I've bought a few Big Macs over the past several years. Never had to take one back. And no genius required to get one too me. Trust me on that point.


>I recently voided the warranty on an iPhone I tried to repair myself. The screen had cracked. (From being in my front pocket when I bent over to pick up a gas can -- kudos to Chinese manufacturing!). A coworker directed me to a site that sold replacement kits for $40. He said don't take it to Apple, they'll charge you a hundred bucks. The process involves over 20 steps and some very small parts and I ran into trouble with a couple of steps near the end. Stupid me took it to an Apple store hoping they would finish the job. The smug young "geniuses" practically laughed me out of the store. I said I have bought two Macs, half a dozen iPods, and half a dozen iPhones, and this will take someone who knows what they are doing about five minutes. No dice. The lead genius wouldn't even touch it, like I had brought in a turd or something. Before leaving I asked what it would have cost if I had brought it to them in the first place. $99. Did this experience diminish my loyalty to Apple? You bet.
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>UPDATE: For those who don't know, Apple calls their customer service counter the Genius Bar. I am not making this up.