Strange. I had an issue with a battery for my MacBook Pro 15.4, brought it in to the Genius bar, and within five minutes had a new one, free and installed.
Was your Macbook still under warranty? Did you have an extended warranty? More information please.
In all fairness, he (?)’s talkng about a future Mac with a battery that doesn’t pop out like the ones we have now, but is integrated in the machine like an IPod.