Spot on. Apple direct customer support really suck in India. In my city, the authorised store and service centre always act entitled like they are doing me a big favour (probably because we don't buy it from them directly). Last I went there to find out if a discoloured iPad screen could be repaired, and they said they can't examine my device unless I pay Rs. 500 (around US $5-$6) first. So I shell out the money, and they look at the screen and ask me if I have factory reset the iPad. I said yes, I had done that. The service "engineer" then returns the iPad to me and says, "Apple does not repair any iPad hardware in India. If it is under warranty, they will replace the device with another iPad." I asked him why he didn't tell me all this before charging me Rs. 500. He looked at me like he was staring at a jackass (which I guess he was :).