Since I first created this website I've spoken to several other Performa users who've shared their various Apple Customer Service horror stories. Many invested much more time than I have in pursuit of a refund, some literally dozens of hours. Faced with this knowledge, I have decided to stop seeking a refund for the ineffective Geoport Express internal software modem. But I have created a refund guide for those of you who do not wish to give up. Also, I have documented my experience with Apple Customer Service so you can get an idea of what you might be up against. Good luck!
Status of refund: none
Total phone time: approximately 3 hours
I've spoken to several Customer Service and Technical Support representatives about this problem with varying degrees of success. Here is a summary:
2/11/98 - After researching the problem on Apple's website (I found no info from Apple, only from other users in the Performa Discussion Forum), I contacted Apple to confirm my understanding of the design flaw and request a refund.
Stephanie (Technical Support)
I did not speak with her very long. She was friendly and intelligent and admitted that the Geoport does degrade the CPU's performance. This was a very encouraging (and, in retrospect, ironic) beginning.
Jim (Customer Service)
Average; he treated me with respect but did not show much concern for my problem. He said he had no knowledge of a Performa/Geoport problem, and suggested that I again speak with Technical Support.
Courtney (Technical Support)
Very friendly demeanor; she was unwilling to admit to a problem at first but after consulting with Stephanie she admitted that the Geoport can, in theory, degrade the CPU's performance.
Gordon (Customer Service)
Good; he listened to my explanation of the problem and treated me with respect. Not being a tech person, he relied on Courtney's notes for his recommendation that I bring the unit to an authorized Apple Service Center to have it inspected. He was unwilling to discuss a refund for the modem.
2/12/98 - Armed with the benchmark results from the tests I ran the previous night, I contacted Apple to request a refund.
Kelly (Technical Support)
Poor; she was patronizing and unwilling to even consider that the poor CPU performance was the result of a hardware problem. Her only advice was to download the latest version of the Telecom software because that might improve performance. When I explained that the issue was the CPU's performance and not the modem's performance she agreed that the software probably wouldn't help. She was uninterested in the benchmark test results I had because MacBench® 4.0 by Ziff-Davis is not a certified Apple benchmark program. [Note that at http://www.apple.com/powermac/technologies/g3.html, Apple Computer uses MacBench® 4.0 to compare the performance of the G3/233 to the 6500 and 8600. Apparently it's good enough for them when it serves their own needs].
Recently I wrote to my cousin about this Geoport problem and the difficulty I've been having with Apple Customer Service. His response summarized my feelings very well (and, I suspect, the feelings of many Mac owners).