TechTidBit: Avoid MagnumMac

I have only had good experiences with MM in the past, but what they did in your case is wholly unacceptable. The sooner we get Apple stores in NZ the better. I went to one in San Francisco, and they are light years ahead of MM. They are more conveniently situated, for one, in that they actually get foot traffic. They have all their products out of cabinets and able to be played with. And they have a great genius bar and even a theatre for free courses on how to use their products.

Magnum Mac were sold around 1 year ago to Renaissance from their independent operator. It all went downhill from there.

The excellent service record that Magnum Mac used to have is being pissed away because Magnum Mac service is now cost centred around RTSG – Renaissance Technical Services Group, who have a habit of treating customers appallingly.

It is rumoured that MM staff in Auckland and Wellington are leaving for the healthier environs of other Mac dealers like Imagetext, Ubertec and specialist Mac providers.

The sooner Apple Australia strip the entire Apple rights off the Renaissance fools and open up Apple NZ, the better.

But in the interest of fairness, while the store is called MagnumMac, the service department is not – it’s RTSG baby, and you had better get used to them!

The sucky service has nothing to do with Renaissance, it was like that in 2005, and even before then. Check out http://crypt.soapbox.co.nz/2005/09/magnum-mac

I just go to other service providers, it’s just not worth the pain dealing with MagnumMac.

Hi Sitharus, I have read that page and a smattering of others recounting similar experiences of terrible service from Magnum Mac. However, your comment comes at an interesting time as my case appears to have flared up again.

A matter of days ago the Director of Magnum Mac contacted me, defending his staff and requesting I remove my post before he refers the matter to his legal department. Naturally, I declined to take down this page but offered to reproduce his response in the article body, should he wish to make one.

I haven’t yet heard back from him, and I doubt I will, but I will update this post a bit later with what’s going on.

What Magnum branch was it? Thanks

Hi Dave, it was the Newton store in Auckland.

The Wellington branch of MM has been a shocker for years. Terrible p.r. and highly impersonal in every way. Long wait for service and no consideration at all for what it means to be without a computer.

However, Renaissance in Wellington is an all star company. Absolutely incredible – yeah I know they have purchased MM – but it can only bring it up as MM in Wgtn has been at rock bottom for years. Sadly, repairs sent to renaissance now go to MM – what a shame.

Hi, I’ve just tried to return a faulty Apple Mighty Mouse to Magnummac in Auckland for a refund.

“No go” said the staff who twiddled the roller ball and told me they could give it a clean. When I mentioned the product had a 1 star rating on Apple’s own site and that I have been through 2 of these in the past 6 months they gave the look of ‘yeah, we know’. When I asked for the manger, they told me he was out, but noted “theres no way you will get a refund”. Nice. I’ll keep you informed….

Will

OK, Further to my post above, I’m going to cut them a little slack.

The consumer guarantees Act says they only have to fix it, or replace it or lastly refund for it. They have offered to fix it so I guess I’ll just keep going back very month until they get tired of me.

Please learn from my lesson and avoid the Apple Mighty mouse at all costs!

Lordy! I also have had the misfortune of dealing with both Magnum Mac and Renaissence.
I spent over $4000 with Magnum Mac and have had two years of pure hell in doing so.
Right from the word go my dealing have been absolutely dreadful with them. Now after 2 years of problems with my macbook, the contract, the repayments and the incredibly inept staff and management at Magnum Mac I have just found out I need a new logic board because a ‘large’ insect was found inside my computer!! Please tell me how would a large insect get inside a macbook??? I had previously taken my macbook in for repair, and they didn’t fix the problem (or even check inside the computer) and now it’s dead. I have used this macbook successfully for approx 6 months since purchasing it, and have now lost all my photo’s (including those of my beloved grandad who died last month). I still owe $1500 on this mac (delay in paying off because of contract muck up) and have been told I need to pay magnum Mac $1900 to replace my logic board….arggghhhhhhh….
DO NOT PURCHASE PRODUCTS OR HAVE REPAIRS DONE BY MAGNUM MAC.

Oh yes, this is the Wellington branch…

ok u guys really have to give them some slack! ive been in the apple service industry and its a lot of work!
u have to understand where there all coming from ther not apple!! so they dont make the policy they just follow them…
imagine if u had to fix over 30 computers within a week?
they get their replacements from apple for security reasons thats y it takes up to a week..
and deal with customers that tell them their problems everyday?

Well, it appears we people are not alone in the appalling way we have been treated by MagnumMac…
MagnumMac even lost their premium Reseller status recently..

Apparently a new, independent Premium Reseller is opening on Lambton Quay this month, opposite Capital on the Quay…directly in partnership with Apple..

I just suppose we will have to watch this space…but an alternative at last is great news!!

Fingers crossed…

That’s fantastic news! And in response to ‘Lex’. It is Magnum mac and Renaissence that have provided the appalling service, not Apple.

I will be lodging a complaint with the Commerce Commision and be taking Magnum mac to court. I have never, ever had the misforune of dealing with such a appalling customer service and techical advice.

I would reccoment anyone looking to purchase or repair Apple products to shop with anyone but Magnum Mac.

I actually went to mm wgtn to buy a 20 inch imac with cash in hand The service by a young little idiot who treated me with utter contempt was so bad I just actually went round the corner to harveys and bought one there, if mm think they can survive financially well good luck to them. Their sales team are just plane silly and if I was their boss I sack the lot of them. I would not put up with any of that kind of behaviour in my team for anything. Money at the end of the day counts , along with a nice smile helps too.

Well, I went into the new place on Lambton Quay…

Its very nice, the staff were smiling and friendly, (if not a bit busy). Even though the store was packed, every single sales person acknowledged me!! Needless to say, they got my money! Good luck to them.

I went along to the opening of the new MagnumMac store in Newmarket AK last Friday to check out the new MacBook Pro which I’m planning on getting. This was the ‘big’ opening with lots of staff walking around, Red Bull girls, photographer, a band (Opshop), etc.

Now I’m no expert at all with Macs, but I couldn’t get over how I knew way more about the new Macs than the staff. I made a point of asking around a few staff and trying to get some of my simple queries (like about firewire and video output), answered but they hardly even knew the basics.

One guy even pointed at the old model 17″ MBP and told me that it was the new 15″ MBP! And we had a 15″ model in front of us with MacBook Pro written under the screen! Not very inspiring…

Eventually I had a chat with the ‘Genius’ over from the US, and whilst he knew more he seemed pretty vague about quite a few aspects. Perhaps this is because they’re new products but you’d think their own staff would at least have had some basic training…?

And after reading some of the stuff above I think I’d be wise to go online through Apple in Australia.

Nice store though… Great shame mate!

Can you guys offer some hope to me? as I’m seriously thinking about converting to an iMac from my 5 year old Sony Vaio.
It doesn’t look as if there are any Mac stores in Auckland worth visiting from reading your comments and searching on line. Do I need to go to Wellington as I’m not keen to buy on line? Also it sounds like most of you are having problems with your Macs is that true?…. if so should i hang on to my PC which crashes a bit, is extremely slow and weighs a tonne, but it has never needed a service and would cost a lot less than a Mac to replace?…. this might sound sacrilegious to a true aficionado but I’m a bit worried now.
Many thanks for any advise.

bummer about your service and it’ll always be that way with kiwi alternative stores (ie not the real thing), we need the real thing here an Apple Retail Store but don’t be surprised if it doesn’t happen the governments here and the elite make sure we the non rich list (the cash cow for NZ businesses) support NZ owned thus keeping a thousand or so millionaire kiwis living it swell on waiheke, takapuna, milford kohimara et, NZ has a dark side man, it’s a pyramid scheme.
wouldn’t it be nice to have some choice here to buy a high street designer styled pair of jeans, T’s, Dresses from the likes of Gap, Zara, Topshop nah not in NZ they’re not allowed to enter our market here and sell kiwis great clothes at great affordable prices, nope instead we have to pay top bucks for the worst possible crap out there from a NZ owned Pyramid shop thus insuring they (the elite rich listed big brothers) ruling NZ keep their lovely homes, well f u c k supporting NZ made people buy from amazon.com declare your purchase as a gift and pay no customs charges, buy at mag mac and you just keep one rich kiwi and his family in there mansion in devonport, NZ needs to sell off it’s investments and allow the world to come here and give us some decent prices instead of what’s going on – I’ve lived in New York and London, guess what we’re the most expensive country on the planet folks this place is a rip off .
now run along fellow guinea pigs and be submissive shoppers.

Thanks for the comment, Madrella, but you seem to have a fundamental misunderstanding of how a modern, capitalist economy works.

A relatively small section of society own the means of production (businesses) and everyone else works. With the money earned from working we consume, driving business and the circle goes round again with the capitalists clipping the ticket each time.

New Zealand doesn’t have a low-wage economy. When production requires a lot of relatively unskilled work (clothing etc…) we will not be able to compete with the likes of India and China.

Bringing more international products here for consumption will just make some other person (or people), who aren’t kiwi, rich. Globalisation poses a problem because each countries economies aren’t identical, or even compatible. We try to offset this by using trade tariffs and subsidisation which would go towards making products more expensive.

Thanks for the tagline, though.

We finally got someone to actually compete with MagnumMac!

The Bay is clean, friendly, has knowledgeable staff, great demo tables, fantastic location AND they talk to you like you are the world to them….

BUT they NEVER, EVER have any stock of anything!!! Every time I go in there, I get another excuse as to why they don’t have any stock. ‘Sold Out’ ‘Global Demand’ (While everywhere else in town does…..). Apparently, this is common for them, as I was discussing with Mac friends who have also been in and been disappointed…

On Saturday I spoke to a nice english gentleman for about an hour, he was extremely helpful, polite, knew his products and prepared a quote for me. He had done such a great job selling me on the Mac, I was almost in tears when I was told they had none in stock. So I walked around the corner to Dick Smiths and purchased everything there….

So for great advice, help and nice friendly people, go to the Bay. To actually buy anything, avoid them like the plague.

I was just searching up my favourite apple reseller and i happen to find this blog..
and all i have to say is:
everyone adding comments to this website….
You all really should just get over yourself.. do you even know the reason why they hardly ever have any stock it’s because they are well known for their great support and people like buying products off them.
Imagine yourself in their shoes dealing with angry customers!
I don’t mean to be rude or anything it’s just you obviously don’t understand what they go through. Gail why did you even go back if you didn’t like their service in the 1st place? all of you people writing in this blog just make us customers sound bad and thats why in most places you don’t get nice customer service…CUSTOMERS AREN”T ALWAYS RIGHT…

Hi Alison,

I am not totally convinced you read my post completely…

I went back to try and give them some of my money.
I LOVE The Bay! They are the complete opposite of Magnum Mac. They actually listen when I talk.

I keep going back to them in the hope that they actually have something to sell me. That is my problem. I am trying to give them money, but there is nothing on the shelf! I can’t afford to wait 4 weeks for a laptop.

Here is the best part. The Bay know I went to Dick Smiths and purchased my Mac there, yet the staff member STILL offered to help me at anytime with any set up problems!! They are just that good.

They are doing everything right, except being able to sell me anything. I just feel very sorry for them, that’s all.

Always had great service from Magnum Mac in Albany best Apple reseller there is, don’t know what your all on about, service time is alittle slow but not MM’s fault as that’s Renaissance.

Certainly some people have had some shocking service but I think there needs to be some clarification for the original issue that Chris saw with MagnumMacs service in regards to the replacement of the battery.

I have worked at a number of Apple Authorised Service Providers and can confirm that though it isn’t Apple’s policy to remove your battery and leave you without it for a few days while waiting on the replacement, what MagnumMac were doing was actually a favour to you. I’ll explain.

Firstly, Apple makes no allowance for using off the shelf retail stock to replace faulty batteries for customers who approach service centres. To do so could stuff up the warranty on the retail stock batteries as they are all uniquely serialised and carry full 12 month warranties, where as the service part replacement only carries 90 days. So the chances of ANY service provider letting you walk out the door with a new off the shelf replacement when they are yet to even know whether Apple will provide them with a warranty replacement for your faulty one, let alone the replacement only coming with a 90 day warranty for them to place back on the shelf is slim.

Secondly, Apple assume that when the order for the warranty replacement is placed, that the Apple service provider actually have your whole machine in their service department, not just the battery. They give the service provider a very small window in which to “Exchange” the faulty battery for the replacement. If the provider has neither the machine nor the battery then when the replacement arrives they they to quickly contact you to get you to come in and perform the exchange ASAP or face the possibility of missing the exchange window and possibly wearing the cost of the replacement battery or late fees for the return of the faulty one (Its amazing how many people agree to come in straight away when called but are suddenly “Busy” or “away” when you call them), few service providers are willing to risk these charges (Especially as the service is free to customer) unless you an already a well established customer of that provider/store. So most providers will find a middle ground and rather then holding onto your entire machine till the exchange process is complete, will offer you back the bit you can still use (i.e the machine) keeping the battery and thus guaranteeing the battery can be exchanged immediately when the replacement arrives but you can still use you machine in the meantime. Remember Apple expects that the service provider have your entire machine during all this time. So what MagnumMac did for Chris was pretty fair to both him and them.

Additionally Chris doesn’t mention where he purchased the machine and it is highly likely it wasnt from MagnumMac. So people need to remember that Apple Service providers are not “Apple”. They didn’t make or design the product, they certainly didn’t break the product and often they didnt even sell the product and still have to try and provide you a service entirely for free (When in warranty). They have rules and limitations set down by Apple and are often trying to do as much as they can for the customers best interest but as they still are an independent commercial enterprise, they still have to cater to their own bottom line and personally I dont mind if they have to sometimes make tough choices to help keep down potential costs or fees , as long as it help them to remain in business to be available to help me with my next issue, the amount of good providers is small enough as it is. Most service providers live off their reputations and returning customers so its normally not in their best interest to P*ss you off and mostly this is not what they are trying to do, but just sometimes they just cant meet the customers exceptions and its not due to the lack of service, it sometimes comes down to unreasonably high expectations.

Im not defending MagnumMac but Independant stores such as Magnummac are in no different a position then Noel Leemings or Harvey Normans or the Warehouse but our expectation of their level of service is often a great deal Higher. I dont know why. The chain store often make higher margins (Due to having a better bulk purchase price) and often provide either minimal or no service and extremely limited product knowledge but we are happy to accept that from them but are quick to complain about independent providers.

All that said mind you, bad service is bad service and you have every right to complain and comment if you have been wronged. Its just that sometimes we are not aware of the whole picture.

All you people out there complaining are idiots. If everyone who went to a MM site came to this post and left a comment you would be truely ashamed of yourselves. My partner is a technician at the MM store in Hamilton. They do their bests but its hard when there is only TWO of them and a never ending list of computers needing fixed with different regulations attached. for example MM do all the Apple computers issued to teachers and they have a 3 day turn around. Plus Renaissonce changed their delivery system to a new company that is much slower. PLUS Apple changed the way you get new parts as they are not kept in New Zealand in storage anymore, they have to be specially ordered in. JUST THINK WHAT IT WOULD BE LIKE IF YOU WERE IN THEIR SHOES AYE? THEN MAYBE YOU WILL ALL PULL YOUR HEADS IN

MM Are complete total idiots. I have not been to the bay yet but it sounds great. F*** MM

Agreed, MM *still* are total schlong-bags (well in Wellington anyway). They were a good set-up 20 years ago when starting out in Christchurch but seemed to drift into mediocrity when the chain stores were opened. I just rang them at 1pm on a Thursday and the call rang off without an answer. Probably three muppets were engaged in a conversation about the iPad with a chin-stroking backpacker 2 feet from the phone. This is Customer Service 101 doesn’t matter who’s product you’re selling.

The sales department from Magnum Mac in Wellington is still lousy.
Went in there on Saturday to buy a 27-inch iMac.
Staff were busy gossiping amongst each other, walking straight past me without enquiring if I needed any assistance.
Waited for around 15 minutes before anyone approached me. Absolutely useless!
Did manage to get it in the end as they happened to have stock.
If only a decent competitor would open up to go against them!

The service department (for all the negatives comments I’ve heard about them) were quite good.
They fixed my under warranty MBP in a fast, efficient manner and were quite helpful.
This repair was a few years ago so whether it’s still the same now or I just got lucky that day, I don’t know.

Bought an iPhone3GS from MagnumMac in Albany Auckland Mall and it was just showing some problems (phone vibrates when pressed on upper left corner of the phone while in silent mode). So I requested a replacement under warranty since it’s only been 3 months.

First thing I did when I walked in the store was to ask one of the staff how long the warranty was on new iPhones and he said 12 months. Then I asked if that warranty will repair or replace faulty product and he clearly said they will just replace with a new one.

The people who work there seems to be not so polite but at least they agreed to send it off. I was told it will take 2 weeks and they weren’t going to provide me any temporary phone or anything. So I was just happy that they will get it replaced. I will see what they send me in couple of weeks.

Will post more of my warranty experience from MagnumMac Albany Auckland Mall in couple of weeks.