Apple Support Vs. Dell

gadgetfreaky

So I am considering switching from Dell to Apple but my one big concern is support. With Dell they will actually send a guy to your house to fix the laptop if it has a problem. How long are people without their laptops when they need to be sent in. Can you go to an applse store (I live in SFO) to get it replaced on the spot?

Basically I am concerned about being without my computer for more than a day or two. How does it work with Apple?

jaketherock

Apple has amazing tech support. When I first got my Mac Mini, it worked for a while until the logic board fried. I took it to the Apple Store, and, after a few diagnostics, they replaced the logic board on the spot. the process took less then an hour, and they guys were very helpful and good about it. Plus, I got to play with their G5 Quads for the whole time, which was pretty cool.

gadgetfreaky

So even if you buy it from a reseller you can take the laptop into a store and its fixed same day? if so that's perfect.

gadgetfreaky

So I keep reading about people waiting days to get stuff repaired. this is the biggest thing preventing me from wanting to swtich from Windowsto Mac.



Can someone tell me if I buy say from Amazon can I still take it in to a Apple Store and get it repaired? Can they often do it next or day even if it is something big like a motherboard?

sequitur

It all depends on the problem. I bought my Mac from a reseller. I had several minor problems which were taken care of by the Apple Genius while I waited; however, I had a problem with my Apple Display, and it had to be sent back to Apple for repair. It took about a week or more before It was returned. During that time, I had to use my PC. It made me appreciate the Mac a lot more.

gadgetfreaky

Wow. I think it's going to be hard for Apple to penetrate the business market (if it ever decides it wants to ) until it has onsite service. I really want to try the mac but I don't know if I can live with the downtime when it goes out. I use my laptop every day--with dell that means a service call about once a year.

buddha

Quote:

Originally Posted by gadgetfreaky


I really want to try the mac but I don't know if I can live with the downtime when it goes out.

it's not a piece of **** dell, I would be surprised if you ever had to send it in.

sequitur

Quote:

Originally Posted by gadgetfreaky


Wow. I think it's going to be hard for Apple to penetrate the business market (if it ever decides it wants to ) until it has onsite service. I really want to try the mac but I don't know if I can live with the downtime when it goes out. I use my laptop every day--with dell that means a service call about once a year.

If you're that dependent on a computer and can't survive without one for a short time, you really need to think about a backup. NO business can survive without a 'Plan B'. You're skating on thin ice. Murphy's Law says that 'what can go wrong, will go wrong. PC's go down much more than Mac's, so you're much more in danger of falling through the ice with a PC.



What does the Dell policy that sends someone to your house cost? Put that towards a backup computer.

gadgetfreaky

Dell's warranty for at home survice is about 200 to 300 bucks on a laptop for 3 years. Even appl'es hardware is about 2x in terms of memory, hard disk, video card for a comparable dell.



With apple though you get a device that is 1-3 pounds lighter and you get the mac Operating system. I wonder why you can use Windows on a mac but Mac won't let you use OS X on a non Apple PC.

gon

It's true that Apple hasn't been going after the business market very hard. But for a one-man company, I'd sooner do what sequitur says - get a second computer for if the first one breaks. You won't have to trust the maintenance that way. Design your data storage so that you use the same exact data from both computers over the network. That way you are never "out of sync" which would make it more difficult to hop onto the second computer. Keep good backups (but surely you do this anyway?).