BH problem.. Are we up for a compensation?

[Alfred Okocha]

I'll just tell you about a problem we have and you'll judge if maybe we deserve a compensation or not.
My wife bought an apple powerbook from BH in February. Due to the customs were striking in Brazil at the time she only got it in mid April. One of those things that are incredibly boring but just nobodys fault. When we called BH they explained us the problem and that they were doing their best even though there was nothing much they could do about it.
When the computer finally came through it started crashing frequently to my great surprise. I've worked with MACs since 96 and although I'm no expert I've seen my fair share of Macs. After some time the computer gave up with the following last words on the screen.. " Help, we are hanging here." Wierd but true.

When we called BH they old us to send the computer back but that we would have to pay for the shipping ourselves. Later another guy from BH suggested that we would have the warranty transfered to Mac Brazil.
We managed to do it and they replaced the harddrive. (They had to order the parts from the states so it took a good month before we had it again.) The fequent crashes remained though and no clean installment or anything else would solve it.
We sent it back to BH (we paid for the shipping) who told us that they had found a loose cable.. (That sounds a bit lame to me, but what do I know) and asked us for money so they could ship it back to Brazil.
We asked them to pay for the shipping which they decided to do after some arguing.
It's been a long time now and when we call and ask what's happening they say that we MIGHT get it in September.
A computer bought in February that me MIGHt get in September that MIGHT work since instead of replacing they fixed a cable..

This became a very lenghty post and I have without any doubt bored you by know. It's just that after having read all the excellent reviews from many happy buyers here, I am a little bit dissappointed. Some guys have been very helpful there (Stuart, for examlpe) others have been quite rude and uninterested..

Thanks and sorry for the rant..

[Chris Hurd]

Hi Alfred,

I'll bring this to Henry Posner's attention to see if he can offer any input.

[Alfred Okocha]

Thanks Chris. Sorry about posting under the wrong topic.. I've not really visited this one before.

Cheers.

[Boyd Ostroff]

Alfred, I'm not sure why you aren't dealing with Apple instead of B&H. The whole thing sounds very complicated, but one thing is clear. You have a 12 month parts and labor warranty from Apple. I've used their repair service frequently and - at least here in the US - it's always been excellent and fast. I guess it's a little late if you've already shipped the computer to New York, but I think you would have been better off to deal with the issue locally. When you finally get your powerbook back I suggest that you deal with any problems locally, and also purchase an Applecare extended warranty to protect yourself in the future. From what you describe however, it sounds like your problem might be as simple as a bad RAM chip. Otherwise it would be a logic board replacement.

You might also want to bookmark the powerbook discussion forum on Apple's website. There are a lot of helpful people there - all over the world - and you can get good advice from them before sending your computer anywhere:

http://discussions.info.apple.com/we...4HH.1@.ee6ba8c

See the following for info on service in Brazil:

http://www.apple.com/legal/warranty/hardware.html

If the product is portable, meaning that it can operate independently without a power cord, you may obtain warranty service worldwide. However, service will be limited to the options available in the country where service is requested. If the product is not portable, warranty service may be restricted to the country where the product is purchased. Service options, parts availability and response times will vary according to country. You may be responsible for shipping and handling charges if the product cannot be serviced in the country it is in. In accordance with applicable law, Apple may require that you furnish proof of purchase details and/or comply with registration requirements before receiving warranty service. Please refer to the accompanying documentation for more details on this and other matters on obtaining warranty service.

Sorry to hear about your problems and I hope they are resolved soon.

[Alfred Okocha]

THanks Boyd. I had no idea that I could turn to Apple instead of the place of purchase. It was the apple people that told us to ship it back to the States and since BH agreed I though that was the best thing to do.. But from what I read from your quote it all could have been solved from here then..
It's been a long time without any computer now so I really hope for a quick solution too. Thanks for your help.

[Alfred Okocha]

Chris, does Henry Posner work for BH? I'd really appreciate if somebody there would get in touch or at least give a comment about it.

Thanks.

[Alfred Okocha]

I must say that I am a bit disappointed that is so difficult to keep a dialouge with BH.. They promised us about a week ago that they'd call right back. We are still waiting. (even leaving a recorded message at the managers seemed to help.)
And here.. well, no luck here either.

[Henry Posner]

Originally Posted by Alfred Okocha

Chris, does Henry Posner work for BH? I'd really appreciate if somebody there would get in touch or at least give a comment about it.

Yes, I do work for B&H. You can contact me via henryp@bhphotovideo.com. There's no "Alfred Okocha" in our customer database and I have no way to identify the transaction under discussion. I need your B&H order or control number via e-mail, not via the forum. In the interim, we regret your dissatisfaction.

[Alfred Okocha]

Hello Henry!

I was hoping that you'd write a line. As I said, was it my wife that bought the computer and not me. (Hence no match in your database.) I'll send the order number straight away.

Thanks for your attention.

[Henry Posner]

First, we certainly regret any frustration Alfred or his wife experienced. As I understand the situation, the two issues raised are shipping fees for the repaired computer and the time it takes to get the repaired computer back to the owner.

Without delving too deeply into mundane details, suffice it to say the computer has been shipped back to the customer at our expense and the computer was shipped from B&H as soon as repairs were effected. As Alfred noted in his initial post, internal difficulties in Brazil make it difficult to predict witrh accuracy when the computer will be in his hands. We regret any inconvenience or confusion.

[Kevin Wild]

Henry, I'm glad you're on these boards to listen to these complaints.

I was another person who waited for the call that never came. A few months ago, after hours of waiting for customer service I asked for a manager to call me. They said they would have someone call me and nothing ever happened.

Since then I have ordered several thousand dollars of equipment and had no problems. As I see it, as long as an order is "cut and dry," B&H is a great place to order from. However, if you need good human interactive service, well... hopefully you can get that in better shape soon.

Again, thanks for checking in here periodically. The first step to having better service is to at least HEAR the problems/complaints.

Kevin

[Chris Hurd]

For Alfred, please let us know how you fared *after* Henry and B&H have resolved this situation... until then... please continue the dialog with them by private email. Once everything has been said and done, let me know and I'll re-open this thread. Thanks,