As a follow-up to my previous post. I went in to the Apple store at 930 a.m. on a Monday morning and told them exactly what happened. I didn't blame Apple or anything like that. As a matter of fact, the first words out of my mouth were, "It's my fault. I was trying to put this new case on and..."
A very nice Genius at the store, took a look at my phone and smiled and said that he'd replace my phone no problem. And no charge either. He felt really bad that three weeks into ownership, my phone had already developed a crack in it. So you know, there's still some heart in the Apple stores. And excellent customer service as well!
He did, however, go on to explain to me about Applecare, etc. But he didn't require me to buy it or anything. He just wanted me to know about it, and that it was available. So the lesson in this story is this: It's all about your attitude. Take responsibility for your actions and most times, things will work out fine. And if they don't, no big deal. Move on to the next day and get a fresh new start. Remember, it's just a phone. If they fix it great! If not, it's not the end of the world.