I'm not surprised. It seems like modern day corporate stupidity when it comes to training employees.
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Apple Retail Ends Genius Training in Cupertino, Moves to In-Store Web Seminars
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Will videos teach them to interact & communicate well with real people,
inspire them to represent the brand?
make them feel they are more special that some retail employee who is told to site in the back room of a mall store and watch videos?
no, no. and no.
inspire them to represent the brand?
make them feel they are more special that some retail employee who is told to site in the back room of a mall store and watch videos?
no, no. and no.
The decline of Apple continues as Timmy the bean counter looks to save a buck.
You learn by getting your hands on stuff. Flying someone out someplace doesn't help as much as diving in and trying.
I was recently hired by a chain of mac stores as a technician. I've used Apple's video training via ATLAS and it's fantastic, very indepth and completely helpful. But what was more helpful was working with the more experienced technicians and seeing it done and then doing it myself. That can be done in a store just as effectively as paying someone to fly out, put them up, and in the end, people get to sleep in their own beds.
It's a bit less romantic - but it makes more sense.
I was recently hired by a chain of mac stores as a technician. I've used Apple's video training via ATLAS and it's fantastic, very indepth and completely helpful. But what was more helpful was working with the more experienced technicians and seeing it done and then doing it myself. That can be done in a store just as effectively as paying someone to fly out, put them up, and in the end, people get to sleep in their own beds.
It's a bit less romantic - but it makes more sense.
Think that's bad? We professional pilots do the samething. Training is all done in the simulator. First flight in an actual airplane is usually a revenue flight with passengers.
Probably the latter. Notebooks can be shipped in bulk, and replacement parts can be sent to a single location rather than hundreds.
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But as First Officer, not Captain.
To be fair, it's not entirely appropriate to blame Angela for the Genius change. I understand she is in charge of the Retail portion with alterations and she has taken heat for the Apple Watch, ect, but you have no idea if this was a collaborative/solo decision to make this change. Furthermore, you also don't know if this is temporary due to the New Campus transition, as the article stated, which may very well be handled there in the future. If you knew this wasn't definitely her decision or if the article stated that, then I wouldn't blame you for your post. But Without direct evidence this is entirely on her, then you can't chastise her name.
To me, there's no better experience than hands on experience. So hopefully, this article serves as a temporary change versus permanent.
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In my Microsoft Trainer Training, I learned that there are 4 types of learners:
- Kinesthetic (me) Learn best with hands on experience
- Visual - Learn best with watching someone else
- Audio - Learn best when listening to instructions
- Reading - Learn best when reading the instructions
Having done an iPhone repair with a video, It was hard. I had to watch the video several times, pause it, and wonder what I do with that part that doesn't look right.
The MCT class emphasized always using at least two methods of delivery. Three was ideal.
All I'm saying is if anyone online can instantly come up with "training without the hardware is a bad idea"....I'm going to have to assume Apple has thought of that as well.
However, it doesn't make sense in terms of workforce morale and loyalty.
Any company that would like people worth £20/hour to apply for their £15/hour job. Especially if that company has aspirations to be magical and think different etc.
Let's see - imagine you're a young tech enthusiast and Apple fan with the skills to be a really good in-store adviser. You can easily get another, maybe slightly more senior job, but if you go to Apple you get a couple of weeks at the new Apple Mothership. Sounds like a sale to me (or will the next recruiting ad read "we are looking for mediocre people who could care less about Apple and are passionate about getting paid at the end of the month"?
Ever heard the expression "they know the cost of everything and the value of nothing"?
Further signs that Apple is in decline. They seem to only be able to release products serially instead of great parallel announcements of the past. And yeah, why would you stop inculcating the great culture into your workforce that for most people is the primary means to receive the "Apple experience."
I think it all goes back to Cook. Nice guy, great at operations, but lacking the creative drive and force of personality necessary to really lead an innovative company like Apple. There's no replacing Steve Jobs, but they need to find someone more like him to get their mojo back, and soon.
I think it all goes back to Cook. Nice guy, great at operations, but lacking the creative drive and force of personality necessary to really lead an innovative company like Apple. There's no replacing Steve Jobs, but they need to find someone more like him to get their mojo back, and soon.
With the way the devices are now, I'm not sure what they can even fix. The CPU, memory, and SSD are now one integrated unit, so that's easy to replace. Battery also a bit separate piece. There aren't many things that can be done in shop now, so I can see why the hands-on training is no longer needed.
I can fix many laptops out there from either my experience and some following a technical guide. One of my favorite computers to fix were IBM/Lenovo computers because they provided repair manuals for every different product.
For iOS devices, save for the iPhone, they don't even fix those anymore; always a swap now.
I can fix many laptops out there from either my experience and some following a technical guide. One of my favorite computers to fix were IBM/Lenovo computers because they provided repair manuals for every different product.
For iOS devices, save for the iPhone, they don't even fix those anymore; always a swap now.
Nope. Where I'm at, once a Captain, always a Captain.
The new Captain will be paired with an IOE Captain, yes.
Seems like a maneuver that will only help Apple's bottom line and hurt the consumer...
With modern e-learning platforms, creating an interactive touch point module is simple. Medical and Nursing boards use this format on licensing exams for procedure knowledge (where to inject, which bone to manipulate, etc.). If it's good enough for healthcare professionals, the person changing an iPhone screen is golden.
9 months later: "The product you are attempting to repair has been categorized as Vintage, repair is no longer possible"
This is indeed beyond being frugal. Top notch service has always been a cornerstone of the Apple experience, and it's sad to see this nickel-and-diming happening. I'd rather not have my motherboard replaced by a 'genius' who might have never had any hands-on experience with any particular actual hardware.
For the love of God Angela, please don't (permanently) take away one of the reasons we treasure Apple service.
This is my career field.
What you learned (as far as type of learner) is wrong.
There is no data to support that learning theory. Since the 1990's, and entire generation of education doctoral candidates have crashed and burned trying to prove it.
Again, there is no data to support it.
One of the reasons i support an end to H1B's are antics similar to these. It basically managment giving workers the big FU while they reward themselves. Ive seen this personally at other companies where training budgets become slush funds for management with little or no benefits for the people that will supposedly be trained with those funds. Not only is this bad for new employees it sucks for people that have been ariund for a while as they have to take up the slack due to untrained workers.
The reality is there are plenty of potential tech workers out there. However there is little in the way of incentive for people to take the jobs. You combine poor pay with poor employee support (education is a form of support) and you end up with a poorly motivated workforce. A better approach would be an active enrichment program.
There was a time in this country when corporations actually put effort into employee education. This at every level within a company. At one end you had apprenticeships at another you had managerial programs that actually stressed the value of good employees. Sales, engineering or whatever had their own development tracks. Today employees are disposable which is the best word i can use to describe the attitude of corporations these days. Pretty sad really. H1B's just takes disposability a step further, don't want somebody any more just send them back home.
The reality is there are plenty of potential tech workers out there. However there is little in the way of incentive for people to take the jobs. You combine poor pay with poor employee support (education is a form of support) and you end up with a poorly motivated workforce. A better approach would be an active enrichment program.
There was a time in this country when corporations actually put effort into employee education. This at every level within a company. At one end you had apprenticeships at another you had managerial programs that actually stressed the value of good employees. Sales, engineering or whatever had their own development tracks. Today employees are disposable which is the best word i can use to describe the attitude of corporations these days. Pretty sad really. H1B's just takes disposability a step further, don't want somebody any more just send them back home.
How can it be wrong if the poster learned successfully that way? The fact he did it that way IS evidence it worked. What evidence have you provided to back-up your claim the method the poster used is wrong?
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"Many?" Really? Just how many new-hires are present in the shop at a time? How long would it be before those new-hires have accumulated experience on every Apple product made within the past 5 years (since they don't repair Vintage and Obsolete gear)? It wouldn't take very long at all. And since there will always be experienced hands to guide the new hires...
I doubt that the training in Cupertino (and elsewhere) was quite that product-specific, either. The right way to train is going to cover tools and techniques that can be broadly applied, with occasional attention to the odd exception. "How to open any iMac with a glued display." "How to use our diagnostic test gear." Part of good product design is to keep repair tools and techniques consistent from model to model, and judging by ifixit, Apple seems to do a good job of that. New models may require one or two new skills... but I'm quite sure they don't recall all their Geniuses to Cupertino to learn the specifics of the latest iPhone. New-hire training is just the start to a career spent on the job.
Back when I did physical repairs (broadcast, audio, and video, some computers), I never received hands-on, factory training on specific hardware. I had repair manuals, my accumulated, general repair skills, and on-job training from experienced hands. Now, I would have loved any employer who was willing to send me off to school for a month. No doubt that would have been a great experience. Having gone without that, I just don't see that it's a make-or-break thing.
"Many?" Really? Just how many new-hires are present in the shop at a time? How long would it be before those new-hires have accumulated experience on every Apple product made within the past 5 years (since they don't repair Vintage and Obsolete gear)? It wouldn't take very long at all. And since there will always be experienced hands to guide the new hires...
I doubt that the training in Cupertino (and elsewhere) was quite that product-specific, either. The right way to train is going to cover tools and techniques that can be broadly applied, with occasional attention to the odd exception. "How to open any iMac with a glued display." "How to use our diagnostic test gear." Part of good product design is to keep repair tools and techniques consistent from model to model, and judging by ifixit, Apple seems to do a good job of that. New models may require one or two new skills... but I'm quite sure they don't recall all their Geniuses to Cupertino to learn the specifics of the latest iPhone. New-hire training is just the start to a career spent on the job.
Back when I did physical repairs (broadcast, audio, and video, some computers), I never received hands-on, factory training on specific hardware. I had repair manuals, my accumulated, general repair skills, and on-job training from experienced hands. Now, I would have loved any employer who was willing to send me off to school for a month. No doubt that would have been a great experience. Having gone without that, I just don't see that it's a make-or-break thing.