Apple Increases Work Scheduling Commitments for Retail Store Employees

[charlituna]

and fire the do nothing middle and store managers who hide in the back offices rather than sell things on the floor

You do understand that managers are not sales people. They are managers. At any retail store they are there to manage the staff. To handle customer service issues, make change for cash registers. And yes sometimes to do required back room tasks like scheduling.

That is why they aren't ringing you up for that iPad that you want to buy. They have to be free to do what is part of their job.

 

[JHankwitz]

Would think hiring more people would've been a better choice.

Hiring more people doesn't balance demand. If they hired more people to cover weekends, they'd need to cut other empolyee hours during the week, moving them from full-time to part-time employees. Not a good idea.

 

[charlituna]

They need more staff all the time. It can be difficult to get hold of someone even on a Monday or Tuesday.

Some of that could be due to availability. IF they were only asking 2 days from the part timers and that was just Saturday and Sunday or most of them then they have to rely on the full time staff for the weekends. But much of the full time staff are trainers and techs not sales people. And are generally out numbered by part timers a good 3 to 1. So you have fewer full time in general and a good half doing other things. It's a nightmare situation.

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I wonder if this means they're committing to offer part-timers at least 24 hours a week?

No retail store ever does that with part time staff. many of them don't even guarantee 40 hours for full time. It's up to 29 for part time and 30-40 for full time and that's as much of a guarantee as you get.

And again, an alleged Apple employee at the source article says that this is old news and it's 3 days open to work, no hours. It actually makes sense. Tighter availability of when you can work makes it harder to make schedules and part timers can actually end up losing hours because they can only work such a small bit of time. And really is it that huge of a deal. If you know that you have to commit to however many days you stack your classes and such to fit that.

 

[12dylan34]

I can guarantee that this is a better situation than OfficeMax. I used to work there before getting an internship, and they would have as few as 2 employees (4 at busy times) in the enormous store to help people, check people out, stock shelves, etc. It was really stressful because you would have to answer the phone while checking people out, then the people on the phone would ask if you have a specific thing, but there was nobody free that you could ask to go look for it, so you would have to put them on hold for a long time and they would sometimes hang up. You could also never get anything done because the person at the register was responsible for doing things in the front half the the store, but you would have to rush the the counter if a customer was ready to check out. They also did nothing to train me when I started, and basically had to figure out how to use the register myself. I would have preferred to work at the Apple Store over this, but I never got a callback.

 

[JHankwitz]

What about hiring more staff? Ain't that an option? After all it's the wealthiest company in the world...

Just because they have cash on hand doesn't mean they should start degrading their operating efficiencies. Do you start volunteering to pay more for things you buy when you have more cash in the bank? I don't think so.

 

[fz750]

Maybe we could get a front page story on the Apple Store janitorial schedules as well. I, for one, would love to know how often they dust the shelves and take out the trash.

No need to be facetious, the story is a valid story given both the obvious wealth of the company, their profit margins and the ongoing controversy about the treatment of the production line staff.

Regarding the behaviour of apple: this is why Sunday was once a day when people didn't work and one of the reasons it was allowed in many countries is because employers promised not to force staff to work (regularly, there are always exceptions..) when they ddin't want to on traditional days off, but clearly not in apple's case..

 

[Moduz]

You do understand that managers are not sales people. They are managers. At any retail store they are there to manage the staff. To handle customer service issues, make change for cash registers. And yes sometimes to do required back room tasks like scheduling.

That is why they aren't ringing you up for that iPad that you want to buy. They have to be free to do what is part of their job.

I am assuming there are only a few managers, so they are not the issue. But, at least at my local Apple Store, there are a significant number of people who don't appear to be trained on or allowed to, get merchandise from the back or ring people out. I doubt Apple would have to "staff up" if they dumped this failed Cell Phone Retail model where a portion of the staff only appears to be working to facilitate getting you the person who can help you (and who of course is swamped at busy times).

I don't blame the employees, I am sure they would engage in actual retail if they were allowed to... But the sales model is just horrible. As a consumer I would rather have them all trained on how to sell the items in the store and take a number like I would at a Deli, then be surrounded by a bunch of people who can only help me by telling the few people, who can actually engage in the act of retail sales, that I have arrived at the store.

 

[brewcitywi]

Just thoughts

Not much of an issue. It's better to shift some rules first, then see what happens. If retention is high in the months after the rule change, then you don't need to hire as many new people.

We've been in retail for over 25 years. It's frustrating when everyone wants Saturday off. Unless you're on commission, which we've never done, then Saturday is just more work. You have to make some basic structures that insure that you get your full-time staff to commit to high volume times.

In retail, it can be a bit backwards. Even your best people, over time, seem to really want a 9-5 m-f schedule. But in retail, weekends are super important. So, you don't want your best people having Saturdays off.

I think the rule changes seem totally reasonable. The only one might be the increase for part-time minimum from 16 to 24 hours per week. There might be some super dedicated employees who just can't do 24.

But, other than that, I think those rules are better for apple and the consumer.

 

[charlituna]

What Apple needs is fewer employees who can "enter you into a queue" and more employees who can get the product that you want from the back, bring it to you and take payment from you. I am tired of being told I will be entered into a queue... in fact the next time someone says that to me I am going to respond, "Can you read? Are you literate? Yes? OK great! Can you carry a box? Perfect!!! What I want is for you to go in the back and get me ____________ and on your way back, grab one of those handheld scanners that are used to take payment from people and we will figure out how to use it together. I am a pretty smart guy, you are a genius... between the two of us I think we can figure out how to get me out of here in under an hour."

And you would be asked to leave because you were being an asshat to the employee. I've been in stores where they have done it. The customer isn't always right and not every manager bents over and just takes it from folks like you

Get over yourself and understand that not everyone that is on the floor is a sales person. Some of them are tech support with a waiting list of folks that made appointments to get help. You might be annoyed by the whole 'put you in the queue' but the alternate answer is 'we are really busy stand here and maybe someone will notice you eventually', 'go order online' or 'come back another day'. They are trying to help you the best they can but when they have an assigned duty that isn't sales they have to do that or get yelled at by the douche (friend of yours perhaps you certainly act the same) that has been waiting one minute past his appointment time etc.

 

[212Griffon]

I find myself asking what seems obvious: Why is a company that's sitting on an ocean of cash stretching it's staff rather than recruiting & hiring more people?
Have they heard we have an unemployment problem in the US?

It's a curious thing for me. I wonder where the thinking is with regard to civic responsibility and Socially Responsible Leadership

- All Apple family getting disillusioned

 

[charlituna]

and take a number like I would at a Deli, then be surrounded by a bunch of people who can only help me by telling the few people, who can actually engage in the act of retail sales, that I have arrived at the store.

How is taking a number really any different than being put on their online list. It isn't.

and yet you want to be a douche about the whole thing. Because they don't do their list the way you think they should. charming.

 

[ktappe]

Just because they have cash on hand doesn't mean they should start degrading their operating efficiencies. Do you start volunteering to pay more for things you buy when you have more cash in the bank? I don't think so.

Then you should think some more. Most people do in fact start buying more expensive but higher-quality items when they have more cash in the bank. That is what this would be; Apple getting better quality staffing in exchange for paying more salary. It makes sense.

 

[charlituna]

I find myself asking what seems obvious: Why is a company that's sitting on an ocean of cash stretching it's staff rather than recruiting & hiring more people?
Have they heard we have an unemployment problem in the US?

since when is it Apple's responsibility to solve the unemployment problem in this country.

it's not.

Not to mention that hiring more people isn't the answer if it means that you just jam more folks into already packed stores and all those folks can only work Monday, Wednesday and Thursday from 6-9pm and never on the weekends.

 

[kingtj]

Maybe ... maybe not?

One of the biggest issues all of my Apple-using friends have with the retail stores is the lack of knowledge of technical issues related to their products.

Sometimes, you stand a better chance of achieving improvement in those areas by squeezing out some of the part-timers who only want to treat an Apple retail job as a "second job", and making sure the others are better trained, with more experience working more hours in the store.

And yeah, it's never popular to place more demands on employees to work mandatory weekends -- but that's one of the realities of retail sales. If you really want your weekends off, you should consider a different type of job. After all, it's all the people who DO have weekends off who expect to go shopping during some of that free time. So *somebody* has to work the weekend hours in the stores.

Would think hiring more people would've been a better choice.

 

[PDXoPDX]

This reminds me of a terrible mistake Borders made a number of years ago when I worked at store No. 1 in Ann Arbor during undergrad. Like Apple, they had loose part-time requirements and treated their workers pretty well. This made for an incredibly educated and helpful staff since we had several part-time UMich faculty, lecturers, and professional writers on working there. They worked there because they wanted to, not because they needed the money or benefits.

Long-story short, they made a change similar to Apple and ended up losing the best segment of their workforce. Customers suffered greatly and the company failed (for many other reasons too).

I'm sure Apple will continue to do well in the near future, but I really think that losing professional filmmakers, educators, and others with outside careers will have a negative long term impact on Apple's retail operations. We don't need another Best Buy or Circuit City.

 

[joeshmo2010]

I feel sorry for the employees, in particular, the part-timers. As a part time worker myself (not working at Apple), I struggle to cope with 16 hours a week on top of the demands of University work. It seriously affects my studies, but I have no choice. Often there is a reason why people work part time as they have other commitments, and to force them to raise their weekly hours is something I would consider unfair.

Yes, it does help to ensure employees are committed to their work and take their job more seriously to the benefit of the company, but what about those who chose to work part time as it fits around their other activities?

/rant lol

16 hours a week is not that hard at all... It's two days out of the week. I work 830-430 every sat and 10-6 every Sunday. It's really not hard to do at all during college. And Im taking 4 upper division classes for my major.

 

[Moduz]

And you would be asked to leave because you were being an asshat to the employee. I've been in stores where they have done it. The customer isn't always right and not every manager bents over and just takes it from folks like you

I was being facetious. I would not actually do that.

The point was people shouldn't be supporting this broken model, whether they are employees or customers. Quite frankly I, and many people I know, absolutely loathe the idea of having to purchase something in an Apple Store because of the inefficiency. But the inefficiency is not the fault of the employees, or the managers for that matter, it is the fault of the sales model that is in place. If Apple truly values its employees and the term Genius isn't just a joke, All of the non-manager employees should have the ability to engage in the full act of selling the products.

 

[wrkactjob]

I'd hate to be an Apple store employee.

You'd get geeks with a dry sense of humour coming into the store and asking you technical questions and they would be like sensing out your knowledge weak spots and asking specific questions knowing you don't have the answer and they would be all straight faced but laughing hysterically inside as you give them the wrong answer. They would share your technical knowledge inadequacy with their friends and they would take it in turns to ask you geeky things you don't know the answer to and they would all have straight faces but would all be laughing inside.

 

[URFloorMatt]

I find myself asking what seems obvious: Why is a company that's sitting on an ocean of cash stretching it's staff rather than recruiting & hiring more people?
Have they heard we have an unemployment problem in the US?

I don't think that's what this is about--squeezing pennies. It's about creating a culture where the Apple Store is the employees' primary focus, rather than just another part-time job. Presumably, this would result in higher quality work, due to more time invested in the job.

Having said that, the best way to foster that kind of culture would be to hire full-time, rather than part-time, staff. But I assume the benefits aren't there to attract many full-time employees, which certainly goes back to your other problem. Apple does not lead by example in that regard and never has.

 

[GREEN4U]

I worked at the Palo Alto Apple store from 2005-2007 as a summer part time job and we used to have a blast. It was a small number of us employees (mostly ages 18-25) and it was easy to build a rapport with the fewer numbers of customers in those days. The store got busy sometimes but it never got unbearably overcrowded, smelly, or stuffy. Those were the golden days.

There's nothing Apple can do to bring back that old-time feel. The company's just gotten too popular. I feel bad for current and future Apple employees. My inside sources tell me it's just not the same anymore.

 

[pflau]

I just wanna say that there's this Hispanic looking girl with dark straight hair in a pony tail, big drooping eyes, and dimples working in the White Plains Apple store that is super super cute.

 

[Konrad9]

What about hiring more staff? Ain't that an option? After all it's the wealthiest company in the world...

Retail stores only need so many people, and if you hire too many then you either have too many people on the floor or you start taking hours away from other employees.

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No need to be facetious, the story is a valid story given both the obvious wealth of the company, their profit margins and the ongoing controversy about the treatment of the production line staff.

Regarding the behaviour of apple: this is why Sunday was once a day when people didn't work and one of the reasons it was allowed in many countries is because employers promised not to force staff to work (regularly, there are always exceptions..) when they ddin't want to on traditional days off, but clearly not in apple's case..

Uhhhh. Sunday was once a day when people didn't work because going to church was more important than working. Many states had blue laws barring businesses from operating on Sundays (some still do, but mostly liquor stores).

 

[Moduz]

How is taking a number really any different than being put on their online list. It isn't.

and yet you want to be a douche about the whole thing. Because they don't do their list the way you think they should. charming.

They wouldn't need a list if their employees in the store were truly empowered. The only difference between the method in place at my local Apple Retail Store and the method at my local Deli is that no one has to be hired for the sole purpose of queueing me up at the Deli... oh and I have never had to wait over an hour to get a pastrami on rye. js.

 

[terraphantm]

dont see the point in this when anytime ive ever been to one of their stores theyve had a dozen or so employees just standing around chit chatting.

and thats with a store full of customers.

Agreed. When I was picking up an iPhone 4S as few months back via online reservation, this was my experience:

1. I walk in the store, talked to one of the guys, explain that I had an online reservation and that I'd like to pick it up. He said "okay, it'll be about 10 minutes, just hang around and I'll let you know when it's ready"
2. 30 minutes later, there's still no site of the first employee so I talk to another one explaining that I've already been waiting half an hour, and that I'd simply like to buy my phone, pay, and get on with my day. He apologizes for any inconvenience and promises to bring it right out.
3. But it still doesn't come out, so I find another employee and go through the ritual.

This process repeats for a while, it ended up being 2.5 hours before I got my phone. There were plenty of employees basically twiddling their thumbs while I waited. I even tried waiting in the walk-in line and got through that before my reservation was ready. Needless to say I was not happy at all with this experience.

 

[macMD]

Our local Apple store is way too small and I know the sales volume there is huge. Not long ago they added a huge table for training and guess what it took up nearly 80% of what was formerly open floor space.

As for genius bar appointments, well Seinfeld said it best in one episode, "you can take the appointment, but you just can't seem to keep the appointment" (paraphrase). I had an appointment to simply add AppleCare+ to my iP4S, got there about 5 minutes early for what should have been a quick in and out appt.

It took my over 60+ minutes to get in, get seen and get out. I had an appt, but it seems they cannot keep the appt. More hours, great if someone wants them, demanding them well either you fire them and hire a new person which now costs you $10k. Doesn't seem very smart business to me.

I tend to only visit the Apple store now when it opens to avoid this cluster.