Retail Chief John Browett Receives First Disbursement of Signing Bonus Apple Stock

[EBreakingWave]

Originally Posted by duj

My last apple store experience in Indianapolis goes something like this. Was approached by a young person with an ipad inquiring how he might help. I told him I was buying a macbook pro for my wife. He asked us to wait by the macbook pro's (an undescribed, random area of our choosing) until some unidentified person could come assist. By the way, they weren't that busy. After some 10 minutes of waiting I reapproached the young person bearing an ipad as to when we might be helped. I was informed there were 6 people ahead of me and it might be 15 minutes. We decided to go to Best Buy and bought the macbook pro in less than 5 minutes.

Ok, so I just have to say, this bonus, of untold millions should translate to good customer service before it's actually paid. This isn't an isolated experience for me at the Indianapolis store and normally I just buy online. I think they have a problem with their retail strategy and common courtesy. Trust me here and I'm being charitable.

I had a similar experience at the Glendale store. I wanted to buy an iPad Smart Cover and was checking how much it was compared to buying from a store where I live in the UK.
I was approached by a guy in a blue shirt and he asked if I needed help, I told him what I was doing and he just had a blank expression on his face. After looking I decided to get one and he said that they are over in the corner, I asked him if I see him to pay.
He said he would wait and help with the transaction. So I walked all the way to the other side of the store and went back to where he was, but he had disappeared and was talking to the guy who greets you when you walk in, when I went to him he wandered off to another customer at the iPods.

So I went back to the middle of the store and stood to see who was available. I then decided to try the EasyPay on my phone, which I couldn't see how to do it and requested help through my phone to see how long it would take for someone to find me.
After 5mins a guy in a black shirt came to me to help me with the EasyPay, only to find out I had to change my Apple ID location from UK to US. He said it would be quicker for him to do the transaction on his iPhone PoS.

His helpfulness made up for the other guy.

I don't have an official Apple store where I live and after watching the keynotes and hearing how they are the best experience in retail, I wanted to see how it worked.

[Macist]

Originally Posted by hw007

Being an "ex-partner" of John Lewis, let me tell you that the "partnership", IS NOT WHAT IT SEEMS.

I wasn't trying to suggest it's a worker's paradise, just moderately better than other retailers and it shows.

Having done part time chainstore jobs in the past, mass-retail in general is an utterly soul-crushing and alienating sector in which to work, shovelling 'stuff' to grumpy, haughty or downright abusive members of the public all day who think some poor sod on poverty pay owes them the moon on a stick.

I'm suprised that with the internet mainstream for getting close to 20 years people still go to chain stores. Small indie or online box shifters are the way to go. The 'high street' doesn't offer much at all aside from bad experiences and insipid and futile consumption for the sake of it.

[mrxak]

Can we please have the downvote buttons again so I can downvote the communists and trolls?

[markfc]

Originally Posted by FelixDerKater

Instead, give him a first-class ticket back to the UK.

Actually...you can keep him. :-)

[DrStern]

Originally Posted by budselectjr

You mean you don't want to make a profit in retail? Must have missed that lecture in school.

No, he means that the best route to maximizing long term profits does not derive from focusing primarily on immediate profits or simple cost reduction mesaures. Apple got to where it is by focusing on providing quality products and making computers for people who are more interested in what they are doing with their machines than in the machines themselves.

Browett's first move of slashing low-paid retail staff in advance of a major product release reinforced his reputation as a typical business-school douchebag of Bain Capital proportions, and ran exactly counter to the corporate culture that has allowed Apple to reach the heights it now enjoys.

[unlimitedx]

according to latest press release, this guy has departed apple

[Veinticinco]

Originally Posted by Veinticinco

This guy is a corporate charlatan who had no business even being interviewed for the job, never mind actually appointed. Apple were looking for an "international" candidate and regardless of fit, they stupidly went for Browett who must have bullsh*tted his interview and got the nod.

Almost on cue, his first few actions have been disastrous and speak of wanting to make his mark internally, putting personal ego above the strong team ethic present at Cupertino. I'm sure this won't have gone unnoticed and his card is probably marked as being a 'problem' rather than a 'solution'. Question is, how long do they give him? Because the sooner he's a former employee of Apple Inc. the safer the company will be.

That $1.78m should be a severance package.[/b]

Not one to quote myself but hey ho...

HE'S BEEN FIRED!!!

[Cole Slaw]

Too bad there is no way to email this dude a big kick in the arse.