Well, lemme tell you about that….
I made a post back around the end of June about my computer acting all screwy. I thought a backup/reformat/reinstall cycle would do the trick and have things running good as new.
It didn’t.
Not even close. It was still limping along, beachballing all the time and being a real pain in my ass. I figured, enough was enough, and took it in for service at the Apple Experience Center in COEX Mall in Seoul.
That was on Monday, July 26th.
I knew the hard drive was pretty much shot, and let them know that. I even gave them a copy of the error messages I was getting while attempting to run Apple’s drive utilities. They said their tech would check it out and they’d call me back.
They were half right.
Their tech did check it out, but nobody ever called me back. When I called them, they said the drive would have to be replaced (something I’d figured out on my own), but that it was covered under the warranty (something else I already knew). They couldn’t give me a firm timeline on how long it’d take, saying maybe by that Friday. No biggie. I had Thursday and Friday off that week and could go without my iBook for a few days.
But how many is “a few” exactly?
More than I’d bargained for. Every time I tried to get an answer on when it’d be ready it was something different. “Our part supplier here in Seoul is backlogged.” “The hard drive has to come from Singapore, since we only use ‘genuine Apple parts.'” “Our tech only works part time and is behind on service orders.”
Whatever.
It’s not like I needed a new screen, or motherboard or part of the Chicklet-white case – it was just a hard drive. Not the most exotic of parts, to be sure. Well, apparently it’s plenty exotic in Korea. It took them a grand total of 11 days to get (what I took to be) a simple repair job taken care of.
I am monumentally unimpressed.
I can’t imagine how long it would’ve taken if I had needed a more uncommon part. I’m glad I didn’t. I can see them telling me “just one more week” the day before I’m supposed to leave for Tokyo. Man, would that have sucked!
But, it’s back together and purring along happily now, so my anger towards their tortoise-class service has subsided. I’m glad I’m moving to Tokyo in a few weeks, a land where Macs aren’t seen as strange and exotic creatures, able to be serviced at three or four places in the whole city. Yes, life is going to be good.
Just so long as nothing else breaks down on me….