Apple genius bar caught red handed lying by Canadian TV

[atyclb]

macbook pro actual problem was a single misaligned pin that connects to screen. apple claimed much more excluding any cable/pin issues and quoted 1200 dollar repair.  Canada tv used hidden camera

 

 

[gunderhill]

All  those  happy  suckers  high fiving at the store, idiots.

[Crossy]

Obviously not Thailand, but sharp business practices in tech repair generally (not just Apple) exist the world over.

 

In a world where the average user has no knowledge of how things work the pickings are ripe ????

 

[atyclb]

24 minutes ago, Crossy said:

Obviously not Thailand, but sharp business practices in tech repair generally (not just Apple) exist the world over.

 

In a world where the average user has no knowledge of how things work the pickings are ripe ????

 

 

 

luis rossman is apple's public enemy number 1, kryptonite equivalent

[atyclb]

a thai friend lost audio on his pc. local shop said 3000 baht for new motherboard.  true onboard audio died but they failed to mention pci or usb audio.

 

i bought him a 150 baht usb audio that worked great.

[canthai55]

1 hour ago, Crossy said:

Obviously not Thailand, but sharp business practices in tech repair generally (not just Apple) exist the world over.

 

In a world where the average user has no knowledge of how things work the pickings are ripe ????

 

Auto Repair being a prime example

[Crossy]

3 minutes ago, canthai55 said:

Auto Repair being a prime example

 

Indeed.

Ripping off the gullible since 1905.

[bkkcanuck8]

If you bring your device directly into Apple for repair at a genius bar their quotes are based on diagnostics run by a software suite and not opening up and doing a detailed analysis (which could take hours depending on damage).  Apple also does not do patchwork repairs, if your device needs to be repaired it is all or none -- and once it is repaired you have a full machine warranty as part of it.  In this case the diagnosis of the computer brought in was that a series of water damage sensors were tripped in addition to the bent pin.  Detailed analysis of issues by an actual technician opening up the computer and giving you a quote in itself can take hours - even without fixing a product.  For a major company directly the labour costs can run into $100+ per hour -- that without even fixing it.  This policy is NOT unique to Apple.

 

On the other side of the equation, I have brought my MacBook in twice for issues -- once under the included 1 year warranty period when the laptop was not charging... which turned out to be just a cable problem - turns out that even though it was not easily noticeable you could see pin-prick holes in the cable where the cat chewed the cable.  Even though it was not technically something covered by warranty, they replaced the cable free of charge. 

 

On the second occasion I had the battery service light on and the battery needed to be replaced.  For consumable things like batteries they have set prices, but when it came back I had an unexpected upgrade (motherboard replaced) with a larger SSD and higher end processor.  Obviously, something went wrong but it was fixed without any extra charges etc.   In the older days when they use to repair electronics in the west, I would hazzard a guess that it would not have been as smooth since many technicians would have not wanted to do it for free -- even if it was their fault... after all it is a big black box to you the consumer.

 

Obviously with a large company with set policies it does not work for everyone and there are always those that fill in the gaps.  In the case of Luis Rossman, he is not 'just' a repair person... he makes a considerable amount of money from being a YouTube personality... enough that that is likely is real source of income -- not as a repair technician.  When I was younger you would have pages and pages of TV repair people... now there are none.  The reason is simple, the labour costs for just opening up a device in the west to inspect it -- makes it uneconomical -- so the device is simply recycled and the replacement is a new device. 

 

Luis also was not very happy that Apple had his shipment of stolen (supply chain) parts confiscated... for which he blamed Apple.  (it is illegal to buy stolen goods).  Apple has very tight control on their repair parts where technicians order parts and are to send back the broken parts (if they don't it costs them close to 100% more for that part as it is considered a 'new' sale and not a 'service' part; if it happens too many times the shop loses their authorized status).   Obviously Luis (for laptops especially) relies on stolen parts to be able to do service, since the parts are not generic.

Edited April 1, 2019 by bkkcanuck8

[Fat Prophet]

Apple has a mindset and business philosophy of limiting owners' choices -- no expandable memory; only 1 SIM slot; no consumer replaceable battery (not alone there). I can see Apple's motivation -- significant increase to the bottom line. But, I cannot understand, with so many good alternatives available, why consumers, especially with Apple's relatively (and absolutely) high prices, willingly choose to buy Apple products. Are people really that stupid? It is changing, as evidenced by Apple's share price, but amazingly slowly. 

[atyclb]

3 hours ago, bkkcanuck8 said:

If you bring your device directly into Apple for repair at a genius bar their quotes are based on diagnostics run by a software suite and not opening up and doing a detailed analysis (which could take hours depending on damage).  Apple also does not do patchwork repairs, if your device needs to be repaired it is all or none -- and once it is repaired you have a full machine warranty as part of it.  In this case the diagnosis of the computer brought in was that a series of water damage sensors were tripped in addition to the bent pin.  Detailed analysis of issues by an actual technician opening up the computer and giving you a quote in itself can take hours - even without fixing a product.  For a major company directly the labour costs can run into $100+ per hour -- that without even fixing it.  This policy is NOT unique to Apple.

 

in this case(news story) the apple genius stated he would actually open it and check the inside. seems the apple genius does not know humidity can make the water sensors turn red also. apple genius failed to see a blatantly clear abnormality (what rossman noticed within seconds) i am not an apple genius nor a computer tech or engineer but i know what liquid damage looks like on boards from watching rossmans videos and those of others. the macbook pro in the video had a pin issue on a single cable. the pin issue was fixed and it worked fine. suppose the entire cable could have been replaced also. i fail to see how repairing the pin and/or replacing the cable can be called patchwork. the apple genius spoke of replacing the logic board and maybe also the screen. a repair exceeding 1000 usd and all unnecessary.

 

using your criteria, the vast of majority of auto/ engine repairs are inferior as they repair/replace failed components and not just swap for a new engine as the apple analogue seems to do.

 

i had a failed ssd cable in a macbook pro that was replaced for 1000 baht by a third party apple repair shop. likely an apple genius would have put a new logic board in.

 

there are many things i like about apple but i strongly disagree with blatantly lying about repairs. the other possibility is the genius was simply too incompetent to notice the clearly bent pin that rossman saw in seconds.

 

 

 

[atyclb]

Apple Sued an Independent iPhone Repair Shop Owner and Lost

 

Apple said an unauthorized repair shop owner in Norway violated its trademark by using aftermarket iPhone parts, but a court decided in favor of the shop owner.

 

“In this case, Apple indirectly proves what they really want,” Per Harald Gjerstad, Huseby’s lawyer, told me in an email. “They want monopoly on repairs so they can keep high prices. And they therefore do not want to sell spare parts to anyone other than ‘to themselves.’”

Apple makes its own replacement parts available only to Apple Stores and shops in its “Authorized Service Provider” program. By becoming “authorized,” repair companies have to pay Apple a fee (and buy parts from the company at a fixed rate.) They are also restricted from performing certain types of repairs; there are many types of repairs—most commonly ones that require microsoldering for Logic Board damage—that independent companies can do that Apple itself does not do, so there are many reasons why a repair shop might want to remain independent.

https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/a3yadk/apple-sued-an-independent-iphone-repair-shop-owner-and-lost

 

 

Below is more info on so called "stolen batteries" LOL

 

 

[atyclb]

below video about farmers right to repair their own tractors has apple deeply concerned as any "right to repair" legislation could also mean apple must break their near monopoly of repairs

 

 

[atyclb]

in the case presented by canada tv assuming the macbook owner paid 1200 - 2000 dollars for unnecessary logic board and screen replacement how could he/she even know for sure they actually replaced the parts? maybe apple would just replace the cable and or fix pin but charge for board and screen?

 

does apple give the customer the old parts after replacement is done?

 

in some usa states a car repair shop is required to give the customer the bad parts that were replaced.

[bkkcanuck8]

On 4/1/2019 at 2:22 PM, atyclb said:

in the case presented by canada tv assuming the macbook owner paid 1200 - 2000 dollars for unnecessary logic board and screen replacement how could he/she even know for sure they actually replaced the parts? maybe apple would just replace the cable and or fix pin but charge for board and screen?

 

does apple give the customer the old parts after replacement is done?

 

in some usa states a car repair shop is required to give the customer the bad parts that were replaced.

The logic board has a serial number.  There are two prices for each part being replaced, the 'retail' price and the replacement part price (don't know what they are officially called).  The retail price is about double that of the replacement part, if the authorized repair service place is charged the higher price.   At a certain point the model becomes vintage and obsolete and the replacement parts are no longer available, in which case you would have to source parts from other computers of similar model that has been cannibalized.   There is not as much market for used parts earlier in the process since the cost would likely be higher because of markups and the fact that Apple computers tend to hold up in the resale market. 

 

If when the technician actually opens the computer and finds that the diagnostics were not quite correct and a part does not need to be replaced, then the actual cost is less than the quoted price.  If the defective part is on a list where the statistics are higher than the QC allowable rate (again don't know the official name) then it is covered even if it is out of warranty (you can dig through Apple website to find a list of these).  If this happens later - after you were charged for the fix... they will reimburse.  

 

Even with the right to repair -- I suspect you will end up paying the retail price for the part (assuming they actually have to sell you anything).   I don't work for a company anymore so I don't do as much business with Apple, but my last Mac purchase was a 2018 Mac Mini, and I did my own upgrading of the memory since it is just stock memory.  When fixing DIY computers you typically don't need any software, you just swap out parts to identify the source of the issue.