Just when you thought Apple CEO Steve Jobs
couldn’t get more badass? According to SPA!, Bloomberg and about 10,000 nerds on Twitter, Jobs was stopped at the KansaiInternational Airport near Osaka in July for carrying, yes, ninja stars.
It just makes so much sense! I mean let’s say you’re Steve Jobs, you have your own private plane, you’re in Japan and you’re also a ninja …
According to SPA!, Jobs’ logic in bringing the shuriken (ninja stars) onboard his private plane was that it would be really silly to hijack his own plane. Fair enough.
Because of the weaponry fail, Jobs made it clear to airport officials that he wouldn’t be revisiting Japan any time soon, says SPA!.
Please leave us alone.
A Long Island University student, going by the name of Chelsea Kate Isaacs, allegedly received several argumentative e-mails from Steve Jobsafter she criticized the company’s Media Relations Department,according to correspondence posted on Gawker. The student claims to haverepeatedly called the PR department asking for a quote regarding iPaduse in academic settings, but the company representatives allegedly didnot bother 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 orthe company’s helpful customer service line, and yet, ironically, theMedia Relations Department fails to answer any of my questions whichare, as I have repeatedly told them, essential to my academicperformance,” Isaacs wrote in her first e-mail to the CEO..
“Our goals do not include helping you get a good grade,” Jobs allegedly responded. “Sorry.”
Isaac claims to have countered the blunt response with another message denying that she asked for help getting a good grade. She thenasked if the company considers it a duty to return calls from a clientor customer. “But I guess that’s not one of your goals,” she wrote.
“Nope,” Jobs allegedly responded. “We have over 300 million users and we can’t respond to their requests unless they involve a problem ofsome kind. Sorry.”
The student continued the confrontation by claiming to be one of Apple’s 300 million users, and with a problem that can only be addressedby the Media Relations team. She again asked for a response for herschool project and reminded the CEO that she is “on deadline.”
The purported correspondence ends with a final plea from Jobs, as he asks her to “please leave us alone.”
The entire thread between Chelsea Kate Isaacs and Steve Jobs
(Read from the bottom up)
From: Steve Jobs
To: XXXX@my.liu.edu
Date: Thu, 16 Sep 2010 18:27:36 -0700
Subject: Re: Mr. Jobs – Student Journalist Concerned about Apple’sMediaRelations Dept.
Please leave us alone.
Sent from my iPhone
On Sep 16, 2010, at 5:32 PM, XXXX@my.liu.edu wrote:
> You’re absolutely right, and I do meet your criteria for being a customer who deserves a response:
>
> 1. I AM one of your 300 million users.
> 2. I DO have a problem; I need answers that only Apple Media Relations can answer.
>
> Now, can they kindly respond to my request (my polite and friendlyvoice can be heard in the first 5 or 10 messages in their inbox).Please, I am on deadline.
>
> I appreciate your help.
>
>
> Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile
>
> ——-Original Message——-
> From: Steve Jobs
> Date: Thu, 16 Sep 2010 17:10:12
> To: XXXX@my.liu.edu
> Subject: Re: Mr. Jobs – Student Journalist Concerned about Apple’s
> MediaRelations Dept.
>
> Nope. We have over 300 million users and we can’t respond to theirrequests unless they involve a problem of some kind. Sorry.
>
> Sent from my iPhone
>
> On Sep 16, 2010, at 4:37 PM, XXXX@my.liu.edu wrote:
>
>> Thank you for your reply. I never said that your goal should beto “help me get a good grade.” Rather, I politely asked why your mediarelations team does not respond to emails, which consequently,decreases my chances of getting a good grade. But, forget about myindividual situation; what about common courtesy, in general —- if youget a message from a client or customer, as an employee, isn’t it yourjob to return the call? That’s what I always thought. But I guessthat’s not one of your goals. Yes, you do have a creative approach,indeed.
>> Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile
>>
>> ——-Original Message——-
>> From: Steve Jobs
>> Date: Thu, 16 Sep 2010 16:19:13
>> To: XXXX@my.liu.edu
>> Subject: Re: Mr. Jobs – Student Journalist Concerned about Apple’s Media
>> Relations Dept.
>>
>> Our goals do not include helping you get a good grade. Sorry.
>>
>> Sent from my iPhone
>>
>> On Sep 16, 2010, at 3:22 PM, XXXX@my.liu.edu wrote:
>>
>>> Dear Mr. Jobs,
>>>
>>> As a college student, I can honestly say that Apple hastreated me very well; my iPod is basically the lifeline that gets methrough the day, and thanks to Apple’s Final Cut Pro, I aced lastsemester’s video editing project. I was planning to buy a new Applecomputer to add to my list of Apple favorites.
>>>
>>> Because I have had such good experiences as a collegestudent using Apple products, I was incredibly surprised to find Apple’sMedia Relations Department to be absolutely unresponsive to myquestions, which (as I had repeatedly told them in voicemail aftervoicemail) are vital to my academic grade as a student journalist.
>>>
>>> For my journalism course, I am writing an article about theimplementation of an iPad program at my school, the CW Post Campus ofLong Island University.
>>>
>>> The completion of this article
>>> is crucial to my grade in the class, and it may potentiallyget published in our university’s newspaper. I had 3 quick questionsregarding iPads, and wanted to obtain answers from the most crediblesource: Apple’s Media Relations Department.
>>>
>>> I have called countless times throughout the week, leavingshort, but detailed, messages which included my contact information andthe date of my deadline. Today, I left my 6th message, which stressedthe increasingly more urgent nature of the situation. It is now the endof the business day, and I have not received a call back. My deadlineis tomorrow.
>>>
>>> Mr. Jobs, I humbly ask why Apple is so wonderfullyattentive to the needs of students, whether it be with the latest,greatest invention or the company’s helpful customer service line, andyet, ironically, the Media Relations Department fails to answer any ofmy questions which are, as I have repeatedly told them, essential to myacademic performance.
>>>
>>> For colleges nationwide, Apple is at the forefront ofimproving the way we function in the academic environment, increasingthe efficiency of conducting academic research, as well as sharing andcommunicating 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 astudent journalist who is just trying to get a good grade?
>>>
>>> In addition to the hypocrisy of ignoring student needs whenthey represent a company that does so much for our schools, the MediaRelations reps are apparently, also failing to responsibly handle theinquiries of professional journalists on deadlines. Unfortunately, for ajournalist in the professional world, lacking the answers they need ondeadline day won’t just cost them a grade; it could cost them theirjob.
>>>
>>> Thank you very much for your time and consideration.
>>>
>>> Sincerely,
>>>
>>> Chelsea Kate Isaacs
>>> Senior
>>> CW Post – Long Island University
>>>
>>> Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile
via: Gawker. Thanks Aris and Izuchukwu for letting me know!
