Reader article: report of an experience with Apple involving the Mac Pro

per Nuno Penna Bordin

Some close friends and colleagues know that I am a loyal user of Apple products. But what I am going to tell you today says much more about respect for the consumer than technology or products.

After an iPod (2006 and still running), a black and a white MacBook, two MacBooks Pro, a Power Mac G5 (2005) and a Mac Pro (2007), products which I never needed to take any technical assistance before at least at least four years of use in fact, most of them I managed to resell well, in 2011 I bought a Mac Pro that had problems before the end of its first year of life, therefore under warranty. Cautiously, I purchased the extended warranty from Apple itself. To my bad luck, the machine started to give a lot of problems and then had to be taken to exchange parts in an assistance.

In February of this year, unhappy about having bought a machine so expensive and which was not yielding, I decided to call Apple. I spoke to an attendant, gave the machine's serial number and, to my surprise, she knew all the time that my Mac Pro had undergone parts changes. I then said that I would pass on my case to a senior analyst; and so it did.

This sector followed the machine's departure for assistance once more and, after realizing that all the problems continued, forwarded my case to the engineering sector, which diagnosed that it would be necessary to change the machine; I was then passed on to the person responsible for the equipment exchange sector. But Apple went further: it changed my machine (remembering: 2011!) For a better and current model launched in late 2013.

New Mac Pro on the table

It was not fast; the whole process took around 45 days, between my first call and the email with the confirmation of the exchange agreement. But what I want to highlight is that I have always been treated with respect. Of course, there were delays at times, but in the process I received successive calls from Apple whenever it was arranged. I was able to speak to the people inside the case, including calling them directly through the extensions that were informed to me.

Another important point was that I no longer had the product invoice and, even so, no impasse was created in relation to this. Apple also made a point of calling me to inform me that the new machine has a one year warranty and that I can purchase AppleCare for it if I want.

New Mac Pro on the table

I make this report to encourage Apple to continue improving its relationship with customers and to encourage companies that do not (or do not do it right). Thank you, Apple!