Apple’s MacBook keyboard replacement program solved one problem: customers would no longer have to pay for a fix for an Apple design failure. But, as I wrote recently, it still left many of us with another one: the hassle of living without our machine for a week – even those of us fortunate enough to have a backup machine.
I suggested a solution, and it’s one that Apple has now implemented …
Some commenters were quick to argue that this was impossible. That because it involves replacing the entire top-case, it was too complex a task for the stores to tackle.
If Apple did that, I’d make an appointment today. As it is, I’m living with a problem that is a frequent background annoyance, Apple’s brand image taking a tiny dent in my mind every time it happens.
I’m not going to be alone in that. There will be many, many MacBook Pro owners out there slowly having their trust in the brand dented. Fixing that is surely worth the effort to implement the solution I suggest?
But Apple yesterday announced that it is giving me pretty much exactly what I asked for. Ok, I wanted same-day service, and Apple is offering next-day, but I can definitely live with that.
My guess would be that Tim Cook finally took a leaf out of Steve Jobs’ book, and said that he didn’t care what it took to make in-store repairs work for MacBook keyboard replacements, he wanted it done.
Furthermore, Apple says that keyboard-related repairs should be prioritized, with stores aiming to provide next-day turnaround time.
It’s still embarrassing that the problem exists, of course. But there’s a massive difference between inconveniencing customers by taking away a work tool for a week, and asking them to do without it for 24 hours. Apple has turned a major source of customer dissatisfaction – customers living with a problem or finding workarounds – into something we can shrug off. It’s a smart move.
