I've been an Apple customer for almost 5 years. Out of the 6 devices I have bought, two were replaced and one had a recall repair. The first was an iPad air, and clearly, the staff at my local Apple store followed the guidelines to replace it due to a very tiny chip in the corner of the glass without impact damage in the case, that I was pretty sure was there when I bought it. I think the guidelines are very customer oriented as I can imagine many other products where such a slight flaw would be denied coverage or blamed on the user.
This year I had a 6 core Mac Pro replaced when I tried to wake it from sleep and found it to be hot and non-responsive. Likely it was a failed graphics card which has been a known issue with some of the 6 core standard cards. The same store staff suggested leaving it for evaluation and possible repair, but I argued that it was less than a month old, and a customer should not have to be without a unit that new (and expensive) while awaiting repair. They didn't argue and replaced it on the spot.
The recall was a battery replacement on my wife's 6s -- the same store as mentioned above (Grand Rapids, MI) completed this in 1/2 hour! So overall, I couldn't be happier with all of the service I have received.