Replacing a broken key on a mid-2012 non-retina MBP

My kid kept on banging on the escape key (something to do with a game) and it broke the plastic in the scissor mechanism. I took it apart and basically only a tiny stub of plastic broke off, but without it the key wouldn't stay in the keyboard. I just covered it with tape (the silicone was also partially torn) and used it even though it looked odd.

I finally broke down and took it for a Genius Bar (well actually there's no actual bar at this particular Apple Store) to have them take a look at it. After looking it over, I was told it would be a free fix if they had the right part in stock. So I waited about 10 minutes when the associate was looking for the part, he came back out, and then tried to see how it was supposed to go back into the keyboard. I asked if I could keep my old key (the cap is still good if I could get a scissor mechanism) and he said keep it since he would have just thrown it away.

No real question here, but before I did this I would have probably asked if it was worth making a reservation for a Genius Bar appointment or just buying a used replacement key. Not sure how repairable the newer models are, but at least for mine they still had parts and the repair was free.