I want you to think of experiences when you have gotten excellent warranty support with the technology you use.  What was the product?  Why did the company involved meet or exceed expectations.    On the flip side, do you have a “rotten apple” experience you would like to share with me?

Let me share some of my best experiences with you….

Apple (2012):  I had been using a 2009 white Mac Book that was purchased in 2010.  I also got the 3 year Apple Care warranty.  In the summer of 2012, I began having one problem after another.  At one point it just kept overheating and Apple did at least $700 worth of warranty work on it.  I ended up calling their main 800 number and leaving a message for the “executive resolution team.”   A regional manager became involved and then a store manager contacted me.   For all of my troubles, they gave me a brand new 2012 Mac Book Air.  Their commitment to making things right was overwhelming. 

Unfortunately, there is a flip side to this story.  A little more than a year later, my Mac Book Air was really acting up.  At that time, I was doing a lot of work with an external monitor hooked up to my Mac Book Air.  Two screen setups, whether they be on a desktop or laptop, have existed for years.  They are nothing special. My laptop kept overheating and shutting down.  Apple replaced the screen and logic board (aka motherboard) for me.  I still had the same issues. At this time, the current macOS was version 10.9.1.   I talked to the special resolution team again but they were not able to come up with a fix for me.  I did not get the honesty I felt I deserved.  As it turned out, the macOS had a bug when it came to multiple monitor setups.  All they had to tell me was that a solution was coming.  By the time 10.9.2 came out a month later the problem was solved.  I would  have refrained from using the external monitor had I been informed of the deficiency. 

Fit Bit (2017)  I haven’t graduated to an Apple Watch yet and probably never will.  I use a Fit Bit and know that many of you do too. It’s priced right and the app gives me the data I need.  Fit Bit’s come with a standard one year warranty.  At the beginning of the year, my 6 month old Fit Bit simply died.  I contacted customer service by e-mail and after a brief back and forth was informed that my replacement would be coming in a few days.   Unfortunately, this replacement ended up not being able to hold a charge.   It was very disappointing.  About 1 month later, I contacted their support team by chat.   Since I was still within the 1 year period, I was shipped a replacement with zero hassles.  The third model has been the charm.  It has held up over time. 

Amazon (2016)   I was with a customer who does bookkeeping work for clients at home.  She needed the latest version of Quick Books for Mac.  We thought about this logically and purchased Quick Books 2017 for Mac.  What we learned after the fact was that this version of Quick Books forces you to move all of your data online.  This may work for one company file, but is quite impractical when you are regularly doing the books for several entities.  After a little research, we discovered that the last “real” version of Quick Books for Mac was version 2016.   Amazon didn’t really have to help us.  Software was purchased and installed.  They could have thought we were just trying to steal software.  However, they took our word for the mistake that was made.  They canceled the purchase of 2017, issued a refund, and allowed us to purchase 2016.  Bravo Amazon!!