修理のこと - MacBook Air Repaired

MacBook Airの片方のヒンジが壊れて、開閉がうまく行かないばかりか、バラバラになりそうだったので、修理に出した。まず銀座のアップルストアに行ってみると、修理の相談はGenius Barへと誘導されたが、すべて予約制となっていてその場では受け付けてもらえなかった。ここで予約を取って出直すか、ネットから予約が必要で、歯医者みたいだなあと思う。これが予約できても混んでいて10日先とかだと問題だが、幸い翌日1コマ空きがあった。
応対してくれたスタッフはこちらが話を切り出すなり、「ヒンジですね」と心得た感じで、おそらくこの問題はすでに多くこなしているのだと思う。費用も取らず修理してくれるというのはこちらにとってはうれしい限り。言ってみれば強度不足を設計上の欠陥として対応しているようなものだと思う。しかも取り替えるのはヒンジの部分だけでなく、ディスプレイを含むアセンブリーごと交換というのにはいささか驚いた。さすが儲かってるアップルと言うべきか、今や修理は部品コストより労賃の方が高くつくという昨今の傾向も反映しているようだ。いずれにしても半分新品再生されて戻ってきたマシンは好調だ。


My MacBook Air was broken with one of its hinges causing not only difficulties to open and close properly but also a risk of breaking apart into two pieces, so it needed a repair. I went to Apple Store in Ginza and guided to Genius Bar for consultation, but the fact was everybody had to get a reservation for a 15-minute slot first but it was completely sold out for the day. I could only arrange an advance booking here or try the same on the Internet. I thought this was like visiting my dentist’s. It would have been miserable if I managed to book a slot 10 days later, but I was more lucky to have found an open slot the next day.
The staff who received me immediately understood the trouble when I started explaining, and I thought that he was well aware of the hinge’s problem already. I was extremely happy when I heard that the repair was free of charge, and again it indicated that this issue was handled as their design failure without sufficient strength mechanically. In confirming some more details further, I recognized to my amazement that they would not replace the hinge only but the entire assembly including the display! Indeed, Apple makes some money!! And these days, the labor tends to cost more than components. Now my MacBook Air looks comfortable with 50% new body.