I recently bought a brandnew MacBook Pro 15″ for around $1700 on January 1st. During superbowl sunday, a clumsy friend spilled water on my keyboard, completely ruining my logic board among other components.

I visited my local Mac Store (Boston) the following day with my tale of woe. The Genius informed me that the repairs for my computer would total $1255 as the flat rate for water damage repair. I lamented how this was outrageous. Though i understand Apple does not cover any physical damages to their products, i felt cheated. My laptop was brand new and only 1.5 months old! I would have to pay almost the entire cost of new computer to get it fixed! After some debating and convincing, the Genius agreed to make an exception due to how recently i had purchased the new computer. They shipped it out to CA for repairs and had it back in about a week, fixing everything that was damaged, including the minor damages like scratches on the exterior body (though i believe the cases are almost designed to scratch). So my first round with apple care and support was awesome.

Later that week I left for Switzerland to visit a friend for a week. I return home, tired, jet lagged and slightly sick but nonetheless, ready to head back to work. As y most unfortunate luck would have it, the very first day back in the office, the very first hour, I bump my desk accidentally an open travel mug of OJ on my desk spills across the keyboard of my 2 week old repaired computer! FML! What luck!?

I am crushed, but i decide to return to the apple store to plead my case of misfortune, with minor hopes of a personable, sympathetic understanding of my case of sh*t luck and a hopeful repeat of events in regards to repair. Oh how i was mistaken.

The Genius listens to my tale, very sympathetic and personally, hearing how this is twice in a month and how the original case was handled. He says “Let me see what i can do for you” and returns from a backroom (I assume to look up the record of my previous work order and discuss with some higher-up manager) to inform me, “Due to the physical damage, we unfortunately cannot cover you laptop for repairs, however, at a flat rate (???) of $1255 (almost the cost of the computer originally) they could replace the parts. I pleaded, informing him how the laptop is barely 2 months old, how I, the broke intern/student having just returned from vacation, have no such funds for the repairs, and how the circumstance was previously handled, tried my best to convince him that it was rather unfair to charge me such a price (how can they not even have a limited 90 full coverage for accidents on some of the most expensive computers on the market???!).

He only replies to say, “I’m surprised to hear you were able to get the original issue handled free of charge. Im sorry there is no coverage for your issue. It will cost $1255 to repair your damages (regardless of however extensive or costly the damages actually were).

I ask, “Is there some kind of payment option? I’m rather broke but I live on this laptop for work/school/life, I can’t afford not to have it repaired, surely there is a payment plan we could work out?”

He replies, “Unfortunately there is not. I believe there is an apple credit care you could apply for (WTF?!) that could help you finance the repairs.”

The last thing in the world i want to do is apply for an Apple store credit card in order to fix my laptop that i feel deserves to be covered free of charge.

I say to him, “This is rather absurd, dont you think? Im paying about the cost of a new laptop for the repairs on a computer that is barely 60 days old! i could buy a brand new Dell with better specs than my MBP for that cost, and Dell will replace it for any reason, free of charge for 3 years! I hate windows, so I’d much rather use a Mac OS, but this doesn’t even seem worth it!”

His reply, “Well maybe that’s what you ought to do.” (WTF? Telling the customer the best advice they can offer for support is to leave their brand for the competition?)

You have GOT to be kidding me Apple. Your business is so content and sucessful at being profitable that you readily will throw your customers to the wind when they need support that logically seems reasonable to request AFTER REPAIRING IT ALREADY A WEEK PRIOR FOR FREE. Rather than make the customer feel connected and personally cared about, the Genius (ha ‘Genius’) says my best option is to say “F*ck It” and switch to Dell.

Gee, thanks for all the impeccable support Apple. You really stand behind your customers and your relations with them. The absurdity is killing me.

As for Dell, I wonder if they realize they could be losing potential “switcher” sales by their poor browser support?