This takes a lot of patience.
/ Getty Images
I’ve been pretty lucky with my Apple devices over the years.
They have rarely been the source of a terrible disaster. Well, except for the time when my MacBook Air enjoyed its butterfly keyboard – and I didn’t.
Oh and then there was the time when my iPhone wouldn’t charge and an Apple Genius told me my charging tech was faulty.
But with so many people sitting at home all day – and night -, dependence on our gadgets may never have been more extreme.
So I decided to spend some time observing the Apple Support Twitter feedWhat kinds of problems did people have? How did they express themselves?
After an hour or more of scrolling and scrolling, it’s easy to believe that Apple’s devices really aren’t that good. Until you remember, there are billions of them out there now, somewhere.
Still, there is something instructive about how vast the range of problems really is.
Especially when it is cold.
Customer example: “Why are iPhones so sensitive to cold? Why doesn’t @Apple fix this? My phone’s battery drained and the phone shut itself off when I came in today. It’s only -5 degrees Celsius.”
Apple Support’s response was a bit crisp: “Use iOS devices with an ambient temperature between 0 degrees and 35 degrees C (32 degrees to 95 degrees F). Low or high temperatures can cause the device to change its behavior depending on the temperature. to arrange. ”
Emotions can run very high. A customer named Dominic, who claims to be a champion of spelling bees, tweeted, “My AirPods are crap now that they just aren’t noisy anymore. Apple is a scam.”
Realizing he might sound uncomfortable, he sent a follow-up, “Sidebar. I left them in my car last night, could the cold have something to do with the volume? Help @AppleSupport.”
A word of advice. Don’t call someone a scam and then ask for their help. That’s definitely the wrong order.
Angry, meet Help. Or get to know Robot?
Aggression appears to be the essential communication method of many customers. Threats too.
One customer was not happy that his iPhone 11’s battery lasts only six hours. He tweeted: “MY PHONE IS NOT WORKING ANYMORE .. yo whag [sic] if I sue apple … @ Apple is this you? ”
Oh, I think Apple’s attorneys are well versed in suing.
It wasn’t just iPhones that upset people.@AppleSupport my macbook air 2020 does not turn on. it has been doing this for over an hour. What should I do? i bought it in november lol. ”
A remarkably reasonable fun in the circumstances, I thought.
The list of alleged annoyances was remarkably extensive.
“It’s unbelievable that I can’t update an expiration date for a card registered with Apple. I can’t even remove and re-add the card. It’s so frustrating!” a customer shouted.
Some don’t know who to blame: “@ Apple @ AppleSupport just updated iPhone 7 to iOS 14.4 and it keeps restarting and can’t use @ Verizon cellular data. Is this a way to force me to use my phone? upgrade. WTH @VZWSupport. ”
For some their phones rang silently. A man asked, “Why did my iPhone 7 just shock me with the flashlight on the back?”
For others, Apple Music was not working. And the number of people who complained about Big Sur, if they jumped on Highway 101 at Big Sur at the same time, would have crashed the roadway into the ocean. (That just happened without them – Ed.)
There was a MacBook that couldn’t connect to Wi-Fi and an iPhone 12 Pro Max with a flash that turned orange in photos on the front. iOS 14.5 apparently prevented a man’s CarPlay from playing.
There were customers who went to strict language. Well, it’s easier to get angry on Twitter, instead of face-to-face, isn’t it? Example: “Apple and AT&T have to get together and find out that they will give me my money for this crappy 12 Pro.”
However, somehow I couldn’t find a link between extreme language and Apple unresponsive.
There were customers who went to extremes: “Example:” I lose the will to live by getting Case No. 101318982224 resolved. 3 hours online and 4 hours on the phone talking to 6 different advisors and still not resolved. Unacceptable service. ”
And: “I bought 2TB of storage and my problems are still not going away. @Apple Do you want me to die?”
I am sure Apple wants you to live and spend more on other Apple products. However, I was less sure if the answers came from humans or robots. Many felt robotically formal.
For example: “We’re happy to help. What error message are you getting? Send us a DM and we can help.”
Or, “We’re happy to help you with the performance of the Apple News app! What version of device and operating system are you currently using? Let us know in Direct Message and we’ll be happy to investigate with you.”
No, these are people, right?
The more I stared, the more I needed a pacifier. A glass of something non-alcoholic, perhaps.
If I needed a pacifier, I can’t imagine what people on the other end should be thinking and feeling. They are real people, right? It’s not always that easy to say.
Despite all the responses feeling completely fabricated, there were a few that probably weren’t.
To a customer with persistent keyboard issues: “Thank you for contacting! We’re sorry to hear this happened again. Without a keyboard, our computers are practically worthless.”
But I thought Apple products always had great resale value.
Or this to someone whose computer just won’t turn on after updating to Big Sur: “Hi, Solomon! Thanks for contacting us! It’s much more helpful if we can turn it on.”
You see? Dry mind.
How much can one person tolerate at a time?
I asked Apple how many real people work on the Support Twitter team. I also asked how long each shift is. I received no answer, from human or robot.
So I messaged Apple Support and asked, If I had a problem with my Mac, would a real person respond? I got a quick response, “Don’t worry, there are only people on the other side of the DM! We’re really here and always willing to help.”
On how they manage to tolerate the really angry customers, the DM person said, “We value all of our customers.” A moving exaggeration.
Working from home has been painful for many. If your job consists of confronting frustration and anger, it really can’t be easy. It’s like being cheated on by political opponents all day long.
So many in technical customer service have shown unusual patience and strength as they attempted to help the frustrated, angry, and downright disgraceful people – Verizon store personnel have certainly dealt with the latter.
I want to believe that the Apple Support staff are used to all this and just brush it away. But given the tone of many complainers, I finally see a positive reason for artificial intelligence. Robots don’t feel anything. Well, not yet.
Still, some customers try to use charm: “Greetings my beautysss @Apple, I think I lost one of my AirPods permanently, how do I get the recovery to find it? I can activate the location but I don’t get a hit .. not even the one in the case … (I think the next set .. also needs external sound) now what?
Greetings my beauty senses @Apple , I think I lost one of my AirPods permanently, how do I get the recovery to find it? I can activate the location, but I don’t get a hit … not even on the one in the cover … (I think the next set .. also needs external sound) 🤔 what now? Tk u pic.twitter.com/qqAf54VAdR
– FaceTheCuban © 🎈 (@FaceTheCuban) February 10, 2021
I saw no evidence that (this attempt at) charm elicited a more favorable response from Apple.