The "key" to good (and fast) Macintosh service

Everybody loves a good Mac service mystery. I had one yesterday.
A new client stopped by the Millersville Mac Lab yesterday. He had been to the Apple Store, where our friends at Apple thought he needed a new Superdrive. It was not surprising to hear that, because when you rocked the machine back and forth the Superdrive made the craziest noise ever. It sounded like the drive had just fallen apart, and there was a part that had come unhinged inside the unit. The unit was only 2 weeks old, and the unit’s owner was in a hurry, so the Annapolis Apple Store sent him to us for a possible faster service option. (Thanks Annapolis Apple Store folks!)
He already had an Apple Service case number for the unit, and a new Superdrive was on the menu. We checked him in, and he left the shop. I gave the unit another shake to show a co-worker how crazy the unit sounded, and I saw a little corner of metal sticking out of the CD/DVD slot. I gently grabbed it with my trusty Leatherman pliers and removed a small key from the unit.
We tested the unit by playing a DVD, and it seemed to be fine, so we told the client to come pick it up. He made it back in about 20 minutes, and was amazed we had it figured out so quickly. He had no idea how the key found it’s way into his Superdrive. It was his key from a long time ago, so perhaps it was in the bottom of his laptop bag and it just randomly ended up inside. It could also be his 6-year old put the key into the unit.
No charge of course, and another happy Apple service customer.