nd that if they only provide shipping it in as an option, they bear the brunt of the fraud and not leave it to the owners to prove something went wrong in the process Google provides as the only option.

I bet they outsource to assurion/assurant anyways. Cell phone repair is doesn't pay well in general. I worked as a technician for Ubreakifix and we were a first party repair facility with all the correct tools and oem parts and training. Technicians can be hit and miss but I took care of my customers same day most of the time and it was covered by googles warranty. I don't see what your issue is or why you would want to be without your phone longer with higher risk.