Good Conclusion to 2 Years of Frustration with Apple in Saudi Arabia

This is an update to this story of an Apple user in Saudi Arabia who was frustrated with Apple’s distributors in Saudi Arabia for 2 years.
1. We at SaudiMac tried to contact Arab Computers (Apple’s authorized distributor in Saudi Arabia) as well as GlobalStore (An Apple Premium Reseller in Riyadh) and it’s been a month now and neither of those two companies responded to our emails regarding Mr. Talal’s MacBook Pro.
2. Talal told me today that he just received a call from Apple Executive Relations in response to his e-mails to Steve Jobs. She told him that his MacBook Pro will be replaced directly by Apple when he comes to Canada next month.


Talal also took the opportunity to raise his concerns regarding Apple IMC and how they are giving Apple a bad reputation. She assured him that Apple is aware of these concerns and they are working hard on a solution for IMCs.
We learned a few things from all that, first of all, if the local Apple Service Center offered bad service you can still raise the issues to Apple Inc directly and they will most likely respond to you. Also Apple Inc is aware of the issues with Apple IMC and hopefully they would consider launching “Apple Saudi Arabia” and directly sell Apple products.

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10 Comments so far

  1. Review of stores - EmiratesMac on July 2nd, 2008

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  4. emiratesmac on July 2nd, 2008

    I sure would like to know what exactly “She assured him that Apple is aware of these concerns” means…

  5. Khaled A. on July 3rd, 2008

    I guess one example is the IMC warranty…

  6. MacMania on July 9th, 2008

    I think that Mr. Talal has already been refuse by all apple service providers around the world, sadly he would not understand that he is not a mac user at all.

  7. Talal on July 10th, 2008

    MacMania,

    You’re not making any sense here. Apple did agree to help me out and replace my MacBook Pro. I would say it took a lot longer than it should have because there was some misunderstanding on Apple’s part regarding the severity of my issue.

    I also don’t understand why you’re saying I’m not a Mac user. You don’t know who I am. Are you by any chance one of Arab Computer’s employees?

  8. MacMania on July 13th, 2008

    Should I be one of them, I can tell whether you are a mac user or a p.c. user, since I have a huge background on apple products, unfortunately, 75% of new mac users have second thoughts about apple machines which they already have purchased! why? The good look doesn’t necessarily mean perfection, a different environment makes it even worse for them. I sincerely apologize if I over reacted on your issue, but we need to be reasonable here. What you should do when you purchase an Apple product is register it online, and it is best if you just get an Apple Care with it, so Apple and IMCs will have to Regard their code of conduct.

  9. Talal on July 13th, 2008

    MacMania,

    Just so you know, I have been a Mac user for 14 years. My first Mac was a Macintosh LC III running System 7. Back then I started learning Adobe Photoshop 2 and HyperCard. So, no, I’m not the average Mac switcher who bought one just because they look pretty.

    My LC III still works to this day, and has never suffered any hardware issue whatsoever. That’s a far cry from this MacBook Pro, with one hardware problem after another in just two years, most of which happened in the first 2 months of ownership. There was clearly a problem.

    Unfortunately, AppleCare isn’t available in Saudi Arabia. Even if you buy AppleCare from a “non-IMC” country such as the US or Canada, Arab Computers don’t honor it here. Another reason why Apple revise their IMC strategy.

    A word of advice: You don’t want to work at Arab Computers. I’ve seen how they operate and deal with their customers, and I honestly believe they have no place in business, let alone represent a company like Apple. A company whose main office is a small house in a residential area doesn’t exactly inspire confidence in them.

    - Talal

  10. MacMania on July 13th, 2008

    Wow, LC III, that’s deep man. The real deal is, Apple Does Not Care About the ME.

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