Apple outsourcing Tech support staff?
I make a call to Apple on a monthly basis for various Mac and iPod related questions for myself or clients and my internal repair data and call log is more than 10 pages long because I would rather call Apple than Google the data I am looking for. Apple has all of the answers as long as you are not questioning if a product has issues Apple has not announced or if you are asking about when the next iMac is coming out. Other than that, Apple care is your friend and another reason I have respected them is the Applecare phone support�s hub is at the Austin Texas Apple campus which means when I call, I get someone that speaks excellent English and can carry a conversation with me instead of sounding like a robot.
Read More...
That�s how it has been until a few weeks ago when callers for iPod and consumer related Macs are transferred to someone that can speak broken English and can�t think outside the box with any questions you have for them. I call the iPod line and am prompted for my name and serial number. I stop her and say I am calling about an existing dispatch and do not have the serial number with me. It took her a few minutes to understand what I was trying to do and eventually transferred me to someone who spoke fluent English with an American sounding voice.
To test this theory, I have called the iPod line 5 times, PowerMac 5 times and the Xserve tech 5 times. Each time I called iPod, the voices were always of same origin and clearly not local to the Americas but higher cost items like PowerMacs and Xserves had quick exceptional service from one of the Apple employees located in Tennessee or Texas. I understand that Apple receives tons of calls for the portable player and most of them can be answered by reading a list of �have you done this� items that are already available inside of the technical manual that came with your iPod.
Individuals like myself usually only call Applecare if we need to setup a warranty service and just need a box sent out to the client�s business. I know that this iMac has hardware based video issues and I would have not called unless I was sure it was a hardware issue and at that point, I just call up and speak to an American stating I did these 10 things and I have narrowed it down to this part so I need a box ASAP. I give them the serial number and that�s it. Those quick five minute calls are a thing of the past because I saw �dim backlight� on the iMac and the person takes a while to understand my serial number, then tells me to restart, turn the brightness up, delete the brightness plist file located in my HD�s library folder and so on which at this level of my expertise are things I already know but since they are learning this at the same time I can�t list what has been performed expecting them to agree that this calls for an in-house repair.
Either way, Apple is outsourcing and selling Macs to people is more difficult because a huge selling point of selling a Mac is that they are one company that still employs Apple in-house technicians that can understand and relate to your issues extremely fast. Sigh, I�m just going t start calling the PowerMac line and getting iPod repairs from there.
