Influencing Apple's Decision
From Scratchpad
[edit] What factors influence Apple’s decision to instigate a Repair Extension Program?
When this question was asked of a Tier 2 specialist at AppleCare UK, he replied, “That’s not something I’m in a position to discuss; I don’t have any information on how that decision is made or who the people are who would make that decision.” In the end, all he could do is issue the snail mail address of the Customer Relations Department of Apple Operations Europe in Cork, Ireland. Whether a letter to that address can illicit a more useful answer to this question remains to be seen.
If so, please share your info, on this page, via editing |
[edit] A chain of events
Meanwhile, here's the results of some research into the timeline of events relating to the most directly analogous Repair Extension Program might prove useful in answering this question by inductive reasoning.
- 2003-Jul - Manufacture of defective PowerBook G4 (15" FireWire 800) begins
- 2003-Sep - Apple introduces the high-end PowerBook G4 (15" FireWire 800)
- 2003-Sep - Shortly after the notebook computers were released, going by the timing of the user group postings, PowerBook owners began sending messages to Apple's support site, trying to find an explanation for the spots.
- 2003-Oct - Complaints about the problem have been cropping up on several Apple enthusiast sites in recent days.
- 2003-Oct-31 - Apple: "The new 15-inch PowerBook has been a big hit with customers since its introduction last month. However, some customers are reporting the appearance of faint white spots on their displays after using the system for a short period of time, and Apple is investigating these reports right now. Any customers experiencing this problem should contact AppleCare."
- 2003-Oct-31 - CNET News.com: “Spotty display riles some PowerBook buyers”
- 2003-Oct - More than 650 individuals have signed an online petition demanding that the company address the issue.
- 2003-Nov - news.zdnet.co.uk: “PowerBook owners see spots”
- 2003-Nov - It seems that for a while Apple put a freeze on sending this unit out, and "captured" some of that model in an effort to get the issue resolved.
- 2003-Nov - Manufacture of defective PowerBook G4 (15" FireWire 800) ends
- 2003-Dec - In December the company posted more information to its support Web site, an Apple representative said.
- 2003-Dec-09 - Tech Tails #195: “PowerBook White Spot Update”
- 2004-Jan-05 - MacWorld Expo: Apple's quality woes tarnished an excellent set of quarterly results for the Cupertino-based systems company. For the first time, Apple acknowledged the "white spots" issue that has plagued owners of the 15 inch PowerBook, and which was painfully evident on the show floor at MacWorld Expo last week.
- 2004-Jan-14 - The Register: “Apple quality control mars bullish results”. Discussing the quarterly results today, CFO Fred Anderson said Apple had accounted for "a higher warranty expense than expected" on PowerBook and iBook lines.
- 2004-Sep-24 - Apple instigates the 15-inch PowerBook G4 Display Repair Extension Program: "To ensure that our customers are well taken care of, we are extending the repair period on these systems to two years from the original date of purchase." Apple said it will cover machines for two years from the date of purchase, up from the one year of coverage that is provided as part of Apple's standard warranty.
- 2004-Sep-29 - news.zdnet.co.uk: “Apple offers free replacements for 'spotty' screens”
sources: Apple - MacFixIt - CNET News.com twice - Tech Tails - The Register
So within two months of releasing the PowerBook G4 (15" FireWire 800), Apple had announced that it was investigating the display defect, because “some customers are reporting the appearance of faint white spots on their displays.” By comparison, at least 17 months after reports of the 17inch G4 PowerBook display defect began to surface, Apple have still not made even an investigation announcement, despite hundreds of customers reporting the appearance of multiple multi-coloured one-pixel-wide vertical lines on their displays, on the official Apple Discussions forum and elsewhere.
Another notable feature is that the online computer media’s journalists were covering the 15inch G4 PowerBook defect story within two months. So it would seem tactical to for some of us to focus our energies into a Publicity Campaign.
And there doesn't yet appear to be an "online petition demanding that the company address the issue" of our "Bridget Riley" vertical lines display defect - so we need to to look into putting up an Online Petiton.
