricBrian]

I like OS X but don't like Apple.

 

[Rhys]

I like OS X but don't like Apple.

If Apple made their OSX driver compatible with standard Linux or Windows XP then we can be pretty certain Apple would sell a shed load of OSX.

I wrote to Apple with a registered letter, detailing the problems and the attempts I'd made to resolve them and the results. I requested a refund in cash for my gift cards. That should get them more interested in resolving the issues. Quite honestly - even so I'd quite like an Apple but if they just give me cash in exchange for my cards then fine and I'll try to find a decent Linux with decent image processing software - perhaps Bibble Pro.