Thursday 12 February 2009

The Wonders of Mac Service

The iPod Nano (3rd Gen) that I bought yesterday is officially spoilt. I had to go all the way back to Sunway Pyramid to return it. So what was wrong with it? Well, the battery is totally dead. Do you know that with whatever techno stuff you buy, be it a laptop, mp3 player or handphone, you can always switch it on for at least a few seconds? Just enough time for it to tell you that it's dying of battery life. Well, this iPod Nano did not.


Sure, it works when it's connected to the USB and the charger, but pull off the plug and it instantly dies. Regardless what I did to it, it still wouldn't function without electricity. I decided to go back to the shop in the hopes of fixing it or exchanging it. The guy who was handling the shop at the time tried his best to update the software, charged it, reset it, but the Nano still stared up at him blankly with its black screen. Finally, he told me to go to the Mac service center at Mid Valley because it's, in a way, Mac's problem for producing a faulty iPod. He explained that he couldn't simply exchange the product because he is just a reseller.


Thankfully, Sunway Pyramid has a Machines store, which is one of the largest Apple Premium Reseller in Malaysia, and so I went to ask for their advice before actually considering to travel all the way to Mid Valley. And I found out something interesting from the manager there.


Apple actually has a policy which helps safeguard customers who buy any Apple products. Apparently, if you bought a Mac product which turns out to be faulty in any way within one week of the purchase date, you as the customer are able to perform a one-on-one exchange with the seller. Case example: I bought my iPod Nano from a Mac reseller, which turns out to be faulty, and I came to return it the very next day. By Apple's policy, I have the right to exchange the product for the same (working) product. If the reseller refuses to exchange it with you, you are strongly encouraged to report the reseller to AppleCare Support (Malaysia's hotline is 1-800-803-638). Apple will then contact said reseller and 'scold' them. If the shop refuses to cooperate, Apple has the right to pull the Mac products from the reseller's shop as well as their license as an authorized Mac reseller. As for your faulty product, Apple will either convince the shop to exchange it for you or will help to fix it.


If the manager hadn't told me that, I would have gone, like a fool, to the service center and await a few days until my so-called brand new iPod Nano is fixed. Armed with this information, I returned to the shop, which I am fairly sure is unaware of the Apple exchange policy, and related the news to them. After contacting the manager of the shop, the sales assistant exchanged my blue iPod Nano to a pink one, which, by the way, works wonderfully. :lol: They didn't have any extra blue ones 'coz the 3rd Gen 8GB is old so I settled for the pink one, which was what I originally wanted anyway.





[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="368" caption="iPod Nano 3rd Gen 8GB Pink"]iPod Nano 3rd Gen 8GB Pink[/caption]



So, the next time you buy a Mac from an authorized reseller and it turned out to be faulty within that one week, make sure you exchange it with them. Don't listen to them telling you that you MUST go to the service center. Call the AppleCare Support then and there, infront of them if you have to, and make a report against them. Stick to your consumer rights as an Apple buyer. :twisted:

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