08-23-2004, 10:56 AM
Since I've told just about everyone else this story, I might as well post it here. This is copied from a post I made at ArsTechnica...
Quote:I had the logic board in my iBook 800/12.1" (Nov. '02) replaced 3 times. After the 4th failure occured a couple of weeks ago, I called Apple Support and requested a replacement machine. They refused, and were fairly rude about it.
So, in a moment of desperation, I sent an email to <!-- e --><a href="mailtojobs@apple.com">sjobs@apple.com</a><!-- e -->. I did not demand a replacement machine. I simply said that I was extremely displeased with the quality of my iBook and I would no longer be purchasing or advocating Apple products. I wished Mr. Jobs the best of luck in Apple's future endeavors.
Two days later, I received a call from Apple's Corporate Executive Relations team. The woman I spoke with apologized profusely for my troubles with the iBook. She explained the logic board replacement program to me in great detail, and then, without any prompting from me, asked if a new iBook G4 (as a replacement) would cause me to reconsider leaving the platform. Hell yes. So, I'm typing this post on a brand new 1Ghz, 12.1" iBook G4.
Needless to say, despite the trouble with the machine, and the heartburn of dealing with Apple Support - in the end I'm left feeling fairly impressed with Apple. In the end, they did the right thing, and kept a customer.