Apologies in a Crisis and Other Lessons from Apple

@SEOtherapy Thanks very much for the RT Linda!

...and now the universe sends us a new case study: http://www.thewrap.com/media/article/kitchenaid-redfaced-after-slamming-obama-s-grandmother-during-debate-seriously-59181

I think the apology portion is good...the fact that she gave her real name and took full responsibility is the right thing to do (although it wasn't immediate).  However, the incident itself might be pointing to a less than ideal hiring and training process...

@jkcallas Thanks for sharing, Jure. @ginidietrich Good post: how Apple can put customer service on the map when it tries.

I found the apology amusing and actually sad. Instead of being honest and saying 'We block google maps because they are our big competitor in phones, so you have to settle for our crappy knock off version which will get better or use the web versions of map quest or bing maps because apple users don't deserve to have the choice to use what is best on your phone. Thank you for your money.

@NancyIannone @ginidietrich Thank you, ladies. Much appreciated. Nancy, it's good to hear from you!

@Frank_Strong @ginidietrich As it happens, I wrote about the same subject this morning, for @FastCompany - http://t.co/A6imq2rc

Gini, I am really sorry for the comment I am about to make. 

Janine got a new IPhone from here employer a few weeks ago (4, I think) and she went to an Apple Store to have them transfer her contacts from here Blackberry (first mistake). They refused to help her. Only in Canada, huh? She went to her service provider's local retailer and they did the transfer for her so no big deal but the way she was treated at Apple was weird. No apology there, Just, we can't help you. Next customer please, Clowns.

Anyway, apologizing for your mistakes show integrity. Plain and simple. If you refuse to admit an error and don't have time to offer a fix then there is no way I would want to do business with you. So, kudos to Tim Cooke. Guess we just got a rotten one out of the bunch. Ha.

Hey Gini, short story on Steve Jobs (since several are saying what a people person he wasn't)

Back in 1983 when living at Lake Tahoe and just starting out as a commissioned stock broker my wife took a few jobs as a baby-sitter.  She baby-sat for Woz's and Steve's kids a few times when they came up to Tahoe for a weekend.

She liked Woz okay but when I asked if Steve was nice she just sort of shrugged and matter-of-factly said "no." I think he did learn a few things along the way. But, he WAS pretty much Steve Jobs to the end. Too bad she didn't get paid with stock ;-)

I also think Phil Schiller (Apple CMO) owes his shareholders an apology as well... I mean who doesn't respond to an unsolicited email from someone ready to hand deliver their next big marketing campaign. Some people...

@TaraGeissinger I <3 Apple, too!

Keep in mind that Tim Cook didn't say Apple made a mistake with Maps, because they didn't.

As has been pointed out, the data set in a map app is so huge it's impossible to debug on the development side. Apple NEEDS users to report issues in their localities. Google Maps had the exact same issues when it was launched.

And neither did Cook tell users to use other apps -- he suggested that if you're really unhappy with Apple's Maps right now that you try something else that might make you happier.

Funny how simply saying you're sorry and recommending common sense can make people happier, regardless of the situation.

This post reminds me of a woman who wrote a commentary piece for my local paper a few years ago, about medical mistakes and the power of apology. She had almost died due to a surgeon's error, and the surgeon (disobeying orders from a liability-averse hospital administrator) visited her to apologize as soon as she was conscious. He explained that he'd been ordered not to apologize because it would be admitting fault and creating liability, but that he felt he couldn't let her lay in the hospital bed recovering and wondering if the surgeon even felt any compunction for his mistake. The patient forgave the surgeon, didn't sue, and used her own story to illustrate that apologies are a powerful part of the healing process.

The analogy here: A bad map isn't likely to kill you, but it does reach out of your gadget into your life and really ruin your day. It's "breaking the fourth wall," so to speak. People expect not to be perfectly happy with their smart devices at all times, but they also expect that the inevitable issues be limited to issues within the device. It's a rare and massive gadget problem that actually messes up your real life by failing to perform as expected. Cook owed Apple customers an apology because the problem had overstepped the ordinary, forgivable bounds of a tech bug, and gone so far as to leave iPhone users lost in real life. Like the surgeon who couldn't make such a big mistake and let his patient just wonder if he even knew he'd almost killed her, Cook couldn't let customers wonder if Apple cared that it had broken into their real lives and gotten them lost.

There are very few proven methods of wreaking havoc and the refusal to apologize ranks right up there.

Apple Warranty Ads Should Be Examined in EU, Reding Says http://t.co/19q6Cu5x cc @ginidietrich

@ginidietrich the battery was diagnosed dead by Apple Care, they still tested. I was told I had only20'. They cld not look at software issue

@ginidietrich Funnily enough I was at Apple store, that side of the pound, on Sunday at a Genius Bar appt for my daughter's laptop battery.

I think the apology has almost completely defused the situation.  As a hardcore Apple fangirl, I actually GOT LOST over the weekend because of the "map debacle" of 2012.  This is also a lesson in how forgiving your passionate fans can be, even if you fall flat on your face, as long as you show empathy.

Never drop the 'but' in there or you might as well not say it........

Apology accepted but the iOS 6 maps was really sub-standard........I mean really? Apple? C'mon man............

Oh well, we can't all be perfect like you, huh? You set the standard...........:)

Wait, I can't continue reading- Mr. D got a 5?!? Wowzer! Has he been iMessaging constantly? Did he also get a calculator, or is he still on the abacus?