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How's your experience working at the Apple store?
- Thread starter DBZmusicboy01
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Starting pay in Canada was $14/hour plus benefits, not sure about vacation as I was always part time.
Not enough. Was fun back in 2006. Lately it sucks from what I've heard. Too many guidelines, standards, metrics, upsells, strictness on hours, etc. When I worked there, if I had to stay an extra 20 minutes past my shift to finish helping a customer, there was never a question. if I had to take pity on someone who's iPod's hard drive died a week out of warranty, we'd swap it without question as a "Surprise and Delight" tactic. These days, everything is recorded and tracked and measured. Just like every other electronic's retailer.
For an entry sales position? $12-$14 is pretty decent although I hear it's still closer to $9/hour.
When an applicant asks me these as his/her first questions, I hire them in an instant.
When an applicant asks me these as his/her first questions, I hire them in an instant.
Or if those are my first questions for a new job, I know I'm going to love it no matter what! Pay and benefits > every other aspect of the job/workplace.
I agree. Back when I started it was the end of the "fun times". After that it was all, metrics metrics metrics. A year after I started, a manager or "mentor" had to go with you on each and every Mac sale to make sure you offered the customer AppleCare, MobileMe and One to One, and if you did, push it on them again to try and get them to buy it. That was one of the many reasons I left. It was no longer about "enriching lives", it was about making more money.
Exactly. It used to be "sell the experience", now it's "sell the services, the warranties and the upgrades"
Unfortunately. It also seems like 90% of the Specialists there don't even know about Apple products outside the iPhone and iPad. Ive tried to ask them several times about the nMP and Thunderbolt and they just assume Im talking about the Macbook Pro and lightning.
Unfortunately. It also seems like 90% of the Specialists there don't even know about Apple products outside the iPhone and iPad. Ive tried to ask them several times about the nMP and Thunderbolt and they just assume Im talking about the Macbook Pro and lightning.
That's because they hire personalities now. They used to hire knowledge, artists and Mac enthusiasts.
I worked extremely part-time a few years ago, 10-15 hours a week. Starting pay was $11-something/hour at that store back turn. Full time spots started higher.
In the years I worked there, we had three different store leaders (ie the person in charge of the store).
1st guy ran it and focused on the customer experience. Employees loved it. 2nd guy ran it with a focus on metrics. Employee moral noticeably fell (to the point that HR from Cupertino was sending people out to figure out what changed). Current lady running it struck a good mixture of the first two and things got a lot better. Even though I haven't worked there for a few years, a huge amount of the hourly people that I worked with are still there today.
IMO, every Apple store is going to have its own unique vibe based on the local mgmt and their priorities.
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Some of the worst employees (on hardware tech questions) I worked with at my store were the ones that were artists in their off time.
They couldn't give you detailed specs about the nMP, but they could kick ass with advanced Final Cut, Logic, or Aperture questions.
And vice-versa. The tech geeks had no clue how to help a customer with a Final Cut workflow question.
We'd simply pass customers between ourselves when we were paired up the wrong way.
In this day and age it's got to be hard to find a single employee that can answer every question that comes their way on the sales floor. Much less find 200 of that type of person to staff and entire store (and not quit when they spend 90% of their day going over Mac basics to people thinking about switching to a Mac).
Sigh. Very true. When I tried to go back, they actually told me in the interview I knew too much. WTH kind of statement is that?!
Should have worn a fedora, blue hair, thick black glasses and an ear gauge. They would have taken you back in a heartbeat.
I did notice some employees looking like that on my most recent visit to the Apple Store. It looks kind of unprofessional and I believe that the store employees should not be allowed to wear those huge gauges and fedoras while on the clock.
I really couldn't care less what they are wearing. What bothers me are their lack of bathing habits.
Depends. What kind of employee are you? If those are the only two questions you have regarding any job then my opinion of you is that you're going to be a lousy worker who does the bare minimum to get the most pay/vacation time.
What bothers me are their lack of bathing suits.
Sounds like your typical government employee.
Wait? What?