Apple employee 2 confirms all MacBook Pro’s are bent. Apple employee 1 just confirms he will fight me! July 23
In my efforts to prove what shoddy service I was receiving at the Apple Store concerning Apple refusing to fix my Macbook Pro, I went in to the store (the third time the display was replaced) to check it out with the video rolling on my Treo. I was hoping I would capture another BS excuse about the bend in the display, or an excuse that its acceptable and listed in their “confidential” specs. Well it looks like I gathered much more than I could have asked for.
Thanks to the guys from My Biggest Complaint they have edited the video and added subtitles since I dont have the software to do so. My Biggest Complaint has been a huge help in raising awareness to this issue and they have earned such due credit.
The first Apple Store employee is Drew Robertson at the Crabtree Valley Mall Store in Raleigh, NC. He is mad at me because, while waiting in line to have my laptop screen addressed after the first time the display was repaired, I caught him pitching complete FUD to get a customer to buy a .mac membership. When the customer asked Drew what was the difference between Gmail and .mac mail Drew replied, “.Mac mail is more secure than Gmail because Gmail stores emails in conversations”. Seems to me if you call the Apple Store employees out more often on their nonsense, they will stop spreading baseless FUD so much. Holding people accountable for what they say and the information they propagate is a great way to control ones reputation.
The second Apple Employee in the video is General Manager of the Apple Store at Crabtree Valley Mall Khalil Smith. He admits that the warpage and bend in the Macbook Pro’s are “literally part of the design”. This really is Apple saying that all Macbook Pros are supposed to have a bent display, and remember that these displays are not covered under warranty, and cost nearly $1,400.00 to replace.
It looks like a poll taken on macosxhints.com forums reports over 60% of 15” MBPs have display lid warpage out of the over 460 people who voted.
Apple has some explaining to do.
Chris Borokowski Jul 24
Maybe it’s time for a user group to get Apple to define a basic contract which defines what constitutes a machine, including ideas like “displays should not be warped”,”computers should not catch on fire”, and so on. You’re paying luxury prices, so you should get luxury service!
Cody Jul 25
I could not agree more with Chris Borokowski - For a company that puts so much stock in their design elegance, this is a pretty shotty excuse for what appears to be a major design flaw.
Hans Jul 25
Honestly, I think the problem is that Apple sells the MacBook with the perception that it is a superiour quality product, and I don’t blame you for getting that impression. But, you have to face the facts: it’s not.
All the MacBooks I’ve ever come across have either broken within 1-2 years of purchase or they ended up looking extremely worn out and started developing deformations of some kind.
Meanwhile, I’m still using my Compaq Presario after 3 years (which I only bought, because I was short of cash at the time), and I haven’t had a single problem with it, other than the battery is starting to lose its charge quickly. It may not be as pretty as a MacBook and it did come with Windows pre-installed (spits… don’t worry, it’s running Linux now). Some would argue that its arguably a better manufactured product, but in all honest, I just think I’ve been lucky, thats all.
Apple sells their products as a lifestyle product, but you just have to face the reality that their products are just as good quality as anything else.
And never trust an Apple store guy. They usually don’t know anything they are talking about. If it’s not mentioned in their product catalogues, they have no clue.
Brent Jul 26
Did you buy Applecare? If so, take it to TenPlus Systems. The guys that work at the Apple Store may as well just work at the Gap…Hans is right, they don’t have the faintest idea about anything other than what they read in their employee manual.
Frank Jul 30
Oh man, if I were you, I’d have punched that Apple dude right in the face. You should have taken that repair home and set it on fire or something like that guy with the macbook. Sledgehammered the thing and apple sent him a new one. I am gonna go stir up some shit with those crabtree guys.
Thanks for giving me names to look for when I go in there. I’ve had a beef with them since my iMac took a shit after 8 months. AppleCare is a crock! And whats up with these bitches going on about this bullshit with you recording them. Dont they know the fucking government is watching all of us. And now all the computers have cameras. Steve Jobs is probably wacking it while watching us. Samantha and Roxy can suck it! All they need to know is the important shit… you were ripped off.
Your the man dog! Got a new machine cause you wouldnt roll over. You should post this shit on digg. I went and got a dell and run ubuntu now because of apples crappy hardware. I should have just made a scene with my iMac and then they woulda given me a new one. You did it the way I should have.
Thanks again for the info, now I know who to talk to.
Frank Jul 30
oh yeah, I posted on both sites and I did your digg thing too.
peace out
GFC Aug 21
There’s the well hyped myth about Mac quality, then there’s the reality. Quite a gap, both literally and figuratively. No worries for Apple, though, as long as they have the biggest PR effort going in the tech world, a sycophantic tech press, and an army of fanboys ready to shout down anyone who questions the Mac quality myth. The whole thing’s pretty obnoxious. Do Apple sales people, service reps and “geniuses” really know anything about computers other than the the myths and sales talk they so faithfully regurgitate?
Happily Mac-less for about 6 months now. My iMac was functional for about a year before its second logic board failed.
Darius Groza Nov 20
You know what’s “funnier”? My Macbook Pro 15″ (which I’m also happy with, as far as I can appreciate a pretty good product), also HAD that display bend, on the right side. I asumed it was because I got used to open it by pulling that corner without noticing. Although since the I started opening it from both side, just to be sure the bend doesn’t grow in span.
However, now my Macbook Pro (which I carry in a laptop back-pack and I’m careful with) had a bend… in the middle. And not the display. I’m gonna try to make some pictures, but so you understand, the body of the laptop (NOT THE DISPLAY) is a little concave. As in it slighty rises up from the right side. You can notice this by naked eye. On a flat surface, it actually had about 2 mm of space under the right-user-side corner.
So now the dispay is not lifted a bit from the right side, and there’s a 2-3 mm gap in the midle of the laptop when it’s lid is closed.
What should they change in this case? The… “case”?
That is if I decide to take it to the service (where in Romania). What should I demand? Does this affect the hardware inside?
Michael Jan 19
Wow.
This is the “big” complaint. It’s not a bend, its the latch. Few people have this problem, and it can easily be fixed with a paperclip. Hell, I dont have this problem anymore.
I am amazed at how you ppl can write-off Apple because of something this small. I’ve seen things twenty times worse on PCs.
Go do something better with your time than bashing Apple. Who paid you, MicroSuck?
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Michael, in case you missed the details, because Im sure reading articles on the internet can be a daunting task… the issue is the bent display AFTER paying 1400 bucks to replace it. So no, BRAND NEW displays are not supposed to be bent. Also, it is the DISPLAY, not the latch. The actual metal of the display is being bent, it cannot be fixed with a silly paper clip.
Michael Feb 2
Uh huh.
Let’s see where its bent. All you show is the difference in height on the right side. It’s because the right latch doesn’t go into the hole. You can explain away all you want, but until I see footage of the display itself and how it’s bent, you aren’t fooling me.
I’ve never seen anyone act more like an ass than you did at that store. The guy should be given a medal for dealing with you.
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Michael,
You give me 2600 bucks for the cost of the laptop at the time, plus an additional 1400 bucks for the cost of the repair, then Ill give you a bent Macbook Pro and we will call it even. Deal?
Both latches were secured in the center of the laptop, the rise on one side is in fact the bend. This is not that difficult to understand. I am a former Apple employee, I know what is and is not acceptable. Apple corporate agreed with me, thus why they replaced the laptop. Managers of other stores I worked at have actually pulled me to the side and apologized for having to go through asinine events to resolve the issue.
Michael Feb 2
Good deal. I’m then supposed to take your word for it.
Let’s all stop buying MacBooks because some guy posted lousy “evidence” then whined that he was telling the truth.
No one is saying not to buy Macbooks or to stop. The expectation is to hold Apple to the same standards that they advertise.
Michael Feb 2
No one is saying, but obviously why else would you make this an issue? To benefit the company? I doubt it.
The standards that Apple advertise are the same as any other company. Hey, I’m all for calling out these corporations, if they are making defective products.
The problem is that the evidence is nonexistent for your theory of a “bent” display. I know this because I’ve had the problem exactly as I see here. The right latch does not go into the hole, but simply collapses back. So, when you hold it up, the right side obviously will not be holding on to the other half of the laptop. There’s your issue.
I took a paper clip, and pulled the latch to the hole. I tried it again, and now it goes into the hole every time. That’s what it is, and nothing more, unless you can show us this so called “bend”.
I make this an issue because it was not repaired properly, especially after paying to have it repaired. I dont know why you are trying to raise an issue that has been resolved for almost 6 months now. If Apple didnt recognize that their manager was out of line, and the display was not repaired to their standards, they would not have given me a brand new machine. The bend is clearly evident in the high resolution pictures on Flickr. You can keep imagining what you want, but the issue was a bent display, and it has been resolved by Apple after overwhelming support from this blog, several consumerist sites, and Apple Corporate.
Dan Mar 26
I had 3 macbook ‘Pro’s’ in a row all with a variety of fit and finish problems…..one in fact had a clump of hair trapped in the keyboard assembly all had bent lids and 2 had dead pixels. I have an iMac 2 ipods (touch and classic) and love apple design and operating system. There quality control is in my opinion the worst of any manufaturer i have ever purchased goods from. I will continue to do secondary QC for apple and return all faulty products until i receive a well assembled unit with no physical faults. Apple QC sucks!
Noah Apr 25
I and two fo my friends in the post biz here in L.A. can verify this bent display problem. I have gone through 2 Macbook Pro 17″ laptops, and am having the THIRD one sent to me as we speak. They both had bent display cases, one had a few crooked keys, and the other had 13, yes 13, dead pixels. $3600 and this is what I get? Nice work, Jobs.
Apple QC sucks - there’s no doubt about it. I, too, will continue to cost Apple money by returning every single $3600 laptop until I get one that is as well made as my girlfriend’s $1900 Dell.
How embarrassing for this company that used to be top-of-the-line as far as quality and build.