Real really hasn’t got a clue.

The digital media company, a genuine pioneer in streaming audio and video back in the early days of the web, managed to piss its users off over the years by subjecting them to a steady shitstorm of bad, buggy software and an increasingly cynical attitude towards its customers.

More recently, its CEO’s attempts to team up with Apple invited only ridicule from Steve Jobs, and yet more bad press. They’re an MBA school case study in waiting on how to seriously screw up a business through bad customer relations.

You’d think they’d learn. Not so.

Perhaps piqued by Jobs’ offhand response to his advances earlier this year, Glazier has kicked up a fight with Apple, slashing prices (reg reqd) on tunes in Real’s online store and launching a petition urging Apple to open up the iPod to music from other music stores.

Now, you could argue Glazier has a point, as Apple is pursuing a closed, proprietary model with iTunes and iPod to protect the two businesses from competition. Such moves are generally bad for consumers. But you could also argue – and I would – that few, if any, consumers have suffered so far because of Apple’s moves – the market is simply too young. And, in Microsoft and its Windows Media Player, Apple has a strong, healthy rival.

Either way, fighting for better choice shouldn’t be a PR disaster for Real. Right? And people will love you if you cut your prices so low you’re actually making a loss on every song sold – right?

Wrong. Someone should have told Real – hell, they should have known: pick a fight with Apple, and hoards of Mac lovers will pile in to support the company. All the harder if your own company has an utterly shitty record when it comes to looking after its own customers.

Instead Real – in an act of spectacular naivety – started a blog (jeez – you can see the meeting this was cooked up in, can’t you? Swanky offices? Check. Several dodgy pairs of specs on attendees’ noses? Check. Spectacularly stupid internet idea, four years late, that everyone heralds as being “cool”? Check). And it’s put the all-important petition on a public website – petitiononline.com – that it can’t edit or manage. It’s been a disaster, as these comments left by “signatories” to the petition (lovingly gathered by MacDailyNews) demonstrate:

“333: ‘When a company comes along that has a better sense of design and usability than Apple Computer, then I will consider using their service instead of iTunes. Until then, the prettiest and most efficient method wins. It’s iTunes all the way, a no-brainer, especially on Mac.’

319: ‘Real sucks and I’ll continue to use my iPod with iTunes Music Store exclusively, thanks.’

318: ‘Hey Real, this is nothing more than a two-bit jerry rigged hack.’

307: ‘This is a damaging & embarrassing site for your company. If I were you I would abandon this ‘campaign’ idea & take a look at why Apple commands such high levels of customer loyalty.’

304: ‘You’re not dead yet Real? You suck, your software sucks and your days are numbered. Have fun losing this one Real.’”

Heaven knows what’s going on at Real, and if I was a shareholder I’d be wanting to know what on earth Glazier’s playing at. Whoever dreamed up this idea should be getting the elbow (although, judging by largely warm praise for the initiative from various PR bods quoted by PR Week, they may well get a prize instead).

Knowing Real, alas, I suspect their next move will simply be to trumpet the number of people who’ve “signed” their petition – and ignore, as ever, the feedback attached to those names. And the whole operation will continue down its long stumble towards oblivion.

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