Final Update:
Sorry for the late update everyone. Here's the conclusion..
After going to the walk in center on July 7th, and them saying my serial number does not match with the one they have, I had to e-mail the service rep again about the issue present. I spoke with the manager of the walk in center on the phone that day and he says that it's MS fault for screwing up their records and not the shop's fault. Even though they had a few Surfaces there at the time they were not allowed to give me one because it was against their policy.
As soon as I get home I send an e-mail to the service rep:
I called the walk in center to check if they had the replacement available. They did so I went in.
The replacement product's serial number was XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Under their records, my surface serial number was supposed to be XXXXXXXXXXXX
The serial number on mine is XXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Therefore I was not able to get the replacement. They told me to contact MS support. Please sort this out ASAP.
He sends me an e-mail saying this will be resolved within the next two business days:
This is Josh with Microsoft Global Escalation Services. I see that a new order was made under Service Request XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX. The replacement device should be available for pick up within the next 2 business days. I will check back with you on Saturday to confirm if you the replacement device is in acceptable condition.
I hope you have a good day!
Friday July 10th, I call the walk in center, but the rep there says it hasn't arrived and I should call back Monday. Oh well no biggie. A few hours later the store manager calls. He says my surface is there and I should come pick it up today. I tell him your rep said it wasn't there and that I have to wait until Monday for it to arrive. He says the device has arrived and has been signed off at 11AM.
WTF.
So I head over to the shop again.
Yup. You guessed it. Not there.
LOL.
So I tell the rep to call the manager and I speak with him on the phone. He now blames UPS saying they were supposed to bring it in but it was their fault for leaving mine out, and that I have to wait till Monday.
Monday July 13th arrives.
At this point I have pretty much lost all faith in MS service.
A call comes from the manager at the walk in center and assures me that the product is there for sure.
I go in.
It's there.
After careful visual inspection, I'm surprised to see that the refurb is finally flawless with not even a single scratch on it. I hand mind in after factory resetting it.
I've been using this Surface (5th one now) ever since with no issues yet.
This was the final e-mail:
This is Josh with Microsoft Global Escalation Services.Since you have confirmed that you have received your replacement Surface and everything is working as it should, I will be closing your Service Request at this time. As previously offered, I have extended your standard warranty an additional 3 months on top of the 1 year warranty that came with your replacement device.
Considering that the very first phone call to contact MS serivce was made on June 8th (SIX WEEKS AGO) you couldn't really say that this was an enjoyable nor satisfactory experience.
Was the final product received satisfactory to my standards? Yes.
How would I grade the overall experience? F-.
The End.