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Apple Retail Stores Seeing Significant Layoffs of Recent Hires?

canadianpj said:
Welcome to completely baseless, unsubstantiated claims that you cannot verify. Has anyone ever worked in retail before? If this was not Apple no one would be reporting it as this kind of thing happens ... all the time.

Seriously. I'm not to happy about the guy either, but let's try to base our speculation on at least some fact.
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Actually anyone who has stepped into a Dixons/Currys/PC World over the years in the UK can substantiate that claim.

They have one of the worst reputations in the business, with staff that are not knowledgable about their products and who quite frankly don't give a crap as long as they can sell you their extended warranty that is not worth the paper it's printed on let alone the extortionate price they charge for it (AppleCare is cheaper for far superior cover).

There are normally only one or 2 staff on a warehouse sized shop floor, with maybe one other on the tills.

The only reason people shop there is that they have the advertising clout to ensure that others don't get a look in.

And yes I realise that is probably similar to Best Buy or any big box retailer, but the point is, Apple is not a big box retailer.
 
I've worked as a Genius for Apple for more than 3 years and I could write a book about only whats going wrong in an Apple Store.

This move now doesn't surprise me at all. The one and only thing that kept people at Apple and didnt made them quit, was the security to be employed by the wealthiest tech company in the world. Now that this security seems to be sipping away, for whatever reason, more people will have to think twice when they are getting a job offered.

There's really no reason to work in an Apple Store. Its the same retail as everywhere else, except its a lot more stressful and demanding and benefits don't weigh in enough. The best thing you get are stocks based on your salary (which aren't many if you earn as much as cleaning person) and the discount on ONE mac per year. Yay!

I'd recommend everyone who wants a stable footing in live and has a family to look for something else. It's a great student job though, with the flexibility and all.
 
student_trap said:
For all of its problems, the uk apple store experience is still something very different to other tech stores on the high street.

I'd agree that improvements are due, but have been concerned since the dixons ceo started that we may see a decline in the service offered. This seems like the thin end of the wedge to me, and typical dixons, where you have very few, unmotivated, poorly presented staff with a significant lack of knowledge. And furthermore, a shocking attitude towards returns and general customer service.

This is what dixons/pcworld/currys in the uk offer, and the service at apple stores was always a refreshing change.

I am surprised that the debate has included very little reference to the fact that apple has a new retail guy, that this is his typical strategy, and that apple stores are begining to become news worthy for the wrong reasons.

As far as I'm concerned, apple will have employed this guy to make these decisions/implement new strategies, and from the start he was a very poor choice.

This is the debate i'd like to hear peoples opinions on.
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To be honest, I don't really know what exactly what John Browett is meant to have done to Dixons? That's not intended as his defence but rather simply to question what strategies he applied there? Dixons has to my mind maintained a fairly consistently awful level of customer service for the past 25 years. I've certainly not noticed any improvements that might have taken place during his 5 years tenure at Dixons!

Last time I called into a branch it was to see if they had any vaguely up to date Xbox titles in stock to which I was met with a vacant, dead-eyed stare and the response that "what they've got is on the shelves". It wasn't exactly a masterclass in customer services at any rate.

Maybe it's just me, but the whole 'death of the highstreet' for shopping means that the only time I'd go in store is to either look at a new product before ordering online or to use the genius bar (faulty goods exchange service)

The question I've got about this staff cutting which no-one seems to have mentioned is its odd timing with regards to the impending launch of a new iPhone?! Previous years consistently see Apple locking down of staff holidays and short term additional recruitment for big new product releases, not laying people off!!

Especially strange as the new iPhone is going to have a fairly comprehensively new form factor and by all accounts will attract a lot of mainstream interest.

I guess those queues will have to go round a couple of extra blocks this year!
 
akadmon said:
Seeing a few Batman movies and spending a weekend shopping in NYC does not give you the right to make blanket statements like this. It would be like someone who has never been to England insisting he knows all there is to know about the English culture based on watching the opening/closing ceremonies of the 2012 Olympics.
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What on earth are you talking about? I've lived in both Denver and California for a total of 4 years.

Incidentally, Americans tend to know very little of British & English culture.
 
Next in apple news, September 2012:In October Apple is due to hire record numbers of new staff across all stores to cope with the launch of the new iPad / iPhone / Macs and handle the xmas rush.

2 Months of low staffing during the summer lul will top up that warchest somemore.
 
Nightarchaon said:
Next in apple news, September 2012:In October Apple is due to hire record numbers of new staff across all stores to cope with the launch of the new iPad / iPhone / Macs and handle the xmas rush.

2 Months of low staffing during the summer lul will top up that warchest somemore.
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This is what I was wondering. Isn't just about now the time Apple hires like crazy, trains and blocks vacations for the new iPhone? Seems like they're not expecting such a blow-out this year.
 
Apple trades on reputation and there is nothing more damaging to reputation than to rob junior staff on £7 an hour whilst the ass holes at the top take home millions per month.

Especially after you just hired them. This might be ok in the states but in Europe it's certainly very badly looked upon.

Apple would be a better company for looking after its staff whilst sitting on 100bln in cash than to save a few hundred k firing kids who will now be devastated after losing their jobs.

Capaitalisam at its worst.

On the flip side everyone knows apple is a good company at making money but crap place to work. I'd rather be poor and have a life than a slave to a company
 
Sedrick said:
This is what I was wondering. Isn't just about now the time Apple hires like crazy, trains and blocks vacations for the new iPhone? Seems like they're not expecting such a blow-out this year.
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Or new Apple efficiencies require fewer store employees. Apple already said at the 3rd Q conf call it expected a great 4th Q and also that 3Q retail sales grew 17% over the 2011 3Q. Independent analysts also expect Apple earnings and revenue to be up by 18 and 32%, respectively. If there were "meat" to your theory they'd know about it too and AAPL would be tanking right now, but it's not -- it's heading back to its all time high.

So, no, the scenario that Apple sales are slowing isn't why Apple would be trimming employee ranks and hours. There is no reliable data to support that theory. Its solely due to Tim Cook AKA "Mr. Efficiency" making his mark on retail, trying to grind out a few more $ for shareholders, like any good CEO.
 
It's obvious that employees hired to handle the huge influx of customers during the Olympics are no longer needed. Anyone with half a brain would know that being hired to handle the mobs during the Olympics would be a short term proposition.
 
matrix07 said:
Do we really have a source for this yet?
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Nope. Closest thing I saw was a ticker lead at the bottom of the screen on BBC America reporting that many large UK retailers were returning to normal business hours as the Olympics wind up and tourists go home. /shrugs
 
Recently when going in to buy a Macbook Air, the ditzy albeit good looking assistant was desperately trying to make me buy AppleCare and their One-to-One service instead of answering my questions performance etc. She didn't even have a clue what a thunderbolt port was...Maybe it's good some of them are being laid-off.

When the first regent street store opened I remember the staff being pretty much mac nerds. Sigh.
 
juannacho said:
To be honest, I don't really know what exactly what John Browett is meant to have done to Dixons? That's not intended as his defence but rather simply to question what strategies he applied there? Dixons has to my mind maintained a fairly consistently awful level of customer service for the past 25 years. I've certainly not noticed any improvements that might have taken place during his 5 years tenure at Dixons!!

Last time I called into a branch it was to see if they had any vaguely up to date Xbox titles in stock to which I was met with a vacant, dead-eyed stare and the response that "what they've got is on the shelves". It wasn't exactly a masterclass in customer services at any rate.
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He was basically tasked with turning around their customer service practices, which I for one have not experienced at all, and seemingly neither have you and a lot of other people.

A bit of digging shows that he was initially a Management consultant (which brings these recent firings into closer consideration), then worked at tesco, and then dixons. His career progression and employer history says volumes of the environments in which he has learnt his trade. Now I wouldn't pass comment on his ability, but do question how his past experience of what contitutes sucess within retail really alligns with the retail approach of apple.

Maybe it's just me, but the whole 'death of the highstreet' for shopping means that the only time I'd go in store is to either look at a new product before ordering online or to use the genius bar (faulty goods exchange service)
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I think a lot of people do the same, (myself included), although I do purchase in-store from shops with excellent customer service, such as John Lewis.

The question I've got about this staff cutting which no-one seems to have mentioned is its odd timing with regards to the impending launch of a new iPhone?! Previous years consistently see Apple locking down of staff holidays and short term additional recruitment for big new product releases, not laying people off!!

Especially strange as the new iPhone is going to have a fairly comprehensively new form factor and by all accounts will attract a lot of mainstream interest.

I guess those queues will have to go round a couple of extra blocks this year!
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I see your point, it is bizarre, but then again with a MC, Tesco and dixons background, it's not so surprising. Apple have always understood (in my experience), the importance of good customer service and the consequent brand loyalty. This is not the case with the 'pile em' high, sell em' cheap' ethos of Tesco, the poor service from dixons, nor the 'efficiency even if goodwill is sacrificed' management consulting culture.

I had hoped that apple had seen something in him that was more akin to their culture, but yesterdays news suggests otherwise :(
 
SpyderBite said:
Nope. Closest thing I saw was a ticker lead at the bottom of the screen on BBC America reporting that many large UK retailers were returning to normal business hours as the Olympics wind up and tourists go home. /shrugs
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Which makes me wonder if this is a slow-news day ... "news" like that (even without source) is one way to get the post count up :)
 
Yeah, working Apple retail back in '07 was one of those... stories I'll always have to tell people about. Awful management and crappy work conditions, and of course poor compensation for all the hard work.
 
Chupa Chupa said:
Its solely due to Tim Cook AKA "Mr. Efficiency" making his mark on retail, trying to grind out a few more $ for shareholders, like any good CEO.
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There is some truth in this and perhaps explains the Apple board's choice of Retail VP.

Before Apple started a dividend payout they had the luxury of using their bricks and mortar stores as a sort of Willy Wonka factory to build on the allure and mystique of the brand.

Let's not forget that when Steve and Ron started work on the new Apple retail experience 10 or 12 years ago that turning a profit on the shopfloor was not top of their list of priorities.

They no longer have autonomy to run the business in the way they want.
 
Why shop at the Apple Store? It's crowded and does not have a loyalty program. Does the Apple Store ever have sales?

If you buy at Best Buy or even through Apple.com, you can get cashback / reward points ... While it's only a couple percent, still adds up on the big purchases.



guzhogi said:
If Apple was barely making ends meet, I could understand that. However, Apple's raking billions in profits. They could afford the higher salaries.
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Apple is not a charity - for all those on here that think Apple can do no evil ... they are no different than any other company.
 
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