Banking on Apple

It's always fun knocking someone off their pedestal and it's even better kicking someone when they're down. Everyone's favourite whipping boy at the moment is Apple, thanks to the success of the iPod and iPhone. Whether you're Charlie Brooker or a disgruntled iPhone app developer, everyone loves to complain about Apple whether it's deserved or not. Apple also deserves credit when it's due though.

I have a MacBook Pro 15in laptop that I use around Shopper's offices. Unfortunately it's also one of the models afflicted with a faulty Nvidia graphics chip that can cause the display to malfunction, a problem shared by other laptop manufacturers.

I duly booked a Saturday appointment at the Genius Bar in Apple's London Regent Street store to have my laptop diagnosed and booked in for repair, a process which took about 10 minutes. I resigned myself to living without my MacBook Pro for the estimated seven days it would take for the laptop's motherboard to be replaced.

I was therefore surprised to discover that my laptop was repaired and ready for collection the following Monday – only two days after dropping it off. The quick turnaround was all the more remarkable since it was a Bank Holiday weekend where an extra delay to the replacement would have been expected.

So far, my MacBook Pro has been problem-free. If every computer manufacturer could provide such conscientious customer service then we'd all have to find something else to complain about.

Alan Lu