They came to us requesting a component that they could not develop themselves, but they still acted as though they held all the power. They do it because they can. Most vendors put their tails between their legs and supplicate to the alpha dog.
DT, respectfully, is this not the way of business since time immemorial?
Do large volume customers not dangle the prize of their business before potential vendors?
Do the potential vendors not have the freedom of choice as to whether to bid for the business? (Assuming they will still survive on their current business model)
OK granted there are degrees of professional courtesy in all business dealings and I actually don't dispute your perception, and even have an explanation (not that it forgives your complaints):
Corporate Culture
NOT defending Apple here but simply bringing out how I think it happened:
Recall Apple was founded by 2 guys putting together kits in a garage literally on a mission to change the world.
Through thick and thin and dedicated to a highly focused vision they built their company.
WHO did they hire?
People who shared their passion and vision.
People who ate, slept, worked and played at "the company".
As success was finally enjoyed, a subliminal feeling of entitlement kicks in, of "us against the world" and certainty that vindication will always occur.
Twenty years in you get the attitude you experienced in you vendor relationship.
And not just Apple but any number of Silicon Valley startups based on the same corporate culture model.
We talked about myth in another thread and Apple's a prime example of its corporate culture being based on the myth of their superiority to all other forms of computing.
Truth to tell when I was selling computers I started out as an MSDOS loyalist because I perceived the precision of the operating system: only the tasks that were commanded to be performed were performed, but the Apple OS performed its entire task cycle continuously, in loose terms.
I perceived inefficiency.
Then one day I had a revelation:
PC's should be as easy to use as driving a car which is already a complicated enough task.
That's when I realized the underlying strength of their graphic user interface.
But when I had to attend training classes on the MacII, required of vendors, I realized these guys were already a bit too self-assured and evangelistic in their attitudes.
SO always had that in the back of my mind about 'em.
Say, purely out of idle curiosity, you wouldn't have happened to have worked at Motorola, did you? (Or were you the guy who worked at a major aerospace outfit and I've forgotten?)
Back when I was selling chips to local manufacturers I always admired their ethics in delivering product
when promised at the
price promised, in a time of severe industry backlogs and shortages when other local chip makers would simply stiff customers with older orders on the books and ship product to newer customers who booked at higher prices.
There was a time when Apple was experiencing hard times in the 00's I used to say:
"Motorola will never let 'em die", because the relationship was too symbiotic.
Which also leads back to that issue of freedom of choice:
Your company DID accede to Apple's demands, so somebody with decision-making authority obviously decided the potential rewards made them worth acceding to.
Not that it forgives Apple's imperious corporate culture.
:friendly_wink:
PS I do have to admit their OS's resistance to viruses/hacking is admirable.