Soon after the latest version of the iPhone went on sale, Apple customers publicly aired grievances with the company for releasing a product with so many technical glitches in its mapping application. Within a week, Apple CEO Tim Cook issued an apology letter to disgruntled customers regarding these glitches. Many critics have compared Cook’s apology to letters written by his predecessor, Steve Jobs. Others have argued that Cook’s persuasive style is different in that he uses more persuasive strategies to build an intimate feeling of connectedness with his audience, something Jobs did not do.

Compare Cook’s apology letter with Job’s pricing apology.

Make a list of similar strategies that both writers employ as well as a list of the different strategies each uses.

■ What differences do you see in the salutations? The first paragraphs?
■ How does each handle the explanation of the problem?
The apology?
■ How does the tone differ in the two letters?
■ What differences do you see in the endings of each letter?
Discuss your lists in small groups. Together, decide which letter you found more persuasive and why. Write an email to your instructor persuading him or her that your choice is the correct one.

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To our customers, At Apple, we strive to make world-class products that deliver the best experience pos- sible to our customers. With the launch of our new Maps last week, we fell short on this commitment. We are extremely sorry for the frustration this has caused our customers, and we are doing everything we can to make Maps better. We launched Maps initially with the first version of IOS. As time progressed, we wanted to provide our customers with even better Maps including features such as turn-by- turn directions, voice integration, Flyover and vector-based maps. In order to do this, we had to create a new version of Maps from the ground up. There are already more than 100 million IOS devices using the new Apple Maps, with more and more joining us every day. In just over a week, IOS users with the new Maps have already searched for nearly half a billion locations. The more our customers use our Maps the better it will get, and we greatly appreciate all of the feedback we have received from you. While we're improving Maps, you can try alternatives by downloading map apps from the App Store like Bing, MapQuest and Waze, or use Google or Nokia maps by going to their websites and creating an icon on your home screen to their web app. Everything we do at Apple is aimed at making our products the best in the world. We know that you expect that from us, and we will keep working non-stop until Maps lives up to the same incredibly high standard. Tim Cook Apple's CEO