Bugs are a fact of life in software. Most of them are caught and killed before the software itself is released, but sometimes they just can't be caught immediately. This results in updates containing bug fixes, or ways to fix bugs that came to light after the release, and Apple's new release of iOS 6.1.2 is out to fix a particularly nasty one.

The bug in question was related to Microsoft Exchange calendars on iOS, which caused unusually high power consumption and network cycling to take place, draining the battery at a much more rapid pace than should be. Users were reporting that their batteries were draining unusually fast, and administrators had their own concerns, saying that network capacity cycles were also being consumed with unusual voracity.

It only took Apple about a week to get a fix together following the discovery of the issue, and thus the update became available to iOS device owners on an over-the-air basis.

Reports also suggest it addresses the recently discovered “lock screen bypass” bug.

Apple has given itself a nice feather in its cap here; while the firm was scarcely in need of such embellishment, it's certainly a welcome development all the same both for users and the company itself.

The users naturally get a quick solution to a problem that was giving them some pretty serious issues—network resources are limited to say the least, and running out of battery life for a phone in the wrong place could be a disaster—and the administrators get some extra help themselves in managing network resources.

But Apple gets a boost itself; the stock price has been somewhat on the decline in recent weeks, and with this, Apple gets a new way to cement its reputation among the user base.

Responding quickly to problems and fixing those problems is a hallmark of good customer services, and customers that are well-served tend to come back. With the economy still on the sluggish side, putting out that little extra bit of responsiveness to an issue is just the kind of thing Apple could use. Its user base is still very much devoted, but there were stirrings of late that Apple's premium pricing structure might have driven some users off.

Great customer service, meanwhile, helps to convince some users that might have left that, indeed, they're getting what they pay for and a little extra besides.

A bug fix may just be a bug fix, but it has a much greater potential to secure the customer base. While the overall effect of Apple's rapid bug fixing remains to be seen, it's the kind of thing that commonly has favorable results. This time should prove no different.