To update on Apple's repair policy... well, I can't, since there is still no official word on the nature of their repair policy. However, calls to the Apple store on North Michigan did garner a return call from yet another manager, who managed to refer to the policy in such laid-back terms as to make it almost palatable.
A very personable manager said that it would be fine to keep my old hard drive for more than 30 days, and they would "really appreciate it" if I could get it back to them "at some point," even if Disk Savers took it apart, rendering it unusable. And he agreed to tear up the credit card slip for $300 I'd had to sign in order to take my old hard drive back.
Now, I should say that Jeff was incredibly warm and helpful without being effusive, and I congratulate him on handling the matter in a kind and fair way. And if his explanation had been the only one expressed, I would probably have been satisfied with my customer service experience.
However, there is still this nagging issue that Apple claims that my old hard drive belongs to them. Does it or not? If so, where and when did I sign over ownership to them? And while I'm happy not to have to pay $300 to them if the old drive isn't returned to Apple intact, what about other customers who will? Is that really the policy?
And what's more, the media relations contact refused to answer all questions about Apple's repair and parts policies without knowing my computer's serial number and looking up my specific customer interaction details. I'm baffled as to why the general question of "Is it Apple's policy to take ownership of parts that are entrusted to it for repair?" can't be answered for a blog article without looking up a sales slip.
