Amazing Apple Support

I broke my Powerbook latch a few weeks ago and have been dreading the replacement process. Since we’re heading up on the New Year I decided to take the plunge and get it fixed. I got to hang out at what they call the “Genius Bar”. This is where all the Apple tech-heads stand around and help customers with their problems. Sure it’s one of those “we’re cool because we’re geeky and know more than you do”. I have no complaints since everyone deserves to be recognized for their knowledge and hard work. And most importantly I wanted to get my Powerbook fixed ASAP. So I ran into Paul who was the most incredible support person I ever deailt with.

The first thing Paul told me is that this was an EXPENSIVE piece to replace since it required replacing the entire bottom chassis. I cringed when I heard that and asked him what the damage would be. He looked it up in the computer and said that it would run $610. That’s almost 30% of what I paid for the machine 9 months ago. There’s no way that I’m going to drop that kind of money to have a 10 cent part replaced. Paul did some more digging around and mentioned that he could find a way to get it covered by my AppleCare warranty that I paid $300 for. I was so pumped to hear this and he mentioned what great condition my Powerbook was in and said that it surely was a defective part….don’t ask don’t tell. I take incredible care of the machine, but just had one freak accident.I left the store with the best customer experience I’ve had in my entire life. I’m not sure businesses really understand the importance of what Paul did for me today. The next time that I’m going to drop a couple g’s on computer stuff it will definitely be in the Apple store. What might cost their company $150 in parts and labor will end up making them much more from my continued business in the future.

Also, if you have an older version of the Powerbook you might be able to replace it yourself with this part. That’s if you’re really confident as well as desperate.

Although I’m going to be without my pride and joy for the next 5-7 business days I’m definitely a satisfied Apple customer.