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Apple Employees to Receive 50% Off Apple Watch and Apple Watch Sport Models, $550 Off Gold Model
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Free advertising is part of it. The other part is making the retail employees more knowledgable about the product and are able to demostrate it to people who have never seen the watch before. Not everyone walking into a Apple store is going to know about the product or even has seen it before.
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Let's keep this about Apple.
alternative: watches on wrists of employees paid to sell apple products are worth so much less.
The current iPhone costs hundreds of dollars. You either pay that upfront or per month over 24 months. I'm sure you know this right? So your comment is wrong.
"...as employees have needed to learn all new sales techniques to relate to customers in a more personal manner to offer fashion recommendations. "
More personal ? This'll be interesting
I get such a laugh when Apple repeats this already old story about giving out fashion advice. Their narcissism is getting the best of them.
Considering Apple staunchly refused to extend even a small discount to employees for iPhones, the more likely story here is less demand than their market research led them to believe makes it prudent that watches be seen on employees.
Enslaved? SERIOUSLY??? I hope you understand that it is a PRIVILEGE to be employed by a company who pays money to you. It's not your right to work for them. Good gracious, the entitled people on this forum.
I was talking to a Genius yesterday and he said he had no intention of buying the watch at these prices, now I can see why they've dropped the prices, he probably wasn't the only one.
for ALL consumer electronics, don't be so naive as to ascribe this only to apple.
And I'm willing to bet Apple will drop the price of the watch for everyone within 4-6 months of its release.
I suddenly still wish I had some friends who worked at Apple Stores who didn't want one for themselves that I could pay to buy one for me.
This brings up an interesting point. So Apple Store employees who don't have an Apple Watch—will they be given one to wear during the day? Think about it. You're buying an Apple Watch and the guy selling it to you is either 1. Not wearing a watch at all or 2. Wearing a Fossil or something similar because hey, he only works in retail so you can't blame him. Do they make employees who wear watches not wear them any more until they get an Apple Watch? Or do they just make the employees who work the Apple Watch stations wear one? Unlike your phone which is hidden in your pocket or bag while at work, the Apple Watch is very public and very much on display while talking to customers.
This also makes me wonder about workplaces in general. When I worked at a grocery store when I was a kid we weren't allowed to get on our phones while working. But would it be acceptable to look at notifications on your Apple Watch? Could that cause more distraction or become a safety hazard for people who typically would never look at their phone while performing their job? Should be interesting to see how that all works out as these devices become more popular.
This brings up an interesting point. So Apple Store employees who don't have an Apple Watch—will they be given one to wear during the day? Think about it. You're buying an Apple Watch and the guy selling it to you is either 1. Not wearing a watch at all or 2. Wearing a Fossil or something similar because hey, he only works in retail so you can't blame him. Do they make employees who wear watches not wear them any more until they get an Apple Watch? Or do they just make the employees who work the Apple Watch stations wear one? Unlike your phone which is hidden in your pocket or bag while at work, the Apple Watch is very public and very much on display while talking to customers.
This also makes me wonder about workplaces in general. When I worked at a grocery store when I was a kid we weren't allowed to get on our phones while working. But would it be acceptable to look at notifications on your Apple Watch? Could that cause more distraction or become a safety hazard for people who typically would never look at their phone while performing their job? Should be interesting to see how that all works out as these devices become more popular.
I'll have to go back and thank the companies I worked for a pittance for, while they were getting rich, you're a funny guy Henry.Enslaved? SERIOUSLY??? I hope you understand that it is a PRIVILEGE to be employed by a company who pays money to you. It's not your right to work for them. Good gracious, the entitled people on this forum.
Two views on this:
1: Excellent news for Apple Employees, they probably deserve it, and great deal. Go for it
2: It;s worth it to Apple as More Advertising, as that's instantly thousands of people going out socially in the evenings, wearing their Apple watch out and about for others to see, and ask them what they have on.
Let's face it, for every 1 Apple employee wearing a Watch, and being seen by many many dozens of people, that could gain Apple more sales.
So yes, great news, but also I suspect it's calculated to pay back more than the 50% loss in more sales.
1: Excellent news for Apple Employees, they probably deserve it, and great deal. Go for it
2: It;s worth it to Apple as More Advertising, as that's instantly thousands of people going out socially in the evenings, wearing their Apple watch out and about for others to see, and ask them what they have on.
Let's face it, for every 1 Apple employee wearing a Watch, and being seen by many many dozens of people, that could gain Apple more sales.
So yes, great news, but also I suspect it's calculated to pay back more than the 50% loss in more sales.
When did Apple drop the prices? Btw, employees got a 50% discount on the original iPod too.
Right on!! Thanks for informing us once again of something you cannot prove, especially when it comes to something negatively said about Apple.
Dropped price on something they haven't released as of yet? Hmmm, making it up as you go along....as usual?
Like they did with the iPad mini and iPhone 5C?
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The original iPod in today's money would cost over $500. Watch is one of the cheaper new products Apple has introduced.
Slap Slap!
Forgive me if I am wrong. Apple retail employees are at the end of this companies totem pole, right. No one noticed how the corporate division started wearing the watch before release?? And never ever allowed any department from the retail division wear one. Corporate did not even allow retail management to travel to Cupertino - instead trained them in a small non-inclusive training environment tin Culver City??!! Back in the day, I recall no one pranced around with a soon-to-be released Apple product. IMO, this is a slap in the face for any retail employee Retail will always be separate....and that is technically divided from the corporate one.
The training is rushed, because the market division is so ready to receive this huge amount of influx of customer data. The value of the customer having to submit their personal data whether or not they purchase an apple watch is so oooo shocking... You cannot just walk in and purchase the watch, make an appt? What the???? Apple, are you 'aboot to tell me that I have to provide information to even touch the product you sell FOR THE FIRST TIME IN RETAIL HISTORY!
The reason these Apple employees are having such a burden in this super-fast rush of training, is not because of the secrecy, and all that jazz. Rather, it is the fear of not being in the element. We all do better in retail sales if the product we sell we are passionate about. Not providing me, as an employee with the time and understanding of the product I sell is not fair. So the average low totem pole apple retail employee is afraid.. afraid they cannot sell the product + look like they don't know what they are talking about with all this new jargon + taking a new avenue in the "customer journey" that corporate has predisposed = termination. Yes, they fear they might be terminated for not knowing all the different watch bands and what not. And the watches OS has NEVER been virtually demonstrated in training.....
Look I may sound like a disgruntled employee, but I am not. I am thinking about the people that help create these enriching lives. Apple has more money that Russia and Italy COMBINED. Apple, knock it off!! Give your minions a watch, not a discount -consider even the $10,000 one, and then look at your market share - BEFORE the release of your product. For you always have an uncanny way to make the humans that carry the base of your large totem pole feel like iOS 4, and here it is iOS8......
P.S. Apple find more methods at providing free education to both the members in China that manufacturer your hardware AND their families. How hard is that????!!!
Forgive me if I am wrong. Apple retail employees are at the end of this companies totem pole, right. No one noticed how the corporate division started wearing the watch before release?? And never ever allowed any department from the retail division wear one. Corporate did not even allow retail management to travel to Cupertino - instead trained them in a small non-inclusive training environment tin Culver City??!! Back in the day, I recall no one pranced around with a soon-to-be released Apple product. IMO, this is a slap in the face for any retail employee Retail will always be separate....and that is technically divided from the corporate one.
The training is rushed, because the market division is so ready to receive this huge amount of influx of customer data. The value of the customer having to submit their personal data whether or not they purchase an apple watch is so oooo shocking... You cannot just walk in and purchase the watch, make an appt? What the???? Apple, are you 'aboot to tell me that I have to provide information to even touch the product you sell FOR THE FIRST TIME IN RETAIL HISTORY!
The reason these Apple employees are having such a burden in this super-fast rush of training, is not because of the secrecy, and all that jazz. Rather, it is the fear of not being in the element. We all do better in retail sales if the product we sell we are passionate about. Not providing me, as an employee with the time and understanding of the product I sell is not fair. So the average low totem pole apple retail employee is afraid.. afraid they cannot sell the product + look like they don't know what they are talking about with all this new jargon + taking a new avenue in the "customer journey" that corporate has predisposed = termination. Yes, they fear they might be terminated for not knowing all the different watch bands and what not. And the watches OS has NEVER been virtually demonstrated in training.....
Look I may sound like a disgruntled employee, but I am not. I am thinking about the people that help create these enriching lives. Apple has more money that Russia and Italy COMBINED. Apple, knock it off!! Give your minions a watch, not a discount -consider even the $10,000 one, and then look at your market share - BEFORE the release of your product. For you always have an uncanny way to make the humans that carry the base of your large totem pole feel like iOS 4, and here it is iOS8......
P.S. Apple find more methods at providing free education to both the members in China that manufacturer your hardware AND their families. How hard is that????!!!
I'm guessing any Apple Store employee who can afford a $9,450+ gold watch...would not be working at the Apple Store.
Then, some posters should please stop droning on about how it cost and margins (nearly a thousand pages about this for the last 6 months) and comparing them to other products (yes, they do). They know Apple's pricing history, how it justifies its prices and its margins, yet the same comments resonates like some weird mantra to low price, low margin consumerism.
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Engineers and managers make quite enough to buy it though, I'm guessing they're the target for this.