Girl writes letter to Apple Computer, gets legal "smackdown"
Categories: Gadgets & tech, That's entertainment
O how I hate to hear these kind of stories,
especially from a company that I like. Dave Caolo at our sister site, The Unofficial Apple
Weblog (TUAW), reports on
Apple's seemingly harsh dealings with a young girl who had an idea and wrote a letter. The third-grade girl in the article had a suggestion for an improvement to her iPod so she wrote Apple telling them about it. (Go, girl!) Caolo writes:
She received a reply...from Apple legal. The letter stated that Apple does not accept or appreciate unsolicited product ideas with all the warmth and humanity that you would expect from the legal department of a billion dollar company.
Caolo adds, "I don't know what this girl's teacher expected to happen, but I'm guessing it wasn't this. Apple has since apologized to the girl and is now thinking of implementing a new policy for interacting with kids."
Ya think?
[Thanks Tipster Kim! You've been busy this morning!]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
mamaloo 4-15-2006 @ 9:29AM
How nice that Appple undervalues it's customers, regardless of their age. How else are they supposed to figure out how their customers would be like the products they buy to work? How hard would it have been to send a nice bland: "Thank you for your comments. We value our customers' feedback. Your comments will be forwarded to the appropriate department and evaluated. Thank you for your business. Signed, Apple Computers"
Reply
Uly 4-15-2006 @ 2:17PM
What, exactly, did the letter say? I'm dying of curiosity, but I can't find out!
Reply
SupaDave 4-16-2006 @ 9:48AM
It's all computerized. Yes it's a little harsh because it's a 6 yr old girl, but what is Apple supposed to do?
In our sue happy world a company can't look at a suggestion or "forward it to the appropriate department".
They can make it a little more touchy feely but it just an automatic canned response I'm sure.
Reply
JT 4-17-2006 @ 1:15PM
I got the exact same, Big Brother You Can't Sue Us response from Johnson & Johnson, after I wrote about how much I love the smell of the classic Baby Shampoo and wish they'd make a lotion with the same scent.
Hey, J&J? I was GIVING YOU THE IDEA. Not hinting at a potential lawsuit. If you liked the idea, great. Send me some coupons or free product or a thank-you letter, suitable for framing. Ask to see a picture of my kid and use him in an ad. You don't have to send veiled paranoid threatmail my way.
Poor kid. I hope she makes her own gizmo and becomes an outspoken zillionaire.
Reply
CDM 11-01-2007 @ 11:01AM
WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO THE SUGGESTION BOX?
Reply