Grr. Stupid MacBook. Stupid Apple "Concierge."

So, my MacBook won't boot. Last night, it wouldn't even recognize a startup CD. Today it recognizes a startup CD but can't find the hard drive. So, it's probably a drive problem. Damn. At least it's under warranty, and at least this happened before the semester started.

At 8 am, I try to make a Genius Bar appointment via "Concierge" for my local Apple Store. The store does not even open until 10. I am told by the system that there are no remaining appointments today. (You can only make a same-day appointment.) So, I call Apple Care.

Apple Care tells me that "well, we start appointments at 12:01 store time, and many people receive iPods and other Apple equipment for the holidays...I think many of them logged on late last night and made an appointment knowing there'd be a rush."

Hello...my computer DOES NOT WORK. The only way to make an appointment seems to be via COMPUTER. Assuming I do not have another functioning computer in my house, how the hell am I supposed to make an appointment in the middle of the night?

The store itself will be open in 10 minutes, and they will be getting an earful.
Grr.

If you have an AppleCare plan for your Mac, you can go to any repair place that is authorized by Apple. You don't have to go to an Apple store. As long as the repair company is authorized by Apple to do warranty-covered repair work on Apple products, they can fix your Mac and bill it to Apple under the terms of your AppleCare plan.

the computer's still under the original warranty). The authorized provider is, understandably, busy and will call me back sometime today unless I manage to get an Apple Store appointment and cancel.

Still.

This is ridiculous. I'd be happy to make an appointment for tomorrow or Saturday...but I can't. Apparently, I have to do it in the middle of the night and hope for the best.

a "Pro Care" service plan which costs $99 per year, and supposedly gives you faster service at the Apple Store, but when I was sitting there waiting I did chat with a couple of people who had the Pro Care and they still had some waiting time. More details on that are at http://www.apple.com/retail/procare/ This is in addition to the "AppleCare Protection Plan" they offer, the price of that varies from one computer model to another. Before your regular warranty expires you might consider buying that "AppleCare Protection Plan," as it could potentially save you hundreds of dollars in repair costs if you ever need it. It's up to you, but I think it's well worth it.

He took sympathy on the whole "I can't make a computer appointment in the middle of the night if my computer isn't working" thing (he said that's basically the sole reason he can make an appointment over the phone)...hopefully this'll get resolved by the Geniuses quickly.

He also said 95% of the people who come in to the Genius Bar have iPod issues that can be resolved in three minutes. (I really wish they'd separate the iPod geniuses from the Mac geniuses -- I think everything would go faster.)

I've never had a problem I couldn't fix myself with any of my Macs before...but I may add AppleCare to this one.

It's $99/yr, and it gives you some decent perks. For example, you can make appointments via concierge for up to two weeks in advance, if your computer needs repairs you jump to the head of the que, and best of all IMHO, you can go to the Apple store once a week and get a one hour, one-on-one lesson by a relative "expert" on any topic(s) of your choice.

I was in the same boat without ProCare. However, even without ProCare I found that the Apple guys are very accommodating even when their schedule is "full." On numerous occasions when I've had a question or something that needed to be looked at, I've just shown up and they always managed to squeeze me in somewhere between other customers. I maybe had to wait half an hour or so, and once or twice had to come back later in the day, but they got me in.

And I opened that conversation by saying something like, "I'm having a problem with my computer and I know you guys are already booked today, but I thought I'd just stop in on the off-chance that you might have an appointment run short, or a cancellation... what do you think, is there any hope?"

On one occasion I made note of the fact that they always got me in, and thanked them for it, and wondered a bit at my good fortune. One of them told me that a good percentage of people who make appointments never show up, but of course they won't know that until it's actually happening... but anyway, that's what makes it a good bet that you'll still get in if you just show up.

Good luck!


PS - check your PM.

I don't need weekly training (I live with a former Mac developer -- although fixing a hard-drive foul-up isn't in his expertise -- and have used Apple products nearly exclusively since 1982) and during non-holiday times, getting an appointment isn't too much of a problem. (Plus, starting in a few weeks, my SO's university will have an authorized mac repair shop on-site, so he can do carry-ins.)

I did manage an appointment (appealing to the logic of the manager; see above) so we'll see what happens.

Good luck.

in the Mac stores. Look in your local paper or phone book and find a Mac Guru. You know, someone who really knows how to fix a Mac.

then you could simply mail it back to them and get a new one in two to three weeks!

I am a big fan of the genius bars, I walked into the store in London last November with a busted iPod (fried drive) and walked out with a new one 20 minutes later. fine by me.

simply email a description of your problem to

emailhelp@totalfriggingidiots.com

with "I need email help" in the email subject line.

The hard drive is deceased. They couldn't even find it on their super-duper machines.
The logic board was having non-fatal problems but they're replacing that, too.

At least it won't cost me anything.