moriarty@fluke.UUCP (Jeff Meyer) (10/29/85)
A little experience which may be helpful to several other people:
A few weeks ago my 512K Mac joined the Legion of the Damned
Power Boards and burned out on me. After determining exactly
what was wrong, I decided that I needed my Mac working now, and
wanted it fixed by a local rather than waiting for parts to fix it
myself. I called around to a few local dealers and most said I
could get a rebuilt board for ~$120 plus labor (also including
trading in my damaged board, which was OK with me), or could get
a new board for ~$200. I also noticed that Sears (Where America
Shops) was fixing Macs around where I was -- and that appealed to
me, as I could rack it up on my handy-dandy Sears Charge Card.
So, I dropped it by and asked them to fix it -- they promised 48
service -- and didn't ask the price, because I assumed it would be
a wee bit more for the faster service.
Come Monday, I called up Sears and asked them how everything
was. They said my machine was in, and that my prognosis of the
power board had been right on (3 voltmeters can't be wrong).
"Great", I said, "How much was labor?" "About $60", they said.
"Ouch, rather high, that" I thought, but then asked how much the
replacement Power board had cost.
"$580", they replied.
After picking myself off the floor, I asked the women if she was
sure that this couldn't be a mistake. I pointed out that I had gotten
pricings no more expensive than $200 elsewhere, and wondered if
there couldn't have been a screw-up somewhere. No, she said, they
ship each Mac to Chicago (!) where the replacement work is done. I
asked her to call back and check, as there was no way I was going
to pay $580 for the power board.
She called back later to say that, according to the voices of
Chicago, the price for Mac Power boards from Apple was $580. I
was referred to the manager, who turned out to be quite a decent
chap. After phoning around to a couple stores and doing pricing, he
agreed that the price was ridiculous, but explained that he couldn't
lower the price any -- that was what Sears was charging for
power board replacements. He generously offered, though, to have
the new power board removed and the old one shipped back, sans
labor. I payed $36 (half the round-trip fare back to Chicago for my
Mac's re-re-installment -- Believe It or Not!), and considered
myself lucky. Took it to a local place with reasonable prices, and
got it back in two days for ~$140.
Epilogue: It took nine days to fix my Mac. My computer has flown
more than I have in the last year. My respect for some local Sears
personnel has not diminished, but I strongly wonder what Banana
Flakes they've been smoking in the Windy City. And my suggestion
to you, if you're planning to have your Mac fixed at Sears, is: Get a
Quote!!
"I can give you my word, but I know what it's
worth and you don't."
-Nero Wolfe, _Over_My_Dead_Body_
Moriarty, aka Jeff Meyer
ARPA: fluke!moriarty@uw-beaver.ARPA
UUCP: {uw-beaver, sun, allegra, sb6, lbl-csam}!fluke!moriarty
<*> DISCLAIMER: Do what you want with me, but leave my employers alone! <*>spector@acf4.UUCP (David HM Spector) (10/31/85)
This is a strong argument in FAVOUR of AppleCare. My machintosh has devoured
two (yes, 2) power supplies in the last year, even with a surge protector on
everything attached to the Mac and a fan on top of my beast to draw the heat
out. The cost of the AppleCare was $150 (for just the 512K Mac) and it has
now paid for itself more than twice. I strongly recommend it!
David Spector
NYU/acf Systems Group
SPECTOR@NYU
...{allegra,siesmo,ihnp4}!cmcl2!spector
^--That's an L, not a one.