If you take it out of the shop ..you are on your own buddy

Question

sorry if this is posted in the wrong place..?
I am about to buy my first ever Apple Mac ( iMac ) when the current freezing / screen problems have been resolved
as a total newbie to the world of Mac's , I would like to walk into the Apple Store, and buy the machine
at the same time get the shop to set up the machine I am buying so it can be checked out .
The reason I am concerned about checking the new iMac out in the store is that
its a well known fact that '' customer services '' is not regarded highly here in Thailand
and I see many instances where the customer has been totally let down by so called
warranties and guarantees , from the smallest retailer to major Thai based International
companies . There’s numerous forums here in Thailand that show the vast number of
complaints , some related to Apple Suppliers, the norm here in Thailand seems to be if you take it
out of the shop , you are on your own buddy. I am not saying all Thai Apple suppliers are
Letting down their customers, but the complaints show many are.
So my main concern is that knowing when I do buy my new iMac , once I leave the
apple Store , and may be have a problem , the chances of the apple Store being willing to offer what’s only
considered by others as a normal response of yes sir just bring it in so we can look and help put any
problems right , may well be missing here in Thailand . One problem here is that when you are
purchasing any thing from a computer to a car the Thai way of selling has only one route .. Just tell the customer
what he wants to hear and forget about the actual facts, So when I ask the Apple sales person .. any problems I can
bring it back ... ? Yes Sir you can , but the reality is more like .. ive got a problem with my new iMac.. can you
help ..? Not sure sir I have to see my boss leave it here and I will call you, this is normally followed by a long
Period of silence...
I was in the Apple shop yesterday ( the sales assistant did not really seem know too much about the Products) as when I asked how much an Apple Modem was , his reply was we don't sell them as all Macs come with an internal modem ..?, but they did have the new iMac on display , 20 & 24 inch , and If I wanted he would get one from the stock room and set it up in the show room so I could see / inspect / try it out. so as you can see it will be very important to me to set up the new machine to inspect / try it out as much as possible , before taking it home..
So here’s my newbie question... As I really want to try out the iMac in the store before I take it home what things would I need to look for / try out
( may be relating to the current iMac problems ) and any general Mac related things to try / check out ..? as a total Mac newbie a simple step by step
idea would be most appreciated , along with any comments or advice you can offer this Newbie .
Thanks

Answer 1

redstain wrote:
As I really want to try out the iMac in the store before I take it home what things would I need to look for / try out
\- Check for freeze-ups -- I'll defer to others for advice on how.
\- Check for pixel defects -- examine the screen carefully with both solid white and solid black backgrounds. An in-store, pre-purchase inspection is your ONLY protection against getting stuck with bad pixels.
\- Check for acceptable color and brightness uniformity. Examine the overall appearance of the screen with solid white, gray, and aqua-blue backgrounds.
\* Many (most? all?) 20" iMacs have top-to-bottom color and brightness gradients with "washed-out" colors near the bottom edge of the screen.
\* Many (most? all?) 24" ALU iMacs have left-to right brightness gradients and/or a yellow tint in the center/right of the screen.
Here are some photos that should help you recognize brightness/color gradients:
http://picasaweb.google.com/TheLooby
...good luck,
Looby