We took our 1 yr old iMac to the store to do the tune up under the Apple Care program. They accidentally wiped out the hard disk and said to send the whole computer to a data retrieval company. They gave us a free 300gig external hard disk as compensation for not telling us to make a back up prior to the tune up. They wouldn’t take out the hard disk for us.
We went back another day and requested they take out the HD, and they did, so that we could try to recover the data ourselves. However, as we were driving home, we noticed they ripped the HD out and the S-ATA and power connectors were damaged and basically now the HD had to be sent away to be opened (a more expensive option - $2700!) to recover the data.
We went back and complained, and they offered to take over the costs for the retrieval. So we took our computer home and wanted to see exactly what they had done. and we opened it to check if their are any damages inside. As we opened it we figured out that they destroyed the complete protection tape around the screen and ripped off the antistatic tape which covers the CPU and other important chips
Finally the screen itself was only attached by ONE (1) screw and a lose screw were bouncing behind the main-board. We returned the computer to the store and after a long discussion we finally received a new computer as exchange to the damaged computer and got our HD back.
The Manager was helpful but not really interested that his store damaged a complete computer. Now we are still have to recover the data. We don’t trust this store anymore since they messed up everything they could. The complete procedure was very unprofessional and we spent the whole day in the apple store. We are very disappointed about this all how Apple take care of customer computers.
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You got a free drive out of it… AND a new computer. Granted, they wiped the drive but I think you should have taken the precaution of backing up your own data prior to bringing it in for service… golden rule for computer repairs: backup your data.
Enjoy your new computer.
EmpatheticNOT on January 14th, 2008 at 8:16 pm | Link
According to Consumer Reports, Apple computers, despite all their good features, have a surprisingly high repair rate — much higher than most brands of PCs. I found this doubly shocking because of Apple’s relatively small share of the computer market.
TLM on January 15th, 2008 at 4:20 pm | Link
You’re taking the viability of your computer’s data into your own hands when visiting any retail outlet. Anywhere. These people are not smarter than the average geek, not specially trained other than perhaps an A+ cert (which, by the way, seems to focus on feel good customer skills rather than technical competence), and most certainly do not have a vested interest in your data. THESE PEOPLE ARE NOT and I say NOT EXPERTS. If you must go to the Best Buys or the Apple Stores for repair and salvage, then be sure to explicitly state any required conditions before surrendering your hardware. Meaning: If for any reason you cannot repair my computer without formatting (usually the first choice of in-store techs) then stop and return it to me and we will discuss what options there are. To me, it’s a lot like the hippocratic oath - do no harm. It is astoundingly easy to salvage corrupt data. Do not settle for less.
When you check in your Mac for service at Apple you initial on the work authorization that you accept the possbility of data loss. Read what you sign. The disclaimer is not even fine-print, it’s a simple paragraph. There is no gene for stupid. Buy an HP next time, I hear the mail in experience is so great.
Derek Bolander on January 25th, 2008 at 4:03 am | Link
So, I am getting the “white screen of death,” but cannot restart off of my install CD (because my CD drive isn’t working). Does anyone have a suggestion as to where I can take it? I was planning to go the the apple store in Rancho, but now I am a bit discouraged.
Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Gatty on July 30th, 2008 at 9:35 pm | Link
Gatty,
You might want to ask your question in one of the Apple forums.
Good Luck.