I really have enjoyed the products that has been released over the years. It’s quite evident that there’s a vast amount of knowledge of good usability, consistency, and evolving your products into something always new, fresh, and exciting to look forward to.
However, there was always the same problem with each model and product I had that was never really changed, fixed, or looked upon. Though Apple generally makes good quality products, but every Apple cable I’ve owned (earphones, laptop and phone charger) has torn in some way and usually within a number of months. According to the “Ratings and Reviews” section of the “Lightning to USB Cable (0.5 m)” on “www.apple.com”, 234 out of 296 rated the charger “1 star” out of 5. And on the section “Most Useful” on the rating and reviews section, one said it the charger is “Disappointing” (written by Amanda L from Little Egg Harbor Mar 29, 2013). James H from Fayetteville (Mar 31, 2013) said it is “Unreliable, fragile”. And Ravi G from Seattle (Mar 14, 2013) “Flimsy. Not up to usual Apple quality standards. Breaks down with normal use.” It always tends to pull apart near the connectors and fray the wires. It’s also quite the hassle when the charger is in the condition where the cord has to be moved into certain position just for it to actually charge. And worst things worst, when it actually breaks and having to invest in buying a new one, which also doesn’t only happen once, but multiple times.
According “www.reddit.com” to a Reddit user (and proclaimed former Apple employee) Sphynxter, “Now let's look at the hierarchy of power at Apple. As with any company, Apple consists of many divisions (Sales, Marketing, Customer Service, etc.) THE most powerful division at Apple is Industrial Design. For those of you unfamiliar with the term industrial design, this is the division that makes the decisions about the overall look and feel of Apple's products. And when I say "the most powerful", I mean that their decisions trump the decisions of any other division at Apple, including Engineering and Customer Service.” “Now it just so happens that the Industrial Design department hate how a strain relief looks on a power adapter. They would much prefer to have a nice clean transition between the cable and the plug.” “Because there is no strain relief, the cables fail at a very high rate because they get bent at very harsh angles.” The nice clean transition between the cable and plug does look nicer, but from an engineering point of view, it’s pretty much allowing me to set myself up for reliability suicide because there’s no proper strain relief. I’m sure you already know why a strain relief should be on an adapter cable and how unlikely customers would enjoy the experience of their adapters failing sooner or later.
In addition, the fact that the Industrial Design department is above all else (including engineering and customer service) is distressing. Deliberately choosing to make unreliable cables because of the way it looks, doesn’t make the situation seem any better. If a product loses its functions because of the form, it’s no longer useful at all, no matter how nice it looks.
Through this all, I’m sure this isn’t the first time you’ve heard about this problem, and in terms of functionality, Apple surely knows how to create a product that’s really easy to use. The changes that are made never really disrupts the look and feel of the overall brand message which makes me support the decisions that are made and the clean modern look is seen across everything that that it does and really helps people to become familiar with it. But I’m not suggesting that customers and their personal opinions should be completely ignored. I have no objections to your policies of what to offer patrons, but I strongly believe that customer service should be looked upon more frequently and considered just as important as the design department.
Sincerely,
Britney Cabuhat
Complaint Letter - Apple Cables // 160916
Apple 1 Infinite Loop Cupertino, CA 95014
Dear Apple’s Administration,
I really have enjoyed the products that has been released over the years. It’s quite evident that there’s a vast amount of knowledge of good usability, consistency, and evolving your products into something always new, fresh, and exciting to look forward to.
However, there was always the same problem with each model and product I had that was never really changed, fixed, or looked upon. Though Apple generally makes good quality products, but every Apple cable I’ve owned (earphones, laptop and phone charger) has torn in some way and usually within a number of months. It always tends to pull apart near the connectors and fray the wires. It’s also quite the hassle when the charger is in the condition where the cord has to be moved into certain position just for it to actually charge. And worst things worst, when it actually breaks and having to invest in buying a new one, which also doesn’t only happen once, but multiple times. I’ve also done some research, and it seems that the reason for this is because the Industrial Design department would prefer to have a nice clean transition between the cable and plug, and yes, this does look nicer, but from an engineering point of view, it’s pretty much allowing me to set myself up for reliability suicide. Because there’s no proper strain relief, the cables fail at a very high rate. I’m sure you already know why a strain relief should be on an adapter cable and how unlikely customers would enjoy the experience of their adapters failing sooner or later.
In addition, the fact that the Industrial Design department is above all else (including engineering and customer service) is distressing. Deliberately choosing to make unreliable cables because of the way it looks, doesn’t make the situation seem any better. If a product loses its functions because of the form, it’s no longer useful at all, no matter how nice it looks.
Through this all, I’m sure this isn’t the first time you’ve heard about this problem, and in terms of functionality, Apple surely knows how to create a product that’s really easy to use. The changes that are made never really disrupts the look and feel of the overall brand message which makes me support the decisions that are made and the clean modern look is seen across everything that that it does and really helps people to become familiar with it. But I’m not suggesting that customers and their personal opinions should be completely ignored. I have no objections to your policies of what to offer patrons, but I strongly believe that customer service should be looked upon more frequently and considered just as important as the design department.
Sincerely,
Britney Cabuhat
Risky Business (2nd Draft) // 090816
The most painful aspect of bullying is that it feels as if it’s relentless. Unless you’ve actually experiences bullying, you may not be fully aware just how devastating it can be, especially to a teenager or child. It may seem okay just to experience one scene of teasing or name calling. However when it goes on and on, a bully can turn something like walking down the hallways or going to the bus into a nightmare. Bullying leaves deep emotional scars and puts the person in constant fear. It’s not only they’re feelings that get hurt, but their schoolwork and health suffer as well because of their feelings of being totally undermined and stressed out. People shouldn’t bully because it’s troublesome for the victim, causing anxiety and constant distress that interferes with their ability to lead a normal life.
Bullying gives the victim anxiety and the feeling of worry, nervousness, or unease and constant overwhelming fear. “Students who are both bullied and engage in bullying behavior are the highest risk group for adverse outcomes” (ncdsv.org). They’re constantly thinking about their weakness, flaws and poor upbringing. This gives awareness to only the negative things in their life. Problems sleeping and problems concentrating will take over their mind. It interferes with their plans and daily life. “Students victimized by their peers were 2.4 times more likely to report suicidal ideation and 3.3 times more likely to report a suicide attempt than youth who reported not being bullied” (ncdsv.org). Bullying emotionally breaks and diminishes anything positive. They will over think and overgeneralize everything about themselves. They get genuinely irritated by the fact that their flaws and weaknesses are all that matters so much that their positive traits slowly seem like nothing to them. Teens want to fit in; they want to be viewed positively well. “The reasons for being bullied reported most often by students were looks (55%), body shape (37%), and race (16)” (njbullying.org). When they are bullied or cyber bullied, they can’t achieve those goals of feeling that they belong, and sometimes this makes them lose the friends they have. The feeling of wanting friends, of desiring a peer group, and of needing to feel like we are valuable members of that group is something we can all directly relate to, and we usually experience those feelings as a positive thing. So much of its action goes on underneath the level of conscious awareness. “95% of teens have felt inferior at some point in their lives. When asked why they have felt inferior, students selected their top three conditions. The main reasons students have felt inferior are: Appearance: 59% Ability in some activity: 49%” (stageoflife.com). Group cohesion is so strong that we will do almost anything to fit in, and to feel anxiety if we don’t belong, or if our sense of social standing is low. We sway to group pressure, obsess over broadcasting our status. Groups reinforce the roles we have written for ourselves in our heads. There’s a sense of peer pressure when we feel we don’t belong. Everyone should feel comfortable in their own skin and not pressured to become something they’re not. Bullying makes us think very lowly of ourselves, when we should really be taking good care of ourselves instead of doubting.
Bullying shouldn’t be just left alone to be found out only through experience. Everywhere around us we see so much violence, it feels we have become desensitized to pain. “Students reported that the most harmful things teachers can do are: tell the student to solve the problem themselves: tell the student that the bullying wouldn't happen if they acted differently, ignored what was going on, or tell the student to stop tattling” (njbullying.org). People need to be reminded that violence is not actually a commonplace. Take it from the viewpoint of a victim of bullying. It would be comforting and relieving. They wouldn’t have to look over their shoulder to make sure someone isn’t going to steal their stuff or push them or throw insults. They wouldn’t be afraid to go on their phones or laptops, to see that there’s no one threatening them through social media. They would finally feel at peace with their surroundings and not hold back anger against the world. It would be a much more better place and more people would enjoy going to school. “Students reported that the most helpful things teachers can do are: listen to the student, check in with them afterwards to see if the bullying stopped, and give the student advice” (njbullying.org). Bullying shouldn’t be something considered normal and as something that we allow and accept. Leaving bullies alone to do what they do as if we allow them to bully gives them too much courage into doing whatever they want and say what they want. This doesn’t teach them manners or consideration towards others. Bullying should be known as something that comes with consequences, not rewards.
One’s mind could think that bullying should just be left alone and not stopped because it gives the them leader-like skills, great self-esteem, and dominance in their status and character, and also gives the victim an early lesson on dealing with negative people and conflict in the future. First bullying experience are rarely their last. Even as adults we have to deal with bullies, sometimes in relationships, sometimes at work, and let’s not forget about world leaders. If we treat children as if they cannot possibly cope with hurtful experiences, then we will likely undermine their confidence, preventing them growing up. But, the good in stopping bullying has much more effect than the good in continuing bullying. It’s better to have the majority of people feel happy than just centered upon building up upon a bully’s happiness. A person can have leader-like skills and great self-esteem without having to bully. Every person handles a situation differently, but bullying is a situation that completely turns the victim’s life around and leads them to an emotion they never wanted. Bullying is such a big deal to victims that it even risks their own lives. The world shouldn’t seem like it only revolves around bullies and the control they want. People need to be reminded that bullying is not a common place, in the real world, this type of behavior has consequences.
Citation: “Understanding Bullying,” cdc.gov, PsycEXTRA Dataset, 2015. Web. 27 August 2016 “Statistics about Teenagers and High School Students,” stageoflife.com, stagehighschool, 2014. Web. 27 August 2016 Stan Davice, Charisse Nixon. “The Youth Voice Project,” njbullying.org, Penn State, March 2015. Web. 27 August 2016 Dorothy L. Espelage, Melissa K. Holt. “Suicidal Ideation and School Bullying” ncdsv.org, Journal of Adolescent Health, ELSEVIER, 7 June 2012. Web. 27 August 2015
Risky Business // 082716
The most painful aspect of bullying is that it feels as if it’s relentless. Unless you’ve actually experiences bullying, you may not be fully aware just how devastating it can be, especially to a teenager or child. It may seem okay just to experience one scene of teasing or name calling. However when it goes on and on, a bully can turn something like walking down the hallways or going to the bus into a nightmare. Bullying leaves deep emotional scars and puts the person in constant fear. It’s not only they’re feelings that get hurt, but their schoolwork and health suffer as well because of their feelings of being totally undermined and stressed out. People shouldn’t bully because it’s troublesome for the victim, causing anxiety and constant distress that interferes with their ability to lead a normal life.
Bullying gives the victim anxiety and the feeling of worry, nervousness, or unease and constant overwhelming fear. They’re constantly thinking about their weakness, flaws and poor upbringing. This gives awareness to only the negative things in their life. Problems sleeping and problems concentrating will take over their mind. It interferes with their plans and daily life. Average 160,000 children miss school because they fear they will be bullied again. Bullying emotionally breaks and diminishes anything positive. They will over think and overgeneralize everything about themselves. They get genuinely irritated by the fact that their flaws and weaknesses are all that matters so much that their positive traits slowly seem like nothing to them.
Teens want to fit in; they want to be viewed positively well. When they are bullied or cyber bullied, they can’t achieve those goals, and sometimes makes them lose the friends they have. The feeling of wanting friends, of desiring a peer group, and of needing to feel like we are valuable members of that group is something we can all directly relate to, and we usually experience those feelings as a positive thing. So much of its action goes on underneath the level of conscious awareness. Group cohesion is so strong that we will do almost anything to fit in, and to feel anxiety if we don’t belong, or if our sense of social standing is low. We sway to group pressure, obsess over broadcasting our status. Groups reinforce the roles we have written for ourselves in our heads. There’s a sense of peer pressure when we feel we don’t belong. Everyone should feel comfortable in their own skin and not pressured to become something they’re not. Bullying makes us think very lowly of ourselves, when we should really be taking good care of ourselves instead of doubting.
Bullying shouldn’t be just left alone to be found out only through experience. Everywhere around us we see so much violence, it feels we have become desensitized to pain. People need to be reminded that violence is not actually a commonplace. Take it from the viewpoint of a victim of bullying. It would be comforting and relieving. They wouldn’t have to look over their shoulder to make sure someone isn’t going to steal their stuff or push them or throw insults. They wouldn’t be afraid to go on their phones or laptops, to see that there’s no one threatening them through social media. They would finally feel at peace with their surroundings and not hold back anger against the world. It would be a much more better place and more people would enjoy going to school. Bullying shouldn’t be something considered normal and as something that we allow and accept. Leaving bullies alone to do what they do as if we allow them to bully gives them too much courage into doing whatever they want and say what they want. This doesn’t teach them manners or consideration towards others. Bullying should be known as something that comes with consequences, not rewards.
One’s mind could think that bullying should just be left alone and not stopped because it gives the them leader-like skills, great self-esteem, and dominance in their status and character, and also gives the victim an early lesson on dealing with negative people and conflict in the future. First bullying experience are rarely their last. Even as adults we have to deal with bullies, sometimes in relationships, sometimes at work, and let’s not forget about world leaders. If we treat children as if they cannot possibly cope with hurtful experiences, then we will likely undermine their confidence, preventing them growing up. But, the good in stopping bullying has much more effect than the good in continuing bullying. It’s better to have the majority of people feel happy than just centered upon building up upon a bully’s happiness. A person can have leader-like skills and great self-esteem without having to bully. Every person handles a situation differently, but bullying is a situation that completely turns the victim’s life around and leads them to an emotion they never wanted. Bullying is such a big deal to victims that it even risks their own lives. The world shouldn’t seem like it only revolves around bullies and the control they want. People need to be reminded that bullying is not a common place, in the real world, this type of behavior has negative aftermaths.