Cimorene's Profile

I have noticed many of the issues commented on here, but I am hyperventilating over my most recent experience with the Apple Store Online. We have been loyal Mac users for years, have 'em all over our house. In the last six months, my teenager got her first job and scrimped and saved every penny for a new G5 iMac, to replace her old Snow one. She was so excited when we finally placed the order! In order for her to have the experience of paying for it herself, we arranged a transfer from her savings account, and a week later had heard nothing whatsoever from Apple. We called and went through the usual round of transfers and holds, only to discover no one knew where our money was. Someone offered to find out and call us back. He never did. We had to track the money down, where it was with Bank America in Texas, with no one knowing what order to apply it to (we had provided all the information when we made the transfer). Two weeks later, we were promised it would go out "today." A week later, I checked the web page, and found out it was not scheduled to be delivered until several weeks from now. For the second time, we called Apple and were told it was due to "customization" issues (how long does it take to put in a piece of memory?). We were transferred to the "complaints department." We were disconnected. We went through the same process several times over about a week and a half. Finally, tonight, we called again and again were given the "customization" baloney. I called customer service, and after several disconnects, I began speaking in a very, shall we say, LOUD voice, insisting that I be connected with someone who would actually help me. A customer service person spoke soothingly and did his best to transfer me to sales, but I took a dim view of that, and he put me on hold and talked to them himself. He returned with the real story: Apple had not been able to process our order because the bank transfer was ONE PENNY short. One penny. He then suggested that we order the new Intel chip. He promised it would not cost more. I was at first suspicious about this (do you suppose they're possessed by the devil, those Intel ones???), but finally agreed. He said he himself would make sure the order was processed, would confirm it with me, and gave me all his contact information. A few minutes later, I got an Apple iCard from him, stating that it was all taken care of, and when I could expect delivery. Obviously, until we actually get the iMac, I don't know whether this has had a happy ending or not, but one can only hope. After many visits to our Apple Store here in Chapel Hill, where we were ignored in person, I thought ordering from the online store would work better. It didn't. The local store is looking pretty good at the moment: crowds, surly checked-out sales people and all.