I use this blog to point out that the shine on the Apple is starting to fade. Tarnish is showing in many places. Why do I do this? Because I’m a heavy user of your products, and have been since my first Macintosh 128K I bought on March 1, 1984. I would really like to see a higher quality standard than what I’ve been seeing lately. Entropy is really setting in with your products. I know you can do better.
Countless times you guys screw up and fail to admit your mistakes. It can take weeks, months, and even years before enough irate customers force you to offer extended warranties (although you sometimes keep them hidden). Sometimes we just have to live with the pain. I’m not going to go through the litany of problems here. It would take too long. Readers can just browse your support forums to get a taste.
No company creating such complex products can be expected to be perfect. Sometimes perfection is a matter of opinion. All I expect of any company is that they admit they made a mistake, take ownership for it, correct it at their expense, and have the decency to offer an apology.
Is that too much to ask? Apparently it’s not enough for some folks.
For example, Canon documents a mistake they made with the manufacture of one of their camera bodies. What do they say?
“We offer our most sincere apologies to customers using these products who have been inconvenienced by this issue. Going forward, we will spare no effort in our quality management to make sure our customers can use our products with confidence. We hope our efforts will earn your understanding.”
Good grief, have you guys at Apple ever said that?
Canon goes on to say how they will fix the problems. Yet, this is still not enough for some influential people.
Take this Twitter posting by Scott (No last name or links so as not to embarrass him).
Canon really needs to get its act together – http://bit.ly/14u9qm – these sorts of problems on expensive pro bodies are inexcusable
Inexcusable? Really? Disappointing, sure. But you guys make pro equipment too. Heck, even your consumer gear comes at a premium.
So, I replied to Scott with my take on this:
“@Scottxxxxxx I wish Apple would provide such detailed problem analysis and say “We offer our most sincere apologies” when they screw up.”
He sends me a direct message of, “not relevant”. I wonder why he didn’t make that remark public.
OK, so Mr. Scott is well known to be an Apple fanboy. Just try and point out oversights, deficiencies, or problems with Apple products and see his reaction. Go ahead, I dare you.
He called people “haters” because they dared to be unimpressed with your iPhone OS 3.0 inclusion of Cut, Copy and Paste and other features long available on other smart phones, dumb phones, and your other products.
Unfortunately, I think he’s the kind of person you listen to. You bask in his praises, love to hear him defend you by childishly calling your customers names or dismissing their concerns with a wave of his hand — and then you go off with your sound-isolating earbuds firmly inserted listening to overpriced iTunes tracks to drown out the anguished cries of your customers.
Fanboys are a negative influence for any company. Unfortunately, you seem to be listening to them. Please stop. Just stop.
I wish you would learn from this example of customer service from Canon.
