New Mac users forum: apple care quality

I am wondering if anyone out there has had similar problems with MacBook Pros and Apple Care.

My wife has a two year old MacBook Pro running Snow Leopard, fortunately still covered by Apple Care. Back in June 2012, the computer started having problems (kernel panic, system crashes). We took it to the local Apple Store (Smith Haven Mall in Long Island). They replaced some ram. The computer continued to have problems. We took it back to the local Apple Store. They reinstalled the operating system. In late June, the computer stopped functioning when my wife was trying to back up the hard drive.

At this point, we gave up on the local Apple Store and turned to TekServe in Manhattan. TekServe did the data recovery for about $1000 and promised to replace the hard drive for free (under Apple Care). Five weeks later (first week of August now), we got the computer back in the mail, but it still was not functioning. The computer turned on to display a blinking file folder. With the DVD operating system installation disk, we were able to get a little further, but the computer could not find an internal hard drive on which to install the operating system.

We decided to try shipping the computer back to Apple to have them perform the repairs. Yesterday (August 16, 2012), we got the computer back by FedEx. Apple had replaced the logic board and the airport card, but the computer is still not functioning. It turns on to display the same blinking file folder.

Needless to say, my wife has wasted countless hours on the phone with the local Apple Store, with TekServe, with Apple customer service. In the latest round, Apple customer service, after putting my wife on hold for a couple of hours, volunteered to make her an appointment at the local Apple Store.

There seems to be some disconnect here between the popularity of Apple products on the one side and their quality and the abilities of Apple affiliated employees on the other.