I'm looking at buying an iPad as a gift. The "Apple Expert" from the online store who invited me to email him with questions does not know the answer and is giving evasive and information empty responses.

The question I'm asking is - In the event warranty service is needed, what is the warranty service procedure if I buy the item from the NZ Apple online store?

A secondary question is - What is the warranty service procedure if I buy from NZ bricks and mortar?

A third question is - Apart from the additional cover provided by Apple Care does it change the warranty service procedure in either/or the first and second case.

Grateful for any responses.

[Edit: I'm also asking how I can ensure the recipient will be correctly known as the first owner for warranty purposes. I assume the receipt will be in my name which is not great if a service rep gets picky about it and I'm not available to see it through the process]