9.28.2005 Guess what today is! It's the one-month anniversary of the Apple repair center having my computer! And in just another seven days, we'll get to celebrate the one-month anniversary of the day they estimated my computer would be fixed! I'm typing this on someone else's computer! Just like everything else I type!
I call the store every couple days, and it's always the same ordeal:
Them: Thank you for calling the Apple store, how may I help you? Me: Yeah, I want to check on the status of a repair? Them: Okay, sir, do you know your repair number? (The only variation on this question is one in three times, instead of calling me 'sir,' they call me ma'am. This used to happen to me all the time when I was eleven, however it's much more embarrassing now that I can grow a thick beard...on every part of my body.) Me: Yes, it's (an eight-digit code I have memorized). Them: Okay, one second while I take a look....
That is my favorite point in the conversation. Once they have my repair number, they're one-click away from what I presume is some sort of log regarding--among various repair details--how many times I've called (12), and how irate I can become. It's clear that such a log exists, because as soon as they pull up my repair number, they immediately start apologizing and complementing me on my patience. Their story is always the same, though: "We're still waiting for a part to arrive." One guy even told me that the part had arrived, but that it had been deemed defective--a fact that was refuted by another employee two days later.
My favorite Apple "Genius" (we'll call him 'Dan'--because that's his real name, and I want to embarrass him) now knows the sound of my voice, and is genuinely afraid of me. Today I actually asked him if they'd just give me another computer until they returned mine, and he actually asked the store manager before turning me down. "Rest assured, though," he promised me, "as soon as your computer has been repaired, one of our technicians will email you."
