Steve Jobs loves his customers: Apple to give $100 back to early iPhone adopters
In what can only be described as ridiculously awesome customers service, Steve Jobs plans to give $100 back to early iPhone adopters. Details are to be revealed next week.
Jobs let his hardcore customers know just how important they are to Apple in an open letter posted on Apple’s website. The letter states that Apple believes it did the right thing in dropping the price of the iPhone and that more iPhone customers benefits not only Apple but also other iPhone customers.
The Apple CEO also describes life in the Technology lane as uncertain because you never know when the next better and/or cheaper product is bound to hit stores. "If you always wait for the next price cut or to buy the new improved model," says the Jobs, "you’ll never buy any technology product because there is always something better and less expensive on the horizon."
Apologizing for dropping the price so early, Apple will give $100 in store credit to early iPhone adopters. It is uncertain if this will include everyone who bought an iPhone before the price drop or only very, very early adopters. Apple will issue an update on the situation next week, but, for now, here’s the letter in its entirety:
To all iPhone customers:
I have received hundreds of emails from iPhone customers who are upset about Apple dropping the price of iPhone by $200 two months after it went on sale. After reading every one of these emails, I have some observations and conclusions.
First, I am sure that we are making the correct decision to lower the price of the 8GB iPhone from $599 to $399, and that now is the right time to do it. iPhone is a breakthrough product, and we have the chance to ‘go for it’ this holiday season. iPhone is so far ahead of the competition, and now it will be affordable by even more customers. It benefits both Apple and every iPhone user to get as many new customers as possible in the iPhone ‘tent’. We strongly believe the $399 price will help us do just that this holiday season.
Second, being in technology for 30+ years I can attest to the fact that the technology road is bumpy. There is always change and improvement, and there is always someone who bought a product before a particular cutoff date and misses the new price or the new operating system or the new whatever. This is life in the technology lane. If you always wait for the next price cut or to buy the new improved model, you’ll never buy any technology product because there is always something better and less expensive on the horizon. The good news is that if you buy products from companies that support them well, like Apple tries to do, you will receive years of useful and satisfying service from them even as newer models are introduced.
Third, even though we are making the right decision to lower the price of 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. Our early customers trusted us, and we must live up to that trust with our actions in moments like these.
Therefore, we have decided to offer every iPhone customer who purchased an iPhone from either Apple or AT&T, and who is not receiving a rebate or any other consideration, a $100 store credit towards the purchase of any product at an Apple Retail Store or the Apple Online Store. Details are still being worked out and will be posted on Apple’s website next week. Stay tuned.
We want to do the right thing for our valued iPhone customers. We apologize for disappointing some of you, and we are doing our best to live up to your high expectations of Apple.
Steve Jobs
Apple CEO
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September 12th, 2007
Disclaimer:
The use of the pronoun “you “in the following comment is meant to reference Apple cultists in general, not the author of this blog entry in particular.
Let’s recap:
You stood in line for day(s), for a product that Steve Jobs knew was not in short supply, whipping IPhone buzz to a frenzy, and then praised him for having the “genius” to ensure it was readily available. This falls under the feed the monkey, watch him crap school of marketing. I was laughing my ass off at the hundreds of Ebay phones unable to draw bids. Many of these procured after paying people to stand in line for the auctioneers.
Now your Dark Master had the audacity to cut the price 60 days later, so it was more in line with the new Ipods. You are betrayed, even outraged that the company fueling a slice of your smug self image is really just *gasp* about the Benjamin’s. Holy turtleneck, what’s next, Disney running commercials telling kids their parents could afford the “magic”, if they really loved them.
Now you might get a $100 store credit. What excellent customer service. Poor Steve. It’s almost like the minions momentarily shrugged off the RDF. He didn’t see that coming. He’s no doubt wondering if Jim Jones had to put up with this crap. A good look at the true cost of this generosity:
http://iamnotfakesteve.com/100-apple-store-credit-the-calculations