I’m going to tell you how I got a free computer from Apple.
Well free is a misnomer since the computer that it replaced was originally quite expensive. This is really a story of customer service and how great customer service can create more value in the long run than the cost of a product.
Note we’re not talking about a stepped down model, nor a cheaper version of the computer. This is a $2500 machine.
This is how it happened.
After nearly four years of service, my Power Mac G5 started running the cooling fans like it was the middle of summer. Sleep mode became hard shut down mode. The office started sounding more like the airport with all the noise coming from the computer.
A trip to the Genius Bar (man that thing is heavy when you have to lug it through the mall) brought no joy when the diagnosis was a coolant leak affecting the processor. The cost to repair would be about the same as the cost to buy a new one.
Now we’re not some big company with loads of cash to burn. In fact we’re a small shop struggling with the same malaise as every other small business in today’s economy. So a $2500 equipment bill would be a serious dent. And with a large investment in Apple related software there wasn’t a clear path to lower cost alternatives.
But some quick research turned up the fact that my computer wasn’t the only one with this problem. So I girded myself up for an unpleasant conversation with Apple about the new expensive paperweight that provided just a few years of service. After all, I still have an IBM purchased a couple of years earlier that is working just fine, thank you.
However, a funny thing happened about 3 minutes into the conversation. Apple agreed to pay for the repairs. All the repairs. Not only was the processor implicated in the problem, but most likely also the logic board. So we’re talking roughly $2000. Sure I made a case for replacement instead of repair since the costs were about the same, but Apple’s PR person would have none of that.
Yet all was not a bed of roses. It took them a month and several calls to get to the point where the time and expense to repair the machine wasn’t worth it and they offered a new Mac Pro as replacement for the busted G5. I hate to say I told you, but Dee, I told you.
The reason that I’m writing about this is not to expose the flaws in Apple’s Power Mac line. Those are well documented elsewhere. What I want to highlight is the responsible manner in which Apple handled their customer service issue. Make no mistake, a dead computer is a customer service issue when your company is your brand. It will not do to have your brand cast in a negative light. Ask some of the mortgage brokers you know about that.
Good customer service creates stories. For centuries we’ve passed down stories as a way to teach morals and values. Our verbal tradition is long-standing and ingrained and not going away soon. The stories we tell relay something about who we are and what we value.
What stories do you tell? What stories do your customers tell?
I have a story that I love to tell. It’s about an expensive furniture store that wouldn’t follow up and a large furniture store that would. I tell the story of how Kacey was beaten by American Furniture Warehouse customer service every chance I get when discussing furniture. And I’m in the real estate game so that topic can come up a lot.
Now I have a new story to tell. About a computer company doing the right thing. Sure their customer service cost on this incident was high. But how many times can one tell a story? How long do stories last? Given the cost to Apple to make things right, I’m guessing this story will be around for a long time.
What is your customer service story?
