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Apple's Poor Customer Service Ruins Cool
Posted by James Meyers on May 19, 2008
It started off great, but ended in a big disappointment.
After ten years of using a Dell PC desktop and laptop for business, I decided that it was time for me to try on Apple’s Mac for size. Now I must confess that I am the owner of a mid-sized relationship marketing agency called Imagination with more than 40 Macs in use on a daily basis. But a handful of us “business types” have traditionally stayed loyal to our pc’s for business.
I purchased an IMac from the online Apple store last week and couldn’t believe how beautiful it was when I took it out of the box on Saturday. Out of the box, the Apple logos on the front and back of the sleek all-in-one monitor were well protected with sheet of acetate as if to say, “this is our brand, we protect it at all costs”! It was simple to set up, just three easy wires to plug in. None of the hassle that is typical of the many PC’s I have owned.
Open pressing the power button and hearing that brand distinctive tone, my heart raced with anticipation. On screen a beautiful animated graphical sequence seemed three dimensional and breath-taking. How could I have waited so long for this experience?
Next I went through the brief registration process, had my picture taken by the embedded camera for my personalized registration and was ready to try the internet. As I opened Safari, the IMac suddenly shut off. I restarted again and again it shut down. After trying several more times, the same disappointing results occurred over and over. However, I know that nothing, even Apple is perfect, and it was apparent that I had a defective Mac. Certainly, a brand as well protected, as beautifully designed and as customer-friendly as Apple would do everything possible to recover from this setback. Boy was I wrong!
I called Apple customer service where the first rep, “Laura” listened to my problem and then suggested that I should purchase Apple Support to insure that if I had problems in the future, I would be covered. Not really comforting and not all that helpful. After declining to purchase Apple Care, I told I really wanted to replace this IMac that I had just opened and installed 15 minutes earlier. She said she would have to transfer me to Tech Support. After a three minute delay, I was connected to what I believe was an oversees call center as I could barely understand the woman with a heavy Indian accent, and she mispronounced my name “Meyers” several different times. After she had me restart the computer several times and experienced the same results, she transferred my back to a different rep who would help me with the return.
She explained that I’d have to send the IMac back and when they received it, they’d send a new one. In all, it should be here in 5-7 business days. I guess I’ll be working on my old, ugly, but reliable PC a little longer. None of the Apple reps were very helpful and certainly none of them apologized or seemed sympathetic. When I asked if I was going to receive a credit for the expedited shipping I had paid for ($33), the rep said that she would file a claim to see what she could do but couldn’t promise anything. By the way, the return slip that I was promised via email within 24 hours is still not here 48 hours later.
All of this pointed out what we preach to our customers about everyday. That a successful brand must make sure that every TOUCHPOINT with their customers is a consistent experience that together results in the brand experience! In this case, the beauty and theatrics of Apple ownership was trampled by the quality of the product and the poor customer service received when something went wrong. If I could meet with Steve Jobs tomorrow, I’d remind him that he should be as concerned about what goes on in his call centers as he is with what goes on in his design studios. To the customer, the total experience determines the image of the brand.
Tagged with: apple, brand, customer service, customer touchpoints, imagination, steve jobs
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Comments
Katie Paine said on May 20, 2008, 07:25 PM
I just said the exact same thing about HP http://tinyurl.com/6xmk8g -- I hope Apple and HP are listening. As I say "Northsource" (my business is in Coos County, NH) don't outsource :) Bring those call centers back to the states create jobs. it's cheaper and satisfaction will improve. One bad touchpoint can ruin a whole bushel of Apples (or HPs)
Dave Forde said on May 20, 2008, 07:45 PM
I'm not that surprised, I've had a FULL year of bad experience with Apple at ALL level - customer service, store and Apple Canada's head office. They've sent me THREE replacement units over that time frame, can you imagine all the down time I've had and lost revenue! Each computer they send has some type of hardware issue.
So I agree, Apple has POOR CUSTOMER SERVICE!
F.P. Dunne said on May 23, 2008, 01:50 AM
Boy, it's hard to believe this story. In my experience, Apple sends a box for your computer overnight, then sends the replacement computer overnight. Or you go to an Apple Store, if you have one in your area, and they give you the replacement right away.
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Bud Caddell said on May 19, 2008, 08:58 PM
Sorry to hear your frustration -- somewhat shocked with the experience. Normally I hear pretty good customer service stories. It's a bit of a trek, but it seems that rule number 1 is always go to the apple store for service.
Or, you can always benefit from the cult of mac: http://getsatisfaction.com/apple