I wanted to post a quick note about a recent series of experiences I had with Apple regarding a MacBook Pro I purchased a couple of years ago. About a year ago, the battery stopped holding much charge, so I called in and got it replaced under warranty. I also promptly signed up for Applecare as many stories were popping up regarding catastrophic failures of macs and I wanted to “protect” my $2000 machine.

There were some known NVIDIA GPU issues with my model and they finally struck about a month ago. The display stopped working and I could not output to an external display but I was able to still boot the machine in target mode. I promptly made a backup and dropped off my Mac at the Apple Store in Bellevue to get fixed. Their diagnosis matched the known GPU issue and a new “logic board” was required. Within 3 days, my Mac was ready to be picked up, and the repairs would have run ~$1200 out of pocket if not for Applecare (and in this case, a known issue that extended warranty coverage beyond the first year).

Fast forward 3 weeks and I’m flying to Milwaukee and get a Service Battery error in my Power Manager panel. I stop by the Bayshore Apple Store and am greeted by an extremely helpful floor rep who delved into a good bit of detail around my issue. He set up an appointment for me since the Genius Bar was booked and when I went in the next time I didn’t have to retell the details of my issue. A quick diagnostic test and I got a new battery.

I have to say, Apple’s desire to take care of their customers and their products stands out from the crowd. IBM was the same way with Thinkpads when I was using them. It’s a big deal to me and helps balance out some of the other issues I hear, like the Time Capsules that are dying just after their one year anniversary of use.

I wish more companies were like this, I remember the hurdles I had to clear to get D-Link to replace my parents’ router after it crapped out. Kudos to Apple, this experience helps justify some of the cost premium for their products.