Apple Asks Retail Employees for iPhone Sales Advice

[macs4nw]

I don't see this as bad thing. Soliciting ideas from more sources like employees makes sense. The more avenues/broader spectrum of ideas coming in can only help. I know a lot of businesses are pushing similar practices such as this - encourage employees to contribute ideas and in some small way shape policy. I don't think think it reflects poorly or that management has "run out of ideas."

.....What's wrong with asking the people that sell your product on a daily basis, how they can better improve this product and the selling process? The smartest man is a man who knows when to ask for help.

.....Why would getting input from retail employees be a bad thing? Leaders aren't the only ones who have good ideas in a company.....

The most clear indication yet, of a definite shift at the top of APPLE, and not necessarily a bad one, imho. I agree with the many posters that have echoed the sentiments of the above three posters, but a huge shift nevertheless.

 

[4TheLoveOfTech]

Well I can give them some feedback. Don't waste money on adding a lot of new features. Just give the customer a little bit more each time so they will continue to come back and upgrade.

I bet tomorrow Apple could release a "new" iPhone 5 with the only difference being a new color and consumers would go wild over it and start lining up days before release. That's what is so great about the iPhone. No matter what people will never stop going crazy over it.

That was one of the biggest reasons that I quit buying iPhones. It was always, well, maybe next year we'll get copy and paste.

That's BS mentality with the amount of competition in the market today.

 

[swingerofbirch]

Reminds me of the scene in The Office, in which Michael Scott writes 13579 / 8724 on a chalkboard down in the warehouse and says, "Just in case there’s somebody down here who shouldn’t be. A little Good Will Hunting situation."

 

[bbbb4b]

Exactly. This idea that only Steve knew best and if Apple deviates from that they're doomed is absurd.

...So said John Scully.

 

[egoistaxx9]

they should have conducted a survey among public instead but as apple has said before "they always choose their employees over public", maybe i shouldn't expect anything else from them.

 

[charlituna]

I don't get this, when would retail employees have time to do this since they have to sell current products. Lunch breaks?

No. Lunch breaks are off the clock.

It's not that hard to sort out. An employee goes to his/her manager and expresses a wish to participate and the manager arranges the needed time etc.

As for why in the clock that's easy. It's illegal in basically every locale to have folks doing work without pay and it solidifies that this is Apple's property because it was requested work, done on company time and equipment for which you have been paid.

 

[HenryDJP]

Maybe I'm completely wrong, but doesn't this seem like bad news? This makes it sound like they are totally out of ideas at the top...

Yeah, like people at the "TOP" are the only ones qualified to come up with great ideas. I see people all the time here thinking they are "Know-it-All's" and they think they are more qualified than Apple to design the next iPhone.

 

[kitsap2]

Just an idea, maybe its already been posted, but I didn't read every one....

Lower the price!

 

[Rogifan]

...So said John Scully.

Steve Jobs was not god. He wasn't all knowing. He made mistakes. Apple 2.0's successes weren't all because of Jobs. His fanboys might like to think that but it doesn't make it so.

 

[akatsuki]

Maybe I'm completely wrong, but doesn't this seem like bad news? This makes it sound like they are totally out of ideas at the top...

Agreed - it is very out of character

there's only so much you can do to a phone.

Well, the iPhone is nowhere capped out on that sort of thing. Off the top of my head, I would love to have inductive charging; much better GPS; active icons; passbook to actually be worth a damn; a better, modern PIM suite, multi-user capabilities for iOS.

And that is just quickly scribbling this down. There are a ton of transformative things out there, but Apple tends not to push the bleeding edge so much as refine the crap out of things, so I don't think they would be interested in anything that out there.

 

[Shrink]

Steve Jobs was not god. He wasn't all knowing. He made mistakes. Apple 2.0's successes weren't all because of Jobs. His fanboys might like to think that but it doesn't make it so.

Blasphemy!

Stone the heretic!

Wait...are you sure?

 

[Rogifan]

Why don't they ask consumers also? I'm sure there's a thread on here somewhere with a list of features we'd like to see added to the iPhone. For example: A theme store - allow developers to submit purchasable themes for your iPhone that would change things like fonts, colors, icons, etc. Nothing too crazy but some level of customization. I don't want florescent candy colored icons on my home screen in iOS 7.

So you basically want design by committee x1000?

 

[Patrick Burns]

Apple peanut gallery: complains that Apple is soliciting opinions from their retail guys -- wishes Apple would listen to their dissenting opinion from a message board.

(Let's face it -- Apple retail employees passed 3 or 4 interviews to get their job and they sell iPhones all day. I would ask for ideas too.)

 

[SoAnyway]

I think this is a good thing. There is a difference between corporate laying out guidelines for how its retail people handle sales versus the real-life interactions between the retail staff and customers.

 

[alexgowers]

Oh dear apple doesn't get that phones are sold through carriers! No one buys them at apple stores because they have been brain washed into believing they cheaper on a contract. Which is partly true if you add up a separate sim deal cost. Don't blame selling technique or your employees apple look at the customer and why they might buy elsewhere!

You cannot attack the status quo without destroying that company tactic.

Ironically apple won't get any additional sales by bringing them in store vs carrier but might get a bigger profit margin.

Anyone else confused by apple seeing issue with it's own sales techniques rather than the carrier issue?

 

[Amazing Iceman]

Steve may be rolling in his grave after this announcement...

Well, it's the New Apple, with new ideas, new methods, etc. I hope they don't screw up.

Also there's a big difference between 'wanting something' and 'needing something'; I hope something good comes out of it.

My only two requests:
1) Completely eliminate the need for a computer in order to add music and data to an iOS device.
2) Add a good file manager that could provide access to all our data files regardless of the application, even if it's just to launch a separate application to view or edit it.

 

[Mactendo]

First marketing team designs new iOS interface, now sales team is asked for new iPhone ideas... God bless those people, they know not what they do.

 

[tech4all]

Asking for info from the idiots that work in Apple Stores?
Not good news here.

Guess you work at an Apple Store...

 

[macs4nw]

Seriously? Why not just come to macrumors and read all the complaints.....

Not such a bad suggestion. Ideas with merit, and worth consideration, can be found here on MR, occasionally.

I do not work for Apple but here is the tip for Tim Cook on iphone sales. Get CHINA MOBILE deal done which will lead to shortages in iphone availability

I'm sure, APPLE would like to, but CHINA MOBILE, with their installed user base of 1.17 billion subscribers http://bgr.com/2013/06/26/china-mobile-phone-user-base-may-2013/, is bargaining from a position of strength, and APPLE needs them more, than the other way around.

CHINA MOBILE can afford to have 'onerous' conditions, and they know it.

 

[Chupa Chupa]

So the jail breakers claim. But several stories going back to the original days say that it isn't true. That Steve wanted an App Store but hasn't worked out how to do it without it being a security nightmare etc by the time the first iPhone was ready and the whole 'web apps' was always just a temp thing.

Not just jail breakers. Go re-read the Jobs bio. It's clear Jobs was against 3rd party apps at the time the original iPhone was announced.

 

[beaniemyman]

great idea, will help them improve the device, nice.

 

[bbbb4b]

Steve Jobs was not god. He wasn't all knowing. He made mistakes. Apple 2.0's successes weren't all because of Jobs. His fanboys might like to think that but it doesn't make it so.

I certainly agree with what you say here.
Nonetheless, your original post was of the same opinion as Scully and Board (at that particular time) and it almost destroyed Apple. (at that particular time)

 

[Lennholm]

Try telling that to Samsung...
Image

MOAR FEATURES!! USEFUL OR NOT, ADD THEM NOW!

It takes an Apple fanboy to see OPTIONAL customizability and a bigger number of OPTIONAL features as a bad thing.

 

[Menneisyys2]

Yeah, I'm a tad puzzled. There aren't too many innovative things that can surface.

Indeed. They even bring back previously removed features (60 fps video recording, antialiasing in iPhone 2x mode etc.) as completely new ones.

 

[2457282]

I think you're half way there

If you come up with a great new idea for Apple to use in one of its upcoming products while "on the clock", this idea belongs to Apple.

If you come up with a great new idea for Apple to use in one of its upcoming products while "at home", you could sell this idea to Apple and ask for royalties.

This is exactly my thought. Apple wants ownership of the idea, maybe even patten the idea. If an employee is not on the clock, then the employee may have legal rights depending on the laws in the area.