Apple To The Core

I have always liked Apple, Inc. This is a well-run company that is finally getting the recognition it deserves for all the great products it has been making for years. But it wasn't until I had a perplexing and complicated issue with my calendar syncing that I really learned how good this company is. They say some companies have figured out how to benefit from customer issues, by handling them so well that the customer comes out with an overall positive experience and a better view of the company. This was such an experience for me.

We have two Macs and keep everything in sync between them using "Dot Mac". Everything except the calendar events that is, which for some reason would not sync no matter what I tried. I am used to handling all computer problems myself, because computer companies are notoriously evil and wicked, so I wrote to Apple Support with some feelings of trepidation and anxiety.

Just about as soon as I sent my email I got an automatic reply from Apple that my issue was being sent to a customer support analyst who would get back to me shortly. Which he did by email, in about an hour. He was polite and asked me some questions and had me try a few standard things. When it became clear that this was a more challenging issue, he sent my case to a second-level tech. This guy was amazing. He sent me a special program that records all relevant system variables so they can be studied in detail. He wrote to me day and night, often within hours of my responses. He went through lots of technical procedures and worked with me until he had an idea that this issue warranted the ultimate treatment: referral to an Apple iCal software engineer. This is a guy who knows iCal inside and out because he helped design it, and he was taking on my case personally.

A few more exchanges back and forth (including one written late at night by the support tech that said he was "going over my posts again while engineering looked at this issue and had a few more questions") and my problem was solved. And the conditions that led to it, unusual as they were, are being studied by the software engineers for a future permanent fix to the application.

I have never had an experience like that with any company, ever. It still amazes me that these guys actually seemed to care about my issue. And they cared for free, too. Try that with Dell.