Apple has experienced a number of troubles with the launch of the iPhone 4, including severe reception issues and a controversial email conversation that may or may not have occurred between Steve Jobs and a disgruntled customer, but is the company truly in need of crisis management? In a post on his blog, Conduit for Young Communicators, Adam Coulter gave his answer:
I would venture to say that this is indeed a crisis for Apple. The poor reception and dropped call problem is untimely (no time is good for a crisis quite frankly) but it could have been predicted. Design flaws happen, it’s not unheard of – that’s why a specific crisis communication plan should be in place beforehand. Also, and more importantly, stakeholders (e.g. consumers who bought the phone, stockholders, vendors etc.) have been harmed and Apple’s reputation has certainly been damaged. Apple now has to spend time, money and energy on issues (such as a lawsuit) that it normally would not have to during a time of normal organizational narrative and business – this signals a crisis.
But what really has stoked the fire, and is even more unforgivable and damaging in terms of reputation, has been Apple’s dismal initial and continuing response to the firestorm.
While users have almost come to expect mechanical issues with brand new technology, their tolerance for poor customer service and holier than thou attitudes is at an all time low. By offering glib answers and shoving their design problems off on the consumers, Apple most definitely hurt its reputation.
The BCM Blogging Team
https://www.bernsteincrisismanagement.com/