Obfuscation by design
I ended up taking my water damaged MacBook Air to the Apple Store and was told it needed to be sent away for repairs.
The technician said it was most likely going to cost close to the equivalent of the price of an entirely new computer, which really pissed me off.
I didn’t like that the Apple employees don’t open their devices and inspect for faults in front of you.
All the guy helping me did was say he’ll be back in twenty minutes and take my computer to who knows where.
For all I know, he might not have even done anything at all and could’ve literally just set an arbitrary timer to make me feel like he was actually doing something, when in reality he was scrolling reels, scratching his ass.
I genuinely don’t know, and I think it’s this obfuscation process that gives not only Apple, but every other, seemingly honest company, their deceptive competitive advantage.
They hide the obvious behind proprietary tech and staff access only doors. It’s like they purposefully turn off the lights and offer us a hand to guide us through the dark, for a price of course.
It’s funny that when the employee returned, he gave me the bad news that he was unable to fix the computer-which bear in mind, might’ve very well been true, however, it’s what he said after that made me realise how Apple lulls the ignorant into its grips and makes them cough up a credit card.
“We can send your computer free of charge for repair, and if they can’t turn it back on and get it working, they’ll send you an update with how much it will cost to repair the damage.”
The above statement might sound helpful, and generally honest with how the process works, however, it felt like the emphasis on free was overstated while the likely bill to fix my computer was downplayed.
”If you want, you can use a credit card downstairs and buy a new laptop while you wait to hear back from repairs.”
Oh really, I didn’t know that. Thanks mate. I definitely will want to be bothered to return the computer once I spend a day setting it up, and getting used to the blazingly fast out of box experience.
I’m not sure if your seeing where I’m going with this, or if I’m sounding like a schizophrenic 4chan conspiracy theorist, but it felt like the whole process of trying to get my computer repaired was purposefully being engineered with the one goal of getting me to purchase a new device.
It’s ironic that I’m writing this off my relatively new iPhone 16 I purchased a few months before the iPhone 17 came out. All because my iPhone 12 was starting to glitch out and slow down, once again, for unknown reasons, which I’d like to think links back to obfuscation by design.
You see, when we as consumers can’t see what’s happening under the hood, it becomes very easy for the mechanic to charge you for something you never even knew you needed.
This is why education is important and why we need to understand how these machines work and are put together. Now that’s only if you want to hold on to at least some dignity and not be completely taken advantage of from your unknowingness.
I do wish modular phones caught on instead of the yearly phone release. At least that way I could upgrade my device, or fix it as I wished, not just when I was told this device is no longer compatible.
Which brings me to what I’m thinking of doing next. Taking back my agency and purchasing an old computer that can easily be repaired and is modular by design.
And although this means I lose out on how smooth the Apple ecosystem runs and how elegant it’s designed, it means I can take one step closer to becoming a little more self sufficient. And this isn’t because I don’t want to rely on getting support, it’s because I don’t want to be taken advantage of when I am genuinely seeking support.
Transparency wins.
Will keep you updated on if I get a response back on Facebook marketplace for the Thinkpad I’m contemplating purchasing.