Reimbursement for International Delivery

My partner recently visited the Apple store in Madison, WI for a battery replacement on his Macbook, and there have been numerous problems that delayed the repair process. He is now no longer in the US to receive the product. I'm not sure why my partner should be responsible for the international shipping that costs him around $80 (on top of $200 he is paying for the battery replacement) when it was the delay caused by Apple. I want to know more about what steps I can take to get the reimbursement for the international shipping (or be waived for the repair cost). Here is some additional information/timeline: 

1. My partner visited the Apple store on May 12th after speaking with an Apple Support team who said the battery replacement could be done by the 15th. 
2. The replacement was not done by the 16th so my partner called Apple Support to get the status update and ask if he can get his Macbook without the repair because he was supposed to travel outside of the country on the 20th. The Apple Support team said that even if we were to cancel the repair, the product will get to us around the same time. We did not cancel the repair. 
3. On the 18th, Macbook was delivered to us, but when we opened up the device and saw the repair receipt, we realized that it was somebody else's (someone from CA who started the repair later than us). We contacted Apple Support again and they asked that we deliver this device to the closest Apple store near us. We traveled to the store to return the device on the same day. 
4. On the 19th, we received an email saying that the repair is complete and his Macbook was shipped on the 18th and that we will receive it within two days. When we clicked on the "repair status", it gave a completely different message saying that they're still working on the repair. 
5. On the 20th, my partner left the US for work, and it was confirmed that we would need to deliver the product internationally once it arrives at our Madison address. 
6. We called Apple Support several times, trying to locate where his Macbook even was and explaining each time why the message that they see ("item has been shipped") is wrong (because it was someone else's Macbook that we got). Who knows if it went to the person in CA or is still under repair?
7. I called again today to locate the Macbook and ask if I could get the reimbursement for shipping. They said they cannot do that, saying that they cannot guarantee the estimated time for the repair and that some people who had visited the store in April still did not get theirs yet (which I'm not sure how it justifies the delay). They suggested that they will be getting the Macbook soon for me to pick up from the Apple store. If everything proceeded without an error, it would have been delivered to our address, and it's absurd to me why I need to travel all the way to the Apple store to pick up the device. 

I'm just not sure why we have to make so many travels to the Apple store to return someone else's laptop and get the correct one. Additionally, there have been so many over-promises and product swapping that caused the delay in repair, and I would really appreciate it if Apple could reimburse for the cost we have to pay for the international shipping.