After repairing his MacBook Air, a user wanted to take the defective hard drive back with him because he was missing important data. But Apple support couldn’t help him. The customer then wrote an email to Steve Jobs and received a call the next day that was supposed to solve all the problems.
A defect in the PC or notebook can become a major problem. Especially if the internal hard drive is broken and you no longer have access to your data, as a customer you are dependent on the manufacturer’s support.
Apple customer Matt McCoy experienced such a case in 2008. He had to have his MacBook Air repaired because of a defective hard drive.
When he swapped the data carrier, McCoy lost all of his data. He wrote an email to Steve Jobs, the most famous of the three founders of Apple, and got unexpected help.
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Why did the customer write directly to Steve Jobs? Apple user Matt McCoy had to take his MacBook Air to an Apple Store for repairs in 2008. The hard drive was defective and had to be replaced.
When he picked up his device, McCoy also wanted to take the broken hard drive with him. There was still important data on the data carrier that he needed for a thesis. Since the deadline was a week later, time was of the essence.
The Apple Store couldn’t help him. According to the Apple Store, the hard drive was already on its way to the manufacturer and its data was lost.
McCoy decided to contact Steve Jobs directly. In an email to the former Apple CEO, he described his case. It is not known whether there were any consequences for the employees on site. Many years earlier, another employee was less fortunate and was fired several times.
What happened after that? Just one day later, the user received a call. It was Steve Jobs himself who read the customer’s email and responded. Instead of just writing him back, Jobs decided to take the direct route and pick up the phone.
Matt McCoy: Hello?
Steve Jobs: Hi Matt. This is Steve Jobs speaking. I just wanted to let you know that I received your email and we will do everything we can to get your old hard drive back repaired.
McCoy: Wow! Thank you.
Steve Jobs: I will now connect you with my assistant, who will then take further care of you. We can do this. Hold the line.
Telephone conversation between Steve Jobs and the customer (source: schwaebische.de)
A few days later, McCoy received his old hard drive back repaired and was able to access the data he so desperately needed.
How did he know the Apple CEO’s address? Steve Jobs’ email contact was not a closely guarded secret, quite the opposite. His two addresses [email protected] and [email protected] were publicly known. Jobs only enjoyed anonymity in his car, which had no license plates.
This way, anyone who wanted to ask Jobs a question could simply email him. It is believed that countless people have made use of it. Valve’s Gabe Newell must have had a similar experience when players found out his email address and asked him for help.
In the past, people have occasionally reported a response after posting jobs. An iPhone 4 user complained to Jobs about the “antenna gate problem.” Jobs’ response was, “Avoid keeping it that way” (via entertainment.howstuffworks.com).
This story shows that, despite his high position at Apple, the visionary, who died in 2011, in some cases personally addressed the problems of his customers. This is all the more remarkable because when Steve Jobs returned to Apple in 1996, he was actually busy with more important tasks: Steve Jobs saved Apple from bankruptcy when he returned; his idea earned $12 million in the first month