Replacement fee for built-in MBP batteries - what's up with that?

Question

My son just got back from the Southcenter Seattle Apple Store after they replaced a VERY dead 13 inch MBP battery under warranty (down to less than 600 mAh in 140 cycles!!). Other than it took 'em rather longer than the oft-repeated-here time of 10 minutes, he also got a receipt with a charge of $214 on it! This included $85 for replacing the battery plus the cost of the battery itself.
He didn't have to pay it - it was a warranty replacement - but was told that that's what it would have cost had it not been under warranty/AppleCare. What's up with that? When they came out with the built-in batteries we were told by Apple that replacing them would cost the same as if the battery WERE replaceable by the user (such as on my 12 inch PB on which this is being typed).
I was seriously considering replacing this PB with the new 13 inch MBP, but I don't like being lied to about the battery replacement.....or was someone in the store just "confused"?
I see lots of others who have had short battery life and replacements here - anyone else get a receipt with a "repair charge"?

Answer 1

I am one dissatisfied owner of a 15" Macbook Pro. I called Apple Germany and complained of my battery issues over 3 months ago and was told well its normal with batteries to last for 2 hours maximum with normal usage. That wasn't what I was told when I being talked into buying a Macbook Pro by the Apple sales people. Little did I know that the person I was on the phone with was just playing for time so that I get over the 1 year warranty period and get screwed. Now I'm being asked to get a battery on my own reasons being my Mac is 14 months old but hey, I called the guys when when I realized how phony my battery was over three months ago. I'm just not satisfied with this sort of service and why doesn't Apple come clean when pitching a product to clients. I should have understood if I was told "hey dude, this battery will run out in about 10 months so you'll need a replacement on your tab". But instead I was told how green it was and 5 hours on each full charge. God knows I've never had even 4 hours of battery life no matter how hard I try ( reduce contrast, deactivate backlight keyboard etc.) I mean, that's not how you treat clients. I called and complained about it way back and was told its normal and that the 5 hour battery life is just a marketing pitch. I'm not even mad of the fact that my AppleCare Protection plan is of no good at this moment but the fact that folks at Apple told me what I wanted to hear just to buy some time to leave me in the cold. No I'm stuck with a battery that last for 20 minutes max after a full charge. So much for great customer service.