Some fellow Mac users (non-clients) were constructively critical of my approach.  To address the idea that my tactics were wrong — or that I was asking too much — I would say this

I have enjoyed being a Mac user and the relationships it has brought me both in and outside of this group.   I don’t have similar camaraderie with Lenovo owners or Dell owners.  I am not a Mac cult member however.   I don’t believe somehow that we are to think of Apple as off limits to criticism that we would give to other companies that are not named Apple.  There are people out there who think anything that Apple puts out is way better than a competing brand, just because Apple puts it out.  The case and point I think of is — iWork / Pages.   For me and the people I occasionally advise,  I would without comparison recommend MS Office, Neo Office or even the free Libre Office — any day of the week.   However, I am told by the cultists that I should be saving my documents in .Pages format.   No, I won’t.

Did Apple have to do what they did?   NO.  Do I feel like I made them?  NO.  Do I feel like I got some big victory over Apple?  NO.  However, people should not bash me for being firm, respectful and business like — even for challenging Apple.    I’m not afraid to stand up to powers in this world.

I have never read the fine print of the Apple Care agreement.  However, I am familiar with warranty law / Magnuson Moss Act in general.   They were not required to give me a new computer.   In the strictest sense of the agreement — they could have just said we will try to keep fixing it.  They could have just said — a comparable used value of your MacBook is $450 — we will give you an Apple Gift card in that amount.   They could have said — you’ve used 2/3 of the life of your MacBook — we will comp you 1/3 of a new one in the form of a gift card.   Any of those things — could have been possible outcomes.

I quantified what I was looking for — I explained my mental negotiations as I put my request in writing.   They agreed.    Yes they could have given me nothing — or returned my imperfect laptop.    I would have then been free to try to keep using it  or certainly had the freedom to buy a laptop made by one of the other companies that I’m fond of.

Whether you agree with me or not — I’m thankful for what the Apple Store did for me and I’m thankful for the opportunity to explain this process and my thought process to you all.