Sunday, 2nd November 2008- 19 Responses
- 4,765 views
As many of you all know that my MacBook Pro that was shipped to me on the 21st October 2008 contains a dead pixel which is located right in the middle of the screen. It is VERY irritating as well as distracting. I expect it to be of a better quality since it is from Apple, but guess I was wrong. Everything in these days are made in China due to the low labour cost and hence things are getting from bad to worst.
Between 22nd And 24th October 2008
I called the Apple Singapore Technical Hotline, 6835-1812 three bloody times and keep emphasising that my dead pixel is in the centre of the screen and it is irritating as well as distracting. But three times they refused to exchange for me because they say it is Apple policy that you need to have at least 3 dead pixel before you can exchange. They also advised me to bring my MacBook Pro down to those authorized retailers to check for dead pixels as I may have more than 1 and hence I may get to change it. WTF? I called up iShop which is located in Orchard Cineleisure to ask will there be a fee if I bring my MacBook Pro down which is purchase from Apple Online Store to check for dead pixel. They guy over the phone said maybe there will be a fee and they only will send it to Apple on your behalf if you have more than 5 dead pixels. WTFx2?
27th October 2008 (Monday) – 13:28
I almost resigned to my fate when I just thought of trying my luck and send an email to sgstore@asia.apple.com as my “Apple Store Order Acknowledgement” email said I can send them an email at that email address. I asked about the exchange policy and told them I am not satisfied with my MacBook Pro as it has a dead pixel on it after paying SGD$3.6K for it.
27th October 2008 (Monday) – 16:29
Who knows, I got a reply a few hours later and the lady who contacted me is Diana. She requested for pictures of the dead pixel which I gladly took and sent it to her.
27th October 2008 (Monday) – 19:01
3 hours after I sent her the pictures, she got back to me saying she is willing to offer me a replacement but is not able to guarantee that the next replacement unit will be flawless (I have no problem with that).
28th October 2008 (Tuesday) – 10:36
I received the “Apple Confirmation for Return Request” email which gave me a return number for me to track the return status at http://www.apple.com/SingaporeOrderStatus
28th October 2008 (Tuesday) – 10:51
I emailed Diana asking 3 questions:
- In the “Apple Confirmation for Return Request”, it stated it is for refund, can I just ignore it? As for my case it is an exchange?
- I have to pack everything (Cables, Adapters, CDs) and MacBookPro unit into the original box right?
- Roughly how long do I need to wait before I will received my replacement MacBook Pro?
Just a note, the appointed courier will come and pick your MacBook Pro within two business days from the date of the “Apple Confirmation for Return Request”
28th October 2008 (Tuesday) – 13:30
She replied:
- Yes. You can ignore the refund email confirmation as it is a confirmation of replacement for your case.
- Yes, please packed the items of (Cables, Adapters, CDs) and MacBookPro unit back into the original box for smooth pick up.
- Approximately five working days for a replacement of new MacBook Pro.
28th October 2008 (Tuesday) – 15:12
TNT called up and said whether they could come and pick my MacBook Pro tomorrow which is 29th October 2008 (Wednesday). I fixed a time with them which is between 4pm to 6pm as I got class before that.
I didn’t expect TNT to call on the same day that I received the “Apple Confirmation for Return Request”. Apple is quite efficient!
29th October 2008 (Wednesday) – 15:22
TNT came and pick up my MacBook Pro up at 3.22pm despite telling them that I will be at home after 4pm! But luckily my brother is at home and I have briefed him on the procedure the night before as I know TNT will never stick to the indicated time. Basically you need to pack up your MacBook Pro and print the return shipping label out and cut it. The return shipping label can be also found at http://www.apple.com/SingaporeOrderStatus
There is 2 part to that label, the first part you need to put it inside your MacBook Pro box and the second part you need to ask the delivery/pick up man to staple it together with the invoice.
30th October 2008 (Thursday) – 15:53
I received the “Apple Store Shipment Notification” email which is basically the same email as I got previously when my MacBook Pro ships. The only difference here is that the price is stated as $0.00. The tracking number as well as the appointed courier (TNT) is stated in that email as well. The shipment date is stated as 30th October 2008 (Thursday) and the delivers by date is stated as 31st October 2008 (Friday).
I clicked on the tracking number link in the email and I got an error from Apple “We can’t find the requested tracking information.”
This is because in Apple your MacBook Pro has already shipped and you have received it. The replacement MacBook Pro is based on the same Web Order Number and NOT a different one. If you go to http://www.apple.com/SingaporeOrderStatus and check, it will show your previous MacBook Pro shipped date rather than your replacement MacBook Pro ship date.
31th October 2008 (Friday) – 12:31
TNT delivers my replacement MacBook Pro. I didn’t even know what time are they coming. I called and ask and they just say within office hours. The delivery guy only called me 15 minutes before reaching my place. I was in school but luckily there is someone at home to collect it.
31th October 2008 (Friday) – 16:06
Received a “Apple Return Request Completed” email.
It Is Over
Even though you don’t read my blog, but I still have to say it, thank you Diana from Apple for all the help you have provided me!
My replacement MacBook Pro is perfect, no dead pixel! Finally, the ordeal/saga is over. It just takes 5 days for Apple to collect and replace my MacBook Pro which I must say it is pretty efficient.
Also, if I am not wrong, Apply return/exchange policy is 14 days.
For those who called Apple Technical Support and they refuse to do any exchange for you despite it is Apple fault for the defect, email sgstore@asia.apple.com and send them pictures of the defects.
Last but not least, screw all Made in China products (which practically means everything).
View Photos: MacBook Pro Dead Pixel
19 Comments 
- 03:12
- Sunday, 2nd November 2008
Thanks for sharing this. One of the best thing about being in the States in how consumer rights here is a really big deal. Not only can are there no-questions-asked return policies, but an increasing number of manufacturers even have a zero-dead-pixel policy (e.g. Samsung’s LCD). Since I’m really into gadget shopping, I’d be more stressed out buying anything in Singapore. *Shakes head*.
BTW, if you’re into consumer rights, do read http://consumerist.com... do you think a blog like that would work in Singapore?
- 17:33
- Sunday, 2nd November 2008
Yea, I think it is because there is no Apple Store in Singapore and maybe the Apple Online Store in Singapore is not directly under Apple but some company authorized to act on Apple behalf.
In Singapore there is CASE, http://www.case.org.sg/
- 19:01
- Sunday, 2nd November 2008
Congratz! new Apple laptop 
you are now official apple die hard fan hahahaha
it’s good to be able to have something replace that fast. this is really good customer service. talking about replacement, this is the 2nd month i waited for my Gigabyte mobo from warranty claims.
- 23:38
- Sunday, 2nd November 2008
Thanks =D. That is long, time for you to make some noise!
- 18:56
- Monday, 3rd November 2008
You won’t be able to avoid made in China stuff. There is hardly any other country where you can build notebooks anymore. Either that or you end up paying twice the price. Nobody in Japan or Korea will assemble computers at the costs as in China. All you need to hope is that QA will continue to improve as they build more and more stuff.
- 23:01
- Monday, 3rd November 2008
Yeap, it is still boils down to business at the end of the day as well as cost savings. I don’t blame them for that, but they should have better QC since they know China products are problematic
- 01:14
- Friday, 7th November 2008
Kudos to a good post. I was contemplating purchasing a MBP from the online store (in a bid to take advantage of the education discount), but defects like dead pixels have always weighed heavily on my mind. Particularly so with Apple’s 3 dead pixels return policy. Going to a premium reseller does not entitle one to the education discount. So its “damn if you do, damn if you don’t”.
Well you win some and you lose some. I’m glad your post has shown us that good customer service still prevails. Lady luck or not, I’m sure no one can be a better judge. But in the event that I do happen to find myself in the unfortunate receiving end of a MBP with a dead pixel, I’ll know what to do. Thanks again.
- 01:23
- Friday, 7th November 2008
Yea, that only happens in Singapore. Because in US, there is Apple Store directly from Apple. Apple Store in Singapore is just an authorized reseller of Apple if I am not wrong.
- 16:23
- Friday, 7th November 2008
You can try asking for an educational discount at x’it at sim lim square. Got my macbook at edu pricing from them there (they only accept cash payment though, no nets or card). The upside is that I could check the set before accepting it, which was good as the set i was supposed to get had a dead pixel smack in the centre of the screen as well, which the boss allowed me to change for another set.
- 21:14
- Friday, 7th November 2008
Hmm, thatnks, I didn’t know there is Apple Authorized Shops that allows educational discount. Is the edu discount the same as that online?
- 01:21
- Monday, 10th November 2008
yea the price he gave me was the same as the online edu price. The good thing is your get your hands on the notebook straight away instead of having to wait for delivery. The guy i bought from was a higher up i guess, the rest of the shops i went to didn’t give any allowance on the pricing.
- 01:32
- Monday, 10th November 2008
I see, thanks for the info. I will check them out.
- 09:37
- Friday, 14th November 2008
I lived in the United States, and I have a new Macbook Pro with the same exact issue – a dead pixel in the center of the screen. So far, I haven’t gotten anywhere with Apple or the university where I bought the computer. I may sell mine and go back to Sony. I am incredibly disappointed with Apple.
- 12:52
- Friday, 14th November 2008
Hi Jason,
Sorry to hear that. I thought in the states, Apple has better service there compared to Singapore? Did you make some noise at Apple?
- 11:44
- Monday, 24th November 2008
Congrats, I had to request for 4 replacement units to find the right one!
- 15:43
- Saturday, 29th November 2008
Yes, I complained to Apple and they didn’t do a thing about the dead pixel.
- 17:08
- Saturday, 29th November 2008
The policy is 3, so unless you got 3DP or the DP is in the center, unlikely they will do anything
- 04:28
- Sunday, 30th November 2008
yes, i know. and for a computer that costs $2500 US, that is ridiculous. Dell now has a no dead/stuck pixel policy.
- 13:46
- Sunday, 30th November 2008
Yea, personally it is very. And I also expect Apple products to have better QC, these days everything is made in china, I hope their QC will improve!
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