Crisis expert gives Apple a 'C' for iPhone 4 response
Apple's news conference last week on the iPhone 4 antenna and reception fiasco gets an A- grade, but its overall response rates just a C, according to a crisis communications expert.
"For the test, I'd give Apple a B+ or A-, but for the entire semester, they get just a C," said Patrick Kerley, senior digital strategist with Levick Strategic Communications, a Washington, D.C.-based firm that specializes in situations where companies are backed against a wall.
Although Kerley gave Apple CEO Steve Jobs high marks for the way he handled last Friday's press conference, during which Jobs defended the iPhone 4's antenna design and announced all buyers will receive a free case to improve reception, he knocked the company's slow response to the three-week incident.
