Rafal writes:

And my response:

Hi. I got a call back from someone in the “Executive Relations Office” or something like that. The lady was courteous and listened to my situation and offered to help by calling the repair center to locate my ipod (which was by this time was being shipped back). She didn’t offer anything to make up for the crappy experience I had, but after I pleaded a bit she offered to give me something from the Apple Store. I got her to send me an iPod remote and a leather carrying case with belt clip. Retail value of this stuff was $60 which is what I paid for the Applecare warranty so I was happy.

However, regarding your statement about them being arrogant, other people at the company, including the customer relations department, were pretty unhelpful. Unlike some companies, Apple apparently chose to not empower their representatives to help the customer when unusual circumstances arise. Too bad.