Apple ‘staingate’ attracts the attention of class action law firm

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When we bought our house, the previous owners took their washer and dryer. This wasn’t unexpected, but we had to buy replacements. Considering the condition of the house’s plumbing system when we moved in, I’m actually quite surprised that the old washing machine didn’t simply crumble into a pile of rust when moved from where it sat for decades. To replace it, we bought a matching LG washer and dryer, and went for an oversized model so that we could wash everything for our growing family.

This LG washer had a nasty habit of chewing up clothing during the spin cycle. After complaining to LG, we were advised of a recall on the model we’d purchased and LG sent a technician to our house. I was happy until the technician arrived. Were we getting a new washer?  No, the technician reprogrammed our washer and put a sticker on it saying not to fill it to more than 50% capacity — less than the capacity of the smaller washers that would have cost much less money. Was I surprised? Not really. I’ve since learned than LG is a shitty company pumping out horrible products that I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemies. This blight on the world is even ruining the beautiful New Jersey Palisades.

I thought, “what a bunch of crazy jerks who don’t know how to wipe their screen properly. They’re probably using abrasive paper towels or using baby wipes on the screen” (as all parents of young kids know, baby wipes can remove anything from anything).

That is, until yesterday. That’s when I realized that my Macbook Pro is also developing the same flaking around the bezel. […] So, now I realize that I’m the moron.

Anyway, situations like this are why, when possible, I’ve always tried to buy Apple products. Their credo is one of “delighting” customers with “magical” and “amazing” products. It’s why almost all of my household’s computers are Macs, why we buy iPads and iPhones and even bought into the hype about the Apple Watch.

Anyway, a few months ago, I read about another one of those “fringe” Apple dramas that had customers’ panties in a bunch. This one, called “Staingate,” was based on what initially appeared to be oil stains on the Macbook Pro screen, but which are actually the result of the anti-reflective coating peeling or flaking off. I thought, “what a bunch of crazy jerks who don’t know how to wipe their screen properly. They’re probably using abrasive paper towels or using baby wipes on the screen” (as all parents of young kids know, baby wipes can remove anything from anything).

That is, until yesterday. That’s when I realized that my Macbook Pro is also developing the same flaking around the bezel. The screen on my MacBook Pro (Retina, 15-inch, Late 2013) is virtually untouched by human hands. I rarely travel with it (I move around the house so I can take my work wherever the kids decide to turn things upside down until moving on to the next room. When I have cleaned it on a few occasions, I’ve used the included screen wiping cloth with just a small amount of bottled water (the water from our well is is slightly acidic, even after softening).

When the spacebar wears out and develops a shiny spot, that’s a cosmetic issue. When the retina screen on a nearly $3,000 laptop is peeling, that’s a usability issue. As somebody involved in the video industry, a defective screen would be useless to me for doing my job.

So, now I realize that I’m the moron. There are literally thousands of complaints online on sites like (website name redacted.  We’ve decided that the owner may be a spammer.  We suggest submitting your info here instead as we maintain the list and the other end is in the possession of Apple executive affairs). Thousands of Macbook Pro users have registered their complaints, with many saying that Apple refused to service their computers; either claiming that the damage was caused by misuse, or that the damage was a cosmetic issue. When the spacebar wears out and develops a shiny spot, that’s a cosmetic issue. When the retina screen on a nearly $3,000 laptop is peeling, that’s a usability issue. As somebody involved in the video industry, a defective screen would be useless to me for doing my job. When you edit on a screen with imperfections you can miss imperfections in the video because you will think they are merely the marks on the screen. Imagine taking an eye exam with dirty eyeglass lenses.

I signed up on (website name removed) and have been looking around to see if anything has happened since the last batch of articles on the issue waned. What I found is pretty interesting.

The class action firm Whitfield Bryson Mason indicated on Twitter on 15 May that they are investigating the staingate issue. This company is notable because they are also involved in a current class action suit against Apple for defective 2011 MacBook Pros, which Apple also originally declined to cover.

Affected by #staingate? Take our survey —> http://t.co/wraNM8UCep

— WhitfieldBrysonMason (@WBMattorneys) May 15, 2015

For all of the people complaining that Apple isn’t taking care of customers with defective merchandise, this could be our Zefram Cochrane in First Contact moment. Instead of attracting the attention of the Vulcans by flying at warp speed, we’re hoping that our collective complaints can attract the the attention of a class action firm that will make millions of dollars and perhaps win us all $25 iTunes cards, but — hey, at least Apple might be forced to fix our defective Macbook screens as well — and that’s all Apple’s customers want.

The Apple support forums are chock full of people complaining about this issue (I sometimes wonder what the purpose of the Apple support forum is since Apple rarely responds other than to delete posts). But this, too, reminds me of my Macbook Pro. I love it, aside from the fact that the screen coating is peeling away.  Like my Macbook, Apple is mostly great, with one annoying flaw.  In Apple’s case, they can sometimes act like jerks.

There seem to be a few ways for Apple to resolve this issue:

1) Have a genius use some solvent (hey, bottled water seems to work great!) and remove the entire anti-reflective coating. Replace it with an adhesive anti-glare screen protector
2) Replace the screen
3) Replace the entire computer, fix the screen and sell the old Macbook as a refurbished unit

In my case, I’d prefer that they simply remove the remaining anti-reflective coating and replace it with a removable antiglare screen protector. I prefer this mostly because I fear that a replacement screen would fail, and prefer not to have to deal with a coating that is weaker than the underlying glass.

So, does this screen issue rise to the level of an “antennagate” or “bendgate?”  I think so. Apple is losing goodwill and there are financial implications for the company. Apple’s gross profit and operating margins are among the highest in the industry.  From a stock valuation perspective, the cover up might be worse than the problem itself.

So, I’m waiting to see how this situation unfolds. I just filled out the (very short) Whitfield Bryson Mason survey. You should do the same. https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/staingate