Apple Denying Support to Smokers?
The Consumerist is reporting that two Mac users were denied AppleCare coverage because the owners were smokers. Not because the computers were damaged by second-hand smoke, but because of Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) regulations.
According to separate reports from different parts of the country, Apple denied coverage for two users in 2008 based on the fact that OSHA lists cigarette smoke as a biohazard. Both techs refused service to the computers not because the smoke damaged them, but because it’s considered hazardous to a tech’s health to work on a contaminated unit.
Both owners tried to appeal their cases, even going all the way up to Steve Jobs. Unlike this guy, they weren’t as lucky.
These are just two isolated incidents though, and in the comments at Consumerist some smokers are reporting having no trouble getting their computers serviced by Apple. It appears to be on a case-by-case basis, not a hard-set policy. Any smokers out there ever run into trouble getting Apple to repair hardware? [Consumerist via Slashdot]
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Comments (AU Comments | US Comments)
Well I guess its sorta justified but it wouldnt be that bad, unless the people who brought the machine in where puffing 5 smokes at once xD
Good on them, I say. Make it a hard company policy too. If more companies deny smokers services like this, it might encourage people to quit.
Awesome. As someone who had the pleasure of working as a buyer at a Cash Converters, I can tell you there’s little more disgusting than tobacco stained electrical goods (cockroach urine is worse). God knows what it would do to you health wise, but why take the chance? Hoorar Apple for standing behind the techs.
I second Steve’s comments. If people quit, the health system will free up.
Looks like the meek have finally inherited the world. Too bad their message is spite and vitriol. Even worse; like minded readers of Gizmo take their actions seriously.
I don’t smoke, but I would rather share my life with a hundred smokers than one of the people, who under the guise of protecting others from themselves, push their spiteful agenda down unwilling throats.
The truth is, most people smoke but are afraid to admit it. If I owned Apple, I would dismiss the idiots who refused to fix these computers and let them get back to pulling the wings off flies.
1 in 5 (and dropping) people in Australia smoke Fred, even if the data is 20% out (which it isn’t) then that’s still a long way away from ‘most people’ being smokers.
I think it’s fairly obvious that any tech that’s refusing to work on a PC (and having that decision backed by management) is being faced with a machine that’s truly offensive. Why should they be forced to work on something that’s nasty to the point of being hazardous to their health? Don’t underestimate the inherent grotiness of some people (yes, even Apple customers).