Steve Jobs Tells Student: ''Please Leave Us Alone''

From: Tom's Hardware 9-20-2010

Uh oh. Looks like Steve got a little short with an eager journalism student from Long Island. An exchange between the two finished abruptly when Jobs told the girl to, "Please leave us alone."





Chelsea Kate Isaacs, a senior at Long Island University, was recently given an assignment about the school's new practice of giving all incoming students an iPad. Isaacs wanted to get a quote from Apple regarding the iPad's use in academic settings. Unfortunately for her, several phone calls to the Cupertino-based company's media relations department went unanswered. After about "5-10 messages," Chelsea decided to email Steve Jobs to see if he could give the PR team a kick in the butt and get them to respond.

"Mr. Jobs, I humbly ask why Apple is so wonderfully attentive to the needs of students, whether it be with the latest, greatest invention or the company's helpful customer service line, and yet, ironically, the Media Relations Department fails to answer any of my questions which are, as I have repeatedly told them, essential to my academic performance," she wrote.

"For colleges nationwide, Apple is at the forefront of improving the way we function in the academic environment, increasing the efficiency of conducting academic research, as well as sharing and communicating with our college communities.

"With such an emphasis on advancing our education system, why, then, has Apple's Media Relations team ignored my needs as a student journalist who is just trying to get a good grade?"

Unlike the PR department, the Apple CEO did respond to the 22-year-old journalism student. However, he wasn't interested in helping her.

"Our goals do not include helping you get a good grade. Sorry," Steve emailed back.

Chelsea responded to Steve, asking if it wasn't the company's job to return the calls of clients or customers. Steve responded again, telling Chelsea that Apple has 300 million customers and "we can't respond to their requests unless they involve a problem of some kind." When Chelsea told Steve that she was one of his 300 million customers and that she did have a problem, Steve told her, "Please leave us alone."

The email chain has sparked some debate across the blogosphere. Though many argue that if Jobs had time to reply three or four times, he had the time to forward her request to the PR department but chose not to help the student. Others say that while it was rude for Jobs to tell her to leave him alone, Isaacs was quite snooty in her correspondence and seemed to think she was entitled to speak with someone at Apple or that they should feel obliged to return her call because she needed a quote for an assignment. Who do you think is in the wrong here? Full email chain is below for those interested in reading the correspondence in its entirety.

Source: Gawker Media

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What a maroon! More reasons to stay away from the Cult of Jobs!

He's pissed that she uses a BlackBerry.

No wonder I am always hearing stories about how Apple followers are arrogant. The least he could have done, was point her in the direction she needed to go for answers. A lack of respect for customers deserves no respect from customers. This show of gratitude shows how he really feels toward all his customers.

I said it once and I will say it again, I don't want anything to do with Apple. There are reason's why Apple has a small percentage in the market. Speaking from someone that doesn't know what they are, I'm not interested in finding out either.

It's a shame they included her picture as it probably tainted my view. She impresses me as the pretty young girl that always gets her way and gets snooty when she doesn't. His mistake was answering her first email or her second.

That's too bad that you let a picture affect your viewpoint. Apparently you're a little too visually oriented.

To me she's looks like she's being coy or flirtatious, not snooty.

I'm not saying she looks snooty in the photo. I'm saying I read a tone in her email, like he owes her something, and maybe part of that tone is based on my experience with the cute girls that feel some sense of entitlement.

Now I'm sure she was frustrated so I "get" she was angry when she wrote this ...
"I do meet your criteria for being a customer who deserves a response"

But then she ends with "Now, can they kindly respond to my request (my polite and friendly voice can be heard in the first 5 or 10 messages in their inbox). Please, I am on deadline." basically I see her telling Jobs, "so now do it, make them talk to me, and hurry."

Now Steve Jobs has a tone too; he's an arrogant #$%@ who cares about money not people, and comes off that way to me in any video I've ever seen of him.

What I wouldn't expect is to be able to write to the CEO of a huge company like that and get a response at all, so there is where he screwed up, by replying. Yes he's an A-hole but her thinking he would help her in the first place is naive at best. And her thinking he would just "do it" now that she has stated she is .00000000333% of his business and on a deadline is pathetic.

I'm guessing she missed her deadline. And surprise, Steve Jobs, is still one rich A-hole.

And always will be, until he draws his last breath. Were it not for his wealth, he would have passed years ago. The illness that he had is a death sentence for the majority. For most, that's a wake up call to get your act together, and plead for mercy. But not for Steve Jobs.

I'm glad that when I was going to purchase a Mac, that things turned out as they did. I now see it as a favor, rather than bitterness. A pack of snobs, all the way from Jobs, down to the sales force, many of which can't even close on a sale.

Any why all of these customers, when a new product is launched, stand in the cold and rain or whatever all night, with no sleep, to purchase their crap, amazes me. Then you see some coming out the door, holding two of their newest products up high, as if it were pure gold.

No wonder Apple has less than 5% of the computing market. The day will come that Linux will surpass them, as far as OS usage goes. In this economy, $1,200 for a 13 inch notebook with only a 250GB drive, and 2GB RAM, is outright outrageous. Their success, if that's what it's called, is that of selling gadgets, rather than computers. Eventually, the economy's wrath will reach Apple's customers too.

Cat

Reading through the original letter to Steve, I was struck by this line, "For my journalism course, I am writing an article about the implementation of an iPad program at my school, the CW Post Campus of Long Island University."

From what I can tell, there were no restrictions on whom she could go to for possible answers to her questions. She could have easily contacted the person or persons responsible for the Program itself and follow it through. Was it a directive just from the School? Was it influenced by an Alum of the School? Is there a State or even Federal influence there as well?

From what I can tell, she had no need to go to Apple for any information and most probably they didn't even know about the schools policy. Also, she went to the Media Relation Department where as far as I can guess from the name, they deal with the Media side of Apple (commercials/news/ect) and would be scratching their heads at her insistance that they do her homework for her.

So to me she seems to be the "I'm so pretty and always had everything handed to me on a platter, especially when I pout so cutely, how can you resist such a sweet little girl like me...ect...ect...ect" that I actually hope she failed and possible learned something about life and how not everything can go your way.

Steve's biggest mistake was even dignifying her email with a reply at all... and then he just shows himself to be a bubble headed as her in his curt and self-important replies.

If it was me, the best she'd get is a rubber stamp type reply along the lines as "We appreciate your interest in our Company and it's practices...bla,bla,bla...find out more at our website...bla..bla...bla"

This is a response that the PR team should have given. The PR team giving a reply even if it was an automated reply would have changed the outcome in my opinion. No response or a nicer response but not the response that was given.

On behalf of either side, issues like these leave you wondering what has not been publicized.

5% of the computing market and a valuation that surpasses Microsoft--just to play devil's advocate.