A user wanted to take back the broken hard drive of his MacBook Air after its repair, as he was missing important data. However, Apple Support could not help him. The customer then wrote an email to Steve Jobs and received a call the next day that was supposed to solve all problems.
A defect in a PC or laptop can become a big problem. Especially when the internal hard drive is broken and you no longer have access to your data, as a customer you rely on the support of the manufacturers.
Such a case was experienced by Apple customer Matt McCoy in 2008. He had to send his MacBook Air for repair because of a defective hard drive.
By replacing the storage device, McCoy lost all his data. He wrote an email to Steve Jobs, one of the three founders of Apple, and received unexpected help.
Steve Jobs provided excellent customer support
Why did the customer write directly to Steve Jobs? Apple user Matt McCoy had to leave his MacBook Air for repair at an Apple Store in 2008. The hard drive was defective and needed to be replaced.
When picking up his device, McCoy also wanted to take the broken hard drive back with him. There was still important data on the drive that he needed for a thesis. With the submission deadline only a week away, time was pressing.
The Apple Store could not help him. According to the Apple Store, the hard drive was already on its way to the manufacturer and his data was thus lost.
McCoy decided to contact Steve Jobs directly. In an email to the former Apple CEO, he described his case. Whether there were consequences for the employees on site is not known. Another employee had much less luck many years before and was fired multiple times.
What happened next? Just one day later, the user received a call. It was Steve Jobs himself, who had read the customer’s email and reacted. Instead of just writing back, Jobs opted for the direct approach and picked up the phone.
Matt McCoy: Hello?
Steve Jobs: Hello Matt. This is Steve Jobs speaking. I just wanted to tell you that I received your email and we will do everything we can to ensure that you get your old hard drive repaired back.
McCoy: Wow! Thank you very much.
Steve Jobs: I will now connect you to my assistant, he will take care of you. We will get this sorted out. Please hold on.
Phone conversation between Steve Jobs and the customer (Source: schwaebische.de)
Several days later, McCoy received his old hard drive back repaired and was able to access his data that he so desperately needed.
How did he know the address of the Apple CEO? The email contact of Steve Jobs was no closely guarded secret, quite the opposite. His two addresses [email protected] and [email protected] were publicly known. Jobs enjoyed anonymity only with his car, which went without license plates.
This way, anyone who wanted to ask Jobs a question could simply send him an email. It can be assumed that countless people took advantage of this. Similarly, Gabe Newell from Valve must have experienced it, when players found out his email address and asked him for help.
In the past, some people reported receiving a response after writing to Jobs. An iPhone 4 user complained to Jobs about the “antenna gate problem”. Jobs’ reply was: “Avoid holding it that way” (via entertainment.howstuffworks.com).
This story shows that the visionary who passed away in 2011, despite his high position at Apple, personally addressed the problems of his customers in some cases. This is all the more remarkable as Steve Jobs, upon his return to Apple in 1996, was actually occupied with more important tasks: Steve Jobs saved Apple from bankruptcy upon his return, his idea earned $12 million in the first month
