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Apple rethinks warrenty policy



Author: from MacWeek
Date: November, 1989
Keywords: wattenty hard disk drive
Text:
Note: Len Massaro was called to the San Francisco earthquake aftermath by the National Guard. Due to his absence we chose to reprint these MacWeek articles. -- Dee Doiron and Ralph Robie of CBM. CUPERTINO -- Apple is reportedly re-evaluating its warranty policies and may offer U.S. buyers a one-year warranty on new Macs and peripherals starting early next year, according to company executives and dealers. ''To be competitive, we've found a personal computer maker needs to offer a one-year warranty,'' said Bill Coldrick, Apple USA senior vice president of sales, last week. ''We recognize our warranty policies have become an issue with users and retailers, and we will deal with the issue early this fiscal year.'' According to company spokesman John Cook, however, ''No decisions have been made regarding the warranty program.'' Although Apple already offers a one-year warranty in international markets, Macs and Apple peripherals sold in the United States are currently covered by warranties of 90 days. Some resellers offer their own extended warranties, but the only way for most buyers to get additional protection is to purchase Apple's AppleCare service contract. Typical suggested retail prices for a one-year AppleCare policy are $348 for a Mac SE with 2mb of RAM and an internal 40mb hard drive and $432 for a 1mb Mac IIcx with a 40mb drive. News of Apple's re-evaluation of its warranty comes on the heels of multiple reports about glitches in hard drives marketed by Apple. The company responded to those problems with ad hoc repair extension programs. Dealers and corporate buyers welcomed the news but questioned whether it would have any impact on Mac sales. Dan Neesley, owner of North Shore Computers Inc. in Milwaukee, said that while customers, particularly first-time buyers, often find Apple's three-month warranty distressing, few sales are lost because of it. ''Once they decide they want the Mac interface, they'd buy it even if it had only a two-week warranty,'' he said. ''I've heard a lot of people moan about warranties, but I've never lost a customer because the Mac only carries a 90-day warranty,'' agreed Richard Silver, owner of Cambridge Computers in Somerville, Mass. ''Nevertheless, it's reasonable to expect that Apple will come up with a stronger warranty.'' Price Collins, manager of corporate campus networks at General Electric Co. in Bridgeport, Conn., said ''Apple's 90-day warranty policy hasn't hurt Macintosh proliferation a whit.'' Dealer unhappiness about the loss of revenues from sales of AppleCare has long been considered one of the principal reasons for Apple's reluctance to move to a longer warranty. But retailers said last week that they may be able to make up the difference under the new warranty policy. ''We make as much, maybe even more, on warranty work,'' Neesley said. In addition to the compensation dealers receive from Apple for warranty repairs, he said, the extended warranty is likely to bring buyers back to the store, and each customer visit is a sales opportunity. ''Service is the sales tool,'' he said. Apple now backs hard drives CUPERTINO -- Apple and Quantum Corp. last week unveiled a plan to deal with the flood of complaints concerning sticking Quantum 3.5-inch 40Mbyte and 80Mbyte hard disk drives in Macs. Apple identified the problem as increased lubricant viscosity in the hard disk drive assembly (HDA) actuator arm, a condition Apple said was caused by high humidity. As a result, Apple announced an extended repair program that will continue until October 1991. Users who paid for out-of-warranty repairs since Apple 1 may apply for reimbursement by Apple. The solution developed by Apple and Quantum is to replace the PROM (programmable ROM) on the HDA controller board with a modified chip that will kick-start the actuator at boot-up and insert full-stroke cycles to keep the lubricant liquid. Although user complaints have focused on the SE/30 and IIcx models, the affected drives may also have been used in Mac SE, II and IIx machines as well as in external Apple drives, according to the Apple document. Users whose Quantum drives have failed should contact their local dealer for PROM replacements. Users who seek reimbursement for out-of-warranty repairs should call Apple customer relations at (405) 252-2275. Reprinted from MacWeek, Oct. 24, 1989

Copyright © november, 1989 by from MacWeek


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