here’s a cutout of wat i posted on www.macuser.org.sg regarding my first experience with applecare. i’ll never ask anyone to buy another apple product ever. WTF!
“this is my first post here and i just had to rant about this. ipod applecare or applecare has to be the most screwed up support system of any brand. no service support is perfect, i agree, but my experience with applecare so far has been really bad. in fact is sucks so bad that i would strongly discourage anyone from buying apple products ever. extreme? i jus find that bad service support is something that we shouldn’t tolerate. >:(
i own an ipod 20GB that is barely 2 mths old. and the battery doesnt last past 3 hours of music play. whenever i use the provided remote, the earphones don’t work occasionally. so much for high quality product. but nevermind. ::)
then being an apple newbie, i didn’t where the service centre was, so i jus popped down to applecentre at bukit timah to ask them for some help. when i asked the lady where i could find an applecare centre or someone to repair my ipod, she said she didn’t know. she wasn’t sure. an applecentre employee that didn’t know the wherabouts of apple’s repair centres? it doesn’t get anymore pathetic than that. she told me i shuld jus call the applecare hotline. and so i did. ::)
after waiting for almost 8minutes on the line for the operator, this australian accented guy, Simon, spoke to me. asked me wat was wrong with my ipod and etc. i tole him.
1) first and mostly importantly, my battery life sucks. 3 hrs is unacceptable of a product that is barely 2 mths old.
2) my remote is giving me problems occasionally. so i need to get that fixed too.
he took down my problem and asked me where i would like to repair my set. he told me ang mo kio. i asked him where else. he said funan centre and international plaza. so i tot i’d go to funan to do it since it’s more convenient. so he gave me my ref number and tole me to pass them my remote so they can check. and then i asked, wat about the battery life. and he went,”oh that, yeh, you can also just let them have a look at it.” i tot i made it clear that the battery was the main problem, obviously it wasn’t clear enough to him. but nevermind. ::)
so the next morning, i went down to applecentre at funan centre. when i told the lady at the applecentre that the applecare consultant sent me to funan to repair my ipod, she gave the me the god-darnedest look. she was confused. she politely told me that they don’t do repairs for items that still have warranty. but she said i could leave it with them and they would send it for me. but that would take a long time. and according to her response and look. it would have taken a VERY VERY long time. but she kindly gave me a list of 4 telephone numbers to call. ahh.. the mysterious apple service centres! 
i was ecstatic! but first things first, i tot i’d call Simon up and give him hell. if apple wants to outsource their helpdesk, they should at least get people who know their facts and service centres. but guess wat? they don’t bloody open on saturdays and sundays! 5 day week! wow! a hotline with a 5 day week! WOW!
The first place i called was the Applecare Service Centre at Ang Mo Kio. After 5 calls, and 5 recorded messages, i gave up. “our working days are.. blah blah.. and from 10am till 1pm on saturdays.” yeh rite.. i tink everyone is too busy to answer my call.
so then i called the nearest centre “Micro2000 Technology Pte Ltd” a GOLD SERVICE PROVIDER. i tole them my predicament and i got a really confused response. erm.. what brand is your ipod? at that point, i knew i had yet discovered another dolt. i mean a gold service provider with a receptionist that didn’t know what an IPOD was?! nevermind that, a person working for a tech company that didn’t know what an IPOD was! heaven forbid! and she said “wait wait.. i give you the apple number, u go call them..” so i rattled off the ang mo kio applecare service centre number to her. and there was this awkward pause. i broke the silence and told her. “they are not picking up the phone. maybe they’re closed.” and she said no, can’t be. i enquired whether i can jus bring my ipod down, and she said NO. cannot. i need to bring to AMK. wow. gold service provider. excellent service. i wonder what their bronze service provider is like. “repair? wat u mean repair?” but i digress… :-X
then i decided to try my luck with the Applecare@AMK. after another 5 wasted calls. i realised that AMK was probably bombed and everyone was dead. it had to be. i practically called them more than 20 times between 10am and 1pm. and no one picked up. :-\
by this time i was so pissed and irritated that i tot i’d jus wait till monday before i do anything else. so here i am, pissed and with a defective ipod.
my overall experience? hahhaa.. need u still ask?
btw, anyone knows who i can f**k upside down other than Steve Jobs?
hope you enjoyed reading my rant…”
(sorry for the picture overlap, but its worth it)
