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For a CEO, it doesn't matter just weither or not you apologize for a mistake, but what mistakes you apologize for, and what mistakes you simply correct but do n
by gfodor 14y ago
For a CEO, it doesn't matter just weither or not you apologize for a mistake, but what mistakes you apologize for, and what mistakes you simply correct but do not openly apologize for.
Jobs had a tendency to do the latter. He would rarely admit Apple's mistakes verbally, but would correct the problem as swiftly as possible. This strategy (obviously) worked pretty well for Apple's bottom line, and it's hard to argue that it upset many customers.
Now, I don't have access to the information Apple does, but for this particular situation it seemed much less important that Apple make a apology vs. just improving the product rapidly. You apologize when people feel wronged, slighted, cheated, or otherwise emotionally distraught by your actions.
In this case, there are issues with Maps. But when Maps leads you to the wrong destination, do you feel emotionally hurt by Apple? In my experience, no, you realize the computer messed up and you look at the map and correct it. There's a certain level of tolerance people can have for this type of error they cannot have, for example, when their phones cannot get reception or drop calls due to the antenna.
Beyond this, this is a problem that can be rapidly fixed if Apple dedicated a massive amount of resources to it. As people use Maps, there is a ton of data being collected and lots of low hanging fruit being revealed. The first several months after launch will surely shake most of the major issues out.
Also, I'm absolutely stunned Cook would refer people to other apps (of their competitors!) instead. This is really a punch to the gut for shareholders (disclosure: which I am not) as it looks like they are admitting defeat and willing to concede mindshare for mapping applications.
A much better approach to solving this would be to acknowledge the problem, less apologetically, but more importantly, become transparent with the rate at which issues are being fixed. Publish some metrics that show how hard Apple is working on things being fixed. Push an update to the app that highlights these improvements. Make people realize Apple is putting all of its energy into addressing the problem, and that progress is being made each day.
Or, do what Jobs did, and just deflect criticism while the engineers fix the problems for a few weeks. Eventually everyone will forget about it, Maps will be the best mapping experience on iOS, and it will become a distant memory.
Knowing when to take these paths is important and IMHO it is not a good sign that Cook went down this road for this particular issue.
- kristiandupont 14y agoI agree with what you say, except for wrong directions being a minor issue. A very typical use case for me is meeting somebody at a place I haven't been before. I've frequently trusted Google maps to take me there and it has never sent me to the wrong place. Sometimes it doesn't know the place I am looking for which is acceptable but the thought of ending up in a completely different location, with people waiting for me, seems like a much bigger problem than bad reception. I would not just shrug and correct the wrong information, I would be furious. And the derived problem from this is given the knowledge that there are some problems, I would never trust Apple maps unless I know where I am going anyway.
- gfodor 14y agoI agree its a real problem. I don't think it's a minor issue, but it has some attributes that reduce its severity with regards to choosing an appropriate public response by Apple: - It's likely rare. Either people catch the mistake early (as you mentioned) or the algorithm actually works. - It's correctable. Sometimes you can eyeball the map, sometimes you can see how it messed up and work around it. Sometimes you know better and "override" it by driving the way that you know. Ultimately you can ask someone or pull up google. - It's unclear where you direct your anger to. When your phone drops calls, you blame AT&T. If it's the hardware, you blame Apple. If there is an error in the map, who do you blame? Us techie's realize the details, but do most people know who authored the maps? If people understood it was Google before they might still think it's Google's fault now. If the algorithm gives you the wrong directions, do you blame apple or the "stupid computer"? It seems like there is less of an emotional anger towards Apple, the company, when this error occurs (excluding those of us who understand the intricacies of what parties are involved for what types of error.) A big dynamic here is that people were used to a certain level of quality from Google. Did they know it was Google? Do they know who is to blame for the step backwards? I'm certainly curious what specifics prompted this response. Cook has never been in charge before and speaking from experience it's always incredibly tempting to want to make a public statement and backtrack when the mob is yelling at your door, but despite common advice it's not always the right decision for the company.
- 14y ago