Apple Matters Interview: Dimitris Karakatsanis of wewantapplegreece.com

by Hadley Stern Nov 14, 2006

Hadley SternWhat is the idea behind wewantapplegreece.com?

Dimitris Karakatsanis
The wwag.com has been created by Greek Macintosh users as an ultimate attempt to stimulate the interest of those who are responsible for the comic situation in our country about Apple products and service; this happens for many-many years!

The service and support provided by several companies do not follow the standards that the rest of the Apple companies worldwide do.

We want to highlight the unfair difference between Greece and other European countries and to propose the solution called Apple Greece, or even better “Apple Hellas”.

Hadley Stern
How long have you been a Mac user?

Dimitris Karakatsanis
I have switched to Macs, since …1994. But I continue to respect all other platforms too.

Hadley SternWhat do you do for a living?

Dimitris Karakatsanis
I am a graphic designer owning a small company, and my clients are private individuals, publishing and advertising companies. Of course Macs are my favourite companion on whatever I create.

Hadley Stern
Are there many Mac users in Greece?

Dimitris Karakatsanis
It is extremely important for one to realize that the percentage of the Mac platform in Greece today is much higher than the one presented by the Greek IMC incomplete statistics, leaving out other Macintosh independent importers, sales from Europe, USA etc. This number is surprisingly high, despite the bad service, the lack of support and the comic fee situation in our country and may grow further.

Hadley Stern
Why prices are different between Greece and other European countries? Is it because of the euro?

Dimitris Karakatsanis
Of course not, because all EU countries, including Greece, use euro. All those mentioned in our site, are a result of the pricing policy of local Apple IMC and its distributors. For example, we pay for a little patch that offers Greek localization into Mac OS X (free in most of other EU countries), plus 12 keyboard keys with Greek-Latin characters engraved on them, the price of 103.00 euros to 239.00 euros …it depends on which Mac we are buying! In the invoice it appears that it costs 0.00 euro, but we are enforced to buy the “Greek version” of Mac, together with some CD/DVDs, for example “In the steps of Alexandros the Great”. Oh yes, these are nice DVDs but I don’t want to pay 239.00 euros extra for those! It is a comic situation, isn’t it? It does harm Apple promotion, doesn’t it?

If we decide to buy the “English/International version” of Mac, we have to wait for…some months, because of the unavailability of those versions.

You can find more comic examples in our site; their cartoon version will soon be available.

Hadley Stern
How can people within Greece help?

Dimitris Karakatsanis
They can help to change this paranoid situation through their purchasing power and by not yielding to the absurd blackmail of those who are responsible for this situation which hinders Macintosh’ spread in Greece. 

Hadley Stern
How can people outside Greece help?

Dimitris Karakatsanis
Persons who reside in Europe and US and are related to Apple products - at least those who have not realized it after their visit to this country - should be fully informed about the reality of Mac platform in Greece and help a country that does not fall short of other European countries - on the contrary, is a leader in many sectors - to obtain the position that deserves both in Apple products and service.

Hadley Stern
Does Apple Matter?

Dimitris Karakatsanis
Of course it should matter! Besides the pockets and nerves of Greek Mac users, the worst impact is on the brand name, which Apple has been struggling to create through great effort and consistency.

So the time has come for Apple to make a decisive step towards Apple Hellas and in this way to establish its own rules and standards for real Apple service and support for all Greek current and future Mac users.

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Comments

  • Mr. Karakatsanis is right. The situation in Greece is becoming unbearable for mac users. Something must be done and quickly. The Greek IMC reseller is the most bureaucratic, blood sucking, blackmailing reseller I had the misfortune of using. I buy my macs through other resellers or Apple UK because I can’t stand giving them my money for nothing. Apple users deserves better than this. Most of our pc friends won’t make the switch because of the Greek IMC reseller’s bad name in the industry.

    sigalakos had this to say on Nov 15, 2006 Posts: 1

  • Right now in Greece you can buy apple products for much much higher price than every other European country.

    If you are a visitor in Greece though and need support for your apple product, you better forget it.

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    Christos had this to say on Nov 15, 2006 Posts: 1

  • My daughter is Greek-American, but she goes to the Apple Store in Istanbul to service her MacBook when ishe travels to Greece. She says this Turkish store is very good, and the Turks tease her about the lack of real Mac support in Greece.

    tjcrebs had this to say on May 02, 2007 Posts: 1

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