Great Service from the Store and Apple

Question

Let me start off by saying I have had my differences with Apple over the years I have been a customer. I have written about 4 letters addressed to Steve himself voicing my displeasure. I don't need to go into those details here, other than to say almost all were properly addressed by Apple.
I bought one of the early iPhones, the 600.00 "version". So I've had it almost a year. A few months ago the silent switch stopped working. I didn't worry over it too much and simply avoided using the switch. I don't have an Apple store near me, so a simple trip there is not an option. But the other day I had the chance to go to one in Tucson, Az. I waited the 30 minutes to see a "genius" and explained my problem.
After a few seconds he was able to see the problem I had. He said they could fix it. I thought great, I'll be without a phone for a few weeks but it'll be fixed. He then asked me if I had recently synced the phone. I had. He then explained that I was going to get a replacement phone. And in a few minutes I was walking out of the store with a shiny "new" iPhone.
I was ecstatic. My "old" used phone that had wear marks on the edges in which the finish had worn off due to being in a non-iphone case for a long time was now replaced with a phone with no wear marks, etc.
So I am very happy with Apple. With so many people posting on these forums with problems, I thought it was worth letting people know that there are a lot of happy customers out there as well.
A note worth mentioning; the phone is either a unused phone with a new battery or a refurbished phone according the the guy at the store.
Also, it does appear to have a louder speaker compared to what I was used to on my first phone.
Thanks Apple.

Answer 1

It is typical that the disgruntled customers will be the most vocal.
Unlike the original poster, I am new to Apple having purchased a Nano a year ago and an Iphone some months ago. No issues with the Nano but I did have a problem with an update on my Iphone. With past phone problems I knew that a trip to my service provider's store meant the phone was going to be sent off for repair. I expected the same with Apple. Not being familiar with the genius bar concept, I walked to the rear of the store where one guy didn't seem busy, handed him the phone and explained the problem. He hooked it up to his computer and in five minutes, probably less, he handed me my phone, up and running, and thanked me for being an Apple customer.
There is no doubt in my mind where I will be buying my next computer.