Other Companies Should Take a Lesson from APC on Customer Support

Author's Rating:

Pros: EXCELLENT customer support, solid hardware.

Cons: A little pricier than off-brands, but worth it!

The Bottom Line: 
APC is one of the few companies that I will recommend to anyone without hesitation.

Author's Review
I personally own four different models of APC battery backup systems, all of which have at least 500VA of power.

The Back-UPS Pro 500 was one of their higher-end "consumer or small office" models, providing 500VA of backup, with a USB cable to connect to your computer so that things shut down "gracefully" when the power goes out.

Each of the "consumer" models provides two or three "battery" outlets, and a number of surge-protected-but-not-backup outlets. This allows you to protect your laser printer and speakers from surges without worrying about them eating your battery time when the power goes out.

APC has also come out with newer versions of their "Personal PowerChute" management software, which makes a "best-guess" effort to shut your hardware down before the battery runs out. This allows people in "brownout" or "rolling blackout" areas to survive a period of blackout before shutting down, just in case the power comes back on before the battery runs completely out.

By "best-guess," I mean to say that the UPS will send updates to the computer via the serial port (or USB port, in the case of UPS models that include USB ports, like the Back-UPS Pro 500 USB, which has apparently been discontinued). The PowerChute software will "watch" the battery level, and try to shut the computer down when a user-specified level of battery power remains. If your battery is older, the "discharge curve" may be steeper than expected, and the computer may not turn off before power runs out. I've had this happen on a couple of occasions, and the best solution seems to be to estimate the total run-time of your system on battery, and then tell the software to shut down when you reach half of that run-time. For example, one of my systems can run for approximately 30 minutes on the battery - I have it configured to shut down when fifteen minutes of battery power remains, so that if I suffer multiple outages during the run-time, the machine will shut down before the battery totally runs out.

Several weeks ago, I needed to replace the main breaker panel at my house because the main breaker was getting very hot and "tripping" whenever the air conditioner ran for more than about fifteen minutes. In Arizona, this is a VERY BAD THING, especially in July. So, I had to A) be home for the electrician to work, and B) WORK from home during that time. We connected a generator to the computer systems, and I worked non-stop during the power outage. The APC UPS systems had more than enough battery power to survive being unplugged from the house, and plugged into the generator.

After the electrical work was completed, one of the UPS's died completely. It simply wouldn't provide power on the "battery backup" outlets, while the "surge-protected" outlets worked just fine.

I went to APC's website, and logged into their "live chat with a technician." He walked me through three tests of the system, asked me a few questions, and then issued me an RMA number to ship my poor broken UPS back to APC.

The model that I had purchased had been discontinued, so APC sent me a newer model with a USB port (Back-UPS 500ES/USB) instead of the old serial port, at no extra charge.

Compared to my experiences with other companies and their shoddy "tech support" and "customer service," APC has been a breath of fresh air.

Their various models of UPS will fit just about anyone's needs, and the Back-UPS Pro 500 USB is no exception - it provides backup power and surge protection, but has apparently been discontinued in favor of newer models.

APC's website has a "Configurator," into which you can plug your computer's model, power requirements, monitor, etc., and it will recommend a model based on your needs.

APC may be a little more expensive than other brands of UPS, but it's been my experience that they're well worth it.