Apple Gifts Employees With T-Shirt and Printed Credo for the Holidays

[bunnicula]

So employees that aren't allowed to have lunch are sentenced to be happy campers now ?
If Angela Ahrendts indeed aims to give more than she takes (at 25 mio/yearly), may I suggest Her Dandyness to allow her employees the dry bread to stay alive before she unloads her Poems of Happyness. As every undergrad student could teach her and the ludicrous VPs around her, diversity, environment, and other higher perspectives go limp as elementary life conditions are not met (Maslow: elementary food goes before clothing)

I think you read way more into my post than was intended.

I would defend their right to lunch every day. That has nothing to do with holiday gifts that are not a required component of any employer's agreement with their staff.

If people are working there and not happy with the conditions, they should find other employment.

If people are working there and employment law is being violated, someone needs to hire an attorney.

Period.
[doublepost=1482187836][/doublepost]

Wow, I would be so pissed off if the Xmas bonus from my organisation was a crappy t-shirt and a printout of some corporate propaganda.

This isn't their bonus.

It's just a gift.

Bonuses are an entirely different animal. They are based on performance and monetary.

My boss gave me a t-shirt one year. He gave me some chocolates another year. He gave me an ornament for the tree the year before that.

The company doesn't hand out gifts to everyone.

I did have a firm that contracted with us give me 50 dollars to spend through a charitable giving program where the company matched the funds. It was really easy and kind of cool to pick my charity to give my 50 dollars to.

So, as just a freebie that companies hand out, this one isn't so terrible.

As a bonus? Yes. It would be terrible.

 

[C DM]

Wow, I would be so pissed off if the Xmas bonus from my organisation was a crappy t-shirt and a printout of some corporate propaganda.

A (holiday) company gift and a (holiday) bonus are separate and different things.

 

[Xiroteus]

Is the credo on the t-shirt? Not to mention that plenty of people wear corporate clothing that has some mottos or similar things on them.

True enough.

Not my thing for any company. I don't like being a walking ad.

It comes off a little odd because it's a gift....maybe.

 

[joelake]

I'm sure the Apple store employees would prefer a cash bonus instead of a $2 t-shirt.

This is a fake news article. My apples employee friend did not receive $2 shirt.
[doublepost=1482301762][/doublepost]Fake news

 

[applepuree]

Has anyone actually received the t-shirt yet ?

I was away for a few days and when I asked if they had been given out already I was greeted with a blank stare and told they dont know anything about a t-shirt or any other gift for this year.

 

[Throwthatham]

Agree.
This is tone-deaf on the part of Cook.
I'd be demoralized if I had to work there.

I am
[doublepost=1482447808][/doublepost]

Has anyone actually received the t-shirt yet ?

I was away for a few days and when I asked if they had been given out already I was greeted with a blank stare and told they dont know anything about a t-shirt or any other gift for this year.

Sadly I got mine today. eBay here it comes

 

[C DM]

This is a fake news article. My apples employee friend did not receive $2 shirt.
[doublepost=1482301762][/doublepost]Fake news

What did they get?

 

[Throwthatham]

Sadly, this is not a fake news article. I came home with one of these fine gifts tonight. The only thing incorrect so far is that it was manufactured in China, the label says Vietnam.
[doublepost=1482469354][/doublepost]Everyone I worked with today was feeling shock and disappointment. Someone said that it felt to them like the server who is left a .50 tip for a large group that they worked very hard to please;and that's just what it feels like. Apple is great retail, but it is retail with all that means but with extremely high expectations of staff by both management and customers.
[doublepost=1482469513][/doublepost]

I think you read way more into my post than was intended.

I would defend their right to lunch every day. That has nothing to do with holiday gifts that are not a required component of any employer's agreement with their staff.

If people are working there and not happy with the conditions, they should find other employment.

If people are working there and employment law is being violated, someone needs to hire an attorney.

Period.
[doublepost=1482187836][/doublepost]

This isn't their bonus.

It's just a gift.

Bonuses are an entirely different animal. They are based on performance and monetary.

My boss gave me a t-shirt one year. He gave me some chocolates another year. He gave me an ornament for the tree the year before that.

The company doesn't hand out gifts to everyone.

I did have a firm that contracted with us give me 50 dollars to spend through a charitable giving program where the company matched the funds. It was really easy and kind of cool to pick my charity to give my 50 dollars to.

So, as just a freebie that companies hand out, this one isn't so terrible.

As a bonus? Yes. It would be terrible.

The little people don't get bonuses.
[doublepost=1482469900][/doublepost]

Kinda crappy but I guess it's still better than what Google Alphabet employees got - a letter saying a charitable donation was made in their name.

I would rather have had that.
[doublepost=1482470021][/doublepost]

For the employees who excell at the demanding sales, exacting tech support, and soul-sucking customer relations, Apple gifts Chinese t-shirts that cost them maybe ten cents.

For Cook and Ive et. al., who oversee the lagging sales of Macs and iDevices, six figure bonuses.

It's time for Apple's board to can both Cook and Ive. Send them packing and find someone with vision.
[doublepost=1482023659][/doublepost]

Since when does the common American Corporate World do anything besides screw up the work of engineers and designers while screwing the hourly workers and customers? The executives get lottery jackpot compensation no matter how badly they perform. Worst case is they get fired and leave with a multimillion dollar termination bonus.

Steve Jobs was special because he ran Apple differently than the average American corporation. It's what made Apple so insanely great.

Shirts are made in Vietnam, not China. Maybe cheaper in Vietnam? Insulting either way.
[doublepost=1482470341][/doublepost]

Yeah, it seems a bit cheap-ass to the outside world. Seriously, when did Tim turn into Mr Burns?

Perhaps the employees should print up some "think different" cards and t-shirts for the executives? They'd be doing them a favor.

We are complaining and the leaders are hearing a whole bunch of "you must be kidding".

 

[Arran]

We are complaining and the leaders are hearing a whole bunch of "you must be kidding".

Forget my role as an (ex) shareholder and forget my role as an avid customer

Instead, just consider my role as a fellow human being who wants others to be treated fairly and, occasionally, given the chance to be surprised or even delighted. Too much to ask from the most embarrassingly profitable corporation in the world?

And I don't mean to sound obsequious here, but Apple is a unique corporate powerhouse. Lesser companies want to be just like Apple - and mindlessly "benchmark" their behaviors based on what companies just like Apple do.

So, is that how Apple wants to be remembered 100 years hence? The company that gave all the other little mindless, petty, unthinking companies carte blanche to lower the bar with a clear conscience?

Come on Apple. You're bigger than that: Raise the bar. Find a way to do it.

 

[Lou_filerman]

Haha, some of the comments here are ridiculous. I worked at Apple retail for almost 2 years, recently. All the "great" benefits you apologists keep touting are anything but. Save the healthcare and the bus pass everything else was always given with some fine print. Tuition reimbursement, discounts, wellness reimbursement and the sort all required you to front money in order to get the benefit. Almost next to impossible with the wage they pay to retail employees. The point being, Apple offers great benefits but they put them out of reach.

Secondly, those RSU's all you people keep mentioning were mostly for $1000 and only vested after 3 years. Again, fine print. Rarely is 3 years worthy in a retail environment, even if it is Apple.

Lastly, the gift I got my first year was an Apple branded backpack. It was a useful gift that actually provided some utility. Last year we got a wired pair of out of warranty beats headphones. Not as good as the backpack, kind of poorly thought out being out of warranty, especially considering beats repair options and the sound they would make when the chord rubbed against anything was unbearable. I wore them once and never again. Still $99 retail gift was something. But this? A t shirt with two circles and a piece of card stock? Are you serious? It screams of laziness. It's less than nothing because of the message it sends.

Of the many reasons I left, pay, lack of vision from the company and the culture were chief amongst them. This "gift" is a perfect representation of these issues. The new credo is laughable and is a crass example of trying to keep the Apple kool-aid drinkable. I always felt a creepy cult vibe was never far off at Apple and this feels like more of the same. The gift is cheap just like everything in retail now. They've really clamped down on a lot of the luxuries that made Apple a worthy retail workplace. This is just more of the same.

The argument isn't about being ungrateful it's about a distinct change to the company. Yes, a company doesn't owe a Christmas present, but it's Apple! The company was built on being different and not being like everyone else. This gift is a perfect example of how far Apple has fallen. They're no better than any other retailer and that's a shame. Apple retail deserves better. Those people work their butts off and largely in a thankless role. Do better next time Apple and actually show some gratitude for a huge part of your company and maybe prove to us that you haven't completely lost what made you great in the first place.

 

[C DM]

Haha, some of the comments here are ridiculous. I worked at Apple retail for almost 2 years, recently. All the "great" benefits you apologists keep touting are anything but. Save the healthcare and the bus pass everything else was always given with some fine print. Tuition reimbursement, discounts, wellness reimbursement and the sort all required you to front money in order to get the benefit. Almost next to impossible with the wage they pay to retail employees. The point being, Apple offers great benefits but they put them out of reach.

Secondly, those RSU's all you people keep mentioning were mostly for $1000 and only vested after 3 years. Again, fine print. Rarely is 3 years worthy in a retail environment, even if it is Apple.

Lastly, the gift I got my first year was an Apple branded backpack. It was a useful gift that actually provided some utility. Last year we got a wired pair of out of warranty beats headphones. Not as good as the backpack, kind of poorly thought out being out of warranty, especially considering beats repair options and the sound they would make when the chord rubbed against anything was unbearable. I wore them once and never again. Still $99 retail gift was something. But this? A t shirt with two circles and a piece of card stock? Are you serious? It screams of laziness. It's less than nothing because of the message it sends.

Of the many reasons I left, pay, lack of vision from the company and the culture were chief amongst them. This "gift" is a perfect representation of these issues. The new credo is laughable and is a crass example of trying to keep the Apple kool-aid drinkable. I always felt a creepy cult vibe was never far off at Apple and this feels like more of the same. The gift is cheap just like everything in retail now. They've really clamped down on a lot of the luxuries that made Apple a worthy retail workplace. This is just more of the same.

The argument isn't about being ungrateful it's about a distinct change to the company. Yes, a company doesn't owe a Christmas present, but it's Apple! The company was built on being different and not being like everyone else. This gift is a perfect example of how far Apple has fallen. They're no better than any other retailer and that's a shame. Apple retail deserves better. Those people work their butts off and largely in a thankless role. Do better next time Apple and actually show some gratitude for a huge part of your company and maybe prove to us that you haven't completely lost what made you great in the first place.

The company marketed itself as being different to the consumers as that would be its appeal and would build up a following. There's a difference between that and the company somehow being really different and somehow above and beyond many other Silicon Valley tech companies (which are mostly different than many other companies, but aren't that different amongst themselves).

 

[bunnicula]

The company marketed itself as being different to the consumers as that would be its appeal and would build up a following. There's a difference between that and the company somehow being really different and somehow above and beyond many other Silicon Valley tech companies (which are mostly different than many other companies, but aren't that different amongst themselves).

Exactly. Reality bites, but it still exists.
[doublepost=1482506668][/doublepost]

Haha, some of the comments here are ridiculous. I worked at Apple retail for almost 2 years, recently. All the "great" benefits you apologists keep touting are anything but. Save the healthcare and the bus pass everything else was always given with some fine print. Tuition reimbursement, discounts, wellness reimbursement and the sort all required you to front money in order to get the benefit. Almost next to impossible with the wage they pay to retail employees. The point being, Apple offers great benefits but they put them out of reach.

Secondly, those RSU's all you people keep mentioning were mostly for $1000 and only vested after 3 years. Again, fine print. Rarely is 3 years worthy in a retail environment, even if it is Apple.

Lastly, the gift I got my first year was an Apple branded backpack. It was a useful gift that actually provided some utility. Last year we got a wired pair of out of warranty beats headphones. Not as good as the backpack, kind of poorly thought out being out of warranty, especially considering beats repair options and the sound they would make when the chord rubbed against anything was unbearable. I wore them once and never again. Still $99 retail gift was something. But this? A t shirt with two circles and a piece of card stock? Are you serious? It screams of laziness. It's less than nothing because of the message it sends.

Of the many reasons I left, pay, lack of vision from the company and the culture were chief amongst them. This "gift" is a perfect representation of these issues. The new credo is laughable and is a crass example of trying to keep the Apple kool-aid drinkable. I always felt a creepy cult vibe was never far off at Apple and this feels like more of the same. The gift is cheap just like everything in retail now. They've really clamped down on a lot of the luxuries that made Apple a worthy retail workplace. This is just more of the same.

The argument isn't about being ungrateful it's about a distinct change to the company. Yes, a company doesn't owe a Christmas present, but it's Apple! The company was built on being different and not being like everyone else. This gift is a perfect example of how far Apple has fallen. They're no better than any other retailer and that's a shame. Apple retail deserves better. Those people work their butts off and largely in a thankless role. Do better next time Apple and actually show some gratitude for a huge part of your company and maybe prove to us that you haven't completely lost what made you great in the first place.

A retail job is still a retail job.

I worked retail for a music company for awhile. It was a very successful company and we got NOTHING for Christmas.

Apple is a company that is there to make money. Period.

I think it would be super cool if they gave all the employees some neato gift for Christmas, but they're not obligated and all gifts cost money, period.

Didn't Apple offer deep discounts to employees to buy Apple Watches? Didn't they give out iPhones one year? What about the free Pride bands last year?

They do give out freebies, but they're not required to do so. No company is.

Now, the other things you mentioned such as pay, benefits, and advancement opportunities are a very large issue, but they're totally separate from a "feel good" Christmas gift.

 

[Hoosiermomma]

Most of the retail employees LOVE Apple products, but are paid so little that they cannot afford to buy them. How about you cheap *******s give everyone a nice gift card. You will get it right back !!!
[doublepost=1482507826][/doublepost]

Exactly. Reality bites, but it still exists.
[doublepost=1482506668][/doublepost]

A retail job is still a retail job.

I worked retail for a music company for awhile. It was a very successful company and we got NOTHING for Christmas.

Apple is a company that is there to make money. Period.

I think it would be super cool if they gave all the employees some neato gift for Christmas, but they're not obligated and all gifts cost money, period.

Didn't Apple offer deep discounts to employees to buy Apple Watches? Didn't they give out iPhones one year? What about the free Pride bands last year?

They do give out freebies, but they're not required to do so. No company is.

Now, the other things you mentioned such as pay, benefits, and advancement opportunities are a very large issue, but they're totally separate from a "feel good" Christmas gift.

You forget that Apple us the richest company in the world !! They do NOT offer big discounts to their employees.

 

[C DM]

Most of the retail employees LOVE Apple products, but are paid so little that they cannot afford to buy them. How about you cheap *******s give everyone a nice gift card. You will get it right back !!!
[doublepost=1482507826][/doublepost]
You forget that Apple us the richest company in the world !! They do NOT offer big discounts to their employees.

And then they would be criticized by everyone for giving gift cards for their own products basically so that the money stays with them. There's no winning here. It's the same type of criticism of someone donating something and others always saying that more could be donated.

 

[Hoosiermomma]

And then they would be criticized by everyone for giving gift cards for their own products basically so that the money stays with them. There's no winning here. It's the same type of criticism of someone donating something and others always saying that more could be donated.

People can criticize all they want, but the employees would be grateful.

 

[C DM]

People can criticize all they want, but the employees would be grateful.

That's kind of an assumption there. More than likely there are going to be those who will also not be grateful because they would feel they now need to get something expensive from the company they work for and give them more of their money potentially and just increase their sales. All of this is just as easily spun in any direction as petty much anything else.

 

[Arran]

Apple is a company that is there to make money. Period.

Exactly. But respecting employees and making pots of money are not mutually exclusive.

And since employees help bring in all that money, why would you want to alienate them? So the best will leave and help someone else make money? Hardly a winning move.

So to me as an outsider looking in, this feels strange and uncharacteristic. Like Apple's losing confidence in its future and is hoarding for a rainy day - or something like that?

I'm not sure what to make of it exactly.

 

[C DM]

Exactly. But respecting employees and making pots of money are not mutually exclusive.

And since employees help bring in all that money, why would you want to alienate them? So the best will leave and help someone else make money? Hardly a winning move.

So to me as an outsider looking in, this feels strange and uncharacteristic. Like Apple's losing confidence in its future and is hoarding for a rainy day - or something like that?

I'm not sure what to make of it exactly.

As has often been the case with things of this nature, seems like too much might be getting read into and associated with something like this.

 

[applepuree]

Didn't Apple offer deep discounts to employees to buy Apple Watches? Didn't they give out iPhones one year? What about the free Pride bands last year?

Yes, the iPhones could be written off as advertising probably, but not everyone got one. There is a 50% discount once off for an Apple Watch valid for something like 90 days after the first 90 days of employment. The Pride bands were only for those who applied to goto a pride march at their own cost, meaning international travel for most. No one else got one.

 

[t0rr3s]

Is this on eBay yet?

 

[Arran]

As has often been the case with things of this nature, seems like too much might be getting read into and associated with something like this.

Crikey. Don't want to start a rumor now do we? Certainly not here

 

[Obsolete Genius]

I'm sorry, I was busy vomiting.

This looks to be straight out of the Hackneyed Design/Trite Platitude Gift Set.

Always a Holiday Favorite.

Well said. Thank you.
[doublepost=1482706784][/doublepost]

if anyone is looking to get rid of theirs, let me know. I collect Apple shirts. wearing one right now (like I do every day)

This one is printed in blood. I'd wager the only people caught wearing them are either non-Apple staff, or Apple employees who are too green to know that they're being shafted.
[doublepost=1482706928][/doublepost]

Crikey. Don't want to start a rumor now do we? Certainly not here

Near as I can tell, from the front lines, employees are either crushed or ambivalent and leadership seems to be embarrassed by the gesture.
[doublepost=1482707222][/doublepost]

Nauseating, meaningless, patronising corporate ******** of the very worst kind. How utterly soul-destroying for the staff.

It's a presumptuous act of solidarity at a time when morale is at an all time low. It sends a powerful message of how important retail is to corporate, given that they're largely responsible for selling the products--both good and bad--and almost solely responsible for educating customers in the use of said products. It would be like being on the front lines in WWII and receiving a revised, free verse poetry version of the Declaration of Independence. Most won't know what the hell to do with it.

 

[C DM]

Well said. Thank you.
[doublepost=1482706784][/doublepost]
This one is printed in blood. I'd wager the only people caught wearing them are either non-Apple staff, or Apple employees who are too green to know that they're being shafted.
[doublepost=1482706928][/doublepost]
Near as I can tell, from the front lines, employees are either crushed or ambivalent and leadership seems to be embarrassed by the gesture.
[doublepost=1482707222][/doublepost]
It's a presumptuous act of solidarity at a time when morale is at an all time low. It sends a powerful message of how important retail is to corporate, given that they're largely responsible for selling the products--both good and bad--and almost solely responsible for educating customers in the use of said products. It would be like being on the front lines in WWII and receiving a revised, free verse poetry version of the Declaration of Independence. Most won't know what the hell to do with it.

And now a WWII comparison...seriously? Seems like Godwin's Law is essentially in play here implying there's really nowhere to go.

 

[Obsolete Genius]

And now a WWII comparison...seriously? Seems like Godwin's Law is essentially in play here implying there's really nowhere to go.

Would Vietnam have suited you better? Or was it that you couldn't find your mustache comb and needed to use "Godwin's Law" in a sentence to hash out some pent up pretensions? Perhaps I was referring to the Pacific theater. WWII does not a Hitler reference make.

 

[C DM]

Would Vietnam have suited you better? Or was it that you couldn't find your mustache comb and needed to use "Godwin's Law" in a sentence to hash out some pent up pretensions? Perhaps I was referring to the Pacific theater. WWII does not a Hitler reference make.

Just more reaffirmation of it all.