There is a peculiar phenomenon among Apple customers. It is not the fanaticism that some pundits would have you believe is pervasive throughout the Mac and iPod communities, but instead it is that many of Apple’s customers seem to feel that Apple owes them something, and that Apple should give them things for free. Take the recent iPod touch update for example. Apple made available the Applications from the iPhone for iPod touch users for an insignificant $20 and yet many were crying foul that they should have been given this update for free. Not too long ago customers of consumer electronics were more than happy with the fact that if they wanted new features on their mini disc player or CD-Walkman they would have to buy a whole new unit, yet iPod customers, being offered a significant upgrade for relatively little money were having virtual temper tantrums in blogs and forums all across the internet. Even more recently, when Apple announced the new higher capacity iPods and iPhones, some people were crying foul again, asking if Apple would compensate existing users.
That is just one example though. I have heard customers expect Apple to give them software for free because they bought a Mac a year ago. I’ve seen a business customer who bought several ( less than 10) Macs rant and rave because he felt Apple should give them a free xserve or some software (much after the fact) because he or she spent “so much money” with them. I doubt a Dell customer buying a 100 PCs would expect Dell to give them free computers from then on and yet some Apple customers seem to believe that they are entitled to special treatment for even considering putting an Apple logo on their desktop. Every time new versions of iLife are released people on forums get extremely worked up that they are being charged for the new releases. I could go on and on. It is a strange and peculiar human quirk that I have never seen from customers of other major brands. So what is it about Apple that leads customers to the company owes them something.
It would be easy to answer if Apple was the “beleaguered” company people once considered it to be, but Apple has been a huge success, and hasn’t been in any kind of difficulty, perceived or otherwise for quite some time. It would also be easy to assume that all those expressing this sense of entitlement are long term customers from Apple’s “dark times” but they are not. Many are newcomers to Apple’s platforms.
I think the issue is that subconsciously, even though Apple is doing extremely well as a business, many people still perceive a battered and broken computer maker that many had predicted would go out of business. I think a lot of people who buy a Mac or an iPod, despite consciously knowing Apple is a global juggernaut still, in the back of their minds see Apple as the underdog and that they are some how supporting the company by buying one of its products and Apple owes them one for it. It’s not just with this “sense of entitlement” that you see evidence of this subconscious view of Apple either. Much of the press and Wall Street still reacts with eggshells around Apple. When you read or watch some of the media reaction to what Apple does, it often seems like the press is constantly waiting for Apple to screw up, expecting it as some sort of inevitability. You get the impression from many things that are written that some, in the back of their minds think all of recent success from Cupertino has been just a fluke, a string of good luck, and that sooner or later Apple will once again revert to a downward spiral.
At the end of the day it’s hard to tell if this perception of the company does it any harm or not. Apple is certainly firing on all cylinders and has not really been affected by the scrutiny from wall street or the media press. I do however find it incredibly frustrating when you read articles that say Mac users give Apple a free pass when it comes to the companies product offerings because nothing could be further from the truth. Steve Jobs is often accused of distorting reality with his charm and powerful presentations, but the irony is that the reality distortion field is just as large around those who decry Apples customers as well as those customers itself. I think the true perception of Cupertino comes not from the incredibly vocal fans on the internet but the millions of people who buy iPods and Macs throughout the year and remain blissfully silent.
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What perplexes me is that you’re perplexed. We all, young Jedi, live a culture of entitlement. We expect all kinds of things for free. We expect a replacement phone after we fetch it out of the toilet, we expect Social Security to take care of us when we retire, we expect someone to take blame for everything bad that might happen to us. So this has little to do with Apple. The only mistake they made was to give free upgrades in the past. Past behavior should predict future actions… Not an entitlement issue, just consistency.
And are there lots of people waiting for Apple to screw up? Hell yes! For numerous reasons. The media would much rather cover the train wreck than another successful product launch! Being the Goliath of innovation, surely they must be slayed! Because they don’t drink the microsoft koolaide they will certainly perish! And on and on. Wallstreet looks at Apple and expects failure because they don’t conform to established business models (which in the long term have failed for others such as Dell by the way…). As a business,you either compete on price or in a niche. Apple is in the niche and Wallstreet in all its misguided wisdom sees success only in the broad market. They would fail miserably there. You can’t afford to innovate there because margins are too thin (again, just look at Dell…). I’m still stymied by the legions of people who think Apple should still license their OS. It would only encourage price competition in their niche! Certain suicide. Oh thats right, they took one to the head some years back on that one didn’t they… Learning occurred…
In the end though, you got it right. Those who are outraged by Apples non-conformance are those you hear. I’m sure they are the same people who still haven’t gotten over Pluto not being a planet. The content masses remain silent. Desiderata…
I would agree with the sentiments expressed, yet I do think Apple could and should change some of their ways. I would like to see some sort of protection policy that would grant purchasers a reduced price on software products for perhaps 3-6 months should an update be released. As it stands today, knowledgeable buyers have to wait for the official Apple release date announcement before they purchase a major hardware product or software upgrade. It only seems fair to offer some protection. Imagine the goodwill that would be generated if someone happened to purchase an iPod touch found out 2 months later that they could get a significant new software package for free or perhaps half-price. Apple would get a satisfied customer who would sing its praises to friends and associates. Imagine being able to purchase a computer in July knowing that should Apple release a new OS in August or September that they would receive it for $20. Again Apple benefits by gaining consumer trust and by making a hardware sale that might have otherwise been delayed. While I certainly agree that many Apple customers would like something for nothing, I think everyone benefits by keeping customers happy. I gladly purchase family packs of most Apple software products for use on my home computers, knowing full well that Apple does not (as of yet) require specific license codes for most products nor does Apple restrict the number of times a license code can be used. Selling a product at a fair price and treating customers fairly benefits all parties.
Most of these people are also patently unaware of Sarbanes-Oxley and how it affects Apple’s ability to release updates that actually increase feature sets. And what’s worse, when it’s explained to them, they dismiss it as bureaucratic nonsense.
It’s one thing to be ignorant of something — it’s another thing entirely to continue to be ignorant after it’s explained to you. Over and over and over again. That’s just stupid.