[Update] 7/17/2010

Last night, I watched Apple’s press conference.  Since I never actually had a problem with my iPhone 4, I’m very happy with Apple’s response to “antennagate”.  Even if I did have a problem, I would still appreciate their actions.  I’ve been reading several blogs this afternoon, and my point still stands…  It doesn’t matter what Apple does, or says.  People will still complain.  The bloggers who have jumped all over this non-issue should be ashamed of themselves, especially the Apple related blogs.  Apple is bread and butter for a lot of people such as myself, and for a lot of professional bloggers.  I’ve been an Apple customer for over 20 years, and I know of no other tech company who treats its customers better than Apple.  While Apple does make mistakes, and they sometimes take a long time to admit those mistakes, they always make things right.  I think it’s time for these hack bloggers to shut the hell up, and move on!  Get your advertising revenue by attacking a company that deserves it.

I’ve been using my new iPhone 4 for almost two weeks.  For the first week, I used my iPhone without any kind of case.  It wasn’t until this past Thursday morning that I was able to purchase an iPhone Bumper so that I could use my iPhone without the constant fear of it slipping out of my hand.  I have experienced far less dropped calls than with the previous iPhone.  Unfortunately for AT&T customers in Dallas/Fort Worth, there are several areas of poor coverage all over the city.  I have identified at least three specific locations where I have experienced consistent dropped calls almost on a daily basis.  For almost four years, I have called into AT&T to report these locations in the hope that these issues would someday be fixed.  Since upgrading to iPhone 4, my dropped calls in these problem areas have been reduced.  In one of the locations, the dropped calls have stopped altogether.

Although I believe that Apple should have taken more time to respond, they have responded to reports of poor reception by claiming that this is mainly a software issue with the way that the new iPhone displays signal strength.  They have promised a fix that will be issued soon.  Within hours of Apple’s latest statement, the blogosphere was full of more complaints from users who allege that they have experienced a lot of reception issues with the new iPhone.  After reading some of them, I was forced to conclude that it doesn’t matter what Apple says.  People will still find a way to complain.  After working for Apple for over four and a half years, and using Apple products for over twenty years, I have concluded that Apple will never be able to completely satisfy their critics.  If Apple announced today that they would begin to bundle a bumper with each iPhone, there would still be complaints.  Apple could issue store credits to customers who bought the new iPhone, but the complaints would continue.  It’s a no-win situation.

No Apple product that I have ever owned has been 100% perfect.  My last MacBook Pro was plagued with several hardware issues.  Last year, Apple replaced it.  I didn’t have to complain on my blog.  I didn’t post my complaints on any Apple related websites.  I didn’t try to sue Apple.  I simply called AppleCare, and voiced my dissatisfaction with the quality of my laptop.  When I requested a replacement, my complaint was forwarded to Apple’s customer relations department who agreed to replace my computer.  The whole process took about 3 days.  Apple takes care of its customers when they have problems.  Whining and complaining on every website on the Internet only makes the problem worse.  I know eight people (including myself) who have an iPhone 4.  None of us have had significant reception issues with our new iPhones.  In fact, we’ve all had BETTER reception just as Apple promised.

This Friday, I’m going do my best to use only my iPhone for all internet and email.  If you have an iPhone, or any other smartphone on AT&T’s network,  you should do the same.

Earlier this week, Ralph de la Vega, the CEO of AT&T Mobility began a ‘blame the customer’ policy to address the complaints about the dismal failings of his wireless network.  Given his stance, I think that we, as customers, should teach this man a lesson and show him just how pissed off we are, and also how important we all are to the success of his company.  It’s absolutely unacceptable for AT&T, or any other wireless service provider to sell a product (iPhone, Blackberry, etc.), and then bitch and whine about the customers actually using those products with their unlimited data plans.  What Mr. de la Vega needs to understand is that the customer is the most important element of his business.  If he can’t meet the obligations that his company has to its customers, then he should sell off the company to someone who can meet those obligations.  I’m paying an additional $30 per month for UNLIMITED data, and $5 for a paltry 200 text messages on top of the charges for my rate plan.  I’m also an AT&T U-Verse customer.  All told, I’m paying AT&T almost $300 a month!  It’s insulting that Mr. de la Vega would even think about blaming the customers.  Therefore, we should make sure that he knows just how much of an impact we are capable of having on his network.

For more on this, check out the article from TUAW linked below:

Watch out AT&T: Operation Chokehold is coming.