Apple CEO Steve Jobs has posted an open letter to all iPhone customers on Apple’s website. Here it is verbatim:
To all iPhone customers:
I have received hundreds of emails from iPhone customers who are upset about Apple dropping the price of iPhone by $200 two months after it went on sale. After reading every one of these emails, I have some observations and conclusions.
First, I am sure that we are making the correct decision to lower the price of the 8GB iPhone from $599 to $399, and that now is the right time to do it. iPhone is a breakthrough product, and we have the chance to ‘go for it’ this holiday season. iPhone is so far ahead of the competition, and now it will be affordable by even more customers. It benefits both Apple and every iPhone user to get as many new customers as possible in the iPhone ‘tent’. We strongly believe the $399 price will help us do just that this holiday season.
Second, being in technology for 30+ years I can attest to the fact that the technology road is bumpy. There is always change and improvement, and there is always someone who bought a product before a particular cutoff date and misses the new price or the new operating system or the new whatever. This is life in the technology lane. If you always wait for the next price cut or to buy the new improved model, you’ll never buy any technology product because there is always something better and less expensive on the horizon. The good news is that if you buy products from companies that support them well, like Apple tries to do, you will receive years of useful and satisfying service from them even as newer models are introduced.
Third, even though we are making the right decision to lower the price of iPhone, and even though the technology road is bumpy, we need to do a better job taking care of our early iPhone customers as we aggressively go after new ones with a lower price. Our early customers trusted us, and we must live up to that trust with our actions in moments like these.
Therefore, we have decided to offer every iPhone customer who purchased an iPhone from either Apple or AT&T, and who is not receiving a rebate or any other consideration, a $100 store credit towards the purchase of any product at an Apple Retail Store or the Apple Online Store. Details are still being worked out and will be posted on Apple’s website next week. Stay tuned.
We want to do the right thing for our valued iPhone customers. We apologize for disappointing some of you, and we are doing our best to live up to your high expectations of Apple.
Steve Jobs
Apple CEO
Source: http://www.apple.com/hotnews/openiphoneletter/
Don’t let the noise of other’s opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. – Steve Jobs, June 12, 2005
Above and beyond the call of duty? The squeaky wheel gets the grease? Insanely great or greatly insane? Too little, too late? The foundation of justice is good faith? I love it when a plan comes together? Do what you feel in your heart to be right, for you’ll be criticized anyway; you’ll be damned if you do and damned if you don’t? The customer is always right? It was preordained? Played like a fiddle? That you may retain your self-respect, it is better to displease the people by doing what you know is right, than to temporarily please them by doing what you know is wrong? Keep true, never be ashamed of doing right; decide on what you think is right and stick to it? The secret of life is honesty and fair dealing; if you can fake that, you’ve got it made? If life were fair, Elvis would be alive and all the impersonators would be dead?
Hey, we’ve got hundreds of ’em. What’s your take?
You obviously bought your iPhone for the wrong reason. You bought it to be “cool”. Now people will say to your fragile ego “Hey, your iPhone is discontinued! You’re a dork!”. And you will cry.
BTW, you aren’t cool.
It was the right thing to do, Bravo!
Now perhaps Bill Gates will do the right thing and rebate $200 for the $199 Zune.
@ferf muckmeyer
For your information, I own a company that is by far the most respected in its entire field. It is respected because we provide good product, excellent customer service, and on occasion we kiss our customers’ asses in just the way that Apple did with this entirely undeserved $100 credit.
As much as I would often like to tell my customers to go fuck themselves, it’s not good business. So I suck it up, flatter them nicely, and make a shitload of money.
Just like Apple.
Trust me when I say I have forgotten more about customer service and good business that you will ever know.
So, they still sting you for $100
Perhaps a $200 price INCREASE with no store credit for anyone would’ve been a better move?
Mother of God. I had no sympathy for the self-involved complainers, since virtually every other news story / blog post about the iPhone in late June was about the various perils of being an early adopter. They couldn’t wait, and they paid freely what they considered to be a fair price.
But Steve Jobs moves in a mysterious way, and I guess the level of bad publicity generated by the Whining Machine was enough to make him think that paying them off to the tune of $90 million was a good investment. It kind of sucks for the rest of us, though. That money could have been reinvested in new products or acquisitions.
Still, I love how Jobs totally called everyone’s bluff.
The whole thing will make a textbook chapter in the psychology of economics–particularly the recent findings that people would rather get less money, with a larger difference between the money given to them and someone else in the experiment, than more money with a smaller difference.
People are weird.
Dear “justified”,
You are a pussy, a whiner, and an entitlement class loser.
Deal with it!
IMO the jury’s still out on this one. Success is about making great products, not apologies.
Although success is also about taking care of your customers, and Steve earns big points for offering the store credit. Think what you want, that’s class. And a refreshing change from the profits-first mentality at so many modern businesses.
Let’s see Dell or Wal-Mart (the queen whores of price cuts) do something similar…
did the right thing
still gonna think again ’bout buying right out of the block
thx sj
@ @justified,
Fuck you and both of your ugly dads. You’re an asshole so ashamed of yourself that you only launch attacks without making any valid points.
Pull your head out of your ass and go get a life, loser.
The whiners really do need to understand what it means to buy cutting-edge technology before they blame Apple for “betraying their trust.” What hogwash! Anyone who’s not content just to be one of the lucky owners of a first-generation iPhone should have waited at least a year before buying one. There will be more changes. Get used to it.
Wow. Just wow. I totally didn’t ask for or expect this. I’ll happily spend my $100 store credit! Woot!
justified: I don’t think you should sugarcoat your posts.
;-p
While I’m happy to get the $100 and I certainly won’t refuse it, in reality this price drop is no different than any other high-end cellphone. The Razr dropped about $250 in price after the first couple of months. I have no problem with Apple dropping the prices after sixty days. I had two additional months of the best cellphone experience I’ve ever had and consider it money well spent.
You have to have not done your research when buying the phone in the first place to expect the prices to stay the same for even as long as six months. And you never buy anybody’s product right before they have a media event.
Look people, a $100 “store credit” is not going to do it. I want my full $200 back. My brother is a lawyer and I’ll be speaking with him tonight about a lawsuit against Apple Inc.
And all of you people that complain about my “whining” can just ROT IN HELL for all I care. I’ll SAY what I want, I’ll DO what I want, I’ll be what I want, and I’d kick any of your sorry asses for telling me otherwise. You dickheads better be glad you don’t meet me in person.
Apple has lost me as a customer…….FOR LIFE!!!
They’ve raped me and ripped me off, and I’m not going to tolerate it!!!
You don’t want to hear that? Just leave this forum!
@chrissyone
Great Patton quote. still the best poster…
“Anyone who’s not content just to be one of the lucky owners of a first-generation iPhone should have waited at least a year before buying one.”
Or 68 days.
Some of you whiners seem to not understand that if you purchased your iPhone early, that’s longer that you get to use it before it becomes “obsolete” by the introduction of a new version.
And with the iPod Touch coming out, without a price drop the iPhone sales would’ve been unduly hurt.
I must say that once this whole brouhaha has simmered down, I think an awful lot of people are going to recognize that the iPhone is VERY well priced.
MW “covered,” as in “Got it.”
Um… wow.
They really didn’t have to do this – but wow. Rock-on Apple! Can’t wait for my new 10.5 MacBook!
A truly class act, from a classy company! Wait a go Steve!
You whiners made the Mac community look bad.
Congrats! Way to go you Costanzas!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Costanza
… exhibits a number of negative character traits, among them stinginess, dishonesty, insecurity, and neurosis. Many of these traits form the basis for his involvement in various plots, schemes, and awkward social encounters. Episode plots frequently feature George manufacturing elaborate deceptions at work or in his relationships in order to gain or maintain some small or imagined advantage
justified
Take a look over your shoulder….I’m the guy that can and would drop you like a bad habit.
***THE ABOVE WAS NOT MY POST***
It was posted by a true pussy.
We don’t know who you are. But YOU know who you are. And you know that you are a true pussy.
FAKE STEVE –
Again, VERY funny!
And “stormy” (ooooh, scary name *rolls eyes), you don’t know me very well. I’m not a big guy, but when I get pissed, I’m like cornered wolverine. DON’T SCREW WITH ME, PEOPLE!!!
Sheesh!