Monday, August 28, 2017

Mac Attack Chapter 4a- Proof of Purchase

As originally posted on my FB page:

Here's part 4a which should bring us all to present day of this personal and professional crisis i've found myself smack dab in the middle of.
I purchased my Macbook Air roughly a year and a half ago. I bought it from my previous employer because i needed a new personal computer and because i had gotten so used to using this particular machine, I decided it was my best option. I was happy about the decision at the time and even moreso when i decided to leave that employer 6 months later. I knew that if I was going to be able to provide proof of purchase though, i was going to have to go through them to get it.
Fortunately i have great relationships with my former colleagues and they were more than happy and able to provide me with the proof of purchase I needed to satisfy the "Genius Bar" overlords... hopefully although at this point i wouldn't be surprised by anything they'd do. Proof in hand, i contacted Apple support (ironically named Apple Care) again yesterday, told them I had proof of purchase and was almost immediately connected with a tech support supervisor. Not sure why this didn't take place the first time i called, but hey what do i know. I'm just a victim of cybercrime.
Renee, who's name i don't mind using because she was by far and away the most helpful person I've spoken to in Apple support told me there were a couple things we could try to get me back into my computer. One of those options wouldn't require me to provide proof i owned my computer. WHY wasn't this option even mentioned to me prior to this convo is beyond me. Yet another failure on a long list of failures well-documented by me up til now. Anyhow, i was unable to even try this option while I had Renee on the line because my Mac battery died and i didn't have my charger with me. Murphy's Law strikes again! 
I told Renee that i would need to get back home to Knoxville before i could attempt this option and that wouldn't be until late yesterday evening. She was getting off at 7pm EST and informed me that Wednesday is one of her days off so i'd have to try option 1 on my own. Perfect! Considering i've felt like i've been on my own since the beginning of this whole ordeal, that was just par for the course.
In case you're wondering what option 1 is, basically she said we could try removing my Mac from my icloud account and seeing if i could log back in. Seems simple enough which means it didn't work. Guess what option 2 is? You guessed it, another trip back to the "Genius Bar"!
While Renee was far more helpful than anyone else i've dealt with so far, i still could not get her to admit Apple's failings throughout this 5-ring circus they call customer service. She insisted on trying to make me look like the culprit. Really Renee? That's how you're going to spin this? Her rationale was that i made the decision to set up the "Find My Mac" option on my icloud and i'm the one who set up the pin! Renee, if i was the one who set up the pin, i wouldn't have needed to call you in the first place!
Two more points to make and then i'm off on my 2nd trip to the 3rd layer of he!! also known as the Apple store. First off, I'm not a criminal, but at every step in this process, Apple has made sure to treat me like one. And not just a criminal, a really smart dumb one. Their logic has been that i'm smart enough to hack my own icloud account and set up a pin locking me out of my own Mac, but too dumb to remember what that pin is and obviously foolish enough to visit an Apple store where i could easily be apprehended. Are you even listening to yourselves Apple?
Secondly, their approach has been all about responding to someone who's just inconvenienced by not being able to use their hacked Mac as if i'm just a casual user who doesn't have anything better to do than wait for Apple to pull their heads out of their collective @sses. But this has never been about me not being able to use my computer. This is all about my livelihood! My business exists on my Mac and everyday i am unable to use it represents lost business opportunities and income. Apple's casual approach is the real culprit here and proves to me beyond a shadow of doubt that they aren't to be taken seriously as a business computing option. It's obvious they don't want to be.
Final installment (i hope!) coming soon... Pray for me!

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