The Poison Apple?

Apple has led the way in innovation, producing revolutionary products such as the i-Pod (released in 2001), the I-Phone (released in 2007), and more recently the i-Pad (released in 2010). Millions of units of each product have been sold and Apple has largely received positive reviews for ingeniously identifying, and satisfying, consumer demand for a product that ensures that a specific facet of people's life is better. easier, more enjoyable. In the process, the slick Apple marketing machine has made certain that the winsome products are ones which others must see you with. Underneath a blanket of 'wholesome-as-apple-pie' smiles though, there lies a supercilious attitude withiin Apple's senior management. It is a foolhardy attitude that their products are so superior, that any fault which these products (particularly the I-Phone) produces is to blamed on the customer, not the producer. Be wary of trying to get your 'i-item' repaired. The biggest adjustment will be to your bank balance.

An I-phone owner who used to jokingly refer to her mobile as 'god-in-a-rectangle' became dissatisfied with her I-phone when she noticed that her I-Phone "Home button" was beginning to respond erratically. It began to take four or five clicks to return to the home screen. "I went to the Apple Store at my local mall and told them about the problem. The store clerk said he could send it back to the supplier who could replace it for me. The catch 22 was I would have to pay $400 if I wanted to choose this option." As a cheaper alternative, this customer was advised to take the I-phone to an electronics repair shop, which she did, hoping that a change of stores would bring about a better response. It was to no avail. "The store said it would cost $45 just to send my I-Phone off to get repaired. On top of that were the actual repair costs themselves, which the shop owner estimated would cost anywhere from $60-$180. This, in effect, could be added to the original price of the phone. I realised I was being asked to pay about $100 to repair a relatively new phone." Outraged, and unconvinced the customer quipped, "I shouldn't have to be paying to fix a product which Apple knew was going to endure a lot of wear and tear." Don't assume in today's consumer marketing era Apple is going to show this customer (or the thousands of other customers who had endured similar technical faults with their I-Phones) any sort of sympathy.

Mass product recalls have never been uncommon and are frequently done if enough customers compain. Toddler tool made by Little Tykes had a mass recall "because of choking concerns." http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/44698187/ns/business-consumer_news/t/big-recall-little-tikes-play-tool-sets/#.T4lR_FGO13U
Toyota had flushed pink with embarrassment in 2008 and recalled 2.3 million of its cars that were at risk of randomly accelerating unmanned. http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/RunawayToyotas/runaway-toyotas-problem-persists-recall/story?id=9618735#.T4lXYFGO13U
Apple's record for product recalls is far from impressive. It's pathetic at best. Thousands of customers, in vain, complained about the defective 1st generation i-Pod nano which completely burnt out and ceased to function properly, only to be told that they could not be reimbursed. It took five years before did Apple. eventually, admit there was the chance the Nanos could "overheat and possibly even catch on fire." But in their typical smug, supercilious fashion Apple were not willing to replace all of the first generation Nanos, only "those whose serial numbers match the units with defective batteries."

Apple (and Steve Jobs) honed a reputation for providing products that were focussed on the consumer. Is Apple really that consumer focused? No. Their products are not built to last and the Board of Directors are well aware of that. A short term push to increase profits and boost fat pay packages far exceeds any concerns about technical faults that a consumer might encounter. It's about time these frustrated I-Phone users started writing formal complaint letters to Apple. Abandoning consumption of their products won't persuade the Big Apples of Apple to change. I-Phones must be built to last because in today's technology driven age, the wear and tear of these products will be high, and customers have to trust the mobile phone purchase they have made is a good investment, not one where they have to dump and jump (to another brand) after the phone starts acting up after a measly 24 months of use. If you are still unconvinced this is just a rarity, have a skim read through the 23 pages of complaints about the same Home button problem on the Apple website. (https://discussions.apple.com/thread/3022587?start=0&tstart=0)

Apple has some serious problems to address. It is only when the crown gets knocked off their head will they begin to realize, ultimately their customers are the people they should be listening to more than anything else in the orchard. And, rather than building cheap, crummy products, they should make efforts to invest in producing higher-quality, 'built to last' "i" products. Don't protest against them silently, let your voice be heard. Sooner or later, in doing this, the poisoned Apple will be discovered.