Monday, August 28, 2017

Mac Attack Chapter 4- We Applelogize

As originally posted on my FB page:

Just got back to Knoxville and finally able to bring y'all part 4 of my ongoing saga (and it is STILL ongoing!) of my hacked Mac. Here we go!
MWD asks me if I'd either like to schedule a call with tech support or have tech support call while I was there in the store. This was a no-brainer for me, but i'm sure MWD was hoping i'd choose to schedule a call so he could get me out of there asap. No such luck MWD, you're stuck with me until i'm good and ready to leave! Tech support calls me and what i believe was young black woman (YBW) was on the other end. I explained to her what was going on while MWD stood quietly hoping she would be able to convince me to leave. "Sir, i apologize, but we're not going to be able to help you without proof of purchase." Why in the WORLD would MWD need tech support to CALL me while i'm standing in the store just to have them tell me the very same thing he had told me only moments earlier? Was he hoping that a disembodied voice would carry more sway or did he think that a young black woman would be better suited to deal with me?! I stood there listening incredulously to YBW repeat that they weren't going to be able to help me over and over and over again.
I admittedly was finally at my breaking point. I told her it was ridiculous that I was not told about the proof of ownership prior to my arriving in the store and i told her i felt like i was being treated like a criminal. The phone goes silent. She hung up on me! Not sure if this is part of Apple's protocol in dealing with an angry customer, but if so, it only served to upset me more!
She calls back and says with a hint of glee "we must have gotten disconnected somehow, sorry about that." She asks if she can help me with anything else as if she had somehow magically fixed my Mac AND successfully negotiated Middle East peace simultaneously. "Unless you can help me access my computer today, then no" i answered in the snarkiest tone of voice i could muster. "Actually, there is something you can help me with" i followed up. "You can make sure it is noted that this is the result of ransom ware so that your team knows what my issue is the next time i call. You can also tell your higher ups what a complete and utter failure Apple Tech Support has been in resolving the very reason i came to the store today" "I will make a note of it and i apologize for not being able to be of more help today" YBW says in response. I'm convinced that the brainiacs Apple are only good at one thing and that's apologizing because they have to do it so often. "I usually say thank you at the end of a call with a tech support rep, but since you haven't been all that helpful, i'm not sure how to end this call" i said feeling genuinely confused on how the call should end. I could tell she didn't know either. "Bye now" i uttered as i hung up, packed up my #hackedMac and headed out of the store with not so much as a wave good bye to MWD.
Part 4a is coming tomorrow afternoon and part 5 should be in relative real time as i have another appointment at the Apple Store tomorrow at 5pm. Booooo!
I would like to make one last observation regarding this latest installment and that's in regards to the selection of people Apple chose to have dealing with me. I don't know if this was intentional or not, but it seemed odd to me that of all the people working the "Genius Bar" during my visit, i got the only middle aged dude working in the store at the time. It's almost if a conscious decision was made to pair me with an older "genius" because i am older. I also thought it strange that the call received was from what almost certainly a black woman. Again, it felt intentional. Have a black female tech support call and talk to this irrate black male. She'll be able to handle him. I'm not sure if this was my imagination or if Apple gives specific directives on the type of people who should deal with different types of customers. If it's the latter, that's really f*cked up! I'm not an algorithm Apple, so don't treat me like one! This might be a bit too speculative on my part, but i'd be interested to hear if anyone else has had a similar experience with Apple. Please feel free to comment if so or tell me if i'm overthinking this aspect of my experience thusfar. Regardless, this has been a disaster of outlandish proportions from start to finish and it's still not over. I'm going on day 5 without the use of my primary computer and that is a legit first world problem!

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