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Comment by mchannon | Hacker News Reader

My experience:

Joined a startup, raring to go, and they needed to get me a top-end MacBook Pro (16GB instead of 8GB as I recall). Apple stores in SF refused to stock the top-end, pointing me to their build-to-order options at the store. +5 days minimum.

Went with a mail-order house and next day aired in a top-end MacBook Pro laptop (which they had plenty of in every color). Shift key was DOA. Took it in to the Apple store. They had the gall to tell me that since I didn't buy it directly from Apple, they wouldn't (not couldn't, wouldn't) repair it in store, but would send it to their warranty center in Houston (right after Harvey). Got it back fixed, but so many days wasted.

Apple gets so many really difficult things right. Simple-seeming things like basic customer service and proactive quality control escape them.

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Apple doesn't repair anyone's laptop on site, they're all shipped to repair centers.

And if they don't stock your configuration in store, there's no way to just hand you a new one either.

I'm not saying your experience was any less shitty than it was, but there's nothing else they could have done than what they did.

If the startup was serious about uptime they’d be part of the partner program and be given a loaner on devices

And since that is the configuration everyone gets, they should have had it in possession already.

And the cost of keeping a spare or two in-house is negligible compared to the lost productivity.

This is false, they repaired my Macbook Pro in the store when the enter key started failing.

Depends on the country / store tbh. Canadian Apple Stores don't send any Macs out to repair centres. US stores generally do, but I think they still have the latitude to do some repairs in store.

The new one? I was told they would have to send my 1 month old, purchased from an Apple Store late 2016 MBP in for a flakey 'R' key to have the top case replaced. I asked if they could pop off the keycap and clean it and they said that they do not do that on the butterfly design.

Replacing the key and butterfly mechanism doesn’t always work :(

I swapped my keys around for Dvorak. I moved almost every key, and they all still work. But, I can see their hesitation. It’s really easy to mess up.

I think what he meant it is doesn't always fix the problem for problematic keys.

For me, it has always fixed problems of keys that stopped working, but it doesn't seem to necessarily fix keys that double press. I assume that is related to an issue of the membrane itself or something under it.

No, mine is the late 2013 Macbook Pro Retina. The parent poster said "Apple doesn't repair anyone's laptop on site".

I read "anyone" in this context to mean Apple is not discriminating against people who purchased from 3rd parties.

This is in response to the GP's comment "They had the gall to tell me that since I didn't buy it directly from Apple, they wouldn't (not couldn't, wouldn't) repair it in store" - which isn't the case, this is the policy for the butterfly models.

Probably because they keep cans of air in the back room.

I’ve had a ton of laptop repairs done in-store. Many years ago, but still. Maybe they just don’t do them anymore?

They do plenty of laptop repairs in-store, just not this one.

Unlike the earlier chiclet design they don't pop the keycaps off, they literally replace the top case.

If you're out of warranty this is a $500 repair.

And replacing the top case means removing every other component, putting them all back in, and then testing it to make sure you didn't cause any new problems!

And remember when rebuilding the laptop, 1 or 2 left-over screws from the rebuild is ok .... More than that, not ok. -- Apple Genius friend

It's hard to overstate how incredibly out of line this (and Apple's larger pattern of unserviceable hardware) is with the company's professed dedication to sustainability. They can convert all of their facilities worldwide to renewable energy, but they can't fix a single key on a keyboard without sending the entire keyboard, aluminum housing, and lithium-ion battery to the landfill (or at best an energy-intensive recycling process)?

>It's hard to overstate how incredibly out of line this (and Apple's larger pattern of unserviceable hardware) is with the company's professed dedication to sustainability.

You're shocked that a corporation lies?

This can’t be right. I had a MBP screen and battery replaced in under two hours, on site at my nearest Apple Store, in the last six months.

If they have the parts onsite, they do

Tell us that story, please.

They do screen and battery replacements while you wait (or go get dinner elsewhere in the mall)

I've had two repairs on my MacBook Pro done in an Apple store within the last year. They had to order the part, i dropped it off when it came in, and usually got it back within a day or two.

Your startup should have ordered the laptop in advance of your start date. My company standardizes on the 16gb model. They never have them in store, we have to order them online, about a week or so before we need them.

Your situation sucks but this might make you laugh: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FdS3tjEIqUA

> Apple gets so many really difficult things right. Simple-seeming things like

iTunes. shudder

They really only get a few things right. But at least they get a few things right.

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