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This stinks of Angela Ahrendts. There will be a catwalk up the middle of the stores soon :p
when you think of it there already is... you go straight back and pass all of the products to the back to the genus bar/the person with the iPad to check you in

i just want someone who knows that the flack there talking about. Listening in on clueless customers is amazing on the wrong advice given..
 
This is a bit too much overthink for me. I'm just happy when I can find someone who can help me check out within 5 minutes of finding my item.
 
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Apple held all-hands meetings with retail employees this weekend to introduce major new changes, including new and renamed positions, a new credo, and new store layouts, according to multiple retail sources.

apple-retail-employees.jpg

Apple is implementing three new retail positions in the United States and United Kingdom, and likely elsewhere, including two pro-level positions and an all-new Technical Expert position to complement the Genius Bar/Grove:

o Pro: A new sales position above Expert. These employees are considered the most knowledgable about Apple products and services.
o Creative Pro: A new learning position above Creative. These employees are considered the most knowledgable about Apple products and services.
o Technical Expert: An all-new customer support position in between Technical Specialist and Genius. These employees will be able to provide mobile repairs, a task previously limited to Geniuses, and troubleshooting for software and products like the Apple Watch and Apple TV. The position will help reduce Genius Bar/Grove and service wait times.
In addition to the new positions, Apple is renaming several of its current retail positions:

o Red Zone Specialist -> Specialist
o Family Room Specialist -> Technical Specialist
o Business Specialist -> Business Expert
o Back-of-House Specialist -> Operations Specialist
o Inventory Specialist -> Operations Pro

Meanwhile, the Back-of-House is now called Backstage, where the Inventory and Operations teams work, and the Red Zone, which encompasses the sales floor, is now called the Product Zone. Apple's existing retail locations will use the same tables from the old Red Zone for the new Product Zone.

Apple has also updated its credo, a motto that the company encourages its retail employees to follow. The new credo:Last, Apple said it now has over 30 retail locations based on its new design language, including the flagship Apple Union Square. The new layout includes a combination of The Avenue, Genius Grove, The Forum, The Plaza, and The Boardroom. Apple is renovating dozens of locations with the next-generation design, and all new locations since mid 2015 have been based on the new design language.

Juli Clover contributed to this report.

Article Link: Apple Introduces Major Retail Changes, Including New Pro-Level Positions and Credo
Everytime I've thrown even a basic question at the folks at the Apple store here in Portland, they had no clue what I was talking about. HOpefully they give these folks better training now...
 
Just makes me cringe reading this. Reminds me of the BS titles and gimmicky chants Best Buy used to make us all do when I worked a high school job there. LOL. Employees just roll their eyes at this stuff.

As far as "Backstage" and other silly names for parts of the store, it just smells like moldy cheese... like Apple is trying to reinvent the wheel, at least from a customer outside-in view. It looks stupid and makes it feel like Apple is belittling me as a customer.

The problem as I see it as a long time customer, is that the method of hiring has changed so much since the "old days" ... used to be when you walked into an Apple Store, you were greeted by people passionate about the product. I know a lot about the technical side of Apple products, and loved that someone working in a retail store was at the same level and could talk the talk. It seems like their pay back then got that sort of employee, but it seems like pay hasn't changed, so now for the same pay 15 years later they get basic retail employees.

Now it seems when you go in, the employees working are just regular retail drones, many of which don't have or want an iPhone, and don't have or want a Mac, they just need a job while in school, or a job to make some summer money. The hiring has shifted, maybe a result of such low unemployment, not sure. Yeah some of the old days guys are there, but not many.

It's just really sad to see where Apple Retail was and where it is today. It's not the experience Steve wanted when he launched the store. I understand times change, and retail does as well, but it feels like with Angela in charge things have gone from great, to status quo retail, to now just weird and unproductive.

Hopefully things get better, because I'm not sure how many more product launches I can sit through where I go in and am told to get the product they have sitting in their back room I have to go online and order it then come back.

Why are you comparing Apple Store to the way it was for employees? Steve never cared about the employees as much the experience for the customers. As far as that, the experience has only gotten better. It's always packed and I always get service immediately except on big launch weekends which is understandable. I think this creedo read exactly like Steve's "crazy ones" speech except it's got a lot of extra Cookisms in there too. It might be cheesy but it's designed to get Apple Store employees on the same page as Apple corporate. It's not a chant for customers.
 
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While the Head of Retail, in this case, Angela, is getting paid millions per year. Is her plan that awesome that another person couldn't come up with something better? Meanwhile, the important people, the ones interacting with the customer are getting paid low wages.

Just makes me cringe reading this. Reminds me of the BS titles and gimmicky chants Best Buy used to make us all do when I worked a high school job there. LOL. Employees just roll their eyes at this stuff.

As far as "Backstage" and other silly names for parts of the store, it just smells like moldy cheese... like Apple is trying to reinvent the wheel, at least from a customer outside-in view. It looks stupid and makes it feel like Apple is belittling me as a customer.

The problem as I see it as a long time customer, is that the method of hiring has changed so much since the "old days" ... used to be when you walked into an Apple Store, you were greeted by people passionate about the product. I know a lot about the technical side of Apple products, and loved that someone working in a retail store was at the same level and could talk the talk. It seems like their pay back then got that sort of employee, but it seems like pay hasn't changed, so now for the same pay 15 years later they get basic retail employees.

Now it seems when you go in, the employees working are just regular retail drones, many of which don't have or want an iPhone, and don't have or want a Mac, they just need a job while in school, or a job to make some summer money. The hiring has shifted, maybe a result of such low unemployment, not sure. Yeah some of the old days guys are there, but not many.

It's just really sad to see where Apple Retail was and where it is today. It's not the experience Steve wanted when he launched the store. I understand times change, and retail does as well, but it feels like with Angela in charge things have gone from great, to status quo retail, to now just weird and unproductive.

Hopefully things get better, because I'm not sure how many more product launches I can sit through where I go in and am told to get the product they have sitting in their back room I have to go online and order it then come back.
 
As far as "Backstage" and other silly names for parts of the store, it just smells like moldy cheese... like Apple is trying to reinvent the wheel, at least from a customer outside-in view. It looks stupid and makes it feel like Apple is belittling me as a customer.
I can't remember if I remember this correctly, because I was only 14 in 1999, I'm sure they had strange function names for Quicktime too. Whilst others had "initialise", they had "takeoff".

It's kind of strange. I need to find my old notebooks.
 
Lipstick on a pig. Apple stores are awful, awful places which I avoid like the plague. Wasn't like that 10 years ago.
 
While the Head of Retail, in this case, Angela, is getting paid millions per year. Is her plan that awesome that another person couldn't come up with something better? Meanwhile, the important people, the ones interacting with the customer are getting paid low wages.
I don't get the "low wage" part. When I worked there a few years back, entry-level/part-time folks at the Apple Store started with an hourly wage that was more than most of the assistant managers at the other retail stores next to it made.

Angela's salary is $1M a year. Divide that by the 30,000 Apple Store employees, and they'd each get $33 extra a year. Woohoo.

And if anything, these new positions sound like more opportunity for employees in the stores to grow their careers (which includes their wages).
 
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Yeesh. Tell me about it. I stopped shopping at my local Apple Store when they got rid of the registers. After wandering about for 10 minutes trying to find an employee who wasn't busy showing iMacs and MBPs to kids who clearly weren't going to purchase anything and were just there for the Internet, I got fed up and dropped all of my products off with the staff member manning the door and walked out. All a bit too clever for my taste and needs.


As much as I do enjoy Apple products, I do avoid the stores as they are typically overcrowded. Apple products are fairly simple to use so I guess they attract alot of stupid people so when you have a real need its like hailing a cab during rush hour. Much easier to order online and only use Apple Store for necessary warranty issues or serious problems etc. I don't envy Apple's position as many of the stores have become quite chaotic. I prefer going to a Best Buy to browse the Apple area when I want to check out the latest.

This is a bit too much overthink for me. I'm just happy when I can find someone who can help me check out within 5 minutes of finding my item.
 
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I really don't like to complain here on MR, because so many others do it so often that it is hard to take things seriously. But I have to say something....as a Pro customer, I feel left out. They have Pro employees now but where is the Pro software and Pro hardware that they should be experts at? For me, I'm taking Aperture and a MacPro. Yes, I know Apple has different people/departments working on different things, but the last few years they have slowly gotten out of the professional market and slowed down development of pro apps.

Naming your retail positions with "pro" in them - is this a sign that you're going to re-embrace the professional market? The iPad Pro is a great tool, but I can't use it to process and organize 100s of thousands of photos, and have high resolution, color calibrated proofs sent to a printer. I need large monitors, lots of disc space, and tons of memory. And I need Aperture [Lightroom and I do not get along].

It's great you now have Pro employees. Please do not forget that you used to have many Pro customers; we have nowhere else to turn...
 
I think you're all over-reacting a bit.
I mean Apple is just streamlining the store to make it more proficient.
One of the biggest losses for any retail space is lack of focus by the employees, too much unsold stock and upset customers. Take the Fifth Avenue Store, it has to be a well oiled machine, there it's mostly tourists and business people, and probably averages at least 1000 people a day.
Listen, I miss the simpler days of the fun Apple Store, but in order to stay competitive and focused change has to happen, otherwise, they will have to start closing stores, and laying off staff.
It's time to shape up.
People who work to leave this world better than they found it.
People who live to enrich lives.
 
Yeesh. Tell me about it. I stopped shopping at my local Apple Store when they got rid of the registers. After wandering about for 10 minutes trying to find an employee who wasn't busy showing iMacs and MBPs to kids who clearly weren't going to purchase anything and were just there for the Internet, I got fed up and dropped all of my products off with the staff member manning door and walked out. All a bit too clever for my taste and needs.

I like it much much better. Rather that queuing in a long line to get checked out at the register up front, I can go directly to any employee who's free (and most stores have lots of employees) and get checked out on the spot. And, if you're buying something major like a phone or a desktop/laptop, the person helping you out is the one handling the $$$ transaction. MUCH faster...
 
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... Just when you thought you needed to wait for one more product release, to be able to tell whether they're still taking their customers serious or not...
 
While the Head of Retail, in this case, Angela, is getting paid millions per year. Is her plan that awesome that another person couldn't come up with something better? Meanwhile, the important people, the ones interacting with the customer are getting paid low wages.

Low wages? Much better than most retail. Perhaps you expect them to make what engineers and technicians pull?
 
Actually can't we check ourselves out now? I've never done it but my husband checks us out using an app. It feels weird and I keep worrying someone will yell "Stop! Thief!" But they never do. :eek:
 
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