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What should have been a day for pure celebration for the Apple PR team was derailed a bit by the news of some major glitches with Apple’s new iOS6 mobile operating system.
On the eve of the first day of sales for Apple’s long-awaited iPhone 5, Apple had to deal with multiple issues relating to their new mobile OS. As people were waiting on line to be the first to own the new phone, news of complaints about the iOS6 were all over the media.
Complaints have ranged from battery life issues to perhaps the biggest complaint of all—the new Map application, which replaced Google Maps. It seems that the Maps are highly flawed:
- A farm in Ireland named Airfield Park has been designated as an airport, causing great safety fears.
- The Statue of Liberty does not even show up on Map’s 3D mode.
- The Brooklyn Bridge melts into the ground.
- Some public and religious buildings are listed as hotels.
And that’s just the tip of the iceberg.
Apple was forced into crisis mode and issued a statement from spokesperson Trudy Miller, which among other things, said: "We launched this new map service knowing that it is a major initiative and we are just getting started with it. We are continuously improving it, and as Maps is a cloud-based solution, the more people use it, the better it will get.”
Miller added, “We appreciate all of the customer feedback and are working hard to make the customer experience even better."
This story is a perfect illustration of the life and times of a PR professional. No matter how great things may be going and how much positive PR you are generating, there is always the threat of a crisis and you’ve got to be ready for it.
Apple jumped on this controversy quickly, presented iOS6 and Maps as works in progress and then thanked their angry constituents for their “feedback.”
As you know, there are good days and bad days in PR. For Apple, they just happened to be rolled up into one.
Follow Jamar Hudson: @jamarhudson