About a year and a half ago I switched from Windows to Mac. For a long time I had been a small business owner in the Design/Advertising industry and when I got started the price point for a Mac was simply out of reach (or so I told myself). Then a year and a half ago I took a job, and of course the studio is on the Mac platform, and so I was in.
I've been very pleased with my Mac (17" MBP hereafter referred to as Oslo after the city in Norway where my godfather lived) and the experience has made a convert out of me for sure. A few months ago my work situation changed (the company I was working for and I decided to have me be freelance) and it was time for me to own a computer of my own again. Without a second thought I knew I was going to buy another MBP. Then, on the 14 October, the day I decided it would be the (sort of) 'new' "17 MacBook Pro, I almost got doored by a cab fare on Mission street, fell, and Oslo got some case damage. Performance was fine, there was no damage to the machine other than the case. Oh, and I was fine too. So now I need to get that MBP Sadly, my insurance I have would only have covered the repair if I had actually been struck by the vehicle. Mixed bag that one.
So I head over the the Apple store in Emeryville. I wait a while, and then my Genius calls my name. She's awesome. Great attitude, funny, really interested in what's up. I go over the whole situation with her, she's not happy. She thinks my employer should pay for the repairs since I'm returning the laptop. I explain that I'm not going that way. They're great, it happened on my watch, and they're broke. I wouldn't feel that I was in integrity if I was to return it damaged and say 'tough luck'. She looks at me a little sideways, and then admits that she understands. In fact, she's now saying she can really see what a bind that is. I shouldn't have to pay for it, the cab driver split, the actual owner of the laptop, my former emplyer shoudln't have to pay for it, and then she really surprises me. She goes in the back for a few minutes, comes out, and announces that Apple is going to pay for it. In fact, not only are they going to pay for the repair, they're going to do a complete case replacement, and all I'm paying is the shipping. Apple in this case, wins. I mean, that's what I call service. Good to Great style, Lovecat service. And nothing, in my opinion, can win brand loyalty the way service like that can.
So here it is. The obligatory 'Apple Post'. At that moment I became one of the Mac faithful. I'm sure Apple has lots of failures, and stories of people getting less that stellar service, and in my experience, on that day, Apple totally came through. They chose to hire that Genius. Someone above her in the management of the store made a call to approve a +$1000 service to my machine at no cost to me, and they did it because it was the 'right' thing to do. Not even because of some pity warranty or something. They did it because they could afford it more than me. And they knew, or someone knew, that 'making my day' was worth more in brand loyalty than the cost of the repairs.
Bravo Apple. Get well Steve.
