Apple reportedly tasks retail employees with highlighting iOS 6 Maps errors
Store managers at Apple's retail locations are said to have begun asking employees to report errors in the mapping database in iOS 6.
The voluntary initiative was revealed on Wednesday by Gary Allen of ifoAppleStore.com. The details indicate that Apple is hoping its more than 40,000 retail employees can help improve the Maps application introduced with iOS 6.
However, Allen also noted that not necessarily all Apple retail employees can afford an iPhone. He also questioned whether 40,000 employees could "really put a dent in Maps app errors."
After it debuted in iOS 6, Apple's new Maps application was met with widespread criticism from users who complained of incorrect positioning data, poor routing and Flyover rendering issues. Apple's new mapping solution is widely viewed as inferior to the product it replaced, which was powered by Google Maps.
Apple first issued a statement last month to say it was "working hard" to rectify Maps issues, while the company's Maps team was said to be "under lockdown" to fix some of the larger errors seen at launch. As criticism continued, Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook issued a public apology last week in which he said his company is doing "everything we can to make Maps better."
Cook also noted that Maps will improve with use, as customers can report errors in the mapping database. He also recommended a number of potential alternative mapping applications that can be used to replace iOS 6 Maps.
Users can help to improve iOS 6 Maps by selecting an incorrect location and scrolling down to select the "Report a Problem" option. From there, the choices are "Information is incorrect," "Pin is at incorrect location," "Place does not exist," or "My Problem isn't listed." Users can also enter a correct name and address for the faulty data.
The voluntary initiative was revealed on Wednesday by Gary Allen of ifoAppleStore.com. The details indicate that Apple is hoping its more than 40,000 retail employees can help improve the Maps application introduced with iOS 6.
However, Allen also noted that not necessarily all Apple retail employees can afford an iPhone. He also questioned whether 40,000 employees could "really put a dent in Maps app errors."
After it debuted in iOS 6, Apple's new Maps application was met with widespread criticism from users who complained of incorrect positioning data, poor routing and Flyover rendering issues. Apple's new mapping solution is widely viewed as inferior to the product it replaced, which was powered by Google Maps.
Apple first issued a statement last month to say it was "working hard" to rectify Maps issues, while the company's Maps team was said to be "under lockdown" to fix some of the larger errors seen at launch. As criticism continued, Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook issued a public apology last week in which he said his company is doing "everything we can to make Maps better."
Cook also noted that Maps will improve with use, as customers can report errors in the mapping database. He also recommended a number of potential alternative mapping applications that can be used to replace iOS 6 Maps.
Users can help to improve iOS 6 Maps by selecting an incorrect location and scrolling down to select the "Report a Problem" option. From there, the choices are "Information is incorrect," "Pin is at incorrect location," "Place does not exist," or "My Problem isn't listed." Users can also enter a correct name and address for the faulty data.
Comments
"Lockdown" is management-speak for management's view that their employees are miscreants, and must be chained to their desks to get work done. Oh, and that the CEO's and other management were not at fault, say, forcing employees to perform work against their advice that their was not enough support for getting the job done and the time frame demanded by management was unrealistic.
Apple stock is overpriced at $400/share.
Originally Posted by Wurm5150
…instead of all those lawsuits and lawyers?
"Innovate, don't litigate" immediately renders everything you'd have to say otherwise invalid.
Quote:
Originally Posted by waldobushman
As soon as Apple said the Map team was on "lockdown" to fix the problems, I knew Cook and clan are incompetent.
"Lockdown" is management-speak for management's view that their employees are miscreants, and must be chained to their desks to get work done. Oh, and that the CEO's and other management were not at fault, say, forcing employees to perform work against their advice that their was not enough support for getting the job done and the time frame demanded by management was unrealistic. ...
I think the real problem is that Apple historically *never* does anything with a big team of workers. They like small groups of people all working intently on this or that software problem which works for most things but doesn't actually work at all for things like maps.
For maps to work, they need to set up a separate office of people, probably numbering in the multiple hundreds, just to work on maps. This is completely antithetical to the way they have always worked and thus will likely either not happen or will be very problematic to achieve.
I feel this is the key problem that Apple faces moving forward on this and many fronts. To move forward as the huge company they now are, they will have to change how they do things, and Apple hasn't changed how they do anything since the return of Steve Jobs. These internal struggles will either pull them apart or turn them into the next Sony IMO.
I only wish traffic was shown stronger.
In Miami, the year old Marlin's Park stadium didn't come up when I searched for it over the weekend. I looked up the address and reported the error. -- Maps also took me to the wrong (closed) airport in Panama City a few weeks ago. The new one (2 years old) didn't even show up.
Why don't just copy the Google Maps??? Just look at Google Maps, and copy all Points of interest from there! By the way, in my city, the capital of a European country there are no Points of interest, absolutly none. Google Maps is full of Points of interest. So, where do I report this tiny "error"?
From my own experience getting from A to B is not really the problem with Apple Maps, I do a lot of driving for work up and down the country and I've found it pretty accurate.
The problem is lack of data with regards to points of interest such as shops, restaurants, cinema's etc and this sadly is one area where Google really seemed to excel.
Having said that I reported the large supermarket near me to Apple last week and as of yet it has not been added..... So I would not expect a few thousand employees reporting missing locations to make a difference any time soon.
Also, the fact that Apple does not fix glaring, news reported errors like Doncaster being renamed to Duncaster by Apple and you've got to wonder what the hell is going on. Surely a simple rename is not difficult to do.
Originally Posted by NelsonX
…Points of interest…
What are these supposed to represent or mean?
…in my city, the capital of a European country there are no Points of interest, absolutely none.
You're doing wonders for tourism.
Frankly this doesn't make much sense when you have millions and millions of users who have and will continue to report issues...but if that is what they are doing...the more fixes the better.
It would seem it might be more helpful if Apple tried to leverage its large number of store employees (and their location specific knowledge) to verify / approve or help process the mountain of update / fix requests that users have submitted to Apple since iOS 6 was released.
Every IOS6 owner can already improve the accuracy now. The "reporting" feature is already included in the maps app.
Quote:
Originally Posted by NelsonX
Why don't just copy the Google Maps??? Just look at Google Maps, and copy all Points of interest from there! By the way, in my city, the capital of a European country there are no Points of interest, absolutly none. Google Maps is full of Points of interest. So, where do I report this tiny "error"?
Use the same "Report a Problem" link from within maps, choose "My problem isn't listed" and add a generic comment.
What major capital by the way?
J.
I look forward to your forthcoming book on how Apple works, a view from the inside. Don't start from the past, though—just a tip from an ex-book editor. Start from the case of Siri, which is said to be the project with the largest software staff within Apple.
Let's have some detail on that project to see how Apple is working NOW on an entirely new area of mobile assist, for them. Then go on to show how the company's operations are constantly evolving as it takes on new technology.
First rule of reporting: throw out your naive presuppositions. But I forgot—you like to throw those in, not out.
That "lockdown" comment was pretty funny. This is California, not China. There is no lockdown.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tallest Skil
What are these supposed to represent or mean?
You're doing wonders for tourism.
No banks, no restaurants, and almost no buildings. Just the streets.
Quote:
Originally Posted by waldobushman
As soon as Apple said the Map team was on "lockdown" to fix the problems, I knew Cook and clan are incompetent.
"Lockdown" is management-speak for management's view that their employees are miscreants, and must be chained to their desks to get work done. Oh, and that the CEO's and other management were not at fault, say, forcing employees to perform work against their advice that their was not enough support for getting the job done and the time frame demanded by management was unrealistic.
Apple stock is overpriced at $400/share.
I read "lockdown" more as hey we have an issue, you are all to drop everything else, including vacations and any thought of speaking to the media about this issue, until we address the primary concerns.
As an earlier post asking if 40,000 people can make a difference - 40,000 is quite a lot more than 0 - and should prove sufficient for Apple to streamline the process by which they put corrections into effect - which might involve feeding info back to the sources from which they derived the data in the first place. Also, encouraging those folks who have a vested interest in the product to contribute seems prudent, the faster they can make improvements the better and as a first step I think it is better than appealing to 100m people to provide the feedback. Not that I am suggesting they don't want feedback form everyone - just that the approach should be different to all users the message would be more along the lines of Did you know you can submit reports to make our service even better? which is phase 2 after imploring employees to provide feedback so that when the message goes out to all users it is "Help make it the best service available" vs "Make it work well enough to stop being a source of embarassment" and if you don't think all Apple employees have a vested interest in improving Apple products and services then just see what happens to payroll and headcount should Apple encounter really tough times.
I have made over 40 corrections so far within the last few months since the first beta of iOS 6. So far, not a single one has been accepted. This is pretty disappointing!
Quote:
Originally Posted by jnjnjn
Use the same "Report a Problem" link from within maps, choose "My problem isn't listed" and add a generic comment.
What major capital by the way?
J.
Bucharest. I know, third world country does not matter for Apple. But they did liked my money!