A Fool To Hope

I knew I was a fool to hope that I’d get Hithlum back by tomorrow, no matter what Frank From Austin, TX told me.

Tonight I received the following email from Apple:

…Thank you for your email.

We are sorry for the delay in servicing your PowerBook G4 and apologize for the inconvenience it may cause.

Your PowerBook G4 is currently at our repair facility. We are waiting on a part to complete the repair. This part (17” Display) is scheduled to arrive on Jan 4, 2007. We expect the repair to be completed in the coming days. Once the repair is completed, your product will be going through a series of final tests, and should these tests be successful, the computer will be
shipped back to you.

Your patience is greatly appreciated.

What I find most frustrating is that, in all the time my PowerBook was awaiting a part, no one could tell me what that part was. Knowing that the problem requires a new LCD screen actually eases my mind, because it validates the original AppleCare purchase. $350 for AppleCare or $800 (or more) for a new screen? Easy math. I may not be happy about the delay, but at least I don’t feel like I’m getting no value out of the extended warranty.

But it took over two weeks for Apple (and 3 escalations from me) to tell me which part they were waiting on to get to this point.

Perhaps my next laptop really will be a Panasonic Toughbook. (Pity I can’t run OS X on it.)