Fair enough.

In a capitalistic/profit driven system, there is only one of piece leverage the consumer has and that is awarding or withholding of the profit incentive. That's it. Voting with one's wallet is really the only viable way to hold a capitalistic company "to task" period, full stop. Apple is currently on track to potentially become perhaps the first $1 trillion (trillion with a "T") market capitalized company in the history of time and now is essentially the most valuable corporation on the planet (by common financial metrics).

Based on that, what exactly would be their incentive for changing their behavior? If they are mice, we as consumers have essentially given them "the cheese" no matter what behavior they choose, and we've given it to them in spades.

If you believe that Samsung has a better product, at the price point you desire, and would better meet your needs/expectations, then yes, that is exactly what you should have done. But, don't for a moment fool yourself into believing that Samsung isn't motivated just as much by profit as Apple. There are generally two kinds of companies in this world, monopolies and those that want to be monopolies.

Good luck, I hope you are able to reach an outcome that meets your needs.

Regards

Samsung is motivated by profit like any other company, but in this sector, smartphones, they are trying harder like Avis.

That's not the all of it. Another piece of leverage the consumer has is to publicly criticize the company so as to influence others to strike (out against) the same company.

Balderdash, at least in the case of Apple. As mentioned, and I'll spare everyone the long list, every single iOS launch has been peppered with some controversy or another and it has been written about to literal exhaustion by the "tech media" then several weeks after that, the mainstream media (NYTimes, etc.) finally picks up on it and breathlessly starts writing about it all over again. Additionally, there are hundreds of angry threads and likely thousands of posts on support.apple.com. Result? Not much.

If you are going to make that assertion, please provide some proof points that demonstrate how any of the long list of gaffs Apple has made over the last several years (and there are many) has thrown even a small speed in what has essentially been an unimpeded path to becoming the most valuable company in the world.

If you really believe there haven't been countless people actively and "publicly" criticizing Apple for the last several years, you really haven't been paying attention.

As the old saying goes, "Money talks and BS walks" Apple speaks the language of profit; if people start voting with their wallets, you can bet it will get their attention.

Regards

Not quite correct. Antennagate garnered a big response and effort and financial cost by Apple. That was a grass roots effort that had excellent results.

No, it really didn't in the grand scheme of things. In the aftermath, few actually remember it. Apple didn't actually fix initial issue in hardware. They offered people free rubber bumpers that cost Apple almost nothing (quite literally), and it turned out not nearly as many people even took them up on the offer as they expected would (including me). Furthermore, many who did take the offer, likely wouldn't have purchased the bumper for $29 anyhow, but took it because it was free so you really can't argue lost revenue on an incredibly low margin product that many wouldn't have bought anyhow.

If you are asserting that the financial cost from "Antennagate" to Apple was "big" would you care to share the numbers, in dollars, of that cost/impact? If you have that data, I'm certainly interested. If you don't have that data, on what standing are you asserting that it was a "big" impact?

In Q3 of this year, Apple generated $35 billion in revenue (that's billion with a "B" in 3 freakin' months) and $8.8 billion in net profit. They shipped 17 million iPads and 26 million iPhones (again, in three months and that is with many knowing the iPhone 5 was coming soon). For iPhones that was a 28 percent year over year increase. They currently have ~$28 billion in cash and exactly zero debt (as in none, nada, zip)

Are you really asserting that "Antennagate" was a significant financial impact on Apple, and presented any type of speed bump to becoming one of the most valuable and profitable companies in the world?

Regards

You must live in a different universe than the average Apple user.

http://news.cnet.com/8301-13506_3-20...-for-8th-year/

Apple tops in customer satisfaction for 8th year

I believe their cash on hand is well north of $100 billion, not $28 billion.

The have cash and short-term securities of about $28 billion and total current assets of about $52 billion, as of June 30. http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/da...365704d10q.htm

And $90 billion of long term marketable securities. That is basically cash in the bank, or savings, or whatever you would like to call it. If I had a $10 million CD I would consider it part of my cash savings, as the worst that would happen if I "cashed out" early is a reduction in the interest due.

Well there was shipping too, but that is of course tiny compared to the huge customer service impact and hours spent by senior and junior staff dealing with the mess. I said "big cost and effort"

Sorry but I'm not interested in poring over the Apple annual report. It seems that some others here have? I do recall at the time Apple stating that it had a negative impact on their earnings, however slight that may have been.

It was a speed bump. Not just in cash, but in productivity. Their antenna design team shut down future work to deal with Antenna gate and they even shut down their testing center for a day to invite reporters in. Their earnings and profit would have been higher. Even if only by a 7 figures, 7 figures is significant to me. And it is even significant to Apple cost control accountants, if not Wall St.

Hah! That is a joke. I don't know anyone who thinks Apple has good customer service. Just read a few threads on Apple's own BB. Customers are mostly left fuming at Apple, not to mention developers. That poll must have measured people who never had a problem or fanboys who line up at the Genius bar.

As I said you clearly live in an alternate reality. Apple consistently earns high marks for customer satisfaction and loyalty.

Sorry, but that isn't reality. Here, let me introduce you to reality...

https://discussions.apple.com/messag...23456#19796599

People post to Apple's BB because they are having problems. If you read boards devoted to problem reports, you get the impression everyone has problems. Customer satisfaction surveys poll all customers. Most customers have never had a problem. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selection_bias