Is The Shine Coming Off Apple Inc. (AAPL)’s Halo?

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For years, Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) has been synonymous with the world’s best tech products. In introducing new revolutionary devices with that “touch of Apple,” the company became the envy of every other corporation on Earth, and garnered itself a cult of die-hard fans, as well as accompanying profits.

The company markets itself as the ultimate creator of gadgets that enhance life, creating commercials to solidify and entrench this in the minds of consumers. “We spend a lot of time on a few great things, until every idea we touch, enhances each life it touches,” it says. It’s all about the experience.

A shift in experience?

Look, every company makes mistakes/makes a defective product at some point. But let’s take a look at a few missteps from Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL).

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

An example of Steve Jobs running things:

Antenna Gate (2010) – the iPhone 4 famously had WiFi issues. Here’s an interesting account of it and how Steve Jobs reacted by giving out free cases to those affected, and implementing liberal return policies, and was quoted as saying, “We’re not perfect. We know that, and you know that. Phones aren’t perfect either…. We want to make our users happy. That’s what Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is all about.”

After Jobs

Retail Stores (2012) – Trying to save money, John Browett, then head of Apple Retail, said, “Apple’s retail outlets need to “learn to ‘run leaner’ in all areas, even if the customer experience is compromised.” Of course, this is the antithesis of everything written above. Apple is all about the customer experience, that’s really what Jobs cared about. To have a bean counter, in an effort to save a few dollars, tarnish the brand that Jobs built is just poor management.

Apple Maps – The iPhone 5 fiasco of removing Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) Maps and replacing it with its own did not sit well with most consumers, considering Apple Maps might have instructed you to drive your car into a lake, and if you’re Michael Scott from “The Office,” you just might end up very, very soggy. Mr. Forstall, the architect of iOS and Apple maps, was replaced over this.)

Cellular provider text/voicemail delays – The iPhone specifically was afflicted with a delay in getting voicemails/texts. I know attorneys who swore for days about this, based on the amount of business it cost them. Whether or not this was the problem of the cellular carriers or the iPhone matters little. Consumers will remember it being a problem with the iPhone.

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