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Does anyone else absolutely love how open and brutally honest Steve Jobs is?

fru said:
He will still tell whoever mans his e-mail what the 'party line' is. He won't just let people make things up in his name.
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The party line (which is the same with all public companies) is "it's not our fault". Shareholders don't respond well to admissions of error.

The typical response from Apple's sjobs is typically sharp, occasionally witty, always press-worthy and unapologetic. Doesn't take a genius to write something Jobs-ish.
 
Steve Jobs has created this walled garden of power & control over his followers, and they follow like lemmings. Why they stop thinking for themselves & blindly worship him is quite amusing.
 
wirelessmacuser said:
Steve Jobs has created this walled garden of power & control over his followers, and they follow like lemmings. Why they stop thinking for themselves & blindly worship him is quite amusing.
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Are you seriously calling me an Apple lemming?

Even after reading this...

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/932594/

this...

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/855079/

and this...

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/873149/

After examining the links, I demand both a prompt retraction, and an admission that you are wholly and completely wrong, and why the hell not... a public apology to boot. :p

alee said:
The party line (which is the same with all public companies) is "it's not our fault". Shareholders don't respond well to admissions of error.

The typical response from Apple's sjobs is typically sharp, occasionally witty, always press-worthy and unapologetic. Doesn't take a genius to write something Jobs-ish.
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Come on, seriously. You don't think it was Steve Jobs who wrote that email?

If it wasn't Steve, whoever wrote that email in his name had some seriously massive balls.

A BS PR response would have been along the lines of "We're sorry for the issues you are having, we are looking into them and working on resolving them promptly. Thank you for taking the time to let us know"

It sure as hell wouldn't be along the lines of... You're using it wrong, and stop complaining, it's no big deal any ways.


The BS PR response tells you absolutely nothing about what the company is actually doing or how big or small they believe the issue to actually be. Atleast Steve's response tells us exactly how big an issue Apple saw it as being.
 
marksman said:
The world has warped into a place where people feel like because they pay money for something they can unreasonably demand things. For a while companies just rolled over, but more and more people continue to exploit this, things are changing and thus people who might have real issue or complaints might get a bit of a short shrift.

However we all have nobody to blame but ourselves. I appreciate Steve's honesty. People make complaints and protests about things always with their hand out, always trying to get something else.

Steve is a pretty straight shooter who has essentially looked death in the eye and already fallen out of the business world once. He has nothing to do lose and no reason to lie. I think he has a unique perspective and no time for spin doctoring as most might feel beholden to do.

The old adage that the customer is always right has been dead for quite a while now, as the customer is not always right and in a lot of cases is most often wrong.
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+1

I love his response. But I think the real problem here is the misinterpreted tone of his response, and something written can lose its tone especially in this case. I think what people think is smug and arrogant is actually sincere honesty from someone that isn't out to sugar coat his responses. And I think the fundamental difference between those who find it funny and refreshing and those who find it arrogant is a matter of sensitivity. Working in customer service has shown me that all too often the customer feels that they are somehow entitled to be treated like some sort of special and grand person while treating the Sales Associate trying to do their job to the best of their ability is somehow less of a human being because of their job. It's something many consumers probably don't even realize they're doing while they're are throwing a tantrum like a child.

But I have to echo what I have already quoted. The "customer is always right" mantra is outdated when these days people will become obnoxious just so they can get special treatment. They seem to forget that they are speaking to another human being, and what it means to respect that fact.
 
Sedin said:
+1

I love his response. But I think the real problem here is the misinterpreted tone of his response, and something written can lose its tone especially in this case. I think what people think is smug and arrogant is actually sincere honesty from someone that isn't out to sugar coat his responses. And I think the fundamental difference between those who find it funny and refreshing and those who find it arrogant is a matter of sensitivity. Working in customer service has shown me that all too often the customer feels that they are somehow entitled to be treated like some sort of special and grand person while treating the Sales Associate trying to do their job to the best of their ability is somehow less of a human being because of their job. It's something many consumers probably don't even realize they're doing while they're are throwing a tantrum like a child.

But I have to echo what I have already quoted. The "customer is always right" mantra is outdated when these days people will become obnoxious just so they can get special treatment. They seem to forget that they are speaking to another human being, and what it means to respect that fact.
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I agree with all that. But courtesy obviously works both ways.

I would never dream of being anything but polite to any customer services rep. My network cancelled my sim card out of nowhere last week, leaving me for 2 days without service and I was unfailingly polite to the people on the phone. My attitude might have changed though if I'd have been dealt with in a flippant and dismissive way by anyone from the company, let alone the CEO.

I'll say it again, the customer isn't always right. The community however, pretty much always is. And the community is up in arms over this..
 
Sedin, yes obviously every single customer isn't always right about every single thing they ask for.

But when customers complain, companies absolutely should listen.

You can learn a lot from what your customers are asking of you. No, that doesn't mean that you always give them exactly what they want. But you absolutely should address the source of their dissastisfaction with your product some how.

By hearing their complaints, you can learn a ton about where critical weaknesses in your products exist, weaknesses that you should find some way to address (even if it's not the same way your customers want you to address them).

In the age of the internet, where complaints and bad press spread like wildfire, companies should be more vigilant than ever in addressing customer complaints.

But it's still awesome and insanely cool that Steve Jobs doesn't give a crap about being tactful in responding to customers.
 
wikoogle said:
A BS PR response would have been along the lines of "We're sorry for the issues you are having, we are looking into them and working on resolving them promptly. Thank you for taking the time to let us know"
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Who says PR people have to respond like that? Half of the folks here on the macrumors forums can imitate Steve Jobs in voice/tone... it doesn't take a rocket scientist.

Apple hires a ton of people who can sell ice to Eskimos, and they succeed with their marketing and PR by being unconventional with how they work with the public. More importantly, they hire a bunch of people who all drink the same Kool Aid, and can represent the company. If Steve has to do all of that, he's not doing his job.
 
wikoogle said:
I mean I'm sure everyone in the media loves it. It gets them tons of news stories.

But regular folk, apple owners like you and I.

Yeah, it does make apple look bad at times. But I still LOVE it just the same, especially given how secretive they are about their releases, it's so awesome to atleast always know what they're thinking.

For such an incredibly influential and talented guy (No matter what ANYONE says Steve Jobs and his engineers did more to revolutionalize personal computers, operating systems, GUIs, several technology standards, computer graphics, and cellphone operating systems than anyone), It's the coolest thing in the world that anyone can contact him and has a shot at hearing back am honest response (rather than one filtered thru a bunch of PR BS).

What other CEO does that? Anywhere?

I really hope that what happened yesterday does nothing to change how honest and accessible Steve Jobs is.
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What an incredibly stupid, blind post. Apple sheep.
 
beamer8912 said:
There's a fine line between brutally honest and smug. Steve is playing with it.
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As he should be.

How the hell does he not deserve to be smug?

If anyone in the tech world has an absolute right to be smug, it would be Steve Jobs.

I mean seriously, if you had a hand in revolutionizing as many things as he did, are you telling me you wouldn't feel like you walk on water too?
 
Jobs is the same guy that parks his Aston Martin in a handicap space with no license plates just because he is rich enough to do so. I think he is just kind of a dick. Most good CEOs probably are.
 
sorry only on politics

Steve is the man. I'm not talking early Apple where Woz was such a key ingredient the cake would have fallen flat without him, I'm talking about the Apple I put my 401(k) into when Gil from IBM almost ran it into the ground.

Now that man was a good guy who meant well but he tossed out several models creating too much confusion on the models. Steve came in and took the company over for $1 a year and breathed life back into Apple.

He and his team deserve a ton of credit. They saved the company and now have taken it to new heights in market share and expansion into the new product lines.

Yeah the guy can be a real hard ass, no question. But he's led with great vision and people need to look back to when he took back the reins and where things are now.

Night and day. Let's forget about that Gore the grouper guy. Not in the same league nor will ever be.

Steve, thank you for what you've done for Apple. And for what you've deliver for us!
:cool:
 
wikoogle said:
As he should be.

How the hell does he not deserve to be smug?

If anyone in the tech world has an absolute right to be smug, it would be Steve Jobs.

I mean seriously, if you had a hand in revolutionizing as many things as he did, are you telling me you wouldn't feel like you walk on water too?
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Perhaps he shouldn't feel like he is entitled to be smug because his company have just released the most revolutionary piece of pocket technology that fails at something that a 15 year old phone can do faultlessly.
 
Nah, why wouldn't I believe you.

Actually I read that he once parked his private jet on top of the white house, and just popped in to say hi to Obama. No appointment or anything!

Google it, it's all over the internet.
 
fru said:
I agree with all that. But courtesy obviously works both ways.

I would never dream of being anything but polite to any customer services rep. My network cancelled my sim card out of nowhere last week, leaving me for 2 days without service and I was unfailingly polite to the people on the phone. My attitude might have changed though if I'd have been dealt with in a flippant and dismissive way by anyone from the company, let alone the CEO.

I'll say it again, the customer isn't always right. The community however, pretty much always is. And the community is up in arms over this..
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That's the thing. I don't find his response arrogant or flippant. I find it honest.

And I do have to agree yours and the post's below rebuttal. In my current job, however, many cutsomer complaints that are given in a childish manner are nothing short a child in a temper tantrum. I do deal with customer complaints presented politely, and am happy to give an honest and polite answer back.

But as I said before, I think Steve's tone is lost in his email. Unfortunately it leaves his response open to interpretation. And I think that's where we are finding those who find his response refreshing (like myself) and those who find it arrogant.
 
wikoogle said:
Nah, why wouldn't I believe you.

Actually I read that he once parked his private jet on top of the white house, and just popped in to say hi to Obama. No appointment or anything!

Google it, it's all over the internet.
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Settle down, Francis.

There are plenty of legitimate articles about Steve Jobs, from reputable magazines and newspapers that cover all sorts of aspects of Jobs' life. But we're not your admin assistants, do your own research. Besides, it's important to do your own reading and make up your mind of any kind of issue, independent of the majority.

But hey, don't let me get in the way of your snarkiness.
 
It certainly makes him very entertaining. I like how he doesn't have a filter, it's hilarious to me.
 
beamer8912 said:
There's a fine line between brutally honest and smug. Steve is playing with it.
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Whatever his intentions I think he just does it for his own enjoyment.

cellocello said:
I was chillin with the female the other day - she was reading a book and I was watching the Jobs D8 interview.

She commented to me that she likes Steve 'cause everything he says makes sense. There's no waffling around, no weird ambiguous answers, no long-ass run-on sentence type answers. You ask, he talks, and the answer makes sense.

"Boom."
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Yeah, I'm pretty sure he could sell a ketchup popscicle to a woman in white gloves.

Winni said:
Yeah, I'm pretty sure that the thousands of people working at Apple have nothing to do with the success. Geez, the guy does not even know how to write code, so I have a very hard time to give him credit for "revolutionizing operating systems and tons of technology standards".

Give credit to Apple and Pixar as a whole but stop idolizing one single man.

Besides that, Jonathan Schwartz, the former SUN CEO, is at least as accessible as Jobs and even more communicative.
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A lot of it is his ideas, plus, the only reason Apple still exists is because of him, if he didnt save Apple we'd all be using 8 pound Vista laptops and Motorola RAZRS
 
How is telling people to avoid holding their phones a different way being open and honest?

That's called being smug (and borderline arrogant) especially when the problem occurs when the phone is held in a way that most people would normally hold it. His comment was anything but being open and honest.

The open and honest thing to say would have been we screwed up on the design of the phone.
 
cellocello said:
Settle down, Francis.

There are plenty of legitimate articles about Steve Jobs, from reputable magazines and newspapers that cover all sorts of aspects of Jobs' life. But we're not your admin assistants, do your own research. Besides, it's important to do your own reading and make up your mind of any kind of issue, independent of the majority.

But hey, don't let me get in the way of your snarkiness.
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Don't worry, nothing can get in the way of my snarkiness.

You can't just go around making wild claims about someone though if you're not willing to back them up with atleast a link or evidence of some sort. You seriously expect every single person who reads your post to do a google search, especially when you got the car wrong so a google search pulls up nothing? Why, its so much more efficent to just post the link with your claim.

And who told you my name was Francis!! :eek: Looks around suspiciously.
 
wikoogle said:
Don't worry, nothing can get in the way of my snarkiness.

You can't just go around making wild claims about someone though if you're not willing to back them up with atleast a link or evidence of some sort. You seriously expect every single person who reads your post to do a google search, especially when you got the car wrong so a google search pulls up nothing? Why, its so much more efficent to just post the link with your claim.

And who told you my name was Francis!! :eek: Looks around suspiciously.
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Steve jobs handicap parking (no quotes, no nothing), brings this up as the 4th link in google:

http://www.wired.com/techbiz/it/magazine/16-04/bz_apple

Doesn't seem so tough. And hey, you might learn something! ;)
 
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