I've got a Mac Pro, the famously quiet workstation
OK, pop the side off and have a look: neat fan assembly, two screws, shouldn't be difficult. Even found the service manual on Scribd to check the instructions, yes it really is only two screws (after all, they do design these things for manufacture). OK, so just need a replacement part, machine is still under warranty and I've got AppleCare.
I'm within range of of an Apple service provider so should be an on-site visit. Ah, no, the service centre doesn't actually do repairs, they send it away, so no on-site repair and about a week turnaround.
OK, never mind, just send me the part, I'll fit it myself. Umm, no, not a user-serviceable part so can't do that. Why not take it to a Genius Bar?
Hmm, OK, that's Bristol, quite a long drive, I want to make sure I've got an appointment before travelling. Let's see, [clickity clack] Apple ... [clickity clack] Retail ... [clickity clack]
Cabot Circus ... [clickity clack] Genius Bar ... [clickity clack] Make reservation. Looks promising.
Hmm, am I a guest or a member?
Member of what? OK, I'll try my Apple login, yup, but now confirm my One-to-One membership? I don't have that, it's for training and I don't need that. Why do I need training to use the Genius Bar to get my under-warranty computer fixed? Let's try "Guest". OK, I need the Genius Bar ... and I'd like help with my Mac.
No reservations available.
Well how about telling me when some reservations might become available?
Let's try POTS*. Dum dee dum ... 3 for reservations ... oh, "go to the website to book a reservation".
OK, let's try again, after all they did say try again later. Wow, this time there are reservation slots available. Choose an available day, from a choice of one. And a time, ditto, and a slot. Not much choice going on here is there. Must be a cancellation.
Now, is it just me or does anyone else anticipate that I'll lug my Mac Pro 80 odd miles only to find they don't have the requisite part in stock and I'll have to come back another time?
At this point I am thinking about my brother's experience with Dell support, they may have been incompetent in shipping duplicate spare parts, but at least he got on-site service.
So perhaps I can take it somewhere else and actually talk to a human being? Back to the web and look up my local service provider. To cut a long story short, after discussing the problem and the part needed they told me that I was entitled to on-site service. And they turned up when promised, sorted the fan quickly and efficiently and disappeared.
So why did Apple's service process completely fail at several points to offer me the on-site service that I had paid for?
*Plain Old Telephony
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