Graphite – Apple Specialist

These guys are fantastic! I have a big video project due right before the year ends and, of course, my late 2011 Macbook started crashing when I needed it most. Graphite rocks. They quoted me 3 – 5 days, but had it all figured out and had me back up and running the very next day! Price was very reasonable (when considering I didn’t have to buy a new Mac!). And just 3 weeks earlier, their East Side location was able to help me get a new logic board replaced by Apple for Free! (Evidently there was an extended service agreement that my model qualified for and they noticed that and helped make it happen). Bottom line, these guys are WAY more pleasant to work with than standing in line waiting for the «Genius» bar. Thank you, Graphite!

My wife and I work from home so when one of our computers goes down, it’s a serious issue for us.
Phil and the whole team at graphite were able to get our machine fixed in just three days AND set us up with a loaner in the meantime with our previous computer cloned onto it.
We didn’t miss a step. THANKS Graphite!
Very knowledgeable, excellent service, highly recommended!

I couldn’t be happier with this awesome place!!! I’ve got this relic of a computer which I love and refuse to let go (a 2009 MacBook Pro with 17″ screen). I’ve worked around a bad battery and trackpad for years, and had a few screws rattling around inside from when I clumsily replaced the hard drive myself, but everything else seemed perfect. Then, after a long bumpy drive in the mountains, my computer, «grandpa», refused to boot up. When I ran disk utility, it told me my «hard drive could not be mounted». Great… especially as it WAS the backup for about 15 years’ worth of photos and work files, which I had idiotically not saved anywhere else! So I brought it in to Graphite, figuring they would tell me my data was unrecoverable and that the machine was not worth fixing. Instead, they called me later that day to report that they had recovered 95% of my data! But that the hard drive and hard drive cable and battery needed replacing, and gave me a cost estimate. The next day, they called again: they said that the battery was more expensive than they quoted, and that I also needed a new trackpad, at which point costs were higher than they would advise spending on such an old machine (which I thought was very nice of them!). So, I asked if they could replace just the hard drive and its connecting cable, and move over the data they had recovered. They had no problem with this! A day later and for just over $ 350, I have my beloved computer back home, and it is working beautifully with all my old data intact! I am extremely impressed! I was already impressed the first day I brought it in: Apple themselves would have of course refused to even take a look (since I had messed around with the hard drive myself, and since they do not recover data or do repairs). And anytime I’ve spoken to people at the Genius Bar or the IT folks at work, it’s been my very strong impression that they know far less than I do (which is very little). But the Graphite people came off immediately as friendly and very knowledgeable, and now they have sent me home with a perfect computer at a very reasonable cost. Thanks Graphite!

I am very, very disappointed in the service from Graphite. I decided to take my Macbook in for some trouble-​shooting and repairs. I found Graphite on-​line and read the reviews and thought I would support a small, independent business. I was told the logic board was bad and should not pay the costly amount to fix it. They said I could bring in my external hard drive to transfer my data which I agreed to do and paid for. My son stopped to pick it up and only was given the hard drive, not my computer. When I called the next Monday, they said it was going to be recycled, which I never agreed to. I said I wanted it back the way I brought it in. I was given my Macbook back under the guise of it being totally dead. When I got home I turned it on and reloaded the operating system and it worked fine. They had put in a new hard drive, a different battery and did not tell me. I had to call numerous times and received many excuses and sometimes they were nice and apologetic, other times they were very rude. I then talked to one of the on-​line Apple service supervisors who got involved. If Graphite says your computer can’t be fixed or needs lots of costly repairs, I highly recommend getting a second opinion and do not let them recycle it. As one Apple tech said, «The resale value of a Macbook is high.» I am really glad I got it back and it is working, but I do not feel Bob, the owner was honest with me at all. I was actually at the store for over an hour the first time I took it in while he was working on it. I have cut ties with them and will be getting a new battery directly from Apple which will be installed at an Apple store in Minnesota when I get back. If Graphite has recycled your computer, I suggest you call the Apple customer service and let them know. 877−386−0879 Ext. 0877. To follow up on your response, the fact that Apple Management had to get involved to resolve this situation should make it obvious that you were dishonest. It was not two months and I called and told you I was coming to pick up my Mac. Again, very dishonest.

I needed two cables for my iPhone and decided I’d give the local shop my business, rather than going to the Apple store at West Towne.
Two months later one cable stopped working. When I bought the cables I asked about a warranty, since $ 20 is a lot to pay for a cable, and they said it had a one year warranty. So I went back to Graphite and said I wanted to get a new cable under the warranty. The sales guy looked at the cable and said «Hmm, I don’t think you can exchange it because it looks like water damage.» Water damage?! On a cable? He then went to the back room to «talk to the technician» and came back to tell me the technician said no.
I got a little irate.
$ 20 for a cable that fails after two months, and the excuse is «water damage»?? The sales person then said «See, there’s a black mark here on the lightning end,» and I said, «Yeah, it looks like a short, which is why I’m asking to exchange it.» What’s the point of a warranty if it doesn’t cover normal use — I don’t abuse my cables, and I had no idea what the concept of water damage even meant.
I then went to the Apple store and they exchanged the cable under my phone warranty. (I’m not sure what would have happened if the phone hadn’t been under warranty.)
I did a little online research afterwards and discovered that the cables have the following serious design flaw, which some people call «water damage»:
If the cable is plugged into a power source, and the lightning end touches a conductive surface — like some damp on the floor or your car or your porch floor, or just sweaty fingers — a current crosses the little gold contacts, which may result in one of the contacts popping off or cracking. It’s hard to see, but the tiny connectors are usually shiny gold, and a bad connector will be dark.
Apple should print a large warning label on the packaging saying «always disconnect this cable from a power source when not charging your iPhone or iPad. Failure to do so may damage the cable.» The Graphite people might mention this too, especially when a customer asks about a warranty.
So why the two star rating? First, I was very frustrated by the whole mysterious water damage «explanation.» If they had explained, I would still have asked for an exchange, but at least it would have made sense. The Graphite people may know what they mean by «water damage,» but a typical customer like me has no idea. Secondly, they should have been trying to help solve my problem, rather than coming up with reasons it wasn’t their problem. For example, they might have said «This may fall under your iPhone warranty» or «Yeah, it’s irritating that these fail, but I think the Apple Store can help» or «We’re sorry your expensive cable failed after only two months, here’s a new one.»
If I have this problem with a $ 20 accessory, what would happen if I’d bought my MacBook there, and it needed work? Would they take a «can’t do» attitude then too?

I purchased my Mac Book Air from Graphite. I love the new machine. I received knowledgeable and «above and beyond» assistance from Bob, who set up my e-​mail accounts and troubleshooted problems with my internet provider. I will recommend sales and service from this business to all of my friends and colleagues who use Macs.

When my husband and I decided to make our first Apple purchase we didn’t look any where else but Graphite. First I love that is a local store, and I love supporting small non-​corporate businesses.
Second Graphite doesn’t give me and anxiety attack like the Apple store in the mall. That place is crazy busy all the time. It’s hot, smelly, insanely bright, loud, and usually swarming with teenagers who just come in to mess around on the IPads and show off their saggy pants. You pretty much have to wait in line just to talk to someone. And sometimes you even have to wait in line just to see, touch, and try out their products.
Graphite is nothing like that. The store is calm and inviting. It is designed in a way that makes sense. Everything is displayed really well, and trying out a product is fun instead of stressful.
Then of course there is the Graphite team. They are friendly and always available and willing to help, answer questions, and make great suggestions. Everyone there is super knowledgeable about everything that is Apple.
I am a Graphite lifer, and never will I go any where else for an Apple purchase or repair.

Graphite is awesome. I had a major water-​laptop computer disaster a week before my med school exams and the staff at Graphite could not have been more empathetic and helpful (special thanks to Jordan Wheelock for staying late to help me!). I will absolutely use them for all of my computer-​related issues from now on, and if I ever leave Madison, I may fly back just to have them fix my stuff. Thank you guys!

Paul Stokes and his team of Graphite specialists are great at helping you find the right Mac for your needs.