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An Inside Look at Apple's Genius Training Manual

laurim said:
hmmm, I've always had the totally opposite experience. They've always been extremely friendly and helpful when I've been in the store. Maybe it's you and your obvious attitude problem. Have you found that most people don't want to help you in your everyday life?
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There's always some prick who responds to a personal opinion with personal attacks.
 
iChrist said:
So true. They have to teach these people what words to say, like a child, but need to teach them to be fast. McDonalds employee is more of a "genius", faster and might actually know an answer to a question.
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It's strange. I understand that they want their employees to fit their "hip image" and, sure, they don't want to hire people based on their knowledge of tech jargon, but the "genius" bar is full of some really dumb people. Really dumb. I don't want to visit a "genius" bar employee whom I have to instruct how to do a system restore.
 
It really irks me though. I'm a die hard apple fan, as most of you are. I mean we're wasting our lives ranting about it on some forum, but the Apple store employees, at least at the locations I've been to, are just awful.
To be fair, the Chicago location was actually full of some really cool, smart, savvy guys. But that was one store. I've been to many more apple stores who seem to hire people EXCLUSIVELY for their beards or "diverse" looks.
I mean maybe I'm missing something, but someone called an Apple "Genius" should know what DFU mode is.
I've also been flat-out lied to by a few of these employees. There are plenty of people willing to work for Apple who are polite and clean-cut as well as intelligent and helpful. It boggles my mind why their hiring process is so whacky. I feel like a young Steve Jobs wouldn't have a chance at getting hired at an Apple store, based on what I've seen.


The previous is an opinion. I really don't have the energy for people to get pissy and irritable about it. If you like hipster idiot apple employees then that's just fine for you. I dot really care that much, I would just like a pleasant retail experience instead of having to order it all online
 
Ech

One more reason I'm glad I left the realm of retail....It got sickening being forever told what I could and couldn't say to people....down to the syllable.

If you work with the public long enough...you get to learn to read people pretty well, and if you've got at least some common sense you know how to approach and communicate with them. Of course you don't want to use language that will incite people, especially if they're already irritated with a bad situation, but it also royally sucks when you can tell someone is scripted or just damned boring to speak to.
 
wewantsthering said:
I thought MacRumors was better than this... nobody should give Gizmodo any coverage. I can't stand their journalistic practices (or lack thereof).
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I get that people dislike or hate Gizmodo. That doesn't stop them from occasionally having an interesting tidbit of information, though, mixed in with all the other drivel. I wouldn't read a full article of theirs, but this little snippet showing the page from the training handbook is actually mildly entertaining... Various businesses have their own language. It's interesting to see a bit about Apple-speak.
 
I can understand why they don't want to use the word "freeze" and would rather use stop responding. I work in IT and sometimes when I explain to a customer. Well yeah your computer is freezing up, I just have to get to the bottom of it.

They start freaking, WHY DO I HAVE A VIRUS, OMG, IS EVERYTHING GOING TO BE OK.

It's like, please, with all do respect, shut up. Let me do my work, give me space, give me time, I'll let you know and it'll be ok.

So, yeah apple understands, they just don't want pissy customers to get more pissy and waste more time.
 
numlock said:
strange that apple gets inspired or even copies another companies techniques.
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Extremely true. This isn't a new technique at all....the terms seen here just fit the world of computers / apple culture. I worked various forms of retail for about 15 years, and they all tell you what and what not to say to some degree.
 
...

The manual even lists "bad" words of NOT to say ?

Seriously ?... You would think thats just common sense when your dealing with customers.
 
ristlin said:
I used to work at a Disney theme park and the amount of effort the entire company takes to make sure every single person is happy has inadvertently altered my perception of good customer service. In my opinion, Apple Stores have passable customer service, barely a step up from Best Buy -- and in some cases, a step down thanks to the flood of customers.
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You just hit the nail on the head. A lot of the Apple store experience does come from Disney with Jobs use to sitting on both boards. I have friends that was in Park Operations for Disney and they were amazed how much they did to make sure that everyone had a good time. Being in this business, it is hard to go to any Disney resort and not watch the gears spinning making it such a good experience.

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Tech198 said:
The manual even lists "bad" words of NOT to say ?

Seriously ?... You would think thats just common sense when your dealing with customers.
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You'd be surprised. Some of the most difficult people to train for customer service are those from a technical background. These types spend more time in front of equipment than people. Thus, their interpersonal are lacking most of the time. Also explains why they have a lack of dating and romance in their lives.
 
I think the article on Gizmodo is a little far fetched. I mean 99% of the stuff in this manual will be in the manual for every other sales job out there.

Gizmodo said:
(A)pproach, (P)robe, (P)resent, (L)isten, (E)nd. In other words: Go up to someone and get them to open up to you about their computing desires, insecurities, and needs; offer them choices (of things to buy); hear them out; then seal the day in a way that makes it feel like the customer has come to this decision on their own.
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These acronyms are common amongst sales jobs. They are simply a guide for new employees to follow - not Jedi mind tricks.
 
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I predict there are going to be individuals who will take it as a challenge to get a Genius to say a forbidden word. Perhaps they'll call it Genius Baiting. They may even work in pairs or teams. Oh, the inhumanity...
 
Where in the manual does it say to treat middle aged women as idiots? I almost never leave the genius bar feeling warm and fuzzy. I've had those geniuses tell me what I was trying to do is impossible when it worked the week before.

Manuals cannot teach humanity.
 
Lylyluvda916 said:
I've been to a few Apple interviews and they clearly state before each interview that if you don't know anything, they don't care because they will train you to do whatever you need to do the job you are hired for.

Besides, a lot of people who are smart, tend to use jargon. Apple products are so simple to use that people who aren't that tech-savvy or that don't know tech terms, can use them.

I think Apple is a good company that knows what works for them.
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In my time working Apple Retail (over 3 years), I truly enjoyed it, and have nothing bad to say about my time there. I can understand people not having the greatest impressions from time to time, I honestly understand the different situations that we met with, and at times did not handle the best way we could have. Our location would have an average of 150 Genius Bar appointments per day, and easily, over 90% of those ended up with a good experience. Although I can't help being biased, (I still have many friends that work as Geniuses), my personal opinion is that for the most part, at least the locations that I've worked at, the staff do their best to give Apple customers the best experiences, although of course, we will not always succeed!
 
Kwill said:
I once witnessed a "Genius" who evidently had not read the manual "handle" an upset customer who twice had his hard drive replaced within a few months and was very therefore unhappy with his laptop purchase.

The Genius told him that this thing happens all the time and he wished the customer could see how many hard drives come in for repairs each day. He said, Apple doesn't make the hard drives so it has nothing to do with the quality of the product.

That didn't sound very empathetic or consoling. The customer went from quietly requesting a refund to loudly expressing dissatisfaction with Apple policies as other customers looked on.

I distanced myself in anticipation of a Genius getting smacked with a laptop.
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Same thing as me like a month ago, haha. Their computer was sticky with chocolate sauce or something and they became enraged when the genius told them it would cost $X to fix. It seemed like the situation was handled like the manual says it should be, though.
 
Gizmodo Sucks

wewantsthering said:
I thought MacRumors was better than this... nobody should give Gizmodo any coverage. I can't stand their journalistic practices (or lack thereof).
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I agree... I stopped visiting Gizmodo's site more then a year ago and from my understanding so have a lot of others.
 
scwinsett said:
I have yet to enter an Apple store that didn't make me hate humanity.
Every one I've been to is full of the snottiest pricks. The apple store is successful because of its excellent layout and of course the apple products, but they have a serious inability to hire intelligent people who aren't just bearded hipster tools
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Only hipster tools use terms like "hipster tools."
 
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