Having worked at two different Apple Specialists for a total of about 3 and a half years, I have experienced one kind of Apple service. The technicians at both stores were very skilled, wonderful people, always doing their best work for their customers. However, with the problems I have with my MacBook Pro, even if I brought it to one of the local Apple repair shops in town, it would still have to be sent out to Apple for fixes. I decided to call Apple directly and see how my experience went.

As I’ve mentioned, my MacBook Pro has had a few problems, even from day one. It’s a Core Duo MacBook Pro, so being a first revision machine, I expected a few quirks. This machine had a few, but when the SuperDrive stopped burning and reading blank or burned DVDs, it pushed me over the edge to where the issues were affecting how I used the machine.

1/15/07 - Called Apple
I called Applecare directly at 6:15pm. Spent about 12 minutes on hold waiting for a technician. I spoke to, ironically enough, Adam. He took down my required personal information, purchase date and my machine’s serial number. Since I am out of the 90 day complementary technical support period, he advised me to purchase Applecare, and gave me the pricing on it, and also politely mentioned that student pricing was available on it. I declined, and the conversation moved on. Adam informed me that without Applecare there was a $49 diagnostic fee, which he would need a credit card for, but would be marked as “non-billable” if it turned out to not be a software related problem. He was very personable, and friendly. I gave him the various problems on my machine. First was that I have the infamous processor whine, and I referenced the Apple support article that lists it. Adam looked it up, and chuckled saying that there was little information on my side of the document, but much more available to him. Good to know, as it was very light on details. I also informed him that my Superdrive was not reading and burning blank or burned DVDs, which work fine on my Mac Mini. He also noted this. The final issue is that the fans in the machine seem to have bad bearings, as intermittently they make an extreme amount of rattling noise. He smoothly mentioned that intermittent problems can be difficult to diagnose, but he would note it on the repair order. After my descriptions, he mentioned that this repair would likely fall under the category of non-billable, and he would mark it so. A box would be sent to me in a few days to send the machine in, and I would receive and email with my dispatch number. The entire call took 15 minutes perhaps.

1/17/07 - Received box
I got a knock this morning, and DHL left a cardboard Apple shipping box at my door. How nice of them to wait around for an answer. I don’t mind that much since it was just an empty box, but when it has my MacBook Pro in it, I hope they don’t leave it without someone signing for it. I also noticed that Apple spelled my last name wrong, but it’s a minor difference, and shouldn’t be a problem. This box is pretty slick. It’s a plain brown box, with internal foam and padding to protect the machine. It also comes with a thin sleeve to slip my MBP inside of and protect it. There’s a printed packet with information, and shipping instructions, in an IKEA-like manner of picture instructions with smiley faces. They even include a packet of shipping tape to seal the box back up. Once I back up and reformat, I’ll get this box to DHL.

1/18/07 - Dropped box off at DHL
Dropped by my local DHL office to give them the box. It was amateur hour, like usual (I haven’t had good experience with the local DHL office - long story).

1/22/07 - Apple receives machine
My online status of my repair has been updated today. Apple received my MBP, and it’s on hold for parts.

1/31/07 - Return shipment pending
After being on hold for parts for over a week, I checked the status today, and it shows the repair as complete and return shipping pending. It probably got completed after the cutoff for shipping, as it’s dated for tomorrow. I hope DHL doesn’t do something stupid, like leaving it without a signature on return shipping.

2/2/07 - Back in action
I got my MacBook Pro back today. Everything seems to be working perfectly. It’s quiet, quick and the Superdrive works again. According to the repair sheet, they replaced the logic board, both fans, and the Superdrive. I also received new system install discs with 10.4.6 on them (presumably due to the new logic board). So far things are good. The machine seems to run a little cooler than it did before, and even when the fans turn on, they’re very quiet. Apple packed this guy up nicely, and I didn’t notice anything dirty or messy on the machine, other than a small sticker with a barcode on the palm rest wrapping over to the side.

Overall, this has been pretty painless. It would have been nice if parts had been available sooner, and it didn’t happen in the first place, but I’m a happy camper now.