PC Mag’s Lead Analyst for mobile, Sascha Segan, called out Apple (and AT&T, Delta, and corporations in general) in a piece today for their lack of communication with consumers, and has succinctly outlined what most of us have probably felt for some time: it’s time to open up.
Be it App store rejections, billing errors, or any other flaw, people are more likely to forgive if they are treated to even the slightest bit of insight. To quote the column, “It’s amazing how forgiving consumers can be when companies treat them like grown-ups.”
If you’re looking for something to read, this ones worth your time.
This is a problem I’ve had, as an Apple customer, for years.
It would be one thing if they only stayed quiet on their technical issues. However, that’s not what they do. They take a proactive approach, and actually try to silence consumers who are trying to work through their technical issues.
Last year I had an issue with my Macbook. It couldn’t hold a wireless connection (this was actually broken by an “update”). Naturally, being the idiot I am, I assumed the first place to look for a solution would be Apple’s support forums. Little did I know, Apple actively moderates the “knowledge base”, and actually deletes threads that point out issues that Apple can’t solve. Apple didn’t have a solution for my problem, and they didn’t even want me, or anyone else, to even discuss the issue.
At that point, the bloom was off the rose for me. I can’t deal with a company that actively tries to thwart its user’s ability to troubleshoot technical issues. Needless to say, I’m typing this on a PC. My Mac love only went so far.
I think transparency is an issue many companies are trying to tackle these days. It’s not an easy pill to swallow. It’s hard to admit when you’re wrong and say you screwed up. But I agree with Sacsha, it’s really refreshing when you get a straight answer. Do I actively seek this type of response like he did? No, but I wouldn’t be opposed to it, if for no other reason than it may give me piece of mind. Cheers to the companies who are going this route.
How can Sascha Segan call out Apple! What did Apple do. I think this bad pub may be Microsoft generated or something.
Sascha Segan is a great guy; he knows what he is talking about.