Apple: Great Customer Service
A lot of companies get flak for poor customer service and people take to the internet to vent their bad experiences more often than not so I thought I’d share my experience of the opposite.
Backstory
I had a customized Mid-2012 MacBook Air 13″ with Apple Care that decided it needed a new battery (service battery notification had popped up). Being covered under the service agreement, I took it to an Authorised Apple Repairer local to me since the nearest Apple Store was a bit out of the way and I was a too busy to make a special trip just for that. Being Apple authorised, I figured, what’s the worst that could happen…
Well, two weeks after booking it in and hearing nothing, I had to call the repair centre to find out what was going on only to be told that they were still awaiting parts. A couple of days later, I was called and told it was ready to pick up. When I went to pick it up, I found that the unit had been badly reassembled to the point where the touch pad was loose and the card slot was no longer aligned with the chassis. Not too pleased, I rebooked it for these issues to be sorted.
Fast forward another two weeks, I again chase up the status and am told that they were still awaiting parts. (noticing a pattern here…). I’ve been without the unit for almost a month at this point and ask the question of the repairer whether there is a policy regarding time to repair. They don’t know. I decide to call Apple UK customer services.
Enter Apple UK
Speaking to customer services on the phone, I express my concerns with the quality of service that I received and the quality of the repair work that had been carried out. I didn’t particularly want the unit back as I felt that the poor repair had the potential to cause me more problems down the line and with my Apple Care cover running out in 6 months time, I didn’t want the risk. Not to mention the inconvenience of being without it for a month! I expected better.
The guy at Apple UK CS reviewed everything and said that although it is not common practice, on this occasion, he made the decision to contact the repair centre and instructed them not to repair the unit. They then arranged a courier to deliver direct to me, a brand new customized 2014 MacBook Air 13″ of a higher specification that I originally had and arranged a courier collection of the old unit.
As most people probably know, I’m generally not the biggest Apple fan in the world especially when it comes to iPhones and iPads but their ‘proper’ computing equipment has always been a strong point – at least in my opinion. Combine that with the service I received after being messed around by the 3rd party repairer, as a brand, they know how to win customers and keep them. Other companies take note!
