Public relations can be awesome… when it’s good. It’s considered the most credible form of promotion and can dramatically impact consumer perceptions.  But, it can also be negative… and, the way an organization handles the negative can be a make or break situation.

Apple is smart. U.S. consumers started getting word of conditions at Foxconn some time ago when the suicides started and we’ve followed the story through the media as they have taken us to the origins of our shiny toys and shown us what we already know. But, the media hasn’t left Apple alone, even though they are only one client of many when it comes to products manufactured by the hundreds of thousands people that call Foxconn their employer.

Organizations can learn a lot by how Apple has handled this particular situation…

1) Be proactive – Rather than go silent like Carnival Corp. recently did with the recent crash in Italy, Apple has been proactive with social audits from the beginning and disclosed their supplier information for the first time.  While Apple does not own Foxconn, they have spent a pretty penny sending in auditors to assess and apply corrective action where necessary.  Let’s keep in mind that they can’t force Foxconn to do anything.  Working together improves safety and general labor conditions, without job loss or shipment delays.

2) Don’t play the blame game – Rather than calling out the media regarding their obvious bios or even trying to otherwise turn the focus to the many other electronics companies that use Foxconn, Apple has taken the high road and has been forethcomig with activities and actions.  Remember Ford v Firestone? With both parties blaming each other, consumers ended up blaming both.

3) Do something no one else has – Apple paid $250k to be the first electronics company to join the Fair Labor Association.  And, they are now in the process of funding 3rd party auditors to assess the conditions at the factory.  So far, there have been only glowing reports.  Straight from the Nike playbook, it works.

4) Show compassion – Make sure top executives communicate their support for addressing and resolving the issues.  Consumers can be very forgiving if they really believe you’re sorry.  Tim Cook has come out on several occasions and demonstrated his support and compassion for the labor conditions at factories making Apple products.

Apple continues to exceed stockholder expectations and remains one of the most respected brands throughout the world.  They’re doing something right.

It’s ~10:15am and the mall opened only moments earlier.  I note that the parking lot is unusually empty.

I need a cable.  I’m told I need a VGA adapter cable to project my presentation materials at HCC via my MacBook Pro.  I checked online but couldn’t figure out exactly what I needed and thought a quick trip to the Apple store would mean instant satisfication for next week’s classes.

I’m an Apple fan… I talk about Apple a lot.

But, I’ve never purchased anything from the Apple store.  To my advantage, I married an early adopter (smart guy) that researches, purchases, sets up and maintains all of my fun electronic goodies. He’s amazing at this… so, I’ve never purchased anything at the Apple store even though I own many of their products and speak of them often.

My experience at the Apple store has me thinking…

Although the mall just opened and the parking lot was seemingly empty, I found the Apple store to be beaming with eager consumers ready to hand over their credit cards in exchange for the latest and greatest shiny gadgets.

I just want a cable, so I head over with my 3yr old daughter and ask the guy in the blue shirt standing near the end of the store.  He’s holding an iPad and quickly looks up to nonverbally inquire about what it is I want.  He tells me quite simply that this area is the “technical area” and someone would assist me soon.

I stand there.

I stand there some more, with my 3yr old getting anxious in the stroller.  She had been promised a carousel ride and wasn’t happy about the unexpected stop.

I start listening and hear all about the wonder of Apple products and how much they improve our lives by their seemingly limitless capabilities and shininess.  They are pretty.  The herd thinks so as well.  It’s written all over their faces.  For these sales people, it must be like shooting fish in a barrel.

I smile.

I stand there some more.

It’s 10:45am.  I’m not smiling anymore.

I visually check the accessory shelf to determine if I can just make a quick choice, but I don’t see anything referencing “VGA”.   I do notice some pretty cool iPhone cases though.

It’s 10:50am and I pull over a guy in a blue shirt as he’s heading to the “technical area.” The guy with the clipboard had been standing there the whole time, not oblivious to my increased impatience.  He has an important job though… protecting the “technical area.”

The guy I flag down helps me out but finally walks me over to an iPad conveniently docked by a MacBook Pro.  He continues to talk of the “magic of Apple” in that I only need to select something on the iPad to be in a queue for an associate.  I’m confused and somewhat shocked that I had failed to notice any cash registers before.  OK…

It seems that if I want to “buy” this cable I now have in my hand, I need to wait for an associate using this “magic” system of no cash registers.

It’s 11am.  I flag a lady down in a blue shirt and ask if I could just make a quick purchase of the cable.  She says she doesn’t have the equipiment but will return in a moment.

The nice lady returns several minutes later and asks me for my name and other information.  I indicate again that I would just like to “buy” the cable and be gone.  My 3yr old was now obviously ready to escape the confines of the stroller and was only moments away from ripping the store apart.  These gadgets were of no interest to her since we have them at home.

I’m told that I won’t receive a receipt without providing the requested information.  I’m OK with this and am released from the store with the $29 cable to proceed with my day.  It’s 11:10am.

Time for the carousel…

“No one wants to die. Even people who want to go to heaven don’t want to die to get there. And yet death is the destination we all share. No one has ever escaped it. And that is as it should be, because Death is very likely the single best invention of Life. It is Life’s change agent. It clears out the old to make way for the new. Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.” – Steve Jobs

One of the most inspirational speeches I’ve seen includes Jobs’ 2005 commencement at Standford…

And, my all-time favorite quote also comes from Jobs…

“Here’s to the crazy ones, the misfits, the rebels, the troublemakers, the round pegs in the square holes… the ones who see things differently — they’re not fond of rules… You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them, but the only thing you can’t do is ignore them because they change things… they push the human race forward, and while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius, because the ones who are crazy enough to think that they can change the world, are the ones who do.”

So, the world will obviously move on without Steve Jobs  (1955-2011) in it, but I hope we don’t soon forget the contributions of a true visionary… someone that really did make a dent in the universe. He was more than iPods and iPads… he just got it.