Dear Mr. Jobs,
While you may think that a faulty iPhone or a simple glitch that eventually resolves itself has little effect on the general iPhone owning population, I'm here to tell you differently. I work as a server at a popular new restaurant in Somerville, MA; or, at least, I did. Having two Bachelors' of Arts and experience in a variety of professions, you may think I am overqualified for a job as a server. You'd be right. But alas, I have not been able to find employment within my fields of expertise, so I fall back on my experience within the service industry as a means to pay my bills while searching for better, more gainful employment.
I had to work New Year's Eve from 3:30 p.m. to 4 a.m. Upon arriving home, I got myself ready for bed and set my iPhone alarm for 10 a.m. This would have given me ample time to wake up and ready myself for my 12 p.m. double shift on New Year's Day. In an industry where one is expected to keep late hours, but also show up on time to ensure professional and fine quality service to patrons, my alarm clock is essential. When I don't get to bed until 5 a.m. because of a late night of work, I am prepared for the fact that I will only get 4 or 5 hours of sleep; yet, my body will not naturally wake up on that amount of sleep. An alarm clock is the only way to ensure that I am up on time to go serve brunch to people much like you, your friends, and your family. While such a job may seem insignificant to some, it is the only thing keeping me paying $100/mo for my iPhone service. Upon my termination, I was told that I was wonderful, but that my tardiness was unfair to the other employees. So, Mr. Jobs, I'd like to let you know that you have officially, directly contributed to unemployment in 2011. If you had warned me about the glitch, I could have at least picked up a $5, battery-operated alarm clock that would have saved my job. Now I'm unemployed in a time when jobs are not easily had, and I am short on my rent. So, Happy New Year to you, Mr. Jobs. I hope you remember to shoot me an email next time there is any chance of a glitch. (Just a note, my iPhone bill payment will probably be late this month.)
Best,
Lindsay Garvey
Andy Borowitz: iPhone Alarm Fix!
For the record, you're the one talking about your job being insignificant. No one else is saying that. Also, to the commenter who said that they're astounded by the amount of "hate" in response to this article, and that we're all right wing trolls, get a life. It's about personal responsibility. For example, I used to live in an apartment where the power would go out often in the early morning hours, 2:00, 3:00 am, usually while we were sleeping. It would go out for like a second, but I'd wake up in the morning for work, and see my alarm clock flashing "12:00". So, I had a backup. This was actually when I didn't have a cell phone. It's not ridiculous to have a backup, just like it's not ridiculous to have a deadbolt lock, or a seatbelt etc.
Tardiness isn't fair to other employees, by the way.
Second, withtwo BA's and professional experience, maybe the problem is with the poster and her employment options.
Third, if she's being forced to work the kind of hours described, maybe the emancipation provided by the iPhone glitch was a blessing in disguise.
Last, maybe an iPhone with $100 a month service ismore phone than a wait person really needs.
Anyway...
Or if you found the job important, you could have picked up a $5 batter operated alarm clock.
I have THREE alarms in the morning. I can reliably count on two of them... and it's not always the same two. None of them are an iPhone, and an iPhone purchase wouldn't have made me throw away those three alarms either.
It's not Apple's responsibility to make sure you get to work on time... it's your own.
1) Why don't you have the $5 alarm to begin with?
2) Don't count on cell phones, because when has technology ever proven 100% reliable?
3) Clearly one tardy instance won't get you canned. What else have you done to deserve this?
4) Why on earth are you paying for an iphone when a $40 bill for a simple flip phone could save you at least $60/mo? Perhaps you should consider how you budget your finances?
5) Why don't have the $5 alarm again?
I use my cell phone for an alarm clock but anytime it's necessary for to be up at a certain time (and certainly if my job depended on it) I set an extra alarm just in case - it's called being responsible. It's sad that someone writes an article like this and then whines about losing their job - especially when said phone is expensive and $100 a month phone payments are out of many people's reach in this economy. poor poor girl.
Maybe at her next job she will make a point of getting to work on time, and if something happens car accident, subway delay, she will have the sense to call work and say I am running late here is why.
I find most bosses just need to know what is going on to adjust to it.
If it is a habit you picked a bad economy to do it in.
Everone is replaceable.
Most employers don't like firing people. So if they are handed an "easy out", it will stop them from having to pick someone at random, then tell that person they were fired just because some beancounter wanted someone fired.
It's not Steve Jobs fault that you missed your wakeup call.
On the other hand, it IS amazing that this is the first really serious glitch in the iPhone's history. Imagine all the complaints we'd be hearing if people felt it was acceptable to blame Bill Gates personally for all the missed appointments, lost documents, and other screw up associated with Windows!
Let's see, her alarm had already failed to go off previously AND she had already been late to work once before and received a warning.....but it didn't occur to her to get a battery-operated or wind-up alarm clock as a back up?
She got exactly what she deserved. Hopefully she learns a lesson but, going by the fact that she blames Steve Jobs for her own lack of maturity and common sense, I doubt it.
So, the alarm had failed her once before but she STILL trusted it? As for the glitch, does the woman live under a rock??? I don't even OWN an iPhone so have no reason to have read about the glitch but I was aware of it prior to New Year's Day.
Sorry. I didn't buy the story to begin with but, the fact that she had already experienced an alarm failure just tells me she is not too bright (2 degrees notwithstanding), has no common sense and, like so many people today, likes to blame her failures on someone or something else.
Regarding why she hadn't heard before...Probably, because, unlike you, she doesn't have too many hours to spend on blogs or other unneeded sites for information unneeded for most.
First, where did I say I read about it online? There ARE ways to get news other than on the internet. As for the time I spend, I'm on vacation and happen to read the NYTimes on line. Some of us actually still like to keep up with the news. And if you expect me to believe that she doesn't read the paper, watch the TV news or listen to the news on the radio (not all of them, just one of them- the report was everywhere) puleeeeze. Everyone I know knew about it....even my niece who, being a surgical resident, has less time to keep up with the news than pretty much anyone else and, again, does not own an iPhone (and is very glad she doesn't).
Ergo, it's easy to dump them and finding a suitable replacement requires a short orientation, not training.