Re: Caution! Avoid Exploding Notebook Batteries & Geniuses!

An update on this developing story:

It seems that the store manager of Apple on Fifth Avenue found out about my complaint. He called me and left me a voicemail along with his phone number. I called him back and got an automated answering system. The system told me I had to wait because there were three people ahead of me on the phone. After five minutes of waiting, the phone system once again told me that there were still three people ahead of me. Of course, I didn't wait and hung up.

Yesterday I got another voicemail from Apple. This time the phone call came from California. Following the instructions, I called back Sheila, a member of the Customer Relations Department at Apple (she asked me to withhold her last name). She told me she had read my blog because a Voice123 talent sent her the link (small world!). She explained to me that the objective of her department is customer retention and that they are able to do many "exceptions" in order to keep customers happy. She apologized for the bad experience I had with Apple and asked me if there was anything she could do to make me happy. I answered to her: "Many talents of Voice123 use Mac machines. I don't want them to experience the same I did. Is there a way they can contact you directly if they have an issue with Apple, as I did?". She insisted that most Apple managers should be able to handle issues like the one I had, but went ahead and gave me the information listed on the next paragraph. I went on to tell her two other the issues me and wife Tania had had with our Apple computers on top of my battery issue: First, the battery of Tania's laptop died after her computer had ran out of warranty (her battery didn't explode, it just stopped working suddenly). Second, my MacBook Air MagSafe Power Adaptor broke down in my recent flight to China even though it was only the 2nd time I had used it. Sheila offered to replace my damaged battery, Tania's damaged battery, and the damaged power adapter by sending refurbished replacement and recycling the damaged ones back. I said yes.

So, if you ever have an issue with Apple and you want to escalate it, this may be one of your best and quickest alternatives:

• Call Apple Customer Service during United States business days and business hours. Their phone number in the US is 800 275 2273.
• From the phone system menu, select Tech Support.
• When you reach an actual person, ask him/her to put you in touch with the Apple Customer Relations Department
• The tech support person, Sheila said, will always ask you for the details of the issue before being transferred. Be patient and describe the issue to the person.
• You should then be transferred to the Customer Relations Department in charge of customer retention. With some luck you will find yourself to be a happy Apple customer.
  
  

I decided to share this with you because many voice over talents at Voice123 have Apple computers and, as such, this info may be handy. If you don't have an Apple computer, your computer manufacturer may have a similar department. A Google search may help you find it. I didn't try these instructions myself. Also, I am not sure how much of a "secret" or "back door" this information may actually be. As for me, I had no idea of the existence of this department before I posted this issue.


by Alex Torrenegra
President and Co-founder

P.S. If you ever follow these instructions, would you mind letting the rest of the voice community know by posting it in the forums? If they work for at least one of you, I will share them via email with the rest of the Voice123 talent base. Also, if you also have similar tips for other computer manufacturing companies, it would be great if you can share in the forums. Thank you!

P.P.S. I always liked Apple, and would have continued buying their products. Why? Because Mac OS X is very good. It allows me to be more productive than Windows. Having said that, I should clarify that, in my heart, I am not an Apple-guy, nor a PC-guy. I am a geek. I am a Linux guy. Voice123 runs on Linux :)