"tar buildup" *inside* LCD panel?
I took my iMac (20" Core Duo, bought 1/19/06) into the Apple Store today to have them look at an uneven-backlight issue along with a flaky SuperDrive. The backlight or LCD problem exists as a "bright spot" about a third of the way from the bottom that's brighter than the rest of the surrounding display.
Pictures of the "spot": http://www.mrbill.net/images/backlight/
I took the system in (lugged it through the mall in the original box), and showed up at my appointed time. I described the problem to the "Genius", and he started to open the box. Before he even lifted the top styrofoam block off, he saw the power cable which was no longer its original pristine white (my wife is a smoker, but I do not smoke and she does not use my computer) and started going off about how "If any of these problems are caused by a foreign substance inside the machine, that's not covered under warranty" - all of this before he even unpacked the system from the box, removed the foam "sheet" that was around it, or plugged it in to look at the display.
Once he fired it up, he said "oh yeah, look at that, that's most likely tar buildup right there; that wouldn't be covered under warranty". When I said "The uneven backlight has been like that since I bought the system" he just ignored me and continued blaming all the problems on the system being around cigarette smoke. I told him that my iMac G5 never had this problem, and he said "Different systems ventilate in different ways" and that the LCD panel on the iMac wasn't sealed in any way.
I left the system there so an actual tech can look at it tomororw, but the way the work authorization was written up sounds like the "Genius" already made up his mind about what's wrong with the system and they don't want to cover anything under either the original 1-year warranty (still in effect) or the AppleCare coverage I purchased (at the same Apple Store) when I bought the machine.
I can't find a single thing about LCD panels failing or getting smoke/"tar" damage internally, and none of the other systems here at the house (including my wife's 19" Samsung LCD) have this problem. Everyone I've showed the pictures to say "that looks like a manufacturing defect".
Opinions? Did I just run into a rabit anti-smoker Apple Genius who has no desire to be helpful? If they come back tomorrow and say "none of this is covered under warranty because someone smoked around the computer" do I have any recourse?
Pictures of the "spot": http://www.mrbill.net/images/backlight/
I took the system in (lugged it through the mall in the original box), and showed up at my appointed time. I described the problem to the "Genius", and he started to open the box. Before he even lifted the top styrofoam block off, he saw the power cable which was no longer its original pristine white (my wife is a smoker, but I do not smoke and she does not use my computer) and started going off about how "If any of these problems are caused by a foreign substance inside the machine, that's not covered under warranty" - all of this before he even unpacked the system from the box, removed the foam "sheet" that was around it, or plugged it in to look at the display.
Once he fired it up, he said "oh yeah, look at that, that's most likely tar buildup right there; that wouldn't be covered under warranty". When I said "The uneven backlight has been like that since I bought the system" he just ignored me and continued blaming all the problems on the system being around cigarette smoke. I told him that my iMac G5 never had this problem, and he said "Different systems ventilate in different ways" and that the LCD panel on the iMac wasn't sealed in any way.
I left the system there so an actual tech can look at it tomororw, but the way the work authorization was written up sounds like the "Genius" already made up his mind about what's wrong with the system and they don't want to cover anything under either the original 1-year warranty (still in effect) or the AppleCare coverage I purchased (at the same Apple Store) when I bought the machine.
I can't find a single thing about LCD panels failing or getting smoke/"tar" damage internally, and none of the other systems here at the house (including my wife's 19" Samsung LCD) have this problem. Everyone I've showed the pictures to say "that looks like a manufacturing defect".
Opinions? Did I just run into a rabit anti-smoker Apple Genius who has no desire to be helpful? If they come back tomorrow and say "none of this is covered under warranty because someone smoked around the computer" do I have any recourse?
Comments
Example: I took in my MBP because I have a grainy screen. The genius "didn't see" it even though I clearly pointed it out to him, and even went so far as to blame in on pressure on the screen or the filters used on the screen. I do have to agree with him though: he said that even if they did send it in for maintenance, they probably wouldn't see anything wrong and just ship it back.
Example #2: I went in with a friend who has a bad inverter on hic MB display. It wasn't flickering at the time and even though a monkey on crack can point out a bad inverter, he wouldn't believe us.
From my experience at my local Mac store, I think that the Geniuses look down on all of us. Don't get me wrong, they know their stuff and they can fix things, but they can be very judgemental and they don't really care about anything you say.
I talked to the tech a few minutes ago who will be actually working on the machine, and he said "Hey, you're under warranty, we'll take care of you." He was a lot nicer and more friendly than the "Genius" I dealt with yesterday. When I said "It seemed like I had the luck of getting a rabid anti-smoker out of all the techs" he said that the guy I talked to yesterday was bad about that at times.
So, things are looking up.