Why We Are Boycotting Apple

I’m a service technician. I fix things. I go to customers’ homes, diagnose problems, repair equipment, answer questions, and try to make people’s lives a little easier.

Apparently, according to Apple, that isn’t enough.

One of my customers asked me to make my business easier to find on Apple Maps. Simple request, right? A customer has an iPhone, wants to search for my service, find my location or business listing, and contact me. That’s exactly what maps are supposed to do.

Instead, I ran headfirst into Apple’s ridiculous verification process.

Apple wants documentation. Then more documentation. Proof that the business exists. Proof that I’m authorized. Proof of this, proof of that. Apparently, simply operating a legitimate business and actually serving customers isn't sufficient. I have to jump through Apple's bureaucratic hoops before Apple will decide whether my customers are worthy of finding me.

And that's where I lost patience.

Backwards Bureaucracy

Think about how backwards this is. I’m not asking Apple for access to somebody’s private medical records. I’m not asking them for their bank account. I’m not asking Apple to hand over confidential customer information. I’m asking for a business listing on a map.

Yet Apple has created a system where a small service business can effectively become invisible to a significant portion of the people carrying Apple devices. If you hold an Apple iPhone, you are at a loss because of this.

The Hypocrisy

What really pisses me off is the hypocrisy. Apple constantly lectures the world about privacy. Privacy is supposedly sacred. Apple markets itself as the company that protects people from corporations collecting too much information.

Great. I agree with protecting privacy. But apparently that philosophy changes when you're a small business trying to participate in Apple's ecosystem. Then suddenly it's: Show us your documents. Prove who you are. Give us more information. Jump through our hoops. Wait for approval.

That's not privacy. That's control.

And Apple isn't just some neutral directory anymore. Its Maps platform is a major way people discover businesses and services. When customers depend on that platform to find local providers, Apple effectively becomes the gatekeeper between a legitimate business and potential customers.

The Solution

So I gave my customer another option. I told him, honestly, that if finding my service is important to him, there is a much simpler solution: buy an Android phone.

He did. And now he can find my business without having to participate in Apple's little bureaucratic obstacle course. I never expected to recommend that a customer switch phones because of a map listing. But here we are.

Apple wants to tell everyone how much it values freedom, privacy, and putting customers first. Maybe it should start by remembering that businesses have rights too. I’m a technician, not an applicant for citizenship in the People's Republic of Apple.