My pants is tight!

Over the weekend, my MacBook Pro decided to die.

At first, it wouldn’t wake up from sleep, but after a nice hard boot, it’d come right up. And then, the next day, it wouldn’t load at all. No whirring hard drive sounds, no “bahhhhhhhh” opening sound, nothing. Just lights. Holy shit, right?

I do some Googling and come across similar situations that have occurred to other MBPs, and it could be one of two situations: either the battery is dead/dying or the Logic Board is busted and needs to be replaced.

Normally, in this situation, a person would bring their Mac to Apple and they’d get first-rate service immediately (assuming their warranty is still intact). Unfortunately for me, I’m one of those idiots who not only didn’t buy their Mac from Apple (in my case, Apple retailer Best Buy), but also decided NOT to get Apple Care. No, I was wooed into getting Best Buy’s 3-Year Warranty Plan instead. “If something goes wrong, bring it to the store, and we’ll fix it immediately.” Sounded good at the time.

Fast forward to Monday: my Mac wouldn’t load up at all, so I decide to go to Best Buy to get my baby fixed…

The following is my personal log of me trying to get my MacBook fixed.

Day 1: Monday, January 19, 2009
- I stop by Best Buy around 5pm, and go to the “GeekSquad” counter
- After waiting about 10 minutes, a clerk greets me. I tell him my problem (“computer won’t load up”), he takes it to the back.
- Comes back 10 minutes later, tells me it’s “an LCD problem” (red flag in my mind goes up), and says he can ship it to their “fixing department” and I’d get it back in 2-3 weeks.
- I leave with my computer, thinking “I need a second opinion.” I set up an appointment with the Genius Bar at the Apple store downtown.

Day 2: Tuesday, January 20, 2009
- I go to the Apple store at 2:15pm, have a nice one-on-one with a lady clerk there. I tell her my problem (“computer won’t load up”), and she does a number of tests in front of me, and explains every step she’s doing.
- After about 30 minutes of trying different things (removing the battery, plugging in different adapters, removing my RAM and using in-store RAM, etc), she concludes that it’s likely a problem with the Logic Board and gives me an estimate on the cost to replace it: $1700. Fuck me.
- I get a print out of their diagnostic, thank them for their time, and head to Best Buy to try my luck again.
- At 5pm, I arrive at Best Buy, go to the GeekSquad counter, and wait in line.
- I’m greeted by a new clerk, and I immediately say: “Hi, my MacBook is acting up. I’ve already talked to one of your GeekSquad guys, I have a 3-year warranty, I’d like to send my MacBook to wherever you send computers that need to be fixed.” The clerk takes my computer to the back, and 10 minutes later says “It could be a software problem- if it is, the warranty won’t cover it.”
- I politely tell the clerk that it’s not a software issue, and is in fact an issue with the Logic Board, which needs to be replaced. I tell him again that I’d like to have it sent out to be fixed immediately. The clerk replies “I will run some diagnostic tests to see if it’s a software issue.”
- Getting worked up, I tell the clerk that a test would not be necessary, as I’ve already had a Mac expert look into the situation and was told it was an issue with the Logic Board, which I’d like to have replaced. I then mention that I was in the day before, and they misdiagnosed it as “an LCD problem.”
- The clerk gets upset and asks me who I talked to and I say “a guy in a blue Best Buy shirt,” to which he replies “Well you should have talked to someone in a Black Shirt.” Awesome, thanks, I’ll keep that in mind next time.
- He tries to push the diagnostic tests one more time to determine if it is a software issue, and again I tell him I just want it shipped out a.s.a.p. He finally says okay and gives me a sheet to fill out.
- I hand in the sheet, and I watch as he makes additional notes, including “scratches all over cover… no need for data backups…” Odd, I think to myself.
- He tells me they will call me tomorrow with an update.
- I leave the store thinking “They’re going to fuck me.”
- Why does this have to be so complicated? Whatever happened to “If something goes wrong, bring it and we’ll fix it immediately”?
- Pray for my laptop…

Day 3: Wednesday, January 21, 2009
- I realize I’ve gotten pretty worked up over this situation, so I take the day off to calm down and clear my head.
- Thanks to everyone who’s been supporting me on the blog and on Twitter!

Day 4: Thursday, January 22, 2009
- Said fuck it, took another day off.

Day 5: Friday, January 23, 2009
- Stopped by Best Buy at 2pm, asked for a status update on my laptop. After 5 minutes of back-and-forth conversing between three Geek Squad members, one eventually came to me and sad “Uhh we uhh sent it to our depot.”
- Success… for now.