Genius Bar Woes

[gnr319]

Last week I sent my Macbook Air (Rev C. 2.13ghz) in for a trackpad button repair. The button was depressing twice for some reason. They ordered a new "top unit" and had it installed yesterday.

I picked up my mba yesterday and noticed 2 problems with it today.

First, whenever I boot up there is a sounds coming from the computer like that of a spinning drive (zzzuurn), but I am certain that a solid-state equipped computer does not make any startup noises. I also do not recall my mba making such noises prior to this repair. Can anyone confirm that there should be no startup noise coming form the hardware during bootup on a SSD equipped unit?

Second, the mouse is going crazy and no longer usable. It is acting on its own without any user input nor is it sensitive to my finger tracking. I am thinking this is due to a poor reassembly of the top unit during the repair but I'm not sure.

The "genius" did say to me when I brought my mba in for repair that mbas are more difficult to work on and that my top-unit replacement is the most extensive repair for an MBA.

Now I feel like the apple geniuses are inadequate to perform these kinds of repairs on my laptop. What was once a trackpad button problem has turned my machine unusable not to mention i noticed 2 very small blemishes on the lid of my computer that wasn't there before.

Does anyone else find that the genius bar is really lacking in quality control? I will be going back tomorrow after my classes to express my fury and anger in person.

Maybe I should've bought a MBP 13 inch...

 

[aristobrat]

Does anyone else find that the genius bar is really lacking in quality control? I will be going back tomorrow after my classes to express my fury and anger in person.

Depends on the individual Genius and the type of repair. Most Geniuses I've run into pride themselves on the repairs they do, and they rarely have issues with types of repairs that are done day-in/day-out.

Compared to the number of MacBook/MacBook Pros repaired at the Genius Bars, Airs are seen a lot less frequently, which means Geniuses have less hands-on experience with them.

That doesn't excuse the shoddy work that your particular Genius did on your repair. If he booted it up to verify that the trackpad worked, he should have seen it going crazy. As for it being scratched, they do repairs on padded counters (back in the Genius Room), so I'm not sure how that happened.

Two thoughts:

You're likely to get an automated email survey from Apple asking about your experience. Fill it out frankly. If your overall rating is 0-5, you're flagged as a "detractor" and should get a call back from store management to talk about your specific situation. "Corporate" and stores use these surveys to track overall Genius Bar satisfaction, down to the individual Genius.

When you go back into the store to have your Air re-fixed, you're likely to receive a lot more cooperation from them if you're calm and civil. Fury and anger will likely end up with your Air taking even longer to be properly repaired.

 

[lostless]

A way to check if you have SSD or hard drive is to go to the apple menu, select about this mac. Then select more info. Under serial-ata, it will say SSD or something else.

 

[aristobrat]

A way to check if you have SSD or hard drive is to go to the apple menu, select about this mac. Then select more info. Under serial-ata, it will say SSD or something else.

I think they know it's a SSD model, just not sure if SSD models are 100% quiet when they boot up.

gnr319, your Air does have a spinning fan in it. Maybe you're hearing that?

 

[mobilevisual]

You should request for a replacement. Don't take any chances.

I brought in my B. 1.6 SSD, (purchased before the price drop, ouch) for a minor problem, the "genie" brought it to the back for "tests"; 20 minutes later he came out with a HUGE DENT on the lid. The best part was, he did not even bother to tell me and I have no way to prove he put that black hole there. I was PISSED. $2500 for salvaged aluminum!

The lesson here was: Apple presents these idiots as professionals, and we automatically put our guards and common sense in our back pocket when seeing their shiny, yet simple name tag. Big mistake! Always double check their work and when possible use your cell phone to take pictures of your valuable before handing it to them.

As for my dented MBA. I called 1800 MY APPLE, and they replaced it, after seeing my purchasing record. By the way, don't be shy to let them know how much money you spent on uncle Steve. Demand a Supervisor when you feel you received the short end of the stick.

PS. no my B SSD does not make any sound when boot...Bring that crap back to the store and give them a piece of your mind (in a calm and professional manner, of course)!!!

 

[adamjackson]

When i worked as a manager at an apple store, it was always "case by case basis"

Everyone has their own decisions and for repairs and genius bar work it's all over the place depending on who you get. So try a different store or come back on a different day. keep asking till you get the answer you want.

 

[gnr319]

Just an update-

I returned to the Apple Store today and explained to the Genius what happened. While I showed him the erratic cursor behavior, I also asked if he could do something about the LCD screen. (my lcd is slanted slightly down the left side-never bothered to get this fixed since I needed the computer for school).

He took the mba to the back of the store and shortly came out again and offered to fix my current unit ( 3 days turn around time) or give me a new replacement.

Needless to say, I took the new machine and the quality of this one seems much better.

Very happy ending

 

[prodigee]

Glad to hear this had a happy ending, hopefully this new unit, doesn't give you as many issues. It is also good that the Geniuses were understanding enough to offer the replacement after just one repair on your MBA, normally its takes three before they even consider offering a replacement.

 

[mhnajjar]

My wife's Vaio has been through 5 repairs and it is going in for the 6th time this week!!!!

The problem is that the issues are all minor ones. Speakers, mic jack, mouse button, etc.

I wish Sony had some similar service like Apple. Gladly, I have never had to send in any of my Macs.