My suggestion is to take it to the blogosphere. Send your story to Daring Fireball, TUAW, Egadget and Gizmodo. I think it's amusing enough that it might just get some traction. The media seems to be allow over Apple's App Store follies, that a story about their brick and mortar stores as well as support structure will give a relevant comparison to how the company is getting even more monolithic and affecting its customers even with the most simple requests.

DId you happen to ask them how much it would be for a repair job to replace that foot? Obviously they must carry the parts to be able to do that. Or, knowing Apple, they may want to replace the whole bottom half of the enclosure which will run you some $300-800. That would add some additional back-story that may be relevant to a green angle and wasted materials.

BTW, I'm dead serious about this.