6 ms·

Really? My experience with Apple stores has been so consistently terrible (long wait times WITH an appointment, techs that can't do anything but send it away f

• rdl 15y ago
  Where do you live? In SFBA, the Palo Alto University Ave store has consistently been amazing; if you get a business account, service is globally even better. The PA-U store has done fixes up to basically replacing entire just-out-of-warranty machines for me. I've had same-day repairs, and at worst, 3 day mail away, but usually overnight fixes. A lot of it comes down to how you engage the staff -- being an easy customer (having done all the checks, being really polite, etc.) helps. One big plus is having everything already backed up, so it's ok for them to wipe/replace drives if they need to. My only complaint is that some markets don't have Apple Stores yet, especially internationally. Thinkpad service is the one other kind of service which is good; their contract support outside the US is superior to the Apple international support. Unfortunately they don't sell a full line, only laptops (at least, their desktop products are pretty weak in comparison). On the purchasing side, though, Apple wins hands down. Lenovo is painful because there are 25-50% discounts periodically, so you feel you're being ripped off if you don't buy during those times. And, website without a lot of the options (e.g. you couldn't order a QXGA R51 online, only through the phone), etc. And no good retailer stocking anything but ideapads in person.