Long Delay with iPhone Express Replacement and no one follows up

I submitted an iPhone Express Replacement request on September 30th, and Apple assured me that “Your replacement product will be shipped to you soon.”

However, 14 days later, I contacted Apple Customer Service, only to be told that no one knows when the replacement will ship because they don’t have stock available. When I asked to escalate the issue, I was informed that “No one at Apple can do anything about this case.”

This feels like a serious failure on Apple’s part. Apple re-invented "EXPRESS". They’ve charged me for AppleCare+ in advance, but now seem unable to fulfill the service that was promised.

What can I do in this situation? It’s incredibly frustrating to see Apple’s service drop to this level.

Apple asked me to turn off ‘Find My’ on my iPhone as part of the replacement process. If I lose my phone during this long wait, it would be an absurd situation, leaving me vulnerable and feeling like the punchline of a bad joke.