04-22-2012, 09:38 AM

Having recently switched to mac, I have had to call applecare tech for some help.

I`m not all that impressed to be honest.

There are half hearted efforts to help, and great efforts to get you buy apple accessories. When I needed them most, they passed me straight over to microsoft.......deja vu.

What are others thoughts on applecare ??

04-22-2012, 10:37 AM

Originally Posted by maclfc

Having recently switched to mac, I have had to call applecare tech for some help.

I`m not all that impressed to be honest.

There are half hearted efforts to help, and great efforts to get you buy apple accessories. When I needed them most, they passed me straight over to microsoft.......deja vu.

What are others thoughts on applecare ??

For the times that I've needed them, I've had very good experience with them. The mere fact that they are native English speakers sets them apart from the pack.

If your questions are about your Apple hardware or software, they will certainly help you. If they're very specific to a third party product, then they'll point you to that third-party product's support. It's simply not possible for a technician to have expertise in every piece of software under the sun. In many cases, they will make a best-effort (particularly at the Apple Store, where they can work on it in-person), but you can't expect them to hold your hand through every imaginable situation - even when it's related to products they don't make.

If you thought that you were buying into your own personal help desk to avoid having to do any research on your own, then you thought wrong. That's the reason why forums like this one exist.

04-22-2012, 10:40 AM

Originally Posted by maclfc

What are others thoughts on applecare ??

We have LOTS & LOTS & LOTS & LOTS of positive comments from folks with Applecare...FAR out-numbered buy those with negative experiences. Apple is also VERY well known for being the best in customer service.

You didn't mention what your product issue was. And it's very possible that whatever issue you were having is not covered by Applecare.

- Nick

04-22-2012, 11:06 AM

I didnt expect my own personnal help desk, but I did expect help with...to me....a new bit of software than what I have been used to. I have looked around it and altered some settings, and also looked at forums etc to get help.....for to me basic stuff. The more difficult stuff, I needed help for

The applecare tech are not all native english speaking, as can confirm the indian gent who had very little patience and lost his cool 3 times, and the german gent who couldnt wait to sell me stuff.

One technician advised me to to alter some settings and check others, and found that it had inadvertently changed the look of my desktop, then told me I had to have it that way ??

anyway...I did expect to be in the minority

04-22-2012, 11:16 AM

Originally Posted by maclfc

I didnt expect my own personnal help desk, but I did expect help with...to me....a new bit of software than what I have been used to.

Many many times...Applecare mostly helps out with hardware issues (if they were manufacturing defects), Apple OS issues, and Apple software issues. If you're having trouble with non-Apple products...then Applecare probably doesn't apply.

AGAIN...how about posting what you were specifically having trouble with...and maybe we can help.

- Nick

04-22-2012, 11:18 AM

macifc,

I have found that both Apple Care and this forum are very helpful.

For anyone here to help, they need specific information. You need to provide info as to what Mac computer you have, what are its specs, and which OS you are running.

Then we need to know what specific software is causing the problem, and what the specific problem is.

With that info provided, there are real experts here that may help you fix your problem.

And welcome to the forum.

04-22-2012, 12:04 PM

Thankyou for the welcome

04-22-2012, 06:09 PM

I've had my MBP (13 in.- Lion) since mid January. So I'm new to the Apple world. Still feeling my way around. And the two or three times I've called Apple, they were extremely helpful. They got to the problem - my lack of knowledge - very quickly. As far as third party software, I don't expect them to give me a hand. I do try to keep that to a minimum. Not always possible but I try.

Can't complain about Apple and their techs. They know their stuff. Very happy with the help they've given me. It's a selling point that will keep me in the fold for the foreseeable future.

04-22-2012, 09:58 PM

Originally Posted by maclfc

they passed me straight over to microsoft

What is your technical query?

The fact that they passed you to Microsoft would imply you were either running Office:mac, or Windows via Boot Camp or in a VM, or were trying to network to a Windows computer & the Apple Care support assistant determined that the issue was on the PC side.

Whatever the problem was, if they directed you to Microsoft, it must be a because it's a Microsoft issue; meaning that anyone in the employ of Apple simply won't be trained to deal with it (and that's not unreasonable; while Microsoft may be the single largest developer of apps for the Mac outside of Apple, and Windows may be by far & away the number one secondary OS installed on Macs with more than one OS, Apple has enough to teach their tech guys with Apple software & hardware alone, it simply wouldn't be practical to teach them about third-party products too, even ones as commonly used on Macs as Microsoft products).

If you actually say what your problem is, there's a good chance someone here will be able to help you.

04-23-2012, 04:35 AM

Or maybe THIS was the issue AppleCare couldn't deal with ...

04-25-2012, 06:27 AM

Thanks for the replies.

This was just a post i made after a bit of frustration i suppose, after not getting the help I needed.

I like things to work as they should first time and get annoyed sometimes when It takes a long time to get things right if they dont work.

Looking back, apple support have been 100% better than micro, but....it can be improved upon with one or two of the tech peoples attitude

04-25-2012, 08:28 AM

my 1-year-warranty is just expiring on may 1st. so i went to the apple store a week ago and got apple care. i feel much more secure now knowing that my computer is safe for 2 more years to come. beside that - with any problem i have i can always contact the mac support.
when my mac was just 2 months old the mainboard died - it would have cost 400 euros (approx. 600$) so if just that happens again - i´m on the safe site.

04-25-2012, 08:39 AM

My experiences with Apple Tech support have been uniformly good to exceptional. I have heard of others having not so stellar experiences, which is to be expected. Everyone has a bad day or bad moment, and sometimes you just happen to run into that certain someone you immediately clash with.

I've seen the same thing with Dish Network, though the overall level of support quality isn't as high as I've had with Apple. As a result, what I tend to do when I have a bad support experience, is to vent to my wife and whoever is nearby, get my blood pressure and temper back in control, make notes to clarify what I now know about my situation, and then call back hoping to get someone else.
Rarely, do I get a repeat of bad service from anyone, including AT&T (a frequent whipping boy) when I do that.

04-25-2012, 09:07 AM

Originally Posted by TheMacMania

beside that - with any problem i have i can always contact the mac support.

Thought you might want to know. When you say "always contact Mac support"...it depends on what is meant.

If you're talking "phone support"...at this point for you...phone support is not free. You get 90 days complementary phone support when a computer is purchased...and if extended Applecare is purchased within the FIRST (60 or 90 days, I forget which)...then free phone support is extended to 1 year.

In your case you mentioned that your 1 year warranty expires on May 1st...and you just purchased extended Applecare. You definitely have 2 years of extended hardware coverage (hardware failures due to manufacturing defects)...NOT accidents. But you do not have "free" phone support. Which means Apple can charge you on a "per incident" basis (if they decide to) when you call for phone support.

Here are graphical representations of how Apple care works (top is from the US Apple Store site...and the bottom is from the Germany Apple Store):





The the main point is...whether Extended Applecare is purchased immediately (or right before the 1 year warranty expires, like you did)...free phone support always ends after the first year.

Just thought you should know...just in case you thought you still had free phone support. Apple can be VERY nice...and may not charge you for phone support. But technically (according to the Applecare details)...they can charge you if they follow the rules.

- Nick

04-25-2012, 10:44 AM

Actually, unless you luck out somehow, free phone support ends after 90 days unless you purchased Apple Care. That's why it's recommend to purchase Apple Care before 90 days are up - even though you have a year before purchasing it.