Anybody that knows me a little knows that I extols the virtues of Apple, and the joy of using a Mac. I'm a Mac? I could have played Justin Long's part in the adverts without the large pay check :-)
Needless to say I was more than a little disappointed when my MacBook Pro stopped responding to keystrokes and trackpad movement last week. Having tried the usual turning off and on again, and frustrated searching on the internet I had to give up and take it to the Apple Store. The Apple 'Genius' didn't tell me anything I hadn't already figured out: "The keyboard and trackpad isn't working". He run it through a few diagnostic tests and decided to send it off to some unknown magical place that would sort it.
I was a bit apprehensive at sending it off somewhere as my experience (ala MediaMarkt) was that if it did come back it would be in a months time.
Shockingly, I was summoned back to the Apple Store yesterday and was presented with my MacBook again, apparently a ribbon cable that connects the keyboard/trackpad and the motherboard had been faulty. It took them less than a week to diagnose, fix and get it back to me. I was duly impressed.
I have often been in the minority in "what computers should I buy?" discussions and there is no doubt that I could buy PC's that are a third of the price for the equivalent computing power but for me it is still the service and professionalism that Apple gives, especially in their stores that makes me a happy consumer.
Thankfully I was still under warranty (and have extended Apple Care) as you would not believe how much it would have cost to get it repaired ;-)