

Apple App Store Surprise: Giving credit where credit is due - vlucas
http://withfoam.com/post/269213531/giving-credit-where-credit-is-due

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umangjaipuria
Classic case of lowering expectations so much that even fulfilling the basic
needs seems like a fantastic experience.

~~~
roc
I can understand taking a pot-shot at lowered expectations. I can even buy an
argument that re-submission shouldn't require a re-queue.

But the phone call is still laudable service. (assuming the client wasn't
someone 'important')

~~~
cubicle67
I'm a nobody in AppStore land and I live outside the US

A few months ago I received a personal phone call from Apple just to remind me
that my annual dev fee was up for renewal soon.

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angelbob
The post reads a bit like an abuse victim. "Well, I mean, sure, they've done
some bad and difficult things, but sometimes they're really nice!", combined
with making excuses.

~~~
andreyf
Remember the $200 price drop after all their rabid fans waited all day in line
for a $600 phone? Remember how it was followed by the $100 gift certificate?
[1]

I think it's been clear for awhile that the Apple marketing department takes
tips from abuse victim psychology 101.

1\. <http://www.apple.com/hotnews/openiphoneletter/>

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xenophanes
here is my take:

apple started with a conservative policy -- if an app might be bad to let in,
reject it. also a cheap policy: don't hire extra people who might not be
needed.

this "conservative" policy let in over 95% of submissions with no trouble. and
they had enough manpower to do that in a time frame that is reasonable in the
business world (the stories about it taking months are not typical, most apps
were approved in under 2 weeks). seeing that situation, how could Apple, or
anyone, possibly consider that a failure? that's a very good first iteration.
meanwhile, no major disasters happened.

apple is now adjusting their policy for the better. they are reforming it. and
they now have the knowledge to do that without anything bad happening.

this is all as it should be. zero cause for complaint from anyone. job well
done.

if Apple tried to start with the reformed version, that would not have
magically made everything perfect. they would have made just as many initial
mistakes implementing any other policy. the difference simply would have been
the mistakes did more damage b/c the app approval policy was less cautious in
edge cases.

yet people spew a bunch of hate in response to recent reforms!

> As much as I love Apple I have a hard time praising them for doing something
> they should have done from the start.

reforms should be praised and encouraged!

~~~
Morieris
I think you're right... and the rep that the process gets comes from those 5%
with problems, who are shouting at the top of their lungs (typing furiously?),
while the other 95% are quietly and contentedly working on their next app.

My own experience with the app store has been smooth and uneventful;
definitely nothing worth invoking Internet Rage over.

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jdg
So they get a phone call about three20 usage, and I get a rejection?
Beautiful.

Love the consistency.

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vlucas
A story like this makes me wonder who the client company was. Did they do this
because they really want to change, or because it was some large "important"
company?

~~~
glhaynes
In the comments the developer states that he's under NDA until release, but
that it's a small no-name with no previous iPhone apps.

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yason
Sounds like there's at least one good, caring person working in AppStore
submissions. That's all it takes -- one person can make the difference.

It's just that based on blog activity the ratio between good, caring persons
and wannabe dictators in AppStore submissions department is quite close to
zero.

~~~
anigbrowl
Fire them and average productivity will appear to go up.

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jacktasia
As much as I love Apple I have a hard time praising them for doing something
they should have done from the start.

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tienshiao
I got a call once too regarding some issues with my screenshots and the
"large" icon. Same deal, fix it, no requeue.

That app does single digit sales a day, so it wasn't because I (or the app)
was important or popular. Though I got the impression the caller wasn't the
reviewer. Somehow, certain issues get escalated.

All in all, a nice gesture.

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alanthonyc
I'm hoping that this story, along with the recent "straight from the top"
approval by Jobs, are indicative of a fundamental change in their policies and
procedures. The app store has been out a little over a year, I'm sure a few
iterations are needed to get the approval process where it needs to be.

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plusbryan
Apple has actually called us on a few occasions. I don't really understand how
they have time to do so, considering that it still takes them so long to get
to our app reviews, but it's a nice gesture.

