Bad Customer Service Experience

Also, I am curious if Apple appreciates brand loyalty or is this a thing of the past?

Unfortunately, we are not Apple and cannot answer that. We are end users like you with no more Idea what goes on inside the Cupertino walls than you.

Apple used to have a web feedback link for reporting sales, support, and service issues. Guess what--it's no longer up, and there is no e-mail address for this issue.

That leaves "old school." A well-written business letter today probably carries more weight than phoning or emailing.

First, we are all other end users like you and not Apple employees, so we cannot do anything in a situation like yours. As for your complaint, you would need to write a snail mail letter to Apple's corporate address. And "brand loyalty" isn't as "precious" as it once was when the company was much smaller - it is now a many billions dollar company.