And not just in restaurants. In this modern world of smartphones, tablets and music streaming, more and more of that service is online. As seen this week, some of the world's biggest tech companies get it very, very wrong.
Blackberry might seem to be the most obvious choice: last week it managed to mess up millions of worldwide customers by fumbling an update to its servers. It provides the perfect evidence for what companies need to pay attention to: this wasn't a text message or voice call outage. It was simply an interruption to its email, mobile internet and BBM, the free Blackberry to Blackberry messaging service. And yet the anger it has provoked is massive. For not only did Blackberry appear to mess up its servers so badly it was several days with no sign of a full service returning any time soon, it got another very vital part of service totally wrong: communication. The company didn't reassure its customers it was doing something about it quickly enough, and even now many feel under served and alone (the irony of a mobile phone company having communication issues only adds to the problem). They pay a premium for the products, and the data, and Blackberry hasn't even returned the loyalty that customers feel with a promise of compensation. Businesses large and small have been affected financially both directly and indirectly, and there most certainly will be repercussions for Blackberry in the future, with fewer customers relying on the company as the sole source of receiving important emails. And that is vital. When your customers lose faith in you as a company, you're in trouble. And with RIM already trailing behind Android manufacturers and Apple as the mobile phone provider of choice, it remains to be seen as to whether it can every truly recover.
Apple should have, in theory, been leaping for joy at this unfortunate mishap for one of its major competitors only two days before the launch of the latest, and much anticipated, major update to its mobile and tablet operating system, iOS 5. If only it hadn't fumbled the launch. Sure, it's Apple, and I can admire its 'we're Apple and we have such great design and loyal customers that we can have difficult to use and complicated Windows programs and force people to use their computers to update the software' view, even if it's more than a little aggravating. But the problem with that is, and I don't care how big you are, you must get the basics right. Sure, make updating difficult if you want. But make it possible. Don't undersupply the server power you need, and leave twitterers complaining after they have to restart the download dozens of times. Because, one day, when someone comes along with an easier to use product that's even almost as pretty and functional, your customers will just jump ship. A nod towards customer loyalty would perhaps be appreciated, here.
And that brings me to Android, Who are, to be honest, probably pretty happy to be not spoken about too much this week. I'm a bit of an Android fan: it lacks the pretentiousness of Apple, and the price tag of both Apple and Blackberry. I own a mobile phone that cost me less than £90 with no contract. Yet, because it runs Android 2.2, I have access to apps for phones twice or even three times that price. Yes, sure it doesn't have the most storage, RAM or processing speed of a £400 phone, but it has one factor that is very important to me. Stuff just works. Putting music onto it doesn't involve a complicated add it to your library, sync here, check this box routine if I don't want to pay inflated iTunes prices. It's just a drag and drop to the memory card, or a direct download. Album artwork was perfect, even though I had no idea where to put the images. When flash didn't work, I downloaded an alternative browser (flash player isn't supported on a £90 phone apparently). When I didn't like the keyboard, I downloaded two alternatives. Sure, it lacks the glitzy announcements and hysteria surrounding Apple. Yes, my phone isn't as beautiful as an iPhone. But it works. Without jumping through hoops. And therefore, in my opinion, Apple should be just slightly quaking in its very large boots, because with a cheaper, less controlled range of phone, Android could just be becoming a very strong contender.
~Malia
~Malia
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