Personal computing discussed
Moderators: renee, David, Thresher
derFunkenstein wrote:This is why they charge a premium. This is why they have loyal customers. If you take care of your base, they'll take care of you.
Synchromesh wrote:derFunkenstein wrote:This is why they charge a premium. This is why they have loyal customers. If you take care of your base, they'll take care of you.
Ditto. But they're not always peaches and cream. If you have water damage (or they think you do) they will treat like a bitch.
Adaptive wrote:Synchromesh wrote:derFunkenstein wrote:This is why they charge a premium. This is why they have loyal customers. If you take care of your base, they'll take care of you.
Ditto. But they're not always peaches and cream. If you have water damage (or they think you do) they will treat like a bitch.
Exactly. I use my iPhone at the gym, and they claimed my iPhone had "water damage" based on the headphone jack. Nevermind that the actual problem is that WIFI and bluetooth have stopped working (see 2000+ post thread on Apple official support forums) for no reason. Finally, the joy of having to drive 1+ hours to Richmond (closest Apple store) to be told there is "water damage" cannot be denied.
jstern wrote:I don't trust the claim that Apple has superior customer service. In other words whether it's good or bad if you've ever come across people who use Mac on the internet they're always going to give it a superior rating even if it was delivered covered in dog doodie. Not knocking it, just going by what I see. If Apple is rated 4 stars, then it's probably 3.
jstern wrote:I don't trust the claim that Apple has superior customer service. In other words whether it's good or bad if you've ever come across people who use Mac on the internet they're always going to give it a superior rating even if it was delivered covered in dog doodie. Not knocking it, just going by what I see. If Apple is rated 4 stars, then it's probably 3.
Corrado wrote:Try bringing your HP back to Best Buy and asking them how to make a DVD. They would laugh at you and tell you to get out. However, while I was there, an elderly man came in with his MacBook Pro and said he wasn't sure how to create a DVD slideshow of photos from his family's recent trip to France. The so-called Genius sat down with him, booted up the machine and proceeded to walk him through how to do it, and then left a text document on the desktop for him with a rough outline of the steps so he could use it as reference when he got home... all for FREE. Now, say what you will about Apple customers and the RDF... but THAT is customer service right there.
Corrado wrote:jstern wrote:I don't trust the claim that Apple has superior customer service. In other words whether it's good or bad if you've ever come across people who use Mac on the internet they're always going to give it a superior rating even if it was delivered covered in dog doodie. Not knocking it, just going by what I see. If Apple is rated 4 stars, then it's probably 3.
Try bringing your HP back to Best Buy and asking them how to make a DVD. They would laugh at you and tell you to get out. However, while I was there, an elderly man came in with his MacBook Pro and said he wasn't sure how to create a DVD slideshow of photos from his family's recent trip to France. The so-called Genius sat down with him, booted up the machine and proceeded to walk him through how to do it, and then left a text document on the desktop for him with a rough outline of the steps so he could use it as reference when he got home... all for FREE. Now, say what you will about Apple customers and the RDF... but THAT is customer service right there.
bdwilcox wrote:Corrado wrote:Try bringing your HP back to Best Buy and asking them how to make a DVD. They would laugh at you and tell you to get out. However, while I was there, an elderly man came in with his MacBook Pro and said he wasn't sure how to create a DVD slideshow of photos from his family's recent trip to France. The so-called Genius sat down with him, booted up the machine and proceeded to walk him through how to do it, and then left a text document on the desktop for him with a rough outline of the steps so he could use it as reference when he got home... all for FREE. Now, say what you will about Apple customers and the RDF... but THAT is customer service right there.
For the premium they charge, they should've also thrown him some oral while he was there.
Corrado wrote:You can't deny that getting water in the device could stop wifi and bluetooth from working, however. Thats really hairy and you can't fault them for voiding a warranty on a device that has had water damage.
Corrado wrote:jstern wrote:I don't trust the claim that Apple has superior customer service. In other words whether it's good or bad if you've ever come across people who use Mac on the internet they're always going to give it a superior rating even if it was delivered covered in dog doodie. Not knocking it, just going by what I see. If Apple is rated 4 stars, then it's probably 3.
Try bringing your HP back to Best Buy and asking them how to make a DVD. They would laugh at you and tell you to get out. However, while I was there, an elderly man came in with his MacBook Pro and said he wasn't sure how to create a DVD slideshow of photos from his family's recent trip to France. The so-called Genius sat down with him, booted up the machine and proceeded to walk him through how to do it, and then left a text document on the desktop for him with a rough outline of the steps so he could use it as reference when he got home... all for FREE. Now, say what you will about Apple customers and the RDF... but THAT is customer service right there.
Synchromesh wrote:Considering how much that older guy paid for the Macbook Pro versus a similarly-equipped HP, Genius should have also polished the customer's shoes with his (Genius') tongue. With that said, I must agree that Apple's employees generally have been helpful and service is pretty good with a few fairly rare exceptions but obviously you get to pay for it.
?
Try bringing your HP back to Best Buy and asking them how to make a DVD. They would laugh at you and tell you to get out.
Skrying wrote:Well you've done some horrible comparisons. No one buys a Adamo XPS. They're simply horribly done computers that Dell has tried to hard to get to look fancy. Look at their Studo XPS line up and the original XPS lineup. Compare to the current pricing of an Adamo, etc. Look at Dell's business line up (Latitudes, not Vostros), etc. Once you include the warranty package of similar service level they even out. Which was my entire point earlier. Apple products carry a premium (on most of their products, the MBP 13 is still one of the best deals available in laptop land) no matter what, you don't get the option. Which is why some people are no passionate on either side. Personally I can't ever bring myself to care about a corporation that much.
Apple's most valuable asset is their brand. That's why it works for them to force this premium to provide premium services. Dell, HP, etc don't have that brand asset. Therefore they must offer options across a wide range. Though I think even HP and Dell would be better served by limiting their base models somewhat in order to make purchases easier for the average customer and provide unique products that are overall better for the customer.
Corrado wrote:Synchromesh wrote:Considering how much that older guy paid for the Macbook Pro versus a similarly-equipped HP, Genius should have also polished the customer's shoes with his (Genius') tongue. With that said, I must agree that Apple's employees generally have been helpful and service is pretty good with a few fairly rare exceptions but obviously you get to pay for it.
?
Base config HP Envy 13" - $1499 C2D 1.6ghz, 3GB ram, 250gig mechanical HD, no optical, Radeon 4330
Base config Apple MacBook Pro 13" - $1499 C2D 2.53ghz, 4gb ram, 250gig mechanical HD, 8x DVD-DL RW, GeForce 9400M
Again... what premium?
Corrado wrote:If you compare an M3 to a base model Camry, guess what? You win on price but lose on quality, finish, performance and service. But if you compare the Lexus IS-F to the M3, things start to even out a little bit.
Corrado wrote:I've done horrible comparisons? The HP Envy looks pretty close to the MacBook to me. And horribly designed or not, the Adamo is the only one with a metal body. The rest are plastic. Compare a Studio XPS to a regular MacBook and they come out about equal as well. What I'm saying is, there IS NO REAL PREMIUM. If you compare apples to apples (pardon the pun), they are equal.
If you compare an M3 to a base model Camry, guess what? You win on price but lose on quality, finish, performance and service. But if you compare the Lexus IS-F to the M3, things start to even out a little bit.
Corrado wrote:Synchromesh wrote:Base config HP Envy 13" - $1499 C2D 1.6ghz, 3GB ram, 250gig mechanical HD, no optical, Radeon 4330
Base config Apple MacBook Pro 13" - $1499 C2D 2.53ghz, 4gb ram, 250gig mechanical HD, 8x DVD-DL RW, GeForce 9400M
Again... what premium?
The Apple premium. You didn't mention which MBP.
Synchromesh wrote:The Apple premium. You didn't mention which MBP. If you take a look at 15s, the HP Envy pwnz the 15in MBP specwise for far less:
Base config HP Envy 15": $1299 i5-430M processor with Turbo Boost up to 2.53 GHz, 4GB DDR3 System Memory (2 Dimm), 320GB 7200RPM SATA disk, 1GB ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5830
Base config MBP 15": $1699 (sic) C2D 2.53, 4GB, 250GB 5400rpm, 9400M
So for $400 less you get far more in similar-sized package. And you can spend that money optioning it up further. Which is why I try to avoid buying Apple stuff new unless severely discounted.
Adaptive wrote:Corrado wrote:You can't deny that getting water in the device could stop wifi and bluetooth from working, however. Thats really hairy and you can't fault them for voiding a warranty on a device that has had water damage.
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jsp ... 0&tstart=0
See thread. I'm sure hundreds/thousands of us all got sweat into our iPhones and made the Broadcom chip fail...That must be it. =)
As for voiding the warranty on water damage. I can safely claim that A) using the iPhone at the gym is "normal use" and is not water damage (it's not as though I held it out in the rain or dropped it in a toilet and B) the iPhone ought to be better designed to not allow debris and water to enter so easily (see threads about dust under the screen, non-existent "water damage," etc., etc.). I can safely say Apple would prefer to deny my warranty claims rather than fix them and blame me on top of it. But I'm used to getting the shaft by now.
Synchromesh wrote:But you will absolutely win on reliability (no comparison) and when the car is out of warranty, then you will absolutely positively WIN big time on maintenance bills. When I mean win, I mean win THOUSANDS of dollars, not hundreds. It all depends on your budget and purpose. Some people will take their Camry over the M3 even for same money because of practicality/reliability/overall value.