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Helpful answers
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Jun 2, 2011 11:48 AM in response to NicoNBby dpedpe,Well, unplugging the USB cable just seems to reduce the frequency of the blackouts, not eliminate them. Waiting, waiting, waiting for Apple to fix my $4,000 set up - kinda ridiculous.
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Jun 7, 2011 11:51 AM in response to dpedpeby NicoNB,Made antoher call today to Apple to hear how things are progressing.
After the guy read the case file he put me through to a senior. According to him the problem is under investigation by the Apple tech guys but could not make any promisess about when the problem will be solved.
Sofar they seem to think a software or firmware update will do the job.
BTW I own an iMac with ThunderBolt and a 24"ACD.
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Jun 10, 2011 4:51 PM in response to DanRybby cypren,I made my fifth call about this issue to support today and spoke with a senior advisor. After elaborating on how I've been dealing with the problem since late February and been promised "the next update will have a fix" multiple times, he told me quite bluntly that they will not exchange my display (which is still under warranty) or give me any support beyond telling me that "a fix is being worked on by Apple Engineering".
He did give me a snail-mail address to write to in order to complain about the customer service, so I'm drafting a letter right now. Saying I'm furious at being treated this way barely begins to cover it; I've quite literally gotten much better customer service from Dell's farmed-out Indian call centers than the supposedly "industry leading" Apple Support.
I'm beginning to think my problem is that I'm being polite on the phone and wondering if screaming at some poor rep and threatening bogus lawsuits is actually what's required in order to be treated like a paying customer instead of a nuisance.
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Jun 10, 2011 5:04 PM in response to cyprenby sciencegal,sorry to hear that cypren and I totally recognize getting angry over this. In my experience, taking the display to the genius bar for repair does pay off in the end. I brought it back a number of times. So, if that's not too much of a hassle for you, I would seriously advise doing that. Sure, sending a letter will let them know you're not happy, but having them deal with a display they cannot fix themselves makes it much more their problem.
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Jun 10, 2011 5:10 PM in response to sciencegalby cypren,I actually know the manager at my local Apple Store and have already talked with him at length about the issue. He said that all their techs are aware of it and they have a specific internal bulletin telling them not to offer replacements or upgrades and not to tell customers anything other than "the problem is being worked on by Engineering".
His advice was to keep calling and badgering customer support until I found someone willing to help me. Unfortunately, I made the mistake of asking the senior rep I talked to tonight, "many other people on the forums have apparently gotten a trade-in or display replacement, so clearly this isn't an ironclad policy; does this mean I just keep calling back until I find someone willing to help me?" He said he was putting a note in my file specifically stating that I had asked for a replacement and not to give me one. Really felt like that was going the extra mile to ensure great service, there.
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Jun 10, 2011 5:23 PM in response to cyprenby sciencegal,did you mention you're willing to pay the difference for an upgrade?
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Jun 10, 2011 5:25 PM in response to sciencegalby cypren,Sure did. I made it very clear I was not trying to get a freebie here or anything of the kind; I just want a working monitor instead of an expensive paperweight.
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Jun 11, 2011 8:54 PM in response to cyprenby cypren,Happy ending here: I took the monitor down to the Newport Beach Apple Store last night, rather irate after my call to tech support, and the manager was extremely polite and helpful. He asked for a day to look into the problem and then called me back today offering my choice of either free AppleCare upgrade on the monitor (so its warranty would extend past whenever they eventually get around to fixing this problem) or to swap the monitor for a 27" provided I paid the difference. I took the latter option and am pleased to report that it does indeed appear to fix the issue.
Very glad to see that the bad experience I had with phone support is an abberation, not the norm. Still might send a letter about the phone call, though; Apple's reputation (and its ability to charge a hefty premium on its computers) rides on the perception that your problems become their problems as soon as you call them. There are few better ways to lose that sterling reputation than having customer service managers who treat customers like a nuisance.
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Jun 12, 2011 1:17 AM in response to yvesfrombucby cypren,$200 plus applicable tax. I bought my monitor last August after they'd discounted them from $899 to $799 because the 27" was coming. Ironically, I got it then because I was furnishing a new office and didn't want to be working straight off a laptop for a month while waiting for the 27" to come out, and the extra 3" didn't matter much. In hindsight, I would have spent significantly less time without a monitor if I'd just waited.
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Jun 14, 2011 2:26 PM in response to DanRybby El Presidente,I forgot i hadn't updated this thread. The new display arrived and indeed works flawlessly which leads me to believe the difference is in how the 27" processes input signal compared to the 24". The 27" can process both audio and video through the mdp whilst the 24" only takes video IIRC. At least thats my guess.
I really hope Apple pulls through with the FW update for those who unable to get a 27" exchange due to warranty. To have to deal with this issue is absolutely ridiculous.
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Jun 18, 2011 2:16 PM in response to DanRybby FreudianMoose,I've been using my 24 ACD for the past 8 months with a MacBook Pro 13" (summer 2010, non-Thunderbolt) and it was working like a charm.
I've received my brand new iMac 21.5 (2.8 i7, 8 Gb RAM - with Thunderbolt) yesterday. Plugged in the 24 ACD and, what do you know... flickering and blacking out like there is no tomorrow. Thanks to this forum, I've learned I wasn't the only one experiencing this very annoying (I'm being polite here...) situation.
Called the Apple Support. Went through a series of procedures while being directed over the phone by the Apple technician: reseting the PRAM, downloading the latest updates, booting from OS X disk, all the good stuff... Still no luck.
An appointment was setup with a Genius at my local Apple Store (Montreal, Canada) in order to check the video card of the computer and to test it with the newer 27" ACD. Which I did. Still no luck. The computer was tested and everything seems to be fine at that end of the tunnel.
Next step, I was told to bring the 24 ACD in so a technician could have a look at it. Which I also did. The folks at the Apple Store are going to change the cables and the video card of the display. They admitted there is a problem with the 24 ACD's and the new Thunderbolt port. At least someone had the guts to say it...
I'm waiting for the process to be completed (a week to 10 days) and I will keep you guys updated on the 24 ACD Saga.
FM
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Jun 20, 2011 5:14 AM in response to FreudianMooseby NicoNB,Made another phonecall to Apple, no solution available yet other then to wait for a firmware update.
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Jun 21, 2011 2:33 PM in response to cyprenby road2ca,How did you get the apple store to give you the exchange for paying the difference? I have two 24" ACD, one flickers, but it is tolerable, and the other is horrible. After the unit has been on for an hour or so, it is unusable. I've been waiting patently for over a month and a half, and still nothing. I can live out waiting for a firmware fix for one, but the other is literally unusable after an hour.
Any suggestions on how to get a better response from the genius bar? I live very close to the apple store in Victoria Gardens.