[sq_]

It does seem like Apple and a few other companies still manage to do a half-decent job today. It takes a lot of running around through the phone tree and putting up with people going through the long script of solutions you already tried, but if you can get a few rungs up the escalation ladder you get to people who can make things happen, still.

Definitely not the same as it was, though :(

[themadturk]

I've had several opportunities to experience AppleCare+, both remotely and at Apple Stores, and have to say they've all been satisfactory. My most recent repair was after a bunch of things came rapidly together to cause milk to spill on my MacBook Air keyboard. I took the machine in the Apple Store, they dispatched it to the repair facility and took my credit card information to cover the $300 deductible. The machine was in repair for less than a day, and the charge to my credit card was only $100. AppleCare+ is the only extended warranty that's been worth the money.