The Crimson Foundation site is nearly completed. This will be the first time the Thompson Family has publicly requested aid and support for the foundation’s initiatives. One that is particularly close to the heart of the family has been discussed on this site previously. The Senior Citizen Cellulitis Fund, and its accompanying ad campaign, will be in full swing across all web properties that I operate. With the support of people like yourselves, we can save a life. 

I just visited the very sweet lady that I’m attempting to help by raising money; and she is not doing as well today as she should be.  The truly frustrating aspect about this whole affair - there are no funds to help someone in her situation and I haven’t been able to raise the first cent.  I realize this blog isn’t necessarily the right outlet to support the effort, but I receive enough readers each day that there should be some sort of progress.  I urge you to consider the plight of this lady and the fact that if she does not receive medical attention her quality of life will diminish until the inevitable conclusion.  I can’t do it alone.  Please, please help me in this one small fight to save someone’s life.  

Also, if you have any suggestions that might heighten awareness of this issue, I’m open to any feedback. When I have completed work on the Crimson Foundation website, all information will be moved to that site. Perhaps then, someone will stand up and take notice.  Finally, I will be contacting some people I know within the tech community to encourage them to at least make mention of this effort either on their Podcasts or their blogs.  If we’re lucky we can get the support of people like Cali Lewis of the GeekBrief podcast and others like her who sincerely care about people.

Even from the title, you’ll immediately realize this post won’t be about less-than-stellar customer service. Instead, I have a more pressing, and far more important, topic to cover.  I met a senior citizen today who does not fall into a series of specific categories that would have enabled her to receive medical attention. What about insurance, you ask?  She can afford neither insurance, nor out of pocket expenses.  This is truly a situation of a senior citizen living on a fixed income.  Another example of what has become a norm for many people; the battle between receiving medical care or not starving.  Both of which many of us take for granted.  What about free clinics or non-profits in the area?  I made a lot of phone calls today and discovered two facts.  Fact One: there are no free clinics to be had.  Fact Two: Most non-profits simply are unable to focus on any single individual.

From the title you may have guessed that the condition I’ve been referring to is Cellulitis, a bacterial infection of the skin, which can be deadly!  Here is a link to information on the Mayo Clinic website provided through CNN that gives a concise overview of the topic and the inherent dangers.  I am personally very worried about this situation as the infection continues to spread across her leg.

Why not just give her the money yourself, you ask of me?  I can only give so much and I have, but there’s a little more to the story.  She has previously been treated, and barely succeeded in paying the bill at a “Community Health Center.”  Obviously, they failed to provide adequate medical care to ensure the infection did not return.  This time around, it won’t be as “cost efficient.”  I’ve seen the bill, it wasn’t cost efficient in the first place.  

By the jumbled wording, you may have already determined I’m writing this as hurriedly as possible.  I’m angered and saddened by a number of issues that crop up every time I sit down with my accountant to go over which charities to give money to.  I’m always concerned whether the money is actually making it to the people its been earmarked for.  

So, in an effort to at least help this one person, I have placed a PayPal Donate button in the left sidebar. Clicking that button will enable you to donate money to the “Senior Citizen Cellulitis Fund.”  My goal is to raise $5,000 to ensure she receives the medical attention she so desperately needs.  Please, please, consider providing whatever you can so that, together, we can make a difference.  I am certainly not above begging to make this happen, so if there is an online or physical route to be taken to help this person, please leave your suggestions in the comments.

As promised, I’ll continue the “Great iMac Odyssey” with the two hours of dis-enjoyment prior to calling Apple once again.  I’m sure you can imagine that I was tickled pink to have yet another iMac with upgraded specs, but that little feeling was tempered with the fear of what could go wrong; and much did in respect to “quality of life.”   Instead of going into great detail, I’ll simply list the problems the new iMac had right out of the box.

• A flickering backlight that would sometimes become so bright I had to decrease the brightness on the display completely.
• The optical drive would scrape and clank with every spin.  I only dared test one cheap CD, which was more than enough to instill fear.
•  An odor, very similar to sulfur and very metallic, pervaded the room just after opening the box.  The odor increased once the unit was turned on.
• Of less importance, but annoying none the less; the mouse wouldn’t always respond to clicks.

Apart from these issues, there was a question of cleanliness that cropped up almost immediately.  Just as I would refuse a meal from a restaurant if I discovered hairs wrapped around the shrimp, I wasn’t particularly amused to find several long, black hairs clinging to the plastic wrapping of the peripherals as well as the plastic cover for the display glass.

Once again, I contacted the Customer Relations representative I had been working with, informed her of the problems, and she prepared another Advanced Replacement.  Rather than having you wait with anticipation to discover what happened when the second replacement arrived, I’ll spare you the pain and let you know that I’m writing this post on that particular system.  Everything is fine, so far.  Let’s hope this one will last for at least One Full Year.

Seven months ago, I received what I had hoped to be the last Advanced Replacement from Apple until I purchased a new system. That hope crumbled last week when the Hard Drive failed. Things had been getting progressively worse over time, but the drive failure was the last nudge I needed to once again contact Apple.

Just to bring everyone up to speed… In August of 2007, Apple sent an Advanced Replacement with upgraded specs, due in large part to the extent of my troubles with the company. Previously I had bought a white iMac, which was upgraded, and upgraded again, and eventually became a 24 inch Aluminum iMac.

Coming back to the present… The 24 inch Aluminum iMac had progressively developed the following problems:

• The LCD would leave an image, of whatever was displayed, for over an hour after I had quit an application or closed a window.
• The LCD had developed black marks horizontally and vertically across the display.
• The glass displayed heat damage, on the side facing the LCD, which created swooping arcs of discoloration over the top half of the display.
• The speakers would pop occasionally. At other times they would emit a high pitch before and after any type of audio was played.
• The fans had begun chirping and squeaking. Something Apple’s suppliers seem completely unable to compensate for.
• The Hard Drive failed.

That fairly well summarizes the issues the unit developed over a period of 7 months.

On the day the hard drive failed, I called Apple. Now, keep in mind the Customer Relations individual I had been working with warned me not to purchase AppleCare until I was absolutely sure there was nothing overtly wrong with the unit and only when the 1 year hardware warranty was coming to an end. I followed his instructions to a “T.” Eventually, I was connected with an iMac Specialist who promptly informed me that I had to either purchase AppleCare or pay for the phone incident. I explained the situation in great detail, giving him a few of the many case numbers I had in front of me. He placed the call on hold while he spoke with a Product Specialist. When he returned, he once again informed me that there was nothing he nor a Product Specialist could do until I paid for the phone support. After having yelled at him thus far, I grew weary and took another approach.

With blinding speed I called Customer Relations directly. Within minutes I had described the situation, given the CR person a case number that had been provided to me near a specific date, and detailed my experience with the AppleCare people. He apologized for the unfortunate events and placed me on hold to consult with a Tier 2 representative. He returned and alerted me to the fact Tier 2 would not need to assess the situation and that he could prepare yet another Advanced Replacement or me immediately. Once again, Apple upgraded the specifications of the system (which, out of respect, I’m leaving out of this post). Apple Admin took over from there and today (Friday, March 28, 2008) I received the new unit.

In my next post, we’ll delve into the two hours of testing that occurred before I had to call Apple; again.

While on the phone with AppleCare on Friday I attempted to record, via GarageBand through the internal microphone, the sound of the fans chirping. I believe I was successful. Keep in mind, this recording was accomplished by using the internal microphone, not an external mic. It stands in stark contrast to the beauty and utility of the Intel based iMac and has exhibited itself on every single one I’ve owned over the past 13-14 months. Be aware that this sound is not related to the hard drive or power supply as might be suggested based on past experience with the G5 tower.

recorded on Friday, August 3, 2007 - Fans Chirping

Apple today, in a private discussion with this Editor, confirmed the development of a software update that should correct issues users have been experiencing with the internal speaker volume after installing the Mac OS X 10.4.9 update.  Although no ETA was given, an Apple Representative did say the “fix” should be available through the next Software Update.  No further details were provided.

Apple, on April 19, 2007, released Security Update 2007-004 , correcting multiple vulnerabilities within Mac OS X 10.4.

However, no update has been released for the unexpected increase in volume for internal speakers. As we, and many others have reported, a recent software update resulted in an unexpected increase in volume for internal speakers, leaving many users frustrated that Apple would foist such a “feature” on unsuspecting users. Not all Apple users enjoy being blown away by their systems nor are they from the generation that believes “loud” is the norm. Apple, Inc.’s Ambient Light Sensor provides a fairly acceptable level of light for bedroom use when the computer is not powered off. Although dissimilar in nature, a bedroom environment (or home office, den, nook, etc) is often quieter than your average family room on Friday nights. Internal speakers should be a convenience, not a hassle to overcome in such environments. There has been no explanation as to why Apple took the direction it did in regards to this issue and I expect anything other than “user feedback” will never be given. A simple preference in the Sound pane would have sufficed. I sincerely hope this won’t continue for much longer; especially into Leopard.

Apple today announced that the company has sold 100 Million iPods. That is one of the greatest strategic feats of all time. However, how many iPods are not accounted for in that 100 million sold? How many ceased functioning soon after they were purchased or near the end of the Support or Extended Support periods? We all understand the distributed nature of product manufacture and that Apple may not be to blame for the more unfortunate events surrounding the mass production of the company’s flagship consumer product. While we’re celebrating the existence of one of the greatest MP3 players on the planet, we would love to hear from our readers on their experiences, both good and bad, with iPods over the years.

Never Succumb to the Lethargy of Ethics in Customer Service

Case in point. As many of you may remember I had the great previous misfortune of doing business with an Authorized Apple Reseller in the picturesque Midwest. The city, though not small, was far from metropolitan. You might assume values of the highest standard to be rampant throughout all of servicedom in this city. In fact, based on what many have been told about the Midwest, you might assume that the sincerest form of morality and ethics were practiced by all businesses. Let us see if this is the truth.

A Little History
Previously, I made mention of receiving several defective units from Apple. The first unit I received gave off a most unsavory odor with several stuck pixels adorning the display. The longer the unit was in my possession the more yellow the left side of the display became and the stronger the odor. A call to AppleCare and we were on our way to having the problem solved. Or so I thought. The clerk at the Authorized Apple Reseller, which shall remain unnamed, recorded the pertinent information, gave me a general ETA, and away I went.

Having waited the general length of time, I called the shop to inquire about the repair. I was told the display and its housing had been replaced and I was transferred to the technician who had completed the repairs. When I inquired of the technician about the source of the strong odor emanating from the machine, he informed me that there was in fact a strong odor. However, he was more than adamant in assuring me it was cigarette smoke. This should come as a great surprise as (1.) I do not smoke, (2.) the unit was kept in a clean environment, (3.) the outside of the case was pristine white and crystal clear.

The technician further informed me that he had asked for a second opinion from one of the other technicians and that said technician concurred. Again, I point out the lack of any sign of smoke on the outside of the case. I jokingly asked, “What did I do, pipe the smoke in?” At which point he assured me there was nothing wrong and to come in an pick it up.

I picked it up and utilized throughout the day. That night, or the night after, is when the trouble occurred. As I sat working, feeling dizzy, nauseous, with a dry throat I began to feel the air get heavy around me. As I backed away from the computer, pulling myself away from my work, I looked up. The unit had been emitting a haze of sorts, apparently for some time. (I would later find out the unit had been smoking.) I could see the wall behind the unit rippling as if I was sitting in front of a vehicle on a hot day. I quickly threw open the windows and opened the doors to ventilate the room. Within seconds the unit was powered down. I immediately called AppleCare and left a message with the representative who had authorized the initial repair. That incident became one close call with my health at risk and possible stint in the hospital. If I had passed out and awoken in a hospital you can rest assured there would have been lawsuits all around. Any reasonable business would assume as much. Fortunately for the Authorized Apple Reseller I’m not prone to filing lawsuits.

Beginning of the End
The next day an official report was filed on the unit through AppleCare and a replacement unit was prepared for shipment.

At this point, a series of events occurred having to do directly with Apple, but that is another story. Three units later I finally had a halfway decent unit after the fans had been replaced.

Let us finally return to the point of this story - lethargy and unethical behavior. By this time I had filed a report with Apple against the supposedly professional and very experienced technician that had diagnosed the unit with emphysema.

Fast forward 4 months. I was fully prepared to purchase several products to replace hardware that needed to be retired - an amount to the tune of $5,000. A small sum when you’re in the design business, but a sum worthy of any consumer and the store with which any consumer would do business. I was informed by the owner that, “We would prefer you do all of your purchasing and repairs through Apple.” Not to put too fine a point on it, they didn’t want me to spend my money at their store due to the trouble I had caused them by filing a complaint with Apple. I will not apologize for this. A technician that doesn’t know the difference between a unit with a bad case of cigarette smoke and one whose parts are frying doesn’t need to be a technician and should have his license revoked unconditionally. Especially when Apple doesn’t ship desktop units in for repair. Although ordering custom-built units is much simpler through Apple. An even better solution would be for Apple to build an Apple Store here.

This finally brings me to the question of ethics. There isn’t another Authorized Apple Reseller for about 300 miles and these two stores are owned by the same person. In this city of over 60,000 people, a city that grapples everyday to retain the trappings of a much smaller town, even going so far as to revert to black and white patrol cars a few years back, the Apple market is so small as to allow a single store to have a monopoly and treat their customers any way they so desire.

I really don’t understand why I’m complaining about this one incident. It is symptomatic of 80% of the professional interactions I have had while conducting business in this city. From what I have learned from other citizens, my experience matches theirs to a perfect “T.”

What Do You Think?
So, gentle readers, have you had similar experiences from Authorized Apple Resellers who have a monopoly in your area? Have you had to wrestle with other businesses just to get the smallest of tasks completed. Do you feel my opinion is too far to the Left or the Right? Let us know. Oh, and there’s one more thing. I think I should launch a new business here and boldly place the slogan across the building. The slogan would read - “We never do anything half ass - especially customer service.”