It’s been a mixed week for Apple fans. On the positive side
comes the launch of the iPhone 5 (people are already complaining that it’s too
thin and too light). At about the same time iOS 6 was unleashed on an
unsuspecting public.
I already have some strong views on iOS 6, primarily because Apple
have chosen to abandon the excellent Google Maps. Given Google’s huge investment in map data
it was inevitable that any replacement would be playing catch-up, and given the
US-centric attitude that Apple showed with Siri and localised data, why would
we expect anything better from their propriety map data?
My neighbour decided to upgrade her iPad to iOS 6 against my
advice – the following day she was begging me to get her back to iOS 5 (it’s possible, but you need to have done a backup first). So pity the poor inhabitants of Doncaster
(Duncaster), or anybody looking for Manchester United (you’ll end up at Sale
United, a team for five year olds and above).
I’ve no doubt that Apple will work hard to improve their
maps – they certainly have the resources, but one big change that affects
businesses is the use of Yelp as providers of data for their maps. Yelp.com is best described as yell.com meets Trip Advisor – it’s a directory of
businesses that bases ranking largely on reputation, and reputation comes from
user reviews.
Given the widespread use of iOS devices it would be foolish for
any business to ignore this opportunity. We’ve been on Yelp for a year or so,
but I took some time to fill in the gaps on our profile and look forward to the reviews flooding in.
I think Apple’s use of Yelp reflects a growing trend in consumer-driven directories, and it also bears out the maxim that people who receive bad
service are highly motivated to post negative reviews. This morning I spoke to
a new customer who was very focused on our service record – we directed her to
our website which contains a live feed to our feedback survey results, which
every customer is invited to contribute to. Her concern was due to her past experience
with one of our less reputable competitors with whom we have had dealings in the past.
Once they had done their damage she only then thought to
check them out online, which is a shame as the customer feedback is unanimously poor ,
and had she known this in advance she wouldn’t have touched them with a barge pole.
Another of our local competitors has taken to repeatedly changing their name in a pathetic attempt to leave
their bad reputation behind them, but as their address is the same I’m not sure
who they think they are fooling.
If you can detect a measure of schadenfreude in my tone you’d
be spot on. Good service takes hard work, and if companies aren’t prepared to
put that work in then they shouldn’t be in this business. It’s fantastic to see
that social media is now playing a part in weeding out the cowboys. More power
to the people!
PS If you’d like to give feedback on our service you can do
so via our website or tell the world at:
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