Learn from Apple's mistakes

I'm currently in the USA and on a variety of internet connections - some unreliable, some fleeting, some just frustrating (not their fault, me expecting too much and used to a 20gb connection). Hence the lack of blogging! I need to get something off my chest so bear with me. I promise to follow this up with something arty or watery. :)

As usual I've been keeping up with Chris Brogan's blog as best possible and it always has me thinking about what my customers might want, expect or just like. What makes them happy? What would make me happy? How can I take what other companies are doing for me and apply that to my business?




And flash to the Apple Store. Any Apple store.

Apple has disappointed me on several fronts in the last month. I'm a long-time Apple customer, all of my computers have always been Apple laptops (bar one Mac desktop, and one Dell desktop funded by Open University). "Only" 15 years or so, which in the Apple community definitely isn't on the top end of longtime users.


1. Apple underprovided on hardware.
I have always given them the benefit of the doubt, or at least a bit. If Macs ship with a bit less than a PC I shrug it off - after all the cost might be higher and the machine is superior anyway. Often I didn't need the extra because of the nature of the Mac OS. Two things, however, seemed too close to the mark on the MacBooks when they first arrived. (the machine I have)

First, the hard drive on the basic machine. 80Gb. Seriously? When low-end PCs ship with more space? Perhaps financial, the drives would up the price too much. Ok. I'll live with it.

Second, no DVD writer. Again, seriously? When, again, low-end PCs ship with one? Nevermind, I never burn DVDs anyway.

Except... I found a tutorial on how to swap out a hard drive on the MacBook. With my machine out of warranty I felt there was little risk (I could always put the old one back in). So for less than £75 I bought a 320Gb hard drive and external usb casing. Let me repeat that: less than £75.

Suddenly my view of Apple's provision is very very different. It took me about 10 minutes to do the swap (not including time to clone my drive using Disk Utility). Hey Apple, guess what? I'm already opting for a more expensive premium product! In fact, pondering the situation I realised I would have happily paid an extra £100 for a larger hard drive that they should be able to purchase for far less at wholesale than I did.

Lesson: identify your customer and if they're are happy to pay more to get more then give it to them. Yes, I'm on a budget but if I were truly a budget customer I wouldn't be buying a MacBook. (this applies to any business, and applies even to my own artwork)

2. Apple is providing hardware unsuited to its use.

I'm a laptop user. Always have been. I beat up my machines. One of my main praises of Apple though has always been that I almost never have broken one beyond use. In 15 years of Macs that's pretty impressive. I've never had cases for them, or sleeves. They get thrown around, dropped, and flung onto surfaces. They get dirty and, I admit, have had their fair share of liquids. Since 1995 I've had one single laptop go in for a repair, and in that case it was entirely my fault and involved an entire pitcher of water. (oops)

Until the MacBook.

My keyboard casing has cracked around the edges 3 times (to be fair, they have replaced it every time and now I'm told always will - but this shouldn't be necessary). My DVD slot drive has failed. My hard drive has failed and I suspect the replacement (that I swapped out myself for the 320Gb one) would have too because it started clicking. The hard drive and plastics were/are known issues. (which itself is unacceptable)

But let me consider the DVD slot drive. Many won't agree with me but I think the nature of the slot drive is completely unsuitable for primary machines (companies can no longer consider laptops to be secondary machines) that are, by their nature, picked up and moved around a lot. Often by the area of the machine that encases the slot drive - causing it to be physically "squooshed" often.

I don't use my slot often - in fact when it failed I only realised because I wanted to insert my system disks. It was probably last used months earlier. So here's my dilemma: I want to upgrade my OS. Even the Genius Bar guy said I could just get an external for about £35 since I don't use it often. Fair enough. But it's a laptop. It goes back and forth to work daily, across London at least weekly, across the UK about quarter, overseas yearly. And that's nothing compared to many business people. I take it to fairs and galleries. Why should I have to carry external equipment just in case I need it to view one disk? Here in Chicago I was going to buy some games and the new OS, but there's no point since I can't install them. In fact they've probably lost a few good impulse buys, I won't buy some of the software back in the UK. (The main reason now for wanting 10.5.6 is for the new Harry Potter game!)

The lesson? Why aren't the components made and tested to suit their purpose? Computers aren't treated delicately anymore, but more importantly these problems didn't happen for me with any previous machines which makes me suspect only the latest components. Are you having really hardcore users test these things? Don't worry that we won't upgrade if they last so long, we premium customers (remember Lesson 1 up there?) upgrade anyway. (Artists: are your items suitable for their use? Do you make sure you use quality materials? Will you guarantee at all? Do you prepare and pack appropriately?)

Which leads me to...
3. Inconsistent pricing, and undercutting.

Finally, in the Apple store on Michigan Avenue I picked up OS 10.5.6 and the Harry Potter game. Had 'em in my grubby little hands. A birthday present for myself.

Went downstairs. Looked at the prices on Amazon (because I might be impulsive but I'm not stupid) - both cheaper than the Apple store. Compared the US$ prices to the UK prices - the OS is the same price on Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.com. That was very strange. You see, the .co.uk will already include the 15% VAT tax in the price. The .com will add on sales tax at checkout. So essentially the UK price is cheaper. Plus both are much cheaper (at least 15%) than the Apple Store where I gone out of my way to visit specially.

Thanks Apple. Now, maybe you think it's good that you let online venues undercut you? Okay. But how are you tempting me with new goodies in the store if I don't have to go to the store? I will fully admit that every Apple purchase I've made in the last 2 years was based on visiting stores in London or the Chicago area and playing with goodies that I really didn't actually need. So you *want* me to go to the store for hands-on experience of your product. Yet you're punishing me for doing so and dissuading me from buying on the spot.

Lesson here: In this internet age give me a reward for coming to you. You know I can buy online much more easily, so give me a reason to buy more when I visit you directly. At the very least don't slap me in the face by charging me more. (Artists, you can figure this one out. Think of your galleries, your open studios, any exhibitions you invite people to. This isn't just financial - think of other benefits you can offer.)

Here's where I end on a positive note!
I've not lost anything in my harddrive failure. With Macbooks I'm still able to change some hardware myself, so a £75 hard drive upgrade is a great thing. I can get free Genius bar advice and assessments even out of warranty (though this appears to be a UK service, US folk have told me it costs something here). I've never found a PC that can get set-up to go online as quickly and easily as any Mac can. In the end the Mac is still fantastically stable and that's what I'm paying for. I couldn't live without mac.com (me.com). If need be, I have XP I can run on it (which I had on the machine, never touched it for about a year so finally reclaimed the partitioned harddrive space). Apple employees give good, impartial advice and in my case at least even advise against expensive repairs if there's a more appropriate option.

Will I still recommend Macs? A qualified yes. (I would never recommend someone buy something out of their price range if they only have needs that a cheap PC and Open Office will meet.) But am I still in love? I'm not sure. Oh, go on. I am. Love is blind.


(Happy Mac by by Jonathan Urch, thanks! Used under Creative Commons license, click here to see his photos.)