And the real issue here is that this is an absolutely unacceptable level of service for a company that tries to sell itself as a premium brand.

A long time ago I had a Dell laptop. When there was a problem Dell arranged an onsite and it was fixed within 24 hours.

Given Apple's margins and market cap, the fact that Apple refuses to offer a similar level of service even as part of a paid support contract is a symptom of complacency and outright penny-pinching greed.

And short-sightedness. It's a fair bet that legendary customer support would do some wonderfully positive things for the Apple brand - and perhaps even for profits.

But Cook seems too busy disappointing customers and counting his pile of beans and to consider that as a possibility.