Apple Employee damaged my MacBook - What should I do?

Hello, I set up an appointment with the Genius Bar because of a defect with the clutch (black plastic hinge cover) on my new MacBook Air 13.3" I bought a month and a week ago. I took it to the Genius Bar, and the first Genius Bar Employee told me it's normal, but he went to ask another Genius and they both said it was normal. So I said okay, and asked for them to run a virus check because of a pop-up that appeared on my screen stating I had a virus. Now my original Genius gave me an attitude trying to explain the difference between adware, pop-ups, and basically teaching me the differences. I told him the macbook was running slow, so he opened up all the applications at once to show me, but kept slamming the keyboard with his fingernails. Didn't look like a lot of damage so I passed on that. He said it's not slow and I said okay, could you please just run a diagnostics to make sure? He said OK and had me sit at the actual bar now.


So he sets up the cable and grabs his iPad to run the diagnostics. When he goes to set the iPad on the table, he drops it on the corner of my macbook. Now after the diagnostics, I ask again "so everything with my macbook is okay?" and he reassures me it is. So I'm about to walk out the store, but go to check the MacBook Air displays, I checked 3 of them and all 3 did not have any loose clutches like mine. So I wait for a manager, and she asks to look at my macbook and I say yes. Unfortunately, when she goes to open the macbook, she opens it too quickly and hits the macbook behind mine. She agreed that there is sliding on my clutch and takes it to a technician to confirm. Comes back to tell me it should not be "this loose," but the other macbooks' clutches don't move at all. So at this point, I'm really wanting a replacement because I'm unsure what other hidden defects are lying within this macbook. I look at the macbook and the corner the original Genius dropped the iPad has metal/aluminum shavings showing the hit.


Well long story short, the manager grabs the technician to offer a repair, tells me it will be a week before the part comes in, and then I have to go back to the store again; not that it matters, but I have school, a job, and have constant traveling which requires a laptop (for my career internship). Now I am glad they are trying to resolve my problem, but my concern is carelessness that occurred and the poor customer service I experienced during this whole experience. Should I just forget the damages, or what should I do? I've never been one to complain in-person as I've grown up on technology.

Sorry for the long post. I've attached a few pictures I took when I saw him drop the iPad on my macbook.


P.S. can I ask Apple to check the cameras in the store to back my evidence? I have a recording of the whole experience, and you can hear the macbooks hitting each other when the manager opens the lid.User uploaded fileUser uploaded file

MacBook Air, OS X Yosemite (10.10.5)

Posted on Sep 27, 2015 1:43 PM

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7 replies

Sep 29, 2015 11:52 AM in response to Mehran333

Well I went to another Apple store yesterday, spoke to their manager who assured me it is abnormal behavior how they acted at my previous experience.


Spoke to my local Apple store just now and a very helpful manager explained the experience and how they would accommodate me upon my next visit. Glad he is willing to help even though the time delay.


Lesson learned: would of been best to have spoken up when it occurred instead of waiting until now.

Sep 27, 2015 2:34 PM in response to Mehran333

Nothing is worse than bringing something to someone and having it returned in worse condition than before. The nincompoops who assisted you are obviously need of customer service training not to mention an infusion of some common sense. The carelessness you describe should not be tolerated.


There is a very specific test to perform to verify the display hinge clutch operates within tolerances. It is performed by releasing the lid so that it closes from a specified position, not opening it so quickly that it slams against something else. The Geniuses ought to be familiar with it. Did they do that, or not?


Edit to add: the black plastic hinge cover is just a cover. It's OK for it to be somewhat loose and for there to be variations among them. Separate components comprise the actual hinge mechanism. They cannot be inspected without disassembling the MBA.


So what should you do in this circumstance? The same as you would do in any other. Write to the store manager describing what happened and ask what Apple intends to do about it. You probably won't get very far at first. Be persistent. Short of external pressures that only you can bring about, that's all you can do.


P.S. can I ask Apple to check the cameras in the store to back my evidence? I have a recording of the whole experience, and you can hear the macbooks hitting each other when the manager opens the lid.

You can ask, but those cameras are Apple's property to do with as Apple wishes and to protect Apple's interests. They don't install them for you to record evidence that might be used against them.


So I said okay, and asked for them to run a virus check because of a pop-up that appeared on my screen stating I had a virus. Now my original Genius gave me an attitude trying to explain the difference between adware, pop-ups, and basically teaching me the differences.


Those scams are very popular and should be summarily disregarded. A "virus check" is unjustified and never appropriate anyway. To learn more about the popup that appeared and what to do about them, read Phony "tech support" / "ransomware" popups and web pages.


Adware is a very different threat, and requires your active intervention to install. To learn how to recognize adware so that you can avoid it, read How to install adware. Should you ever find yourself affected by it, Apple's instructions are linked in the Recovery Procedure near the end of that document. You don't need a Genius, certainly not the kind you encountered.

Sep 30, 2015 8:51 PM in response to Mehran333

That's awful. Are you sure you didn't confuse a muffler repair shop with the Apple Store?


You expressed your concerns patiently and in specific detail, but they ought to be sent in writing, in the same manner, to someone with the authority to address them. All the rest of us can do is lend a sympathetic ear.


Write to the store manager by finding its address here: http://www.apple.com/retail/storelist/. Send a copy to their corporate address.

Sep 27, 2015 2:55 PM in response to John Galt

The problem with my clutch was that it slid side-to-side. All the other clutches on every other macbook I saw had no variations of sliding at all. The hinge clutch was not loose in the way that it made the lid open and close faster, but it was loose in that it did not complete the whole and slid left to right.


My biggest concern is the damage caused by carelessness and the poor customer service I received. The manager opened my macbook's lid too quickly and too far, that's the reason it hit the macbook behind it, not because of the clutch.


I'm also afraid because I spoke with one of the managers, they might all have this mentality and refuse to help me.


I will try contacting another manager of the store, and report what happens, but I'm not a very confronting person.


Thank you John Galt for your reply!

Sep 27, 2015 4:06 PM in response to Mehran333

The manager opened my macbook's lid too quickly and too far, that's the reason it hit the macbook behind it, not because of the clutch.


I am envisioning a situation in which the technician opened the lid using a force she would consider normal, and was surprised when that force caused it to fly open unexpectedly quickly, resulting in the MacBook behind it being struck by its lid. That's my interpretation of your report. Having seen what occurred yourself, you are in a better position to understand exactly what happened.


These people open and close MacBook lids all day long, so I don't know how else it would have occurred other than yours being excessively loose.


I'm not a very confronting person.


It may be unpleasant but sometimes that's the only way to get results. Your MBA may have suffered only cosmetic damage, but it was the result of negligence inconsistent with any reasonable standard of care.

Sep 30, 2015 8:31 PM in response to Mehran333

Went to the Apple store today.... Thought the manager I spoke with would address my problems, ended up having both him and another Genius tech scratch my MacBook Air with their rings... My MBA managed to survive the hit to the Genius bar door because the Genius luckily had the envelope take the hit instead of my laptop; BUT, the envelope that took the hit was holding the clutch part 😠


Actually went there today because I got a call telling me the clutch part was ready to be replaced; however, I get told that they have no technician to do it and I have to return tomorrow to get it done.


Any other ideas? I've lost hope in this location.

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Apple Employee damaged my MacBook - What should I do?

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