Once upon a time in a not-so-distant land, an unsuspecting me opened her two-month-old MacBook and beheld a screen filled with multi-colored vertical stripes and a thick horizontal line at the bottom. And everything on the screen was flickering. What the heck??? It looked like Mother Board was taking disco lessons. I was getting woozy from the constant motion. And so the adventure began…

The first step was a call to Apple support where the associate ran some diagnostic tests and concluded, “Something is wrong.” Ya think??? So he sent me on to the Genius Bar and encouraged me not to worry. “Because the device is so new, they’ll take care of it without cost to you.”

At the Apple Store, my assigned genius quickly spotted a hairline crack in the screen and said it was the cause of the strange flickering lines. A crack? Whaaa? How? Without missing a beat, Genius asked, “Shall I write up the repair? As of the first of the year, the cost went up—it’s $535 for a new screen.” Just like that. No explanation. No empathy. Just cha-ching!

“But my computer is less than three months old,” I protested, “and it has not been dropped or mistreated in any way.  How could that happen?” He had no explanation and probably didn’t even believe me. Why should he? People say things like that all the time. Confused and unsettled, I left without initiating a repair. When I got home…

I researched Mac screens that crack seemingly without cause. Surprisingly, I found many other users who had experienced the same issue—specifically with Macs purchased after 2020. And I even discovered a class action suit had been filed.

Given this new information, I headed to Best Buy, where I had originally  purchased the Mac.  Armed with weapons of prayer and documentation, I was ready for a showdown. As soon as I spotted a Blue Shirt, I asked to speak with the store manager. Soon after, a gentleman—who would later be known as Phantom Rick—came to talk with me, and said, “No problem, the manufacturer’s warranty will cover you for a full year.” I was elated. This could actually end well.

But that elation would be short-lived. I advanced to my next stop at the Geek Squad for paperwork. But, when I told my story to the Geeks, they said I was advised incorrectly, and I was back to being saddled with a $500 plus repair.

 “But the store manager said I’d be covered under the warranty,” I protested. Wouldn’t he have the most pull and the final say? We went several rounds. I tried to get Head Geek to at least consider giving me a discount on the repair. He said that Apple would be doing the repair, so they could not adjust the charge. It was “Geek” to me.

Then they asked me to describe the gentleman with whom I spoke. Why did they ask? Because I learned their store manager is a woman!  

Cue the “Twilight Zone” music.

Had I spoken to a Phantom? Did they think I was making this up? Maybe I really was in the Twilight Zone?

Then the Geeks called all three floor managers on duty, and not one recalled a recent conversation about a cracked Mac. This was getting creepier by the minute. Head Geek then said somewhat cynically, “I can call our store manager, but she’ll tell you the same thing we just told you.”

“Yes!” I responded. “Please call the store manager.” Let me at her. My inner lion was roaring.

Boss Lady, however, was totally preoccupied with finding out who—if anyone—gave me that misinformation. She clacked her computer the whole time I was making my case. I wondered if she was even listening. Finally, she got around to addressing my issue. In short, she wouldn’t budge either and even uttered the absolute no-no of customer service: “My hands are tied.”

By this time, I accepted they weren’t going to give me a break, but, as a last-ditch effort, I proposed to her what I had suggested to the Geeks:

“Meet me In the middle. Given how new this device is, I don’t understand why you can’t offer a discount on the repair.”

Predictably, she spewed out the same explanation as the geeks did.  And, at this point, her voice morphed into Charlie Brown’s teacher: “Wah wah wah wah wah wah wah.” I thought this was the end, for sure, but…

Still clacking at her computer, Boss Lady blurted out, “I know who you talked to–it was Rick. I don’t know why he would give you that information. He is certainly not the store manager. He isn’t even a manager; he’s an associate in Customer Service.”

Boss Lady was steamed, but I was relieved. I felt exonerated.

“How did you figure out his identity?” I asked.

“I was looking at our security videos. That’s what I was doing the whole time we were talking.” And she showed me the clip of my conversation with Phantom Rick. I must say…I was wowed by her discovery. We both smiled. She then asked for my phone number to look up my order.

 “Are you from South Carolina?” she asked.

“Just moved here from SC two years ago.” Then we started talking SC and began relating as people. I found myself apologizing for some sharp comments made earlier. When I thought she was being rude, she was actually investigating.

Then the Lord intervened.

With no hint that anything was changing, Boss Lady said my order was an “open box” purchase, so there could have been a pre-existing defect. “Given that, plus all the time, hassle, and miscommunication of today, I’m going to go ahead and give you a replacement.”

Replacement??? As in new computer? No $535 repair? Boss Lady just became Fairy Godmother. Bibbidi bobbidi…BOO! My eyes flooded with tears of gratitude. God had totally changed the dynamic and softened both of our hearts.

One week later, I received a call from the manager of the local Apple Store regarding my the less-than-glowing feedback. I filled him in on all that transpired at Best Buy–how the manager’s heart softened and how they gave me a new MacBook. I said there was no explanation for what happened except Divine intervention.

And much to my joy, he said: “I’m a person of faith also, and I think that’s exactly what happened. I’ve never heard of them doing anything like that. God was letting you know you weren’t forgotten.”

And so ends the curious tale of the cracked Mac…