Unbelievably bad service regarding broken MacBook HDD

Question

Hi,
first I want to say that I hope someone from Apple reads this and can help out.
I have always thought that Apple is company with superb service and support making it as easy as possible for it's loyal customers.
Here's the story:
Around christmas time the HDD broke in my MB.
Humac who serves Apple products in Denmark told me that the service would take approx. 10 days.
As I use it a lot it was too long to be without a computer, even if 10 days is reasonable. So I went and bought a new HDD the same day from the shop and tried to install it, to solve everything quickly. It wasn't as easy as I had thought.
The rubber sliders came out together with the broken HDD, probably the glue was to weak for the heat inside the computer..
After trying for hours to put the HDD in the slot together with the rubber I simply gave up. I walked with the computer to Humac and told them to fix it. It annoyed me a little since I knew it would cost more to just install the HDD than the drive had cost itself, just because of bad rubber glue..
Well, then one day this article appeared all over the net:
http://www.apple.com/support/macbook/hd/repairextension/
And this is the most important part:
"Some customers may have paid for out of warranty repairs that qualify under this program. Apple will contact affected customers with details on the reimbursement process."
I was really happy to get some of the money back, but no....
I called Humac, and asked how to proceed to get a refund. They answered me that according to their database, they have not repaired any HDD on my MB, and sort of they where right in that.. But after explaining that I have the broken HDD right next to me, he said that I could come down with it together with the computer to get it all sorted out.
I got to the shop together with my MB and the HDD, and couldn't get to talk with the repair guys, just the sales desk.
I told the story once again, and wanted to leave the 120GB HDD with even a Mac logo printed there, so that they could check that it's faulty. But NO again.
I'm informed that I would have to leave it together with my computer, again for a week!!! Even if the computer now is fixed and fully working?!?!
I really have a hard time believing that a company as big as Apple don't have the tools to test a hard-drive without the users computer.
My point is that I just think the whole thing is insane.
At this point it's not more about money, more about what I'm going to think about the companys (In this case Humac, who are authorized by Apple) service level in the future..
Regards,
Sebastian

Answer 1

You have not been dealing with Apple directly, so this really isn't an Apple customer service failure per se. You've been dealing with an independent company with whom Apple contracts for certain repair services. While Apple attempts to provide stringent guidelines for the behavior of these independent companies, Apple has no direct control over them.
I would first suggest that you contact Humac and insist on speaking to a manager. Then explain the situation to him/her and see if a resolution can be found.
If you can obtain no satisfaction from Human, you can call Apple via their tech support number and ask to speak with a customer relations representative. Then explain the situation to that person and see if they can work with Humac to solve the issue. Note, though, that since you attempted to replace the drive yourself, that complicates matters. Whether or not you can qualify for a reimbursement in this circumstance I don't know.
Good luck.