AppleCare
It is a word that will convert, or scare away just about every user of an Apple product.  How a department that provides basic customer care and product service can inspire such divisive feelings is a mystery and a half to me.
That said, I just had an occasion to use my AppleCare coverage on the new Macbook Pro 15″ (glass) unit that I custom ordered from Apple.  Being a custom machine, they cannot provide service for it directly at an Apple Store, or do an in-store exchange. I know my Macbook Pro has some pretty anomalous build issues:
- Loose Screen Hinge (I mean ‘fall down’ kind of floppy)
- Top row of keys on the keyboard all tilt up to the right at an angle
- There is a loose screw somewhere in the battery bay area
So, I called it in, and they -instantly- offered to replace the laptop with a new one. They are arranging for and paying for the shipping of the original one back to Apple, and the whole process should only take a week or so. No huff, no fuss, and they are even going to be looking at the laptop I bought to see what the build issues are so that it won’t happen to other people.
Apple, thank you. That’s service with a capital “S” that is very hard to find in a modern company. I’ll update with more as the process goes on (and try to get some photos of the issues I have on here.)