Shoot the messenger

Hi all, after skimming over the forums and reading all the complaints about faulty new machines (I myself had to return 4 MBP's until I got one that worked semi-properly) I'm wondering how much of it is down to bad build quality or if it could be the shipping where damage could be done. In an ideal world we all think that once a machine is built it is carefully boxed and then very delicately delivered to stores/your front door. The reason why I bring this up is because my girlfriends brother is a courier driver and the above sentence is far from the truth. I've seen him pack his van, he THROWS stuff into it (even if it's marked 'fragile') and says most of the people he knows in the industry couldn't care less about what they're delivering but he also firmly believes that most defects that people complain about are due to the careless handling of courier/delivery drivers. Case in point, I had a new 40 inch LCD TV delivered and the courier bought the box in upside down and then just dropped it, not gently but dropped it. When I got it out of the box the screen had a massive scratch down it and it made a high pitched whinning noise when I turned it on. I got him to take it away and went and picked up a replacement by myself. I'm not sure if this post is relevant to anything but I'm wondering if the blame could be pointed towards the delivery system and not entirely at the manufacturer. I'll just shut up now.

 

Well, I'm sure not every messenger is particularly careful with his/her packages to deliver. Its hard to say; probably a bit of both.

 

I work at an airport and from the control tower with powerful binoculars I once watched a FedEx aircraft being unloaded (it was a slow day) and I was literally cringing as I watched these guys casually throw boxes around, and quite of a few of them fell on the ground and I could see the damage to the boxes and imagining what condition the items in the boxes were in.

I think the whole package delivery industry, in all its phases, needs to be looked at.

 

apple is not really good with build quality and real-life testing of their product, all of my apple product has damage or malfunctioning, has cracks, etc. when it arrives, or developed after a while. it makes me sad .

i had problem with messenger too. but i think the most problem for apple comes directly from apple.

 

Really? I've had my MacBook for a year, no major quality issues.

 

The most circumstantial comment ever. Considering Apple gets top marks in practically every consumer survey in recent history. That build AND tech support. I would venture to say your experiences are the exception rather than the norm and would also say your experience is not a common trend.

The fact of the matter is just that, like any process or system run by humans, developed by humans, there are gonna be mistakes.

This is mostly a tech support forum, so it is assumed that people would posthere if they had problems and not when they don't have any problems.

Although, if you like to rave about your computer, that is also welcomed.

 

ive loved all my macs but they do have some QC issues that need sorting.

when you spend 2000$ on a laptop, get home from a 40mi trip, turn it on, and there are 40 stuck/dead pixels, that just isnt right.

 

thats unfortunate. my macbook pro has no dead pixels and hasn't had any quality issues.

actually the dvd drive broke once. got that replaced.

 

That sucks. But hey, go look at how many complaints there have been about the MBP here... and then go look at complaint about the Dells or something (of course, consider more dell owners on NBR than Apple owners). But it does show something about the quality of Apple when so few threads revolve around bad screens and what not.

QC has improved immensely since the first year of the MBP release. Mine has gaps in the front between the bottom and top part of the case

 

I bought an IBM Thinkpad because of it's great quality and strong build about 2 years ago. Within two years I had to change two power supply cords because the rubber would start to crack if bent, the plastic cage around the heat vent broke and finally the LCD screen went blank for good! All this within two years of use.

Now compare this to my previous Apple 12" Powerbook G4, that apart from a bad battery, NEVER had any issues over the same period (2 years) that I had it. Even Thinkpads are now cheaply made and corners are cut to keep the price low which is unfortunate.

I bought a T61 last year and returned it due to quality issues. BTW Lenovo customer service is one of the worst I've experienced but their tech support was helpful. Now it will be either a Sony SZ or back to the Apple (MBP) that I never had any issues with.