Response To The Letter I wrote To Cupertino

Joined
Jul 4, 2008
Messages
73
Reaction score
0
Points
6
Location
Sapporo, Japan
Your Mac's Specs
mid-2010 15" MacBook Pro 2.8 i7, 8GB, OS X 10.6.8
The last bit of drama can be traced to here: http://www.mac-forums.com/forums/os...477-mbp-getting-hot-speakers-not-working.html

So on July 2nd I (snail)mailed this letter to California because I was getting nowhere with Apple Japan. (It's kind of long)

To Whom It May Concern:

I’ll preface this letter by saying: I am not a happy customer.
As you can see from my address I live in Japan, and because of distance, and a lack of communication outlets, I have to mail this letter, mail, the old, time-consuming way, to you back in the US. This mailed letter that is only going to add to time wasted and frustration.

Back in January 2012 I bought my MacBook Pro (S/N#xxxxx) through your website. I bought it because I was moving to Japan. As soon as I took it out of the box I noticed some problems. You have records of all the issues, so there’s no need to list them here. But after some over-the-phone trouble shooting I thought I had everything solved and off I went to Japan.

Problems resurfaced, and new problems appeared. So after failing to find a way to email customer service in the US, I went to the Discussion Boards on Apple.com. It was basically a waste of my time. So I decided to call Apple Japan.

I was lucky that they have some moderately skilled English speakers, but that’s not a complaint, I understand I’m in a foreign country. I was instructed to go the Apple Store in Sapporo. I went, they wanted to send my computer to Tokyo to be looked at, I said okay. One week later, I get my computer, and they said no problems. I thought, maybe it’s me.

I start using my computer at home, and I notice a few more problems. I call them again, and they want me to bring the computer in again. I can’t because of work, so they pick it up, and again, mail it to Tokyo. This time, they keep it for THREE additional weeks.

They tell me, that there is no problem, and that it’s my headphones, which I also sent in, that are causing a malfunction this time. I know that what they’re telling me is false. But they said they have no problems when using OEM Apple peripherals. What can I do? So they send it back. (Mind you, it’s been three weeks.) As soon as I take the computer home I turn it on, plug in my new OEM Apple headphones and, voila, problems. Not only that, but the computer crashes and I get a kernel panic report.

This time I go AGAIN into the Apple store, they want to send it to Tokyo for a THIRD time, I say no, and after some talking (MIND YOU, I CAN’T SPEAK JAPANESE, AND THIS IS NOT EASY CONVERSATION) I agree to have them keep it for two days. So after two days, they call me and tell me that they have to replace the logic board, but because they don’t have the parts I have to wait 3-4 days. I think GREAT! I don’t care that it’s now been a total of FIVE weeks and that they said everything was okay before, because now it sounds like everything will be okay.

So yesterday I rush into the city, before work, to pick up my MBP. I get to the store, turn it on, and low-and-behold, I’m having the same issues. WHAT THE **** ARE YOU DOING APPLE?!!? They now tell me my issues are common and they’ll “hopefully” be fixed in an upcoming update and that they did their best.

You have to be kidding me. I didn’t buy a partially useable computer. This is a nightmare.
WHAT DO I DO? PLEASE, make this right.

Please contact me by email at [email protected]. International phone calls are prohibitively expensive.

Unhappily,


xxx

P.S. I just noticed that on Apple.com that my MBP is no longer listed under MY PRODUCTS on your Support page. Also, when I click on “About This Mac” it no longer shows my serial number. Good thing it’s etched onto my casing.

------- end of letter -------

I get an email today, from a do-not-reply address, and it says this:

Dear Mr. xxx,


Thank you for your recent correspondence to Apple.

We understand that you need technical assistance for your MacBook Pro.

Due to the nature and complexity of technical issues, Apple does not offer technical support via written correspondence. Please contact Apple direct on 0120 27753 5 and select option 5 (English) for technical assistance between 9am to 7pm (Japan time) Monday to Friday; 9am to 5pm Saturday and Sunday. Apple offers complimentary phone support to eligible customers as outlined in the product warranty.

For your reference, your request has been documented in Apple case number xxxx.

Thank you for your interest at Apple.


Sincerely,


(employee)
Apple

-------- end of email ----------


I'm at a loss. If someone can give me some solid advice I'd really appreciate it.
 
Joined
Jul 30, 2009
Messages
7,295
Reaction score
301
Points
83
Location
Wisconsin
Your Mac's Specs
Mac Mini (Late 2014) 2.6GHz Intel Core i5 Memory: 8GB 1600MHz DDR3
The letter is reasonable. They cannot solve technical issues with written correspondence. Keep trying, be polite, ask to talk to a manager, a regional manager, etc.
 
OP
C
Joined
Jul 4, 2008
Messages
73
Reaction score
0
Points
6
Location
Sapporo, Japan
Your Mac's Specs
mid-2010 15" MacBook Pro 2.8 i7, 8GB, OS X 10.6.8
I don't need technical support, I need a working computer. Apple had my computer for 5 weeks, doing "technical support."
 
Joined
Mar 30, 2004
Messages
4,744
Reaction score
381
Points
83
Location
USA
Your Mac's Specs
12" Apple PowerBook G4 (1.5GHz)
The plain fact is, there is only one way that you can ever have your problem resolved. And that is if Apple can find and fix your problem.

And the only way they can do that is if you can take your computer to them demonstrate the problem to them somehow.

There is no other way. No amount of angry emails, angry phone calls, angry postings on this forum, or angry letters will ever fix your computer. Only Apple can fix your computer.

Good luck.
 
OP
C
Joined
Jul 4, 2008
Messages
73
Reaction score
0
Points
6
Location
Sapporo, Japan
Your Mac's Specs
mid-2010 15" MacBook Pro 2.8 i7, 8GB, OS X 10.6.8
The plain fact is, there is only one way that you can ever have your problem resolved. And that is if Apple can find and fix your problem.

And the only way they can do that is if you can take your computer to them demonstrate the problem to them somehow.

This is a cut & paste from another post a few weeks back:

So after 5 weeks of Apple Japan keeping my computer, they said I needed a new logic board, and they gave me one. When I went to pick up my MBP at the store I turned it on and none of the volume problem was still there. (As well as the MBP taking about 2 min to boot up, it was about 40 seconds before).

The store said that Apple is aware of the problem and it should be fixed in the next update ... or the one after that.

So with nothing fixed and 5 weeks without a computer I decide to take it home and write a letter to Apple in California. (Anyone know if that will do anything?)
 
Joined
Mar 9, 2011
Messages
751
Reaction score
4
Points
18
Your Mac's Specs
mbp 15 2009, mbp 13 2010
Is there a better business bureau or consumer/media complaint equivalent in Japan ?
You might have to raise your voice somehow to get this matter resolve as the saying goes
'the mountain will not come to muhammad, muhammand will have to go to the mountain' as simple as that.
 
Joined
Oct 7, 2010
Messages
381
Reaction score
2
Points
18
Location
Virginia, USA
Your Mac's Specs
15" MB Pro, 2.66 i7 ; 11” MBA 1.8GZ i7; 13"MBA 2GZ i7 8 GB mem 512GB SSD, 2 iPad3s, 1 iPad Mini
Apple asked you to call them and gave you a phone number. What did they tell you?
 
OP
C
Joined
Jul 4, 2008
Messages
73
Reaction score
0
Points
6
Location
Sapporo, Japan
Your Mac's Specs
mid-2010 15" MacBook Pro 2.8 i7, 8GB, OS X 10.6.8
Apple asked you to call them and gave you a phone number. What did they tell you?

That's the same number I've called 10 different times. They can't do anything, so they send me to the store. The store can't do anything so they send my computer Apple Japan's Headquarters. The HQ can't do anything so they send the computer back to me and say sorry. I write a typed letter to Apple US and they tell me to call Apple Japan.

I'm not at step one here, I've done my due diligence. Raising my voice in the Apple Store isn't going to accomplish much. I can't believe that Apple doesn't have a way to contact them, with a live chat or something. Since making a $100 phone call to the US isn't an option.
 
Joined
Nov 18, 2006
Messages
4,934
Reaction score
207
Points
63
Location
Anytown, USA
Your Mac's Specs
27" iMac 2.7GHz Core i5, iPhone 6, iPad Air 2, 4th gen Apple TV
Burn up the message boards with your complaints and see if it gets more attention?

Can you call the US support number and see if they can arrange to have it replaced?

Can you ship it back to family in the US and have them take it to a US Apple store for service?
 

bobtomay

,
Retired Staff
Joined
Dec 22, 2006
Messages
26,561
Reaction score
677
Points
113
Location
Texas, where else?
Your Mac's Specs
15" MBP '06 2.33 C2D 4GB 10.7; 13" MBA '14 1.8 i7 8GB 10.11; 21" iMac '13 2.9 i5 8GB 10.11; 6S
It's a pitr, we get it.
Call the number they gave you - for the umpteenth time if that's what it is.
Don't care how many times you called it prior to sending that letter.
They're not going to replace a machine based on that letter.
You have a new case number they also gave you - give it to them.
Based on the case number they provided, the phone support techs may have options available to them they have not had previously.

You will never know... unless you call.
 
Joined
Sep 30, 2007
Messages
9,962
Reaction score
1,235
Points
113
Location
The Republic of Neptune
Your Mac's Specs
2019 iMac 27"; 2020 M1 MacBook Air; macOS up-to-date... always.
I just went digging back through your prior posts. You have a MacBook Pro 2.8 i7, right? A late 2011 model, right? This model here, right? And you are running Snow Leopard 10.6.8, per this post? Those MacBooks shipped with OS 10.7.2. Snow Leopard shouldn't even be compatible with your model MacBook Pro in the first place. Have you tried putting Lion back on it?
 
OP
C
Joined
Jul 4, 2008
Messages
73
Reaction score
0
Points
6
Location
Sapporo, Japan
Your Mac's Specs
mid-2010 15" MacBook Pro 2.8 i7, 8GB, OS X 10.6.8
I just went digging back through your prior posts. You have a MacBook Pro 2.8 i7, right? A late 2011 model, right? This model here, right? And you are running Snow Leopard 10.6.8, per this post? Those MacBooks shipped with OS 10.7.2. Snow Leopard shouldn't even be compatible with your model MacBook Pro in the first place. Have you tried putting Lion back on it?

It's a mid-2010 model, I purchased it from the Apple refurb website in Jan. 2012 . It shipped with Snow Leopard.
 
Joined
Sep 30, 2007
Messages
9,962
Reaction score
1,235
Points
113
Location
The Republic of Neptune
Your Mac's Specs
2019 iMac 27"; 2020 M1 MacBook Air; macOS up-to-date... always.
It's a mid-2010 model, I purchased it from the Apple refurb website in Jan. 2012 . It shipped with Snow Leopard.

Ahh. Hmmm… I'm wondering if it got refurbed with late 2011 components that it shouldn't have, and Snow Leopard isn't reacting quite right due to some "trivial" hardware change that is hasn't the right drivers for, perhaps as trivial as the keyboard. I'm making a complete stab in the dark, but it's not completely out of the realm of possibility I suppose. You didn't mention which size you had, though the 2.8 i7 only came in the 15" and 17" models while in the late 2011 model it came in the 13" model. Are you running Windows in Boot Camp by chance? If so, does the problem replicate there? Have you considered dropping Lion/Mountain Lion on it?
 
OP
C
Joined
Jul 4, 2008
Messages
73
Reaction score
0
Points
6
Location
Sapporo, Japan
Your Mac's Specs
mid-2010 15" MacBook Pro 2.8 i7, 8GB, OS X 10.6.8
I have the 15" inch hi-res, antiglare.
Never thought about upgrading the OS.
I could tell apple to do that, I guess that would rule out software issues.
 
Joined
Sep 30, 2007
Messages
9,962
Reaction score
1,235
Points
113
Location
The Republic of Neptune
Your Mac's Specs
2019 iMac 27"; 2020 M1 MacBook Air; macOS up-to-date... always.
I have the 15" inch hi-res, antiglare.
Never thought about upgrading the OS.
I could tell apple to do that, I guess that would rule out software issues.

That, or have you tried reinstalling Snow Leopard yourself from scratch? One thing to do is split your drive into 2 partitions, perhaps make the 2nd one 50 GB or so, then do a clean install of Snow Leopard to that 2nd partition and try things out while booted from that. Create a new, clean user… don't install anything else or migrate any user data. Obviously take care not to overwrite the primary partition, and of course have a backup available just in case. Heck… you could do this with an external drive also, or even a flash thumb drive (needs to be at least 16 GB in size, iirc, and will be very slow to operate from). Barring the long-shot possibility of this just being a Snow Leopard specific issue, this should otherwise completely rule out this being a software problem of any kind.
 
OP
C
Joined
Jul 4, 2008
Messages
73
Reaction score
0
Points
6
Location
Sapporo, Japan
Your Mac's Specs
mid-2010 15" MacBook Pro 2.8 i7, 8GB, OS X 10.6.8
That, or have you tried reinstalling Snow Leopard yourself from scratch? One thing to do is split your drive into 2 partitions, perhaps make the 2nd one 50 GB or so, then do a clean install of Snow Leopard to that 2nd partition and try things out while booted from that. Create a new, clean user… don't install anything else or migrate any user data. Obviously take care not to overwrite the primary partition, and of course have a backup available just in case. Heck… you could do this with an external drive also, or even a flash thumb drive (needs to be at least 16 GB in size, iirc, and will be very slow to operate from). Barring the long-shot possibility of this just being a Snow Leopard specific issue, this should otherwise completely rule out this being a software problem of any kind.

I have reinstalled 2x, but I'm not going to start partitioning drives. Not that I think it's a bad idea, but I shouldn't have to do all that.
 
Joined
Jul 8, 2012
Messages
274
Reaction score
1
Points
18
Your Mac's Specs
cMBP 13" mid-2012, 2.9 ghz i7, 8gb ram, 256 gb SSD,
CoolCheehc, If you aren't willing to do what it takes to figure out your problem then don't complain here.
 
Joined
Sep 30, 2007
Messages
9,962
Reaction score
1,235
Points
113
Location
The Republic of Neptune
Your Mac's Specs
2019 iMac 27"; 2020 M1 MacBook Air; macOS up-to-date... always.
I have reinstalled 2x, but I'm not going to start partitioning drives. Not that I think it's a bad idea, but I shouldn't have to do all that.

Oh I wouldn't partition it just for kicks if you have already tried a clean reinstall. It was just an option if you hadn't tried it so you wouldn't disturb your existing installation, especially since it was a long shot in the first place.
 
OP
C
Joined
Jul 4, 2008
Messages
73
Reaction score
0
Points
6
Location
Sapporo, Japan
Your Mac's Specs
mid-2010 15" MacBook Pro 2.8 i7, 8GB, OS X 10.6.8
CoolCheehc, If you aren't willing to do what it takes to figure out your problem then don't complain here.

I think after paying a few thousand dollars for a machine that his had issues since the first week I got it and being patient while Apple had my computer for 5 weeks and them telling me they can't help me is more than reasonable, no? Why the **** should I learn how to be a computer engineer just to get my computer to do what it's supposed to do out of the box?
 
Joined
Mar 30, 2004
Messages
4,744
Reaction score
381
Points
83
Location
USA
Your Mac's Specs
12" Apple PowerBook G4 (1.5GHz)
Just let him rant. He doesn't want to help himself, and he doesn't want to go back to Apple. What else is there? Perhaps the computer gods will take pity on him, but other than that, there's nothing anyone can do for him. Don't bother feeding the troll.
 

Shop Amazon


Shop for your Apple, Mac, iPhone and other computer products on Amazon.
We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon and affiliated sites.
Top