What if Apple understood customer service?
Late last year, I had a conversation with a long-time owner of Apple computers. I’m a short-time owner of Apple computers (from 2001). The two of us concluded that Apple continues to succeed in spite of itself. Apple owners are loyal and fiercely protective. They evangelize for Apple and the company repays them with shabby treatment. “Can you imagine how well Apple would be doing,” the long-time owner of Apple computers wrote to me, “if only Apple would treat its customers well!” What an interesting thought. A case can be made that few high-tech hardware or software companies treat their customers well, but Apple seems to be particularly likely to do what seems best for the company in the short term without regard for long-term results and with little regard for the customer.
