"But it was just a bit of DUST!"

[Horsetuna]

I did feel sorry for this customer. IT was a bit silly but rules are rules and that's how it is.

This gentleman had a nice big (about 24 inch?) Imac that was in. He was... well, obsessive compulsive, I will say it. Why? Because he gave me the EXACT measurements in inches of exactly where this flaw in the screen was. It was in the lower lefthand corner of the screen and I could easily see it - a white mark, that was very much not on the surface, therefore inside the screen somewhere.

So I book it in, give the usual "Non warranty repairs are 50 dollars for diagnosis+any additional labor and parts. Warranty repairs are all covered under apple, parts and services".

So he goes away, and the computer is looked at. It turns out it was a big peice of DUST under the screen. I'm talking a Dust Bunny Egg type, about the size of a comma on most screens. Visible, but tiny.

Unfortunately, these sort of things aren't covered under warranty and the guy was upset for being charged... I think it was about 150 total, for labor of taking apart the screen and the diagnosis (50).

So he argued with me, me being apologetic in a "Sorry, I know it sucks but I really can't do anything." then I got the supervisor, and he argued with HER. And I think the STore Manager got involved AND the technician. The guy didnt yell or scream, but he was very argumentive. He didnt get his way either luckily.

Last I heard, he paid it and went off, saying he was going to contact Apple about this. We said he was welcome to as it was their warranty policy.

I asked the tech after, he said yeah, it sucked, but dust removal is not a warranty, even if it WAS inside the screen.

[Broomjockey]

How in the bejeepers did that even get IN there? Was he fooling around with it or something? Yeesh.

[Horsetuna]

well, I asked the tech that, and he said the screens/Imacs were not hermetically sealed.

But a peice that big... must have snuck in during assembly. That's my thought.

[jb17kx]

If he was really obsessive, he would have measured in millimetres...

[MadMike]

Dust in computers is always fun. I pulled a dustball the size of a kitten out of someone's computer one time.

[Broomjockey]

My friend who helped me build my computer told me of one time, he was working on a comp that was running sluggishly, so he opened it up to have a look. Apparently the graphics card's fan had become so choked with dust that it stalled out, overheated, and distorted. This was eventually traced to be the source of the problem, since after a while, the card would heat up to critical point and the safeties would kick in.

[DarkProwler]

My friend who helped me build my computer told me of one time, he was working on a comp that was running sluggishly, so he opened it up to have a look. Apparently the graphics card's fan had become so choked with dust that it stalled out, overheated, and distorted. This was eventually traced to be the source of the problem, since after a while, the card would heat up to critical point and the safeties would kick in.

Sounds like my computer a few months after I built it. Turned out I put the fans in backwards

[rvdammit]

Sounds like my computer a few months after I built it. Turned out I put the fans in backwards

I'd managed to put two fans side by side, one sucking one blowing. Didn't appear to cause any problems.

[CorDarei]

Last I heard, he paid it and went off, saying he was going to contact Apple about this. We said he was welcome to as it was their warranty policy.

I asked the tech after, he said yeah, it sucked, but dust removal is not a warranty, even if it WAS inside the screen.

so question... if he takes it in, and it's still under warranty, but you find something that causes it to be OOW, do you guys go ahead and fix it w/o telling him the fix is out of warranty? or do you call him first to get the charges approved?

[Horsetuna]

We notify the customer bfore we begin any Non Warranty work, yes.

I think he thought when we said "It will cost This Much.", we actually meant "It costs this much, but Apple is paying for it."

[CorDarei]

o okey.. then he's an idiot then. if you've been told that the cost of repair is xx.xx, then you would think they would know they would need to pay xx.xx to get their pc back.

[Horsetuna]

Mac, not PC, but its semantics in a case like this anyways.

[trunks2k]

well, I asked the tech that, and he said the screens/Imacs were not hermetically sealed.

But a peice that big... must have snuck in during assembly. That's my thought.

In the guy's defense, he shouldn't be responsible for the repairs then. It's a factory/design defect and not his fault.

[Horsetuna]

I know. Sadly its not my decision.

[HYHYBT]

I don't know *how* it happens, or how often, but my phone has a hair stuck in the display like that. It's never been opened for anything.