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From: merchant@dartvax.UUCP (Peter Merchant)
Newsgroups: net.micro.mac
Subject: Re: Mac video crash
Message-ID: <4332@dartvax.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 21-Mar-86 08:31:14 EST
Article-I.D.: dartvax.4332
Posted: Fri Mar 21 08:31:14 1986
Date-Received: Sun, 30-Mar-86 08:22:08 EST
References: <3036@ut-ngp.UUCP> <129@tetra.UUCP> <1497@wucs.UUCP>
Distribution: net
Organization: Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH
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> Apple's training for the Mac is designed to turn a total dummy into a board
> swapper. Since there are only two boards in the machine I guess any dummy could
> eventually figure out which board is bad. I was amazed at the expensive do-all
> board testers they have. But why do they have to use a do-all tester to replace
> a bad keyboard jack. Apple doesn't want anyone to work on 'their' boards even
> if the problem is obvious. Desoldering a four-layer board is not a good enough
> excuse.
> 
> I took the Apple repair training. I enjoyed the donuts, watched the repair 
> tapes and caught up on my sleep. If they had only gone into the same amount of
> detail as on the Apple II I wouldn't be complaining. 
> 
> Apple's word for 'The rest of us' is dummies.
> 
> Yes, you will have to have a board 'swapped out' costing a small fortune.
> That's why Apple suggests you buy insurance. And guess who is the only one
> selling that insurance. That's why they call it AppleCare. Apple may be
> making as much or more from AppleCare then from selling hardware.
> 
> Imagine if you had to take your car to an insurance agent to get it fixed -
> whether you had insurance or not. Where's the FTC or Justice Dept. when you
> need them.
> 
> Dale Frye @ Washington University in St. Louis

Unfortunately, I think Apple is taking some lessons from IBM.  I think there
was a big court case concerning this sort of thing with IBM.  The Justice
Department decided in IBM's favour, and decided against AT&T in the same day.
You know which one hit the news.

The point about swapping the board, allegedly, is that in the majority of cases,
it is cheaper for the customer to just replace the board rather than pay a
technician lots of money to deal with it.  Second, as computers become more and
more necessary, the board swap is the fastest way for a company to get it's
equipment back up and running.  Tell some person that "Oh, I'm going to have to
take your machine back to the shop.  It'll be back tomorrow or the next day."
Watch them have kittens.  And when it comes back after two days and the bill is
small, we start wondering.  Most laymen (a/k/a "The Rest Of Us") equate time
with money.  If the machine has to be taken back to the shop, it will cost more
than if it can be fixed right on the premises.

Also, if the machine is down, that's lost productivity.  I think that most
businesses would rather have the machine fixed in two minutes and pay a bit
more and be back and running and accomplishing amazing things rather than
sitting in their offices looking silly while the Apple guy takes the machine
back to the shop to fix it.  Again, time is money.
--
"There's no doubt,                                 Peter Merchant
 You're in deep."