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Since when is asking a company to fix a product that isn't working on day one "pouting"?

The way people are holding the phones in the demo videos is not exotic or weird. So, yeah, that can sound a bit like an excuse. It sounds even more like blaming the people who are seeing the problem. Maybe their hands just aren't good enough, right?

If an piece of electronics needs a case that insulates a part from contact to the user, then leaving that off is incomplete packaging. Simple as that. If the issue is coming from a bad batch of phones or design flaw that is leading to the failure or under-performance of some mechanism designed to deal with that contact to the user, then those hit by this deserve their choice of a new phone that isn't from that batch or, at the very least, a free case.

The first Android phone I had would reboot every few minutes while being used, I tried the full reinstall that the technician recommended, but when I walked back in and said it hadn't worked, he didn't blame me. He handed me a new phone (no problems since). No one expects perfection in new hardware rollouts, but it is right to expect proper customer service. Since you asked me, I would suggest Apple fix it in software if that is possible, and/or start handing out free cases like candy.




> Since when is asking a company to fix a product that isn't working on day one "pouting"?

No. Speculatively suggesting Apple will not make good on this when they have a fairly good track record is pouting. If there is a serious problem noticed by lots of consumers, it's obvious that Apple will at the very least offer a case to those affected. Most people here have been repeat Apple customers because of reasonably good service over the years.

> The way people are holding the phones in the demo videos is not exotic or weird. So, yeah, that can sound a bit like an excuse. It sounds even more like blaming the people who are seeing the problem. Maybe their hands just aren't good enough, right?

Nice try, but I didn't do that. It takes a very specific (and I mean specific, I have to try multiple times to get it to happen, it's not casual finger contact) grip to do it. Short term: do not hold the phone that way. Is that acceptable as a long term fix? No.

My only point: The press is making it to sound like the phone "does not work" or "is unusable" and anyone who's saying that is as guilty of hyperbole as the people saying it is no problem at all. We can easily strike a balance here were we say the phone has a "idiosyncrasy" (or "flaw", take your pick of connotation) without implying that everyone who bought one is lying to themselves and every phone is a brick. I see the press, particularly the linked bbc story, skewing to the "this is a brick" end of the scale when that's false to any realistic examination.


Absolutely "this is a brick" is an exaggeration... good thing I didn't said that then, huh. And I don't remember suggesting that Apple won't make good, so your pouting charge is still misplaced and increasingly impolite. I questioned someone's, seemingly abject, willingness to take the hit for fixing it themselves rather than putting the responsibility where it actually belongs.

The electrical properties of skin can vary quite a bit. One person's specific and firm grip to get good contact is another person's sweaty handed casual touch. That still sounds like blaming the user that finds the problem to me. The guy in the key-test video mentioned that his company's half a dozen phones all behaved the same.

Is the press inflating things? They do for everything, so sure. Just how much is a guess till some stats come out on this thing. If and when we do get good numbers, this will make a good example case for the distortions introduced by internet media.


Addendum: Moving right along with the "will make it good" idea... http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1459629


Apple always does exactly what Steve Jobs says at any given moment. Exactly.


So having to go through the old "there is no problem", "a little problem that isn't our fault", "ok, maybe our fault but we admit nothing and nothing can be done", "ok here is a fix"... is that your idea of great customer service? Why not just cut to the chase and be responsible about it?

You asked me earlier what I suggested, and though you have consistently miss-characterized it, I answered in a way that I think would be a PR win for them. What would your suggestion be then? The old corporate song and dance?

Also, you can have the last word on this, if you wish. Since, although I'm pretty certain I've listened to you, I'm not at all certain you've listened to me in this exchange and that doesn't incline me to continue this communication. If I just wanted insults pushed at my general direction, I'd go spend some more time on reddit. Later.




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