In a last-ditch attempt to pacify all those Apple iPhone loyalists who went from calling the gizmo a 'God phone' to a mere 'chump phone' -- crying foul over the unexpected $200 price cut announced by the company -- Apple CEO, Steve Jobs, reportedly said this in a letter posted on the company Web site: "Even though we are making the right decision to lower the price of the iPhone, and even though the technology road is bumpy, we need to do a better job taking care of our early iPhone customers, as we aggressively go after new ones with a lower price."
And while Jobs might have all the good intentions at heart, Apple has sure succeeded in angering several early buyers of it's iPhone by slashing prices from the original $599 to $399 just 2 months of the gizmo going to market. In a bid to do the 'right thing' for it's valued customers, Apple is now offering every iPhone customer -- who purchased an iPhone either from Apple or AT&T, and who is not getting any rebate or any other consideration -- a $100 store credit towards purchase of any product at an Apple Retail Store or the Apple Online Store. The details of which, Jobs said, are being worked out, and will be posted on Apple's Web site next week. In his letter, Jobs further said that change and improvement are a part of technology, and that there would always be someone who buys a product before a particular cut-off date, and misses the new price or the new operating system or the new whatever. He said the good news is when people buy products from companies that support them well, Apple being a case-in-point. All said, reams get written daily about how the consumer is king, and so on, and so forth. But can we mention one clear instance of a consumer having been taken seriously enough? Not really! Think India, and you get the picture -- customers being taken for granted royally... Forget price drops and taking blame for those who got left out of it, vendors don't even take credit/blame for faulty products/services... So where does that leave us? Maybe only an Apple Computer can help make it all look like a little more than lip service...
And while Jobs might have all the good intentions at heart, Apple has sure succeeded in angering several early buyers of it's iPhone by slashing prices from the original $599 to $399 just 2 months of the gizmo going to market. In a bid to do the 'right thing' for it's valued customers, Apple is now offering every iPhone customer -- who purchased an iPhone either from Apple or AT&T, and who is not getting any rebate or any other consideration -- a $100 store credit towards purchase of any product at an Apple Retail Store or the Apple Online Store. The details of which, Jobs said, are being worked out, and will be posted on Apple's Web site next week. In his letter, Jobs further said that change and improvement are a part of technology, and that there would always be someone who buys a product before a particular cut-off date, and misses the new price or the new operating system or the new whatever. He said the good news is when people buy products from companies that support them well, Apple being a case-in-point. All said, reams get written daily about how the consumer is king, and so on, and so forth. But can we mention one clear instance of a consumer having been taken seriously enough? Not really! Think India, and you get the picture -- customers being taken for granted royally... Forget price drops and taking blame for those who got left out of it, vendors don't even take credit/blame for faulty products/services... So where does that leave us? Maybe only an Apple Computer can help make it all look like a little more than lip service...
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