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Apple Store

Today I got yet another taste of why the Apple Store and their brand are hailed in the retail industry for top notch support.

I walked in with my well worn MacBook Pro ready to get a new one. I've had it for 3 years now as my on location photography workhorse. It has scars and dings to serve as memories of those 3 years.

It's finally showing its age: Scratched up keys, some of which sometimes stick, a DVD drive that's probably so full of dust from field work that it no longer reliably writes, and a dinged up screen with hotspots from getting squeezed into and out of bags.

It's covered under Apple care. The Apple Genius takes a look at it, gets approval and before long, she tells me she's going to replace the keyboard, give me a new screen and top case and swap out the DVD drive for a brand new one. I had already put in a bigger hard drive a few months back and replaced the battery.... so in essence, with the exception of the chipset, I'm getting a brand new computer.

This MacBook Pro still has another 3 years left in it. Now that is Support. Was it worth buying a BMW over a Honda? You bet. Best 5-10% markup I've ever spent.

P.S. I still bought a new MacBookPro 17".... you know, cuz I'm a sucker like that. Excellent products and outstanding support tend to gain you devout fans...
 
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However I bought a $1700 Toshiba secondhand for $300 and its running great after 4 years... :D:D
 
However I bought a $1700 Toshiba secondhand for $300 and its running great after 4 years... :D:D

So is the 12 year old Dell I bought for $75 about 5 years ago as a cheap laptop for writing essays.

Many stores provide great service when you buy an extended warranty, which is exactly what Apple Care is. Three years is not really that long for a laptop in this day and age. Considering a 17" Macbook Pro costs $3000 minimum, you've just spent $6000 + taxes + Apple Care = $7684. That's assuming you didn't get any upgrades and purchased the base models.

That sounds like great service...but you're paying handsomely for it. That's enough to get a pretty good brand new laptop every single year over 6 years.
 
Uhhh what? A MacBook Pro starts at $2,149. AppleCare for a MacBook Pro is $399. That's ~$3000 after taxes including AppleCare. How did you get $6000?

EDIT: Sorry, I didn't realize you meant 17" and was talking about Metro buying *two* of them. He chose to buy two though.
 
I bought the new one because my job requires me to be on top of technology or I fall behind. My current MBP is a 15", cost about $2,100 three years ago.

The thing about Mac's is that they have excellent resale value, even after 3 years. See what I mean on eBay.

Since Apple is replacing the worn out parts and I've upgraded components myself, I'll probably fetch between $1,000 and $1,500 for it, cutting the price of my new 17" in half.
 
As for experiences with other extended warranties...

1- My brother's DELL TV stopped working after a couple of years and he had extended warranty. It took him hours of wrangling over several days on the phone to get it fixed. When it returned, it worked for a few more months and then the same problem occurred, already out of warranty.
It turns out after research that it was a known defect but they wouldn't give him the time of day even though their repair didn't hold up. He threw it out in frustration.

2- My girlfriend's HP Pavillion had an issue where the screen case started cracking open. She had a FutureShop extended warranty so we went there to get it repaired. They said they wouldn't cover it because it was cosmetic and looked mishandled.
She never took her laptop off the desk (it was big and heavy, not a very practical laptop). The problem just started happening on its own with opening and closing the screen. It got worse to the point where the top case was falling off the screen.

We researched and found this to be a recurring problem with the screen brackets for that particular laptop. There's a website about it and a big community attached. After confronting them with this, they finally agreed to fix it. A search on eBay yielded results for the brackets we needed: $9 for 2.... yet FutureShop told us the parts would cost $300 if after opening the case they discovered it was our fault. They ordered the parts that took 3 weeks to arrive from HP, put it together and we got the laptop back finally.

Well...not so fast! Now the capacitive touch buttons were all screwed up, performing actions for the wrong buttons. After much fighting about it and threats to sue Futureshop, my girlfriend gave up and sold it as is to a tech guy at her work for parts for $300 and bought a new MacBook.


I've experienced extended warranties from Sony and FutureShop and I can tell you they both sucked monkey balls. Today, I still buy Sony and FutureShop products, but whenever I'm offered the spiel on extended warranties, I cut them off with repeated no Thanks.

I do have a positive warranty experience to tell. Nintendo. When Wii first came out, the remote's strap wasn't the strongest. Mine broke about a week into having it. The strap broke as I was swinging the remote and it was scratched from falling. Within 24 hours, Nintendo had shipped me a box to put the remote in, they sent me back a new remote (not just the strap), 2 new straps (supposedly for my other remote), 2 rubber sleeves and a gift card for credits to their online store. Now that was a great experience!
 
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HP Labtops are really cheap and flimsy...


So is the 12 year old Dell I bought for $75 about 5 years ago as a cheap laptop for writing essays.


No it was a brand new labtop worth $1700 in 2005 and I somehow got it for $300. :cool:

Hey it works fine and I can get any Microsoft product I need..Word 2007 is very slow on Vista, much better on XP.

I am glad I am not working with Vista... XP is GREAT!!!

It plays a lot of great games like Halo, Grand Theft Auto, World of Warcraft and Fable for Computer.


It is getting worn out, as well I have heavily heavily used it for over 4 years and I generally keep it in my room. Plus my little cousins always mess it around.

I think It may last 2 more years...
My car is 10 years but it could last another 5 years...

Its good to keep something that fine instead of thinking you must have the newest of everything.
 
Apple Store Comes to Square One - Mississauga

Not sure if that has been reported:

Apple to open in Square One - Mississauga:

http://www.ifoapplestore.com/db/2009/03/02/construction-begins-on-5th-toronto-store/

Construction Begins on 5th Toronto Store
March 2nd, 2009

The Toronto region must be oozing Apple customers, because the company has started construction on a fifth store for the area, this time inside the enormous Square One shopping in the suburb of Mississauga. The 1.7 million square-foot mall has 360 stores, including the one of North America’s highest-grossing Wal-Mart stores. A black construction barricade appeared on the second level of the mall in mid-February, adjacent to the Tommy Hilfiger stores. Now a tipster confirms that space #2-403 is indeed leased to Apple and will open this fall.

Louroz
 
Quick update: In the last quarterly financial meeting, Apple listed the 25 stores they're opening worldwide this year. Toronto wasn't one of them. Looks like Square One and Yorkville will have to wait until 2010 at the earliest.

They did say they were refurbishing all the stores with bigger Genius Bars, upgraded "One to One" service and more table room for computers (less for accessories). Apple Store Eaton Centre has already been retrofitted with this new design.
 
Toronto wasn't one of them. Looks like Square One and Yorkville will have to wait until 2010 at the earliest.

Not true! The Square One store is already hiring.

Apple Retail - New Store Opening - Mississauga, Ontario

Much more than just a place for amazing products, the Apple Retail Store serves a dazzling range of needs for its customers. Not only can users can get hands-on experience with everything Apple, they can also benefit from personal training, group learning, and friendly technical support. And each Apple retail location plays a vibrant role in its community as a gathering place.

We are excited to announce our latest Apple Store at Square One in Mississauga, Ontario. We are currently accepting applications for all open positions.

Store Management
When it comes to managing people, projects and ideas, you've got it all under control.
Creative
If digital art changed your life, and you can communicate that passion to an audience, it's time to get Creative.
Genius
You provide frontline customer support at the Genius Bar, including HW/SW troubleshooting, diagnosis and repair.
Specialist
Specialists pioneered the retail revolution and established the Apple Store's reputation for superior customer service.
Inventory Specialist
Receive, track and maintain the coolest, most sought-after products on the planet.
A job at an Apple Retail Store is a chance to use your hands and heart. To use your knowledge and experience. To contribute meaningfully to people's lives with your know-how and passion.

To delight. Enrich. Impress. Engage. Inspire.

Are you ready to join the retail revolution?
 
Hmm.. maybe the 25 stores are ones they're announcing. Perhaps the Square one store was part of the previous lot of upcoming stores.

I'll look around for the list but off the top of my head, I recall stores for Paris, a 3rd Manhatten (SoHo I think) store, a second in Chicago, 2 stores in Germany and a collection of american cities.

Nowhere was Toronto mentioned. My hunch is that they're waiting on 1 Bloor E. That is THE corner for retail in Canada and if anybody can afford the rent and can keep the store full and profitable, that's Apple.
 
The Third Apple Store in Manhattan is...

MetroMan: The Third Apple Store is: Apple Store-West 14th Street
Located at: 401 W.14th Street-Corner of 9th Avenue NYC 10014
Hours: Daily 9am to 9pm-Sunday closes two hours earlier at 7pm.
This is Apple's most recent Manhattan store.

The SOHO location at 103 Prince Street-between Mercer and Greene Street
NYC 10012 has the same hours as above.

The Midtown-767 5th Avenue/59th Street location NYC 10153 is the Apple flagship-open as noted 24/7/365 or noted as "Always Open!" in some info.
From checking other logical cities-like London-with Apple Stores this is the only store they have that is open continuously.
See: www.apple.com/retail for more info here. LI MIKE
 
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Hmm.. maybe the 25 stores are ones they're announcing. Perhaps the Square one store was part of the previous lot of upcoming stores.

I'll look around for the list but off the top of my head, I recall stores for Paris, a 3rd Manhatten (SoHo I think) store, a second in Chicago, 2 stores in Germany and a collection of american cities.

Nowhere was Toronto mentioned. My hunch is that they're waiting on 1 Bloor E. That is THE corner for retail in Canada and if anybody can afford the rent and can keep the store full and profitable, that's Apple.

I believe Square One would fall under a previous announcement.
 

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