Apple Gifts Retail Employees With UrBeats Earphones for the Holidays

[bushido]

Add unzipping and make the room dark and this has the beginnings of a workplace legend.

I can show u if I want. iPad 1, iPad Mini, iPhone 4, iPhone 5 and a Sony Vaio. granted it was always a generation behind by that time. it's actually not that much considering its pretty common to pay a "13 months" salary as a Christmas bonus over here

 

[MH01]

OMG.....

They are NOT doing this to get rid of old stock...
Tim Cook is one of the best logistics people in the world. Since he took over that role, Apple has rarely, if ever, had "old stock" to get rid of.

His also rarely had new stock available for a new product launch.... Most recent being the KB and pencils for the iPad pro.

 

[npmacuser5]

Kudos to Apple!

 

[AFPoster]

Appears they're clearing out inventory prior to releasing the new lightning versions. Sucks that's the only gift they get when the employees are the reason Apple is as successful as it is. Should be a $500 gift range.

 

[Thunderhawks]

Gone are the days when people appreciated the act of giving, ... now people simply make negative comments about the gift... (which probably wasn't even directed at them anyhow...)

Sad to see the entitlement generation of today confirming that they have no manners or appreciation for a
FREE gift.

Why anybody would DEMAND a gift or specify what they want from a corporation for free,
just because a company has money is beyond me.

Also, it shows a lack of creativity. Donate, re-gift, sell them, plenty of possibilities.

Unfortunately we'll never get to see what they would do, if they had the brains to run a large corporation.

I am surprised that MR didn't put this into the political, religious and otherwise unimportant section.
For sure Christmas is about religion , ...um $

 

[Doc C]

You'd make a great corporate PR person. I guess it shouldn't matter either when executives of failing banks
[...]
Well considering they gave employees iPhones when they first came out.......and lets not forget Steve Jobs was greedy as hell. He rarely gave to charity. A far cry from Bill Gates, Warren Buffet and Mark Zuckerberg.

I'm assuming a few words got cut off there but I think I understand what you were trying to say. If I am mistaken, I apologize.

I'm not trying to apologize for them. My world is based on statistics - I have to be as dispassionate as possible when I look at comparisons because patient outcomes may be affected. Having said that, I was overly brief in my statement, so let me elaborate:

The comparators (MS, Google) are potentially unfair, for several reasons. One could make an argument that all Fortune 20/50/100/??? companies should be used, or that only the subset that have retail outlets, or perhaps the subset that have sales above a certain range (per store? per sq ft?) or perhaps those that have > 100K employees, or perhaps a combination of the above. This is where economists and statisticians and epidemiologists and such earn their keep.

Again - I wasn't defending Apple, only arguing that the comparisons may not be the appropriate ones. The same will hold for your comparison of SJ to the others. I would point out that in those situations, there are (reportedly) many data points that are not publicly accessible. In particular, SJ was known to be exceedingly secretive and private, arguably to a fault, and was also known to be an exceptional marketer - is it possible that giving out the iPhones at the time he did was done for marketing reasons rather than for charitable reasons?

To go back to your initial statement - a bank may fail [EDIT: or it may succeed] despite the executives doing an exceptional job. The failure may be a result of external forces, or a result of actions of their predecessors. They should each be judged on their actions, not the outcomes. This is actually a failing of the current system - it is so geared to judging outcomes that executives are paid based on quarterly results rather than whether they do what is in the long-term interest of the company. Again, be dispassionate in your assessment of the numbers/situation, then be human in applying the results of the analysis and in managing the people.

 

[cardfan]

Most dead end jobs don't give gifts. You guys should be happy.

 

[Kar98]

Getting "thank you. 2015" must have cost as much as manufacturing the headphones in first place. Like, a buck each?

 

[writingdevil]

Yes, is good way to get rid of junk they cant sell via retail.

its almost funny..of all the apple websites i go to, this one has more cynics than the other six..maybe its because of content..couple of the others are really oriented toward serious reviews and issues and contributors seem to be tech savvy. i'm not a developer but we use apple stuff through the production company, on location and in post. about the gift...the most cynical ones are exactly like my old maid aunt...manages to be the extended family critic of all things..and wonders all the time why she never got married...he he, Auntie...can only say this cause I know you will never read this post.

 

[HenryDJP]

no Christmas bonuses?

at the hospital my mother works at they always have a Christmas party and everyone gets to pick a number to enter the room one by one. there's a big table with stuff to pick one item from. my mum got two iPhones, two ipad and a laptop over the years.

I worked for 5 major companies and NONE of them gave a damn thing to their employees for Christmas. Just having a job is a gift enough, according to them. Companies don't have to give anything, it's not required. It's a nice gesture but people need to stop acting so entitled.

 

[179202]

Good thing you are here to let us all know what is appropriate and not appropriate to discuss.

You've not listened to a word I said have you? It's nothing to do with what I deem appropriate. It's about being grateful and not showing everyone what a selfish person you are. Hope you act differently around your loved ones than you do here.

 

[179202]

You'd make a great corporate PR person. I guess it shouldn't matter either when executives of failing banks

Well considering they gave employees iPhones when they first came out.......and lets not forget Steve Jobs was greedy as hell. He rarely gave to charity. A far cry from Bill Gates, Warren Buffet and Mark Zuckerberg.

You're bringing charity into a conversation about consumerism? I'm not sure you're aware of what your hands are typing. Done with you.

 

[C DM]

Appears they're clearing out inventory prior to releasing the new lightning versions. Sucks that's the only gift they get when the employees are the reason Apple is as successful as it is. Should be a $500 gift range.

It shouldn't be anything in particular at all, it's a gift, that's the point. Employees get rewarded for Apple doing better by having better jobs at Apple that pay better and/or offer better benefits and/or offer better environment and/or etc., and not through holiday gifts.

 

[Doc C]

His also rarely had new stock available for a new product launch.... Most recent being the KB and pencils for the iPad pro.

This is by intent.

New product categories are not produced in quantities until after launch to avoid leaks.
In the case of the iPhone, avoiding leaks takes second seat to fulfilling demand (to an extent - there remains an element of marketing here also, by creating a delay from order to receipt)

 

[nick42983]

Amazing earphones and I would be very happy right now if I was an Apple employee. It's no wonder why so many people dream about working for this company. Tim Cook is doing an incredible job right now.

I don't think working in Apple retail is a "dream" for anyone.

 

[MH01]

This is by intent.

New product categories are not produced in quantities until after launch to avoid leaks.
In the case of the iPhone, avoiding leaks takes second seat to fulfilling demand (to an extent - there remains an element of marketing here also, by creating a delay from order to receipt)

I see. In the 2 months since announcing it and the accessories they did not produce KBs and pencils to avoid leaks, but manged to produce plenty of iPad pro units.....

The iPad pro was announced sept 9. Maybe tim is a logistics genius, though he needs a good word with his manufacturing counterpart .

 

[Weaselboy]

You've not listened to a word I said have you? It's nothing to do with what I deem appropriate. It's about being grateful and not showing everyone what a selfish person you are. Hope you act differently around your loved ones than you do here.

You specifically said there was no need to discuss it. Then in your previous post and this one made judgmental and insulting comments about those who might disagree with you. It is possible to disagree without the insults.

Every time this happens, I face palm hard at the responses around here. It's a gift. Not something that's required. People are so damn ungrateful. There's no need to get into a discussion about company culture or the value of things. Just be thankful and move on. Jesus. Are you guys like this on Christmas morning?! "But mom, you made $40,000 this year and I only get a single PS4!?" C'mon guys, get your heads out of your asses.

 

[Doc C]

I see. In the 2 months since announcing it and the accessories they did not produce KBs and pencils to avoid leaks, but manged to produce plenty of iPad pro units.....

The iPad pro was announced sept 9. Maybe tim is a logistics genius, though he needs a good word with his manufacturing counterpart .

I am going to assume that you aren't the kind of person that tells his doctor, dentist, accountant, lawyer, mechanic, etc how to do their job, unless you are similarly trained and/or have similar expertise. Why do you assume that you should be able to do this with Tim Cook? (especially since you have a smaller information base to work with?)

[Edited to remove double post]

 

[Defender2010]

Guess it beats the shoddy "felt" blanket they gave out a few years ago- my dog now lays on it!

 

[JeffyTheQuik]

Im sorry I forgot corporations are people too...and have feelings........

I'll see your sarcasm and raise you one...

Well, since they get taxed like people do, and can be sued like people can, yet they cannot vote like people do. Kind of odd that a construct of the human mind to shield people from obtrusive tax and liability laws doesn't have certain rights endowed by their creators.

 

[HenryDJP]

What you fail to understand is Christmas (or holiday, whatever you prefer) gifts from your employer are a huge employee morale boost, and adds a feeling of being appreciated and valued.

Hogwash! Give me a break on that. There are people right here on this forum who aren't even working for Apple and complaining about the type of gift they provided to their employees. If Apple has even a 1/3 of employees with the same crap attitude as some people do here then their employees deserve nothing. Doesn't matter who the company is, big or small, all they have to provide to employees is a paycheck for doing the job they're suppose to do. For many people that's plenty good enough because they could also be without a job during the holiday season. That would really suck.

 

[MH01]

I am going to assume that you aren't the kind of person that tells his doctor, dentist, accountant, lawyer, mechanic, etc how to do their job, unless you are similarly trained and/or have similar expertise. Why do you assume that you should be able to do this with Tim Cook? (especially since you have a smaller information base to work with?)

[Edited to remove double post]

I'm just sharing my experience with the iPad pro. You are the one telling me the facts of how the apple business operates. Feel free to back up your assertitions, you are the one labelling Tim the logistics genius.

 

[Kar98]

There are people right here on this forum who aren't even working for Apple and complaining about the type of gift they provided to their employees.

You don't really get the point of a discussion forum, do you? I don't need a degree in meteorology to discuss the amazing amounts of rain that fell in Texas this year either.

 

[macnewbie91]

Most companies I've worked at give out a holiday bonus check that's equal to 1-2% of what they paid me over the course of the year.

I definitely prefer that to getting earbuds. Even when I worked at a grocery store and my holiday bonus was just a $50 check, that was better than these earbuds, even if the earbuds retail for $100.

So you're saying $50 dollars is 2% of your yearly salary?

 

[C DM]

So you're saying $50 dollars is 2% of your yearly salary?

Doesn't seem like that's what that post actually said. That aside, for someone who might be working part time at a grocery store making minimum wage, especially some time ago, for example, $50 could be in the 1%-2% of what they made in a year.