Apple customer to walk for his cause
Since it's a lazy summer Sunday without a lot of ground-breaking news, this story about a Dublin man's "walk of shame" may give you a chuckle. Frustrated iMac owner Karl Hayden plans to show Apple up by demonstrating that it will take him less time to walk to the nearest Apple repair center -- about 156 miles away in Cork -- than for Apple to pick up the computer for a promised replacement. After some failed repair attempts through AppleCare, Apple apparently promised on August 14 to replace the computer. Four days later, Apple hadn't shown up to retrieve the broken iMac before shipping out the new one. Four days doesn't sound like much of a delay to me, but I guess Mr. Hayden's fuse had been burning for a while. He plans to leave Monday morning and carry his iMac with him. Want to take bets on whether he makes it to Cork before the pickup?
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Andre said 9:12PM on 8-20-2006
Someone has no patience... Why dosn't the idiot just drive?
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KT said 9:21PM on 8-20-2006
Wow.. just a little nuts.
Good for him to being so tenacious.
But still nuts. :)
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Andy S said 9:24PM on 8-20-2006
Hold on a second. How can Apple pick it up if he's carrying the computer with him? Sounds like a foregone conclusion to me. He's making it so they can't pick it up anyway. And even if he had left the computer behind, would he have also left the keys behind so they could go in his house for the iMac?
Whatever.
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Brendan said 9:36PM on 8-20-2006
As a fellow Irish man, I can understand his reason for doing this (I would say he got stung a few times). I purchased an iMac for my sister last year (I live in Waterford), the iMac took 5 weeks to arrive. I'm not joking, it actually 5 weeks. You see there are no walk-in Apple stores in Ireland. Over 4 million people, and one of the worlds fastest growing economies, still no Apple store. So Apple doesn't feel the need to fully support the Irish people properly. If I ring tech. support (applecare) 99% of the time I get through to an Indian person in England, it's very difficult for me to understand them and visa versa. I know Apple is basically covering America with Apple stores, but like other European countries we need them too. Even one to start with would be nice. Every person I know either has an iPod or wants one. So this is all the information Apple should need to want to get on with it and put some action into getting some stores here. This makes me a little pissed off to say the least. Sometimes I thing Apple just sees the U.K. and the states, and misses the rest of the world. By the way I'm typing this on an Intel iMac ;
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Raz 4 life said 9:40PM on 8-20-2006
Some people just need to calm down...
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Brendan said 9:44PM on 8-20-2006
@ 5 "Some people just need to calm down"
I take it you didn't read the whole article? Here's the bit a the bottom, read it.
"Hayden also said that he previously waited nine weeks for repairs to another Mac which was lost three times in Apple's service system, but was recovered and repaired in the end--with a bill attached for the repair work."
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Raz 4 life said 10:14PM on 8-20-2006
I didn't read the whole article... and what he's going through is horrendous, but if he seriously is walking 156 miles to get his computer fixed... well, I guess I'll just say good luck to him...
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Dan said 11:02PM on 8-20-2006
Regardless of difficult experiences in the past, it is irrational to act in such a manner.
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Doug said 12:35AM on 8-21-2006
I backpack quite a lot, and I can say for sure that an average man, no matter what he's carrying, cannot cover 156 miles in 4 days. An experienced, in-shape ultralight hiker (i.e. carrying no more than 10-12 lbs. of gear and supplies) can cover 30-35 miles in a day if the conditions are good and there are lots of resupply points. But some dufus carrying a computer? He won't make it 20 miles.
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drivebybiped said 1:36AM on 8-21-2006
apple has screwed up others and mine service plenty of times. maybe if the things they made didn't break so regularly (looking at you iPod) people wouldn't have to return them (I know someone who returned an iPod 3 times in 2 weeks, oh well so much for that custom engraving rip off) I love my iBook I really do. Its just...apple care couldn't RMA themselves out of a paper bag...yeah that works I think.
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Dar the Monk said 1:42AM on 8-21-2006
# 8, nice to know that I'm not alone in hiking. I agree with you, maybe 20 miles, but I think that if he actually gets past five miles before he quits on day one I would be shocked. I do give him props though for making a statement against the, lets face it if the facts are right, lack of AppleCare-ing in Ireland.
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Edward said 2:01AM on 8-21-2006
#4, that's very odd...I live in England, and when I call Apple, I always get an Irish rep. Wonder how they manage to rig that up.
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Mr Lizard said 2:38AM on 8-21-2006
Whilst I personally wouldn't take my computer on a 100-odd mile trip to be repaired, it's clear that has frustration has in large been caused by Apple.
Part of me hopes this hits the mainstream news, quirky as it is.
Ignoring their sometimes shocking customer service does not encourage them to improve things.
If this was in the UK, and Apple failed to collect my computer for repair (by the way, I think 4 days too late is definately cause for complaint- some of us work during the week and have to take days off unpaid to wait in) then I would have taken it straight to the Apple Store London and camped outside in protest.
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Ben said 4:36AM on 8-21-2006
When my Rev A iMac G5 died, it took apple 56 days to get me a replacement.
I ended up with a new Intel iMac, but 56 days is an unbelievable amount of time IMO.
To make it much worse, apple has no stores in Scotland yet, so they recommended a place called Scotsys. They managed to replace the logic board, with a 2nd faulty one, then a 3rd one that worked but the broke the backlight in the screen, then gave me it back a few days later saying it was fixed. screen backlight was still broken and airport wouldnt work. kernel panics, unknown bits of files all over the place, and almost all my ilife apps busted. thanks a lot scotsys. apple, get ur act together and get some friggin stores to serve these worldwide customers of urs.
Christ, at this rate, Dells gona have more stores than ya!
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Dylan said 5:26AM on 8-21-2006
#10, same here, I always talk to an Irish Apple rep when I call either Apple Care or Sales. Also, on the Apple UK contact details "Contacting Apple:
Apple Computer International
Hollyhill Industrial Estate
Cork
Republic of Ireland" Apple may lavish England with Apple Stores but the telesales is over the water in Ireland.
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Stephen said 6:59AM on 8-21-2006
Get a car you maniac! I thought macs were very reliable and Apple had one of the best support services around. I guess not in ireland.
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Chris said 7:46AM on 8-21-2006
Sounds like someone has been swiggin a wee bit too much of the ol' Irish whiskey...
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Tom said 8:31AM on 8-21-2006
I've experienced the Irish Apple support before and it's fairly competent most times, but incredibly bad when they do drop the ball.
And, Chris, enough with the crappy drinking stereotypes...this is 2006... get out google and find out about the country...don't rely on family guy for your world knowledge.
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Brendan said 8:51AM on 8-21-2006
#13, you may get an Irish person when you call applecare, but I always get through to England. If you got through to England, and I didn't get through to an Indian accented person then that would be half the battle. Apple needs to start working on other countries besides the U.S. We've got money too!!
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Gerry O'Sullivan said 10:00AM on 8-21-2006
I live in Dublin, and when the logic board on my iBook (still under warranty at the time) packed up about 18 months ago, I was told by Apple Care to contact Mactivate in north-west Dublin to arrange for it to be repaired. They had it back to me within a week (not only that, but discovered a minor fault in the Combo Drive and replaced that too.)
I don't understand why this guy has to go all the way to Cork to get his Mac fixed.
Mactivate link, just in case any fellow Irish user ever needs it:
http://www.mactivate.ie
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