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Apple 'Messed Up' with Retail Store Cutbacks, Denies Mass Layoffs

Technarchy said:
This is MBA, business major douche 101. Soon as you take over, you start cutting heads to send a message to the low level peons; "better buy into my tyrannical vision or get the axe"

It also gives the impression of greater short term success to upper management, which is really a brown nose move.

It certainly isn't leadership.

The minute an Apple employee ever tries to "overcome my objections" and tries to "service me through selling", I'm done with Apple stores for good.
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It is a crying shame as Apple seemed to change the mould a bit with it's stores, but with some of the very talented execs seemingly running for the hills after Steve's death I guess we have to expect a lot of big changes now?

Will be interesting to see how many stores are closed in 3 years time, because with this idiot in charge they will loose money cause no one will want to go in them.
I friggin HATE being hassled in stores. Just leave me to browse, and I NEVER buy your extended warranty as I do not need it!
 
The danger of a John Browett is his exponential influence, which is death by 1000 cuts for Apple.

Browett will hire mini Browetts, who in turn will hire more scum, and suddenly Apple has 40 people moving up the corporate food chain with Browett culture in their heads.

Suddenly Cook, Forstal and Schiller are in the minority, and the Steve Job's vision is burned to the ground.

Apple needs to promote their executives from within.

And here is a good laugh...

retail-exec-note.jpg
 
Technarchy said:
The danger of a John Browett is his exponential influence, which is death by 1000 cuts for Apple.

Browett will hire mini Browetts, who in turn will hire more scum, and suddenly Apple has 40 people moving up the corporate food chain with Browett culture in their heads.

Suddenly Cook, Forstal and Schiller are in the minority, and the Steve Job's vision is burned to the ground.

Apple needs to promote their executives from within.

And here is a good laugh...

Image
Click to expand...

are we sure that the three amigos mentioned above are like jobs? after all they hired browett.

we have this fiasco with the staff and some questionable quotes that customer service can get worse for the sake of more profit

we have the epeat episode which is even more pathetic considering the previous mini battle with greenpeace a few years ago

these god awful genius commercials, the unbelievably shallow and disturbing celeb-siri commercials, endless lawsuits and then the new update cycle for the desktops ie one every 3 ios generations (only thing apple knows these days).

some people like myself have been using apple almost since they started and its always been apple for me and their last decade or so has been marvelous but to me they are turning into everything i at least hate about these big (understatement these days) business and they seemed to be not.
 
apolloa said:
Just leave me to browse, and I NEVER buy your extended warranty as I do not need it!
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That is why the extended Apple Care is optional. If you buy a new computer every year like I do, then we are not candidates for another two years of Apple Care. The exception is that it does increase the resale value.

With that said; Apple Care is for your benefit. Not Apple's. The Specialists do not make a commission. It is simply an extended warranty available to you so that you aren't one of those people screaming at a Genius because they quoted you $350 for a new logic board replacement for their 2 year old computer.

Nobody is hassling you. They are simply attempting to assist you. They are not members of the Psychic Network. And, they don't want you to be the person who complains on the survey they receive that nobody approached them or they had trouble finding assistance.

Now.. if we were talking about Best Buy. I agree 100% with your statement. But an Apple store is not a Best Buy.
 
There are BIG profits to be made with Apple Care just like any other extended
warranty. Sure you can avoid a $350 logic board charge but don't forget that
is the retail price of the board, not the manufacture $ which the warranty must
support.
 
Browett. At Apple. I still can't really believe it. As long as he's there, this is just the beginning.
 
scoobydoo99 said:
Now THAT's amusing :rolleyes:

(Hint: don't refute anecdotal evidence with anecdotal evidence)
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Blah blah.... it was all that was required to indicate that your post was complete uninformed drivel. You stated something with absolute certainty, so all that was required was an observation contrary to that. Note how mine doesn't claim to be absolute. In terms staffing overall, hiring then firing soon after is generally a sign that someone screwed up. We are not talking about a company that desperately needs to address their overhead due to cash flow problems.
 
thekev said:
Blah blah.... it was all that was required to indicate that your post was complete uninformed drivel. You stated something with absolute certainty, so all that was required was an observation contrary to that. Note how mine doesn't claim to be absolute. In terms staffing overall, hiring then firing soon after is generally a sign that someone screwed up. We are not talking about a company that desperately needs to address their overhead due to cash flow problems.
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I see that formal logic is not necessarily your forte. Anecdotal evidence based upon personal experience cannot be "uninformed drivel", since, by definition, it is from the informed obeserver's perspective. As evidenced by the comment immediately following my post, others have noticed the same phenomenon. As for your points about overall staffing, hiring, and firing...what are you talking about? I didn't comment on any of that. I just said there are too many employees in the way. Just walk in any Apple store.
 
scoobydoo99 said:
I see that formal logic is not necessarily your forte. Anecdotal evidence based upon personal experience cannot be "uninformed drivel", since, by definition, it is from the informed obeserver's perspective. As evidenced by the comment immediately following my post, others have noticed the same phenomenon. As for your points about overall staffing, hiring, and firing...what are you talking about? I didn't comment on any of that. I just said there are too many employees in the way. Just walk in any Apple store.
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:rolleyes: At least this time your comment was funny. I don't recall other comments like yours having read through this thread. Apple Store employees do move around quite a bit. I wish they could deal with technical questions, but I've never seen them obstruct the items on the display unless they're showing a customer how to use them. Even when the store is busy, they will still sometimes spend several minutes with a single customer. I found a recent article on this. I'm not sure of its accuracy. You still ignored some of the points from my earlier posts, such as that they big layoffs came right after recent hiring, which is typically a gaff. The other thing being that they'd naturally lose some staff or availability when kids return to school.
 
thekev said:
:rolleyes: At least this time your comment was funny. I don't recall other comments like yours having read through this thread. Apple Store employees do move around quite a bit. I wish they could deal with technical questions, but I've never seen them obstruct the items on the display unless they're showing a customer how to use them. Even when the store is busy, they will still sometimes spend several minutes with a single customer. I found a recent article on this. I'm not sure of its accuracy. You still ignored some of the points from my earlier posts, such as that they big layoffs came right after recent hiring, which is typically a gaff. The other thing being that they'd naturally lose some staff or availability when kids return to school.
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Glad I provided some levity. Anyway, I didn't comment on the hiring/layoffs, etc. b/c I really don't have an opinion on that. I just know that every time I go to an Apple store (and this is from Santa Monica to Fifth Avenue) there are a LOT of employees. I'm not saying Apple doesn't have great customer service. Personally, I like to browse (any store, not just Apple) without 3 employees hovering over the table I'm at. Of course, browsing an Apple store isn't that exciting for me now, since I have what I want from every category of product they make.:)
 
scoobydoo99 said:
Glad I provided some levity. Anyway, I didn't comment on the hiring/layoffs, etc. b/c I really don't have an opinion on that. I just know that every time I go to an Apple store (and this is from Santa Monica to Fifth Avenue) there are a LOT of employees. I'm not saying Apple doesn't have great customer service. Personally, I like to browse (any store, not just Apple) without 3 employees hovering over the table I'm at. Of course, browsing an Apple store isn't that exciting for me now, since I have what I want from every category of product they make.:)
Click to expand...

I haven't been to the Santa Monica one in a very long time. Last time I was there the place was packed with customers, although this was around the holidays. I can say I've never experienced Apple Store employees obstructing the display samples. I agree with not wanting to run into employees. That is just bad and should be managed at a store level. My real issue is that big hiring followed by big layoffs is really a failure at the management level, and it irritates me when I see companies handle things that way to prop up their numbers. Ideally Browett would have better ideas for how to push further growth in their existing retail shops rather than a generic trim labor memo which is really just delegated down to their store managers.
 
I'm sure upon graduating a MBA is issued a little red book with a list of
"How To Get Ahead" pointers.

Number 1 is fire staff:D
2: Trim remaining staff hours:p
3: Hire Part Timers to avoid benefits and pay entry level wages.
4: Outsource, outsource, outsource.:mad:
5: Cut boss's lawn and polish his car. (No kidding, I've seen it done !):cool:
6: Now fire 50% of who ever is left and talk up "Doing More With Less":p
7: Have "love in " with share holders over resulting numbers.:)
8: Leave company for promotion with opposition and before gutting of
previous firm can come back to bite one's posterior. :rolleyes:
9: Go back to number 1
 
thekev said:
I haven't been to the Santa Monica one in a very long time. Last time I was there the place was packed with customers, although this was around the holidays. I can say I've never experienced Apple Store employees obstructing the display samples. I agree with not wanting to run into employees. That is just bad and should be managed at a store level. My real issue is that big hiring followed by big layoffs is really a failure at the management level, and it irritates me when I see companies handle things that way to prop up their numbers. Ideally Browett would have better ideas for how to push further growth in their existing retail shops rather than a generic trim labor memo which is really just delegated down to their store managers.
Click to expand...

yeah. i understand about the hiring followed by layoffs. sounds like a mistake.

BTW, I was at the Pentagon City Apple store this afternoon (for no reason in particular) and the number of blue shirts reminded me of this thread, so i counted.... There were 32 Apple employees (not including the geniuses behind the counter) and 41 customers. Yeah, I know it's anecdotal, but 32 employees on the floor in a store the size of a relatively small Apple store is mind-boggling.
 
I had a sinking feeling when they hired him...

DrStern said:
Browett is the one in need of a Pink Slip. The first real signs of creeping corporate orthodoxy invading Apple. That worm needs to be cut out now.
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DrStern, I hate to say that about anyone, but it seems pretty obvious here.

I had a sinking feeling back when they hired him. Seemed like they had settled for a warm body. Wondered why they didn't promote from within.

POSSIBLE REASONS. Maybe they wanted someone with UK-Euro experience. Maybe they have ambitious expansion plans for Europe-Asia, and maybe Browett has connections to cut the real estate deals.

OR maybe he was best buds already with some Apple higher-up, in which case retail stores are in for a rough ride. Deadwood infects the tree unless pruned immediately. :mad:

MY TAKE. Look, the stores weren't perfect under Ron Johnson, but they were a whole lot better than any other tech retailer. Now it seems to me the staff (NOT the geniuses, but my salespeople) know less than me about the products. It's fairly chaotic -- I get passed from person to person, the next person doesn't know what I said to the first, and they seem to have no record of my past purchases. Eventually I get good service and leave feeling pretty good, but there's room for improvement. The busy hive could be much better organized and efficient.

IMHO, Browett seems like a B-Teamer AT BEST. No ideas other than "cut staff to juice profits and pressure them to upsell like crazy." He is NOT the guy to take Apple to the next level.
 
FNi said:
John Browett's first cock-up. How many more before Apple finds out what everyone in the UK knew all along?
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To answer my own question, looks like 1 was enough!

Well done Mr Cook.
 
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