Apple Retail Employees Vent Frustrations About Stores Becoming Less 'Shopper-Friendly' in Recent Years

[slide_to_unlock]

Apple store is like "Buy More" now if anybody got this reference.

 

[44267547]

My views are likely opposite of others, since Angela Ahrendts was under reign at the time, they revamped three Apple stores in my region, all of which turned for the better. They don’t look nearly as dated, services were improved (At least by two of the stores), and even on busier days, I never stood around waiting.

I think the big thing to take away, is every store will be slightly different from another, and others experiences will never be consistent, because store staff will vary with knowledge, Attitude and experience.

 

[Mitochris]

I think Ahrendts was terrible for Apple. I associate her with increased prices, the desire to be a luxury brand, instead of doing solid functioning products, rather selling watch bands than improving software. I know not all things are down to her, but these things coincide with her arrival at apple. I am glad she has moved on.

 

[harrisondavies]

This is sooo true. Went in on Friday, I was like, where’s the Genius Bar?

I did not enjoy sitting next to some old dude who’d obviously peed himself.

I want the Genius Bar back. I don’t want to be surrounded by shoppers.

I want to be served on arrival, not go hunting for help.

 

[az431]

I said this since the day Cook took over but it was early and people would say get over it it’s Post Jobs era.

Genius Bar appointments used to be 1 on 1 interactions with ZERO wait time. Jobs said he wanted customers to feel like family.

Immediately when Cook took over it became 1 employee for a table of 4 customers, all waiting while the employee ran around helping each at the same time.

I had a wait time of 20-30 min past my apt time. BUT they canceled my original appt once because I was late a couple min.

So I guess we aren’t allowed to be late but Apple is allowed to be 20-30 min late.

Cook downsized employees to save $$ on labor. This is what we got. Everything with him is monetary.

Tim Cook didn't "downsize" staff to "save $$ on labor." You made that up.

There was never a 1:1 employee-customer ratio, nor is there a 1:4 ratio now. Both would be absurd and economically infeasible.

And no you can't be late because that affects other customers. Would you prefer showing up on time only to be told that you have to wait because the customer before you showed up late?

 

[xxray]

I did notice the change in the stores. I really hate the process of "signing in" and just waiting around for an employee to finally come get me with no idea if anyone ever will actually come get me. It seems very chaotic and the customer service doesn't feel great. I'd have even more satisfaction just being in a line so I'd be aware of how soon I'd be helped.

 

[lolkthxbai]

The bloomberg article is full of BS and clearly is driving a false narrative based on a few handpicked cases of poor service.

Apple stores are insanely busy though and it can get crazy hectic, so it’s easy to see how some people feel that way. But Apple has been recently renovating their stores and expanding them for this reason.

As for the new layout, I think it serves a new generation of customers. Back then, they used to have an iPad on the table and you would have to tap a button on it to request a sales person to come to you. I think those ipads were removed after Angela took over Retail. And honestly, it was the right choice because those things were unreliable.

 

[Mac+1984]

As a former retail employee, I was trained on how Apple Customer Service was originally modeled off of the exceptional customer service of the Ritz Carlton hotels. However, since leaving the retail space, it seems Apple has abandoned that over the years too.
I resonate also with how the article points out that there is a lack of technical knowledge. I had heard there was a new mantra that: "technical skills can be taught, but people skills can't." Which is true, however, you need to take the time to TEACH those skills to your new technician/Genii. The past couple of years, the company went from investing in their technicians by sending them out to Cupertino/Austin for training, to now just merely giving them virtual training via a computer and saying "click where all the screws are on this Mac" like it was a big game of pretend. There's nothing like the hands-on training of years past, where the technicians knew the ins and outs of most, if not ALL models of Mac.
Now days, you have the likes of a Louis Rossman, who actually FIXES the boards and known issues of Macs on his YouTube channel. From the sounds of it, he used to be a Genius for Apple, too.

Exactly this.

 

[Tozovac]

Great for decoration but a total waste of space.

Welcome to Apple post-2012, form over function.

 

[Black Belt]

I’ve said Angela needed to go for years but was always slammed by the fanbois and they defended her hare-brained schemes. Funny now that Apple has dumped her and her schemes, they claim they knew it was coming all along.

The stores are a disaster. You can’t get help. What help you can get are about as poorly trained as the people at Angela’s former employer. What tiny amount of seating there is invents new words for painful. Not friendly at all to the disabled who can’t stand around like Eloi. They need to return the Genius Bar, a place to ask questions and separate that from the repair center. And why are they marketing the stupidly priced products to the masses? How many did they actually sell?

So much blather about the core product legs of Apple and they ignore, for years, products people actually want to buy like Macs and improved Apple TV. And they put out great ideas like Siri and HomeKit and let them flounder instead of making quantum leaps every year. That’s all on Tim Cook.

 

[lolkthxbai]

When I randomly walk in to buy a cable or something it takes way too long. The first person who looks like they can check me out usually can't so someone else gets called over. They really should just let me scan the accessory with my phone and pay right there.

They do. If you have the Apple Store app you can walk-in, scan an accessory and pay thru the app. They’ve been doing it for years

 

[mollyc]

Apple is becoming the new Best Buy. Tons of employees walking around not doing anything. Yet when you actually need help there is no one around.

Funny, I really don't like BB either, but I bough a Macbook Air this weekend there because they were having such a good sale on them. We walked in, found the Apple section easily, someone from BB came over immediately, and the whole thing was done very quickly. The longest part was that they agreed to price match Costco for Apple Care + (so I ended up saving $300 overall), and they needed two separate override codes, so they had to find someone else (and that only took a minute or two). I think it was the fastest Apple purchase I have ever made, and it's the only time I've ever not purchased an Apple product through Apple itself.

 

[H.E. Pennypacker]

I agree with the stores becoming less shopper friendly. I was buying a Macbook Air after the new models came out last year and the store was not crowded but I had to go into the queue and wait 45 minutes just to purchase the computer. There should be a clear way for a customer to purchase something (especially if they know exactly what they want) without an extended wait.

Agreed. Nothing more infuriating then having to wait in line to speak to some to purchase something I know exactly what I want.

 

[DanBig]

Apple has become to popular! In years past you could get the needed help either a sales person or a tech. Today the volume is too great for many of the Apple Stores and in someways their popularity had soured people from many of the stores which also sell Apple gear. If you know what you want going to BestBuy works! If you want to understand the features and get your questions answered you have no choice off to the Apple Store or spend hours on the web! But service is the pits! Your only hope is Apple if its under warranty or service contract. Apple lack of supporting the independent service companies is the big problem!

Within the Apple Stores: Instead of having everyone wearing the same color T's how about defining a role to a color! So a Green T'd person is for service check-in. A Blue T'd person is Sales and a Red T'd person is a product specialist. Each skill that person holds is a badge, a primary and one or two secondaries at most. Either hardware or major software apps.

For service they need to invest in more service depots either theirs or better yet support the independents.

 

[bruinsrme]

I used to be a former Senior Manager for Apple. Here's a video I posted about her Angelas's departure which pretty much spells out what happened.

As a former specialist I agree and disagree.
Most of the classes offered are garbage and there are a lot of 100yo there.
Here’s the real issue, the classes are crap because Apple seems to lack the conveyance of implementing their product to real life.

YouTube has replaced the creative.

who was responsible for the following?

-Common accessories routinely out of stock.
-Seasonal item, cases and band depleted half way through the season
-making waiting customers sit in small wooden boxes
-useless today at Apple classes
-long Genius Bar wait times
-lack of selection for cases for the iPad models, let alone the prices.
-lack of affordable wireless headphones for teenagers.
-the lack of functional HomeKit avenues
-depending on specialists to promote services iCloud and music. Apple Music what happened to that class?
-AppleCare, come on the prices are crazy. Cut the price and kick up the deductible.

The Apple store seems to want the image of come on in and play.
It’s difficult for customers to play when they don’t know how to play or customers are packed in like sardines.

The Apple store I worked at had a crazy $ per square foot revenue. That’s because they managed to squeeze 10 pounds of you know what in a 5 pound bag.

 

[code-m]

This is a lame excuse for people getting paid to do a job but not putting the effort to earn it. And as if the customers' lives are trouble free. With this hypothetical logic I can add to it and say that maybe the person who needs his phone fixed pronto is because his child is hospitalized and needs to have a constant contact with his wife who is with the child. So the customer's need trumps the employee's who is getting paid to do a job.

Depending on what the issue is with the phone, some cannot be easily fixed. Maybe a temp replacement or an exchange might be warranted for severe issues. I have had both scenarios play out, for something small like a battery replacement, it was done in under an hour and that was a walk-in and the other was an appointment. While other times I just walked in or had an appointment and I was provided an exchange, no questions asked.

This all depends on the situation, one could say if you car breaks down you should go to the dealership or mechanic and get a replacement right away or the problem fixed, however most will just give you an initial ride to where you want to go and pick you up once completed. Other than that you can use a taxi, ride share or have a family or friend be your chauffeur for the timeframe.

Remember to always back-up your iOS devices, in the rare event you are placed in this unfortunate situation. If not, only you are to blame for your lack of effort.

 

[ajguckian]

I'm not a fan of how too many of the employees look unbathed, it just seems so out of place.

 

[code-m]

Where you have to use proprietary Apple mugs that cost several hundred dollars, if not thousand. And when they bring out a new type of coffee, you either have to pay several hundreds of dollars for an adaptor, or need to get the newest version of iMug™ in order to drink it. You can get the same specs of coffee from several other places for a third of the cost, but they don't offer the same support as Apple Coffee

Apple Coffee makes you think and feel different though

 

[avanpelt]

O'Brien is now tasked with revitalizing Apple's retail business, even if that means moving away from the idea of Apple retail stores as social gathering places, which was the initiative spearheaded by Ahrendts.

This was such a boneheaded idea. If I'm going to go to the mall to socialize, I'm likely going to do it over a meal at the food court -- not while dodging people who are trying to get their Apple hardware repaired.

 

[dk001]

That ^^^^^

Stores are Uncomfortable to say the least.

I think the location clientele has a lot to do with it.
I can't stand the stores in Thousand Oaks or Manhattan Beach yet like the store in Santa Barbara.
The biggest differences? Staff knowledge and the people who "hang out". It either feels friendly when you walk in or it doesn't. The staff either enhances the feeling or dissipates it.

 

[calliex]

Work there for almost 10years but quit when right after she came on board. Wanted us to sell the watch like we were at jewelry store, did not sign up for that. That and taken all info card off the products. My guess was to force customers to ask questions of the staff. Was there over weekend bought an XR for my wife. Went to look at cases but couldn't tell what cases were what, nothing makred

 

[nickosbad]

Whilst I hate the new layouts and the simply laughable attempt to make them something other than places to spend money “town centres....LOl” what they have done with these new layouts is actually quite clever (to the average consumer)

With previous layouts where the Genius Bar was at the back of the store, the vast majority of times you’d see a large crowd waiting in the same place for an appointment....this would look bad to the average consumer (look at all these people needing an apple product fixing!!)

Now the average consumer looks in the store and just sees a busy apple store with people dotted around, looking at the products and listening to the “today at apple” session.....no indication the customers are doing anything other than buying something!!

+1 win for Apple and their image....

Now....as the person waiting for an appointment....you used to sit in line at the Genius Bar quietly waiting your turn.....now they have you wait right next to the newest shiniest products.....tempting you to upgrade your faulty device rather than get it repaired!....#1 route to upgrade is get you to play with the newest device and one of the simplest sales tactics around....have a potential customer stand near the latest and greatest!!!!

+2 win for apple and getting you to part with your cash!

....or you’re sat waiting and watching the today at apple session as there’s nothing else to do....to the average consumer it looks like you’re getting something great from apple

+3 win for apple!!!

Fact is that whilst the store may be Worse than before....it’s a game of smoke and mirrors!!!.....Apple need the illusion of happy places and people waiting at a “Genius Bar” don’t do anything other than drive negative perceptions!!

 

[TonyC28]

Ahrendts wanted the stores to be social gathering places? Seriously where does that rank on the list of reasons a person goes to an Apple Store?

 

[Mac+1984]

Work there for almost 10years but quit when right after she came on board. Wanted us to sell the watch like we were at jewelry store, did not sign up for that. That and taken all info card off the products. My guess was to force customers to ask questions of the staff. Was there over weekend bought an XR for my wife. Went to look at cases but couldn't tell what cases were what, nothing makred

Agreed. I still cringe thinking about the looks people would give me when I told them about the $17,000 watch. It started in 2012 before Angela (in my opinion) with the Ritz-Carlton white glove treatment giving way to a "charge them whatever you can" approach. It got worse during Angela's tenure.

 

[Kabeyun]

When u make an apt there shouldn’t be a wait time. Not our fault they downsized in staffing.

I’ve never had to wait more than 5-10 minutes past an appointment time. My store’s pretty fantastic. And while I wait I get to play with a 12” iPad Pro and its amazing Apple Pencil, or geek out over drones or headphones. Sometimes I wish it were 15 minutes.