Posted on 11/21/2009 1:59:29 PM PST by Clint Williams
Mr2001 writes
"Consumerist reports that Apple is refusing to work on computers that have been used in smoking households. 'The Apple store called and informed me that due to the computer having been used in a house where there was smoking, [the warranty has been voided] and they refuse to work on the machine "due to health risks of second hand smoke,"' wrote one customer. Another said, 'When I asked for an explanation, she said [the owner of the iMac is] a smoker and it's contaminated with cigarette smoke, which they consider a bio-hazard! I checked my Applecare warranty and it says nothing about not honoring warranties if the owner is a smoker.' Apple claims that honoring the warranty would be an OSHA violation. (Remember when they claimed enabling 802.11n for free would be a Sarbanes-Oxley violation?)"
So far, exactly ONE uncorroborated posting. Could be one particular person at one particular Apple store, for all we know (and that's my guess. Might be a few of them, but a few cases does not a corporate policy make.
"But...but...but I read it on the internets!!! IT MUST BE TRUE!!!!"
I'll wait for the official policy too. That said, having worked on dozens of cigarette-smoke-damaged stinky computers over the years myself, I wouldn't be too surprised if a policy existed about severe chemical or particulate damage -- that's essentially abuse. Same if in a salt-water environment, or an industrial environment with corrosive chemicals in the air.
I've worked on those -- the record holder was one where the air had acidic vapors... The workers had masks of course, but the process control computer, not so lucky. The circuit board, components, traces, etc. had been etched away over time, until one day it stopped working. Total loss, of course.
Why should responsible users be penalized because of the actions of others.
Absolutely...
It's always the absuers that end up costing all the other people (in a "group") that costs for something. It happens all the time in our society. It's time to let the abusers pay for their own absue.
I've always been concerned to take care of my computers, to not spill things on the components, to not eat around it, to keep it clean, to dust it and to wipe it down and keep it looking nice.
People should treat their machines (and other things they have and other equipment) with care, so it lasts for a while).
But considering that smokers don't even care about their own bodies, it's no wonder they don't care about their computers. This is the equivalent of them getting cancer for their incessant smoking. Let their computers fail and tell them to buy a new one... LOL...
“I wouldn’t be too surprised if a policy existed about severe chemical or particulate damage — that’s essentially abuse.”
From second hand smoke?
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA....THAT IS ESSENTIALLY BULLSHIT!
“This includes passing on unverified information or accusations intended to disparage the reputation of a person or entity.”
HMMM...NAMES, DATES, DETAILS, BUT IT IS UNVERIFIED?
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA..........this is a riot...you are verrrrrry funny...
You sound like the typical wuss that’s all. There is no shortage of those. Good luck to you the next time you work on a smokers PC in your pink hazmat suite.
Considering the abuse that smokers heap upon themselves (and if they want to, that's fine - let them die...) -- there's no reason for the rest of us to accept the abuse on ourselves as a result of their foul and dirty habit. It's on them.
Let them go out and buy a new computer...
This sounds like BS. I will believe it when I see proof.
It might very well be B.S. -- as is being described. However, it should be that way that the smokers who spew out the foul and dirty habit of theirs and "foul their own nest" in all that they do around themselves -- should pay for anything that they mess up like that with their dirty habit.
I'm all for it. Let them buy another computer when they mess it up from their dirty habit.
Right.
Some uber-liberal idiot behind a desk somewhere with an anti-smoking agenda who is making his or her own decisions is not the same as a company making a guideline for customers.
I got a small television a few years back when my great aunt died, and she was one of those skinny 89 year old irish spinsters who smoked five packs a day. This entire television was covered in a visible yellow film, and handling it or turning it on was enough to activate the scent of stale nicotine!
I remembered taking the knobs and stuff of and sticking them in a bowl of ammonia. It turned a dark, dark brown...ugh!
“I’m all for it. Let them buy another computer when they mess it up from their dirty habit.”
Another staunch conservative idea - punish people who have habits you don’t like...I should have expected such puke-worthy ideas on this Apple-inspired thread...second hand smoke violations...what’s next, they look at the hard drive and see you have been on FR and therefore contaminated your system with conservative messages from REAL conservatives? What a massive pile of steaming horscrap this is...
Are you people all investors, or what? Second hand smoke damage to the computer? No...more PC habit control...what about all the damage from that weed you are all obviously smoking?
Used to be that people were polite enough to not say anything about the way people and their things smelled. Then, folks began to feel free to mention the way people smelled. Now, it is apparently alright to be righteously indignant about the way peoples things smell.
It would be like someone defecating in their own bed and then sleeping in it (and yes, some people do that...). Smokers "foul their own nest" and then they expect the rest of people in society to put up with their foul and dirty habit -- and on top of that for the rest of society to bear the costs and burdens associated with it, too.
Let them pay for their own foul and dirty habit and let them buy new computers, pay for all the costs associated with killing themselves in our healthcare system, too. Why should the rest of society pay for their foul habit?
But for now, this is mostly a free country... Just don’t ask me to pay for smoking-related problems and I won’t ask them to pay for issued related to my weight.
Amen to that. Let smokers pay for all the costs related to their smoking, in every area and facet of their lives and keep it away from others who don't want having a foul, nasty and dirty habit about them.
Then they can smoke all they want -- as long as they pay all the associated costs for "fouling their own nest"...
> From second hand smoke? HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA....THAT IS ESSENTIALLY BULLSHIT!
No, and don't be so freakin' smug. I'm talking about damage to the computer, not the technician. I know whereof I speak; I've tried to repair computers that were smoked around, and the damage is quite real, and often permanent/irreparable.
Another staunch conservative idea - punish people who have habits you don’t like...
It's a foul and dirty and unhealthy habit that costs in our society. It's conservative to have people be responsible for their own actions. Let them be totally responsible for "fouling their own nest"...
WoW!, you need a hobby .
“No, and don’t be so freakin’ smug. I’m talking about damage to the computer, not the technician. I know whereof I speak; I’ve tried to repair computers that were smoked around, and the damage is quite real, and often permanent/irreparable.”
Ohhhhhhhhhhh...and how exactly does this permanent/irreparable damage occur and in what tech manuals is it documented? This is pure bovine excrement.
The only reference in any tech manuals to smoke-related damage is from FIRE.
Smug? I’m not the one who is spewing liberal do as I say pseudo scientific theology, my friend...
AND...if it is such a well-known fact, why is it not mentioned in the Applecare contract?
WoW!, you need a hobby .
Free Republic has been one of my hobbies for the last ten years, among many others of interest to me.
One thing conservatives should appreciate -- without a doubt -- is not having society pay for the stupid, foul and damaging things that some people do, forcing the rest of society "cover their butts" in the process of their stupid decisions.
It's "conservative" to decide for yourself -- and, as a result -- to pay for your own decisions yourself. Let smokers pay for their own idiotic decisions.
“It’s a foul and dirty and unhealthy habit that costs in our society.”
Good argument...liberal cornerstone for every freedom-sucking law that comes down the pike...hey, isn’t this the basis of the argument for every FREAKIN entitlement program we have?
Think about it man, you are over on the dark side now...if it ain’t illegal it’s none of your GD business...
I have never seen such vitriol from you in the 10 years we have been here...................I’m amazed.
At best, it is some idiot somewhere in the labyrinth of Apple support acting on their own without any corporate policy or guidance. And that is at best. Could Apple hire a dumb ass liberal moonbat to work for them? Yes. As if every other company is somehow immune from that.
In the middle, it it is the Internet version of the "Telephone Game" where something happened, and due to being passed from Internet entity to entity, the nature changes into what it is now.
At worst, it is some dope with an ax to grind, some loser with an "I hate Apple" bug up his butt who can't quite make it out of his parent's cellar.
Here is a link to Apple Official Support and Repair Policies.
I just did a cursory check by looking through the top few likely documents this might be outlined in. Feel free to check the rest, if you don't believe it. These are the actual warranties people get with their Apple products.
Go ahead, bring up a document any document, do a search for TOXIC, TOBACCO, NICOTINE, SUBSTANCE, HAZARDOUS, CIGARETTE, SMOKE just to look for relevant context. If anyone can find a relevant reference, post it here and I'll believe it.
If you can't find a policy, it is one of the three options I listed above, which is a waste of people's time.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.