Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!clyde.concordia.ca!uunet!brunix!omh
From: omh@cs.brown.edu (Owen M. Hartnett)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac
Subject: Re: Apple OS 7.0 - Cost?
Message-ID: <24034@brunix.UUCP>
Date: 3 Jan 90 04:44:54 GMT
References: <35036.2598DF8A@cmhgate.FIDONET.ORG> <37516@apple.Apple.COM> <23943@brunix.UUCP> <37555@apple.Apple.COM>
Sender: news@brunix.UUCP
Reply-To: omh@cs.brown.edu (Owen M. Hartnett)
Organization: Brown University Department of Computer Science
Lines: 37

After I posted the previous message I thought of an even better example:
Nintendo.  I had a small problem with my son's set - wouldn't boot, so
we called the help line to see what was what.  The telephone support
is excellent.  The person on the line was really helpful, in a pleasant,
straightforward manner - went through the whole "Okay, now insert the
cartridge and press the power button; now what did it do?" routine.

I would think that Nintendo, due to its larger installed base, would
be much harder to perform that type of support, yet it exists and
works very well.  Should any revamping of Apple's support policies
take place, they would do well to look at Nintendo's.

Re: the lack of returned phone calls.  I should clarify what I said.  I
have no problems getting responses to technical questions through
MacDTS etc.  However, I must state that I have, on well more than
one occasion, received absolutely no response from *both* a phone call
inquiry *and* an Applelink query.  Two of these non response come to
mind - one was a supervisory personnel to whom I was referred by an
underling, the second person was named in Apple Direct (Apple's
publication for certified developers) as the person to contact for 
more info on a particular new product.  

Furthermore, I did not mean the statement to be offensive, but a
reflection of problems I've encountered in dealing with Apple.  Due
to the position of the people with whom I've encountered the problem,
I expect others have had these problems, also.

Whenever I call someone in particular at Apple and have to leave a 
message, I always ask if that individual returns phone calls.  The
secretary always says "yes," but, more often than not, she's wrong.

-Owen

Owen Hartnett				omh@cs.brown.edu.CSNET
Brown University Computer Science	omh@cs.brown.edu
					uunet!brunix!omh
"Don't wait up for me tonight because I won't be home for a month."