For those of you that don’t already know; I spilt a large cup of tea all over my MacBook Pro, about three or four weeks ago. As soon as it happened, I lifted up the 6.8-pound beast, turned it off and then turned it upside down. I quickly got some paper towels, and wiped off any visible moisture.

Most of the tea was spilt on the laptops keyboard. I wasn’t sure how far the tea had gone, so I decided to take off one of the keys, just to see how moist it was underneath. The lucky key was the “K” key. I carefully unsnapped the key from the two white latches it was holding onto, and then shortly afterwards, tried reattaching it, with no luck. I took out the two white latches and the key and set them both aside, until I was comfortable turning my computer back on, which was a day and a half later.

When everything was fine and running (thank god), I made a thread on MacRumors, asking for advice on how I should go about putting in this key. I got a few responses and guides, which I read thoroughly. It was my time to shine; instructions in hand, pictures on the monitor and the pieces right in front of me. I tried to put the pieces in the little space provided, but it just wouldn’t go in. I tried numerous times, and still nothing. After about thirty minutes of trying, I decided to use some force, which wasn’t the greatest idea. After using force, the key still wouldn’t go into place, but while trying to force it in, one of the pegs on the latches broke, making any further attempts useless.

Undiscouraged, I figured I would take my computer along with the key and latches to my local Apple store. I told them my situation, and that one of the pegs from the latches broke. The Apple service rep. cringed his teeth and took a deep breath in. He told me I would have to leave my computer in for 48 hours, so that they could replace the whole keyboard. I was pretty startled, and asked him “why does it take so long to replace one simple key?” The rep. responded with “We don’t stock keys or latches, and Apple doesn’t either – we have to order a whole new MacBook Pro keyboard, and replace it with your current one.”

So, I basically have to leave my computer in for two days, because my K key needs to be replaced. As of right now, I’m pushing this repair back for a while, because I just don’t have the time for my computer to be away for that long. If it were a broken hard drive or logic board, I could understand, and I pretty much wouldn’t have an option, but I just can’t understand why it takes so long for them to do such a simple job.

If anyone knows of a place where I can just pick up a new latch, or something, that would be a great help and time saver.

Applecare is normally really great, fast and painless, but I’ve found this situation to be a real pain. So, enough of me and my story – let’s hear some of your good and bad Applecare experiences.

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