Sometimes you have to make the tough decisions.

Yesterday I needed to get something urgent done.

Although I had a long list of optional tasks to do, I had one very urgent task that just had to be done yesterday and everything else needed to wait.

And it was done. Thankfully.

Sometimes though, we are made to feel guilty for being focused and not “sharing our attention around”.

Sadly, sometimes you need to be strong and just do what needs to be done.

Yesterday was one of those days for me.

What I had to do yesterday was not something that I could have done sooner. It was an important task that I was unable to complete any sooner due to mechanical equipment failures that were totally out of my control.

You see, when I had previously decided to complete this task, my Apple MacBook suffered a hardware failure that resulted in it having to be sent off for repair.

And that repair was not completed in the time frame that Apple had promised.

And so I found myself Mac-less.

What I had to do..

What I had to do then was to buy an alternate MacBook to use while my MacBook was in for repair.

Fortunately, I was able to download the information that I had saved to a backup drive, and to the Cloud, and was able to complete what I needed to do.

Apple failed me big time…

When I took my MacBook to the store on Tuesday 14th, to have its dysfunctional trackpad replaced, the employee who took my MacBook told me that the quickest way for me to get my MacBook serviced and back to me was for the store to keep it, and for the store to send my MacBook to the repair depot, and for the repair depot to then ship my MacBook directly back to me.

The store employee told me that the store would ship my MacBook to the repair depot on that afternoon [I dropped it off Tuesday morning 14th] and that it would be back at my home on the Friday 17th.

When I checked the lodgement email I received from Apple, it stated that the MacBook would be back at my home on the Monday 20th.

I phoned Apple service on the morning of Friday 17th. I was horrified to be told that my MacBook was in transit and had still not arrived at the service depot.

I received an email on the Friday afternoon 17th after 5pm to let me know that the MacBook had finally arrived.

When I phoned Apple Support on Monday 20th, the MacBook still had not been looked at.

In fact, by close of business on Tuesday 21st my MacBook was still being repaired.

Sadly, I had to leave for Melbourne early on Wednesday 22nd and my MacBook was not fixed. Nor was it available.

And I needed the MacBook to write and prepare a presentation that I needed to give in Melbourne on Sunday 26th.

And so that’s what I had to do today… in my hotel room. I had to write and learn that presentation.

In very limited time.

At no time did anyone from Apple take ownership of their lie.

The apple employee who took my MacBook lied to me about timeframes.

My MacBook was not transported to the repair depot in the timeframe I was told.

In fact, it appeared to me that my MacBook probably did not get shipped to the service depot until Friday afternoon 17th.

The smokescreens and cover ups that I experienced in this encounter were disgusting.

There was no explanation.

There was no apology.

And there was no urgency in their service recovery processes.

In your business..

In your business, do you just treat your customers with disrespect that reeks of taking them for granted?

Apart from Andrew in Apple support, who took a personal interest in my predicament, everything I heard that was coming from and was happening at the store, and at the service depot, was simply underwhelming.

And unprofessional.

I cannot praise Apple here.

The store, and the depot, behaved with arrogance.

I cannot recommend them.

I will never recommend Apple for service.

Ever.

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Dr. David Moffet BDS FPFA CSP is a certified CX Experience coach. David works with his wife Jayne Bandy to help SME businesses improve their Customer Service Systems to create memorable World Class experiences for their valued clients and customers. Click here to find out how David and Jayne can help your business