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Analysts predict nearly 5 million iPhone sales this quarter, and the Wall St Journal reports that the iPhone Apps Store averages a million dollars a day in sales. But the damn things don’t seem to be working for a lot of people, droves of whom as reporting iPhone 3G connectivity problems, dropped calls, and blue screens of death (hey, i thought that was a WIndows thing?) For example:
Twitter
Google Trends
Google News
Chris Pirillo and others on YouTube
And what has Apple said to its customers? Nothing. Nada. Silence is deafening. That’s long been Apple’s way of responding to information requests, and this time, I think it’s going to bite them.
Steve Jobs doesn’t do interviews, neither do his lieutenants, much to the consternation of just about every tech writer on the planet. Apple products are generally great, but silence when a product isn’t great has cost other companies dearly in the past and Apple is not exempt.
Ask Dell. Ask Kryptonite.
Even giants of American industry have been humbled by the power of customer-driven media. Yet Apple has always gotten a pass. It’s always been because the products are great. But teaming up with AT&T may have been a big mistake. I know I’m not alone in waiting until AT&T isn’t my only choice of carrier. Partnering with AT&T means Apple, for the first time, can’t call all of its own shots. Google cell phone anyone?
Dear Apple: We’re not sales stats waiting to be marketed to. Resisting the voice of the customer is futile. We’re already talking about you. We’ll keep doing that whether or not you respond. We’ll cost you money. Just wait and see.
But if you do respond, you have the opportunity to surprise and perhaps even delight customers who might otherwise never have bought from you again.