The fledgling map program is in such dire need of help that Apple's recruiting everyone to correct errors
Though many of us like the app and use it regularly, it's hard to argue that there aren't problems with Apple's new Maps application bundled in its latest iOS 6 operating system. Between melted bridges, closed restaurants, and farms being listed as airports, it was all so bad that Apple's CEO Tim Cook apologized for Maps' blunders. So what's the largest corporation in the world to do? Recruit its hourly retail associates to fix the problem.
According to a new report from MacRumors, multiple Apple Store locations are participating in a new initiative where 40 staff hours per week will be devoted to fixing Maps. Teams of Apple blue shirts will be roaming the streets, double-checking the Maps app's accuracy to make sure your local Burger King isn't really a plant nursery. These employees will report back to their store's designated "subject matter expert," who will submit needed fixes into an internal company database.
The crowdsourcing effort is somewhat unprecedented, and a really good way for Apple to improve its product quickly — at least in the heavily settled urban and wealthy suburban areas with their own Apple Stores. Still, we can't help but suggest that this kind of fact-checking would have been best performed before Maps' public release.
This article was written by Fox Van Allen and originally appeared on Tecca
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