Otherwise, if there is any small smudge on the case, on the inside or anywhere on the machine it will free Apple from any obligation under the extended warranty contract whatsoever. If this happens a long time prior to the expiration then Apple will enjoy a substantial windfall because of the customer's accident. And that is unconscionable.

Therefore, if they truly believe it is the customer's fault, can prove it, and will use it to deny any subsequent claim under the extended warranty no matter whether it causes the problem or not, then they should immediately cut a check for the time remaining on the extended warranty-that is fair.

I don't agree that he should have been offered a free repair, just shown the evidence of damage. Why should Apple take responsibility for something that is not defective? This was a reward for irresponsible behavior and a continuation of a poor precedent, all at a very visible level.

Final Score:
Apple: 0
Caveman/douche/ass/tantrum boy: 0

I understand that this guy was upset that it wasn't a free repair, and I'm sure it was rewarding to smash up a laptop with a sledgehammer (I've wanted to do that for years)... but for Apple to turn around after seeing the video of him taking a sledgehammer to it, and then give him a 1500+ dollar laptop? Re-fucking-diculous.

That is like taking a car in for an oil check, finding that there is damage to the engine, driving the car off of a cliff, and then Ford saying "well, that's a nice wreck you have there... totally voids our warranty... care for a free new Taurus?"

So he can throw a tantrum and get a new MacBook after he spilled water on it and didn't tell the truth? What a load of shit.

Sad.

But Apple seems to be in a good mood in the past few days. Just look how many "you know whats" they have replaced after people got them broken.

Though my hope is, that Apple is starting to slowly sell off their current MacBook line, anticipating the new ones due in October. At least rumors a thickening.

@quiksilver180: 25 actually, but it's news to me that having conviction must make someone immature. Tell you what, lets try a test. Give me ten dollars to NOT kick you in the nuts, then I WILL kick you in the nuts, but then give your ten bucks back. Doesn't balance does it? That's what apple did. They took his money, then kicked him in the nuts. So smash the laptop, post another video (and f**k the gift-coerced message that apple did right by him), and switch to PC.

The guy was an idiot to begin with... he didn't try contacting customer support again, or by writing a letter. Apple did bend over backwards for him.

Uhh, no. The typical Apple fan-boy would either one of two things:

1. Assume Apple could do no wrong and just accept the fact that he did spill something on his laptop.

or

2. He would blog it using one of his other Macs. He would carefully document the entire ordeal, send letters (with due respect) and perhaps end up getting a replacement by pulling the right strings in an appropriate fashion.

This guy is not your typical fan-boy. He states that it was the best laptop he's ever used... It's highly likely he's a defected Windows user, fed up with having to fix and patch and guard his OS with bloatware. He has clearly been an exclusive member at the Apple Party, carrying his black MacBook, (finally) getting noticed by the girls. Then one day, his cool-person membership blew up in his face. And he got angry. So angry that he acted against this new clique in violent frustration. He knew that he never would have fit in anyways. So he wanted to go out looking tough in front of all the other PC users.

Trust me, the Apple fans were happy to be rid of this loser.

But hey, don't look at me, I don't own a single Apple product.

This guy is a giant douche. He doesn't deserve a bloody dime. His video was a tasteless, humourless waste of time and bandwidth. He resorted to immature whining and got what he wanted. I think much less of Apple now for giving in like this.

--

So basically he acted like a typical Apple-Fan-Boy and got what he wanted....

Horse pucky. You can search Macintouch.com for my and others' stories of Apple's customer service stonewalling.

I love my Mac, I hate what I saw of Apple Customer Relations. Guess I should have made a viral video instead of just posting some pictures on Flickr.

Congratulations! You're officially a puppet! It took Jim Henson and government cronies many lifetimes to master what you did by unleashing the power of the interweb.

I seem to recall that very suggestion being made in the original post on this subject.

I guess the next time a company doesn't fulfill my expectation to the 'nth' degree on the first go, I'll just smash some shit up and wait for the free goods to start rolling in.

The simple letter, in my mind, is what Consumerist is about. I'm glad you got your replacement laptop and even happier you learned your lesson.

Of course, I was four at the time. YMMV.

Black or White, I don't care. I'm not racist. You can even send me a grey one. Possibly one with a black top and a white bottom, or the other way around. Not particular.

I'm sure if you send Ben an email he can get in touch with me. I think you should probably give Ben a new MacBook for his troubles as well.