Bah!
[4 fireman sam] Oh sam, you don't really believe a warranty works the same way your car insurance does, do you? That Dell assess the risk and price the service accordingly based on customer calls?
For starters, Dell doesn't provide the "onsite" service in metropolitan New York, Unisys does (or did, last time I used them). Dell's prices will be dictated by Unisys's bid, plus whatever markup Dell decided was reasonable (and their definition of "reasonable" would almost certainly differ radically from yours).
They also will sell you a service that specifically features *in-home* repair (and for which they charge more than their "carry-into-a-service-center-yourself" service contract), then tell you , when you inevitably wish to actually use the service for which you've paid, that you live outside the technician's service area (defined, as far as I can make out, by where said technician lives) and that you'll just have to carry the device into a service center anyway. They will if you live where I live, anyway, which is in Suffolk County, Long Island, New York.
Now I don't know about you, but this pretty much defines a canonical definition of the phrase "fraudulent practice" in my lexicon, and I have absolutely no problem in this instance with the A.G. using an issue that needs fixing as a springboard to the Sate Governor's mansion.
Not withstanding that for "most users" (your phrasing), laying hands on a screwdriver capable of undoing the screws without chewing them up (probably voiding the warranty you hold so dear) is no trivial matter. I have several sets of them, but Auntie May, if she possesses a screwdriver at all, is probably only going to have the ubiquitous slot type or a Phillips #2 if you're lucky. With which of these do you suggest she start dismantling her laptop?
Asking the customer to reseat the plug and power cable is a reasonable over-the-phone request. Undoing *any* fasteners and opening the case isn't.
Sorry, sam. I tag you with a big red "fail" sticker.