(Some at least) Apple employees are utterly Watch-clueless.

[Exile714]

Maybe now some people on these forums will stop taking "my friend who works in an Apple Store said" posts seriously. 1) They don't get inside information and 2) they can be just as misinformed as anyone else.

Apple Store employees are, for the most part, an exemplary retail staff. But you can't expect them to be something they're not, and they're not as well-informed as people think they are about new products.

 

[robaroo]

I think expectation is a little too high if you expect retail experience to be perfect and folks working there to know everything there is to know about the watch. If you've ever worked retail before, then you'd know how miserable it can be and how easily one can slip into the "I've stopped caring long ago." frame of mind. Just the fact that people are there who can help you out with the watch is good enough for me. I'll learn about the watch on my own and not rely on those underpaid college students.

 

[Mr.C]

Unlike what one person here said about better job screening and higher pay it has got nothing to do with that. It's all down to a combination of poor training, poor communication and restrictions put on the staff about what they can and cannot say. They have to tow the company line on the last one even more so when working for Apple.

I've worked for a long time in retail before and from my experience this is all typical with any retail establishment especially the first two. You can't really blame the staff in my opinion. Also most of the people who post here are a lot more knowledgeable then the average consumer and it's obvious in this kind of situation it's going to be a lot more annoying and frustrating for us.

 

[Rogifan]

Someone on my Twitter feed said one of the store employees told them they couldn't resize the link bracelet they were trying on because the store wasn't getting the right tool to do it until Monday. I'm sorry but that's just plain . I can imagine Jony Ive throwing out a few expletives if he heard that. Makes you wonder if there was enough proper training for store employees or if the ones that went through training properly trained the rest of the store staff. No way should staff be giving flat out false information.

 

[Wildgift]

Cut them some slack. They have been inundated. And, it's a whole new paradigm for all of us.

 

[WilliamG]

Cut them some slack. They have been inundated. And, it's a whole new paradigm for all of us.

This is true to some degree. However, it should go without saying that the reps should know EXACTLY how to tell which band size is on the watch. After all, they're helping to sell people these watches IN THE STORE by helping them order at the in-store computers!

 

[dannyyankou]

I just came back from my Apple Watch appointment and I taught the associate how to access Apple Pay with the digital touch button. He was like "you have to teach me how to do that. You learn something new everyday." Yes, it's called training.

Despite that, I was very impressed by the quality of the space black link bracelet and black sports band.

 

[rwilliams]

It sounds like Apple needs to stop with the cloak and dagger nonsense with their retail employees and offer some real hands-on training. When, as someone stated earlier, your retail people only get their hands on a product 1 hour before being asked to help customers with it, what the hell are they expecting?

 

[McCool71]

Apple Retail is like any workplace, you get some passionate people, some indifferent, and then you have otherwise friendly people that just need a paycheck to pay their tuition/loan or even a slew of parking tickets (believe it).

Yep, it always puzzles me when people assume that staff in the Apple store have extensive knowledge of every product and live and breathe Apple 24 hours a day. For lots of people it is just somewhere to work - like in any other electronics-related store.

The informed customer (like most people on these forums) that have researched and read reviews/previews in depth for weeks or months on a specific product will 9 out 10 times know a lot more about the exact product details and functions than the sales person. This really applies to everything; smart watches, TVs, Surround systems, bicycles or computers.

 

[bizzy045]

I had to show 2 reps at the Apple store I went to how to access the heart rate sensor on the demo wall.

I know you can access the hear rate sensor from glances, but is there actually a way to see it in the activity or workout apps? or is it in a separate app completely?

 

[PegasusTenma]

I was told in Covent Garden in London that the watch has no wifi.

 

[Armen]

I know you can access the hear rate sensor from glances, but is there actually a way to see it in the activity or workout apps? or is it in a separate app completely?

That I didnt dive into. I knew about glances section only.

 

[Tsuchiya]

You fail to consider the fact that Apple Stores did not receive the Watch until the last minute, and staff were given one hour hands on with the try-on devices before the store opened and they were expected to field all sorts of questions. You should also consider that part time retail staff probably still haven't all had this training and are being thrown in blind. Don't forget that in the leaked training guides here on MacRumors, the focus was on handling the watch and discussing highlight features.

I dare say if you put a fully working Apple Watch in front of a Specialist they will still be fumbling about trying to work out the interface.

The fault is on Apple.

 

[specik]

Part of the issue is that a LOT of people want to work for Apple, thus they don't have to pay particularly well for the caliber of person they can get to do the work -- the smartest most capable employees don't always hang around that long - there are a LOT of companies that provide a smoother work environment, with better schedules and more pay.

Can confirm. I worked as a Genius for 2 years while also developing some back of house web apps for the store. Eventually I was doing less and less development (new former retail store VP started changing things at the store level for the worse). I tried to find a position within the company for my skill set (software engineer) but the best advice I was offered by management was to apply for a software engineering position in Cupertino through apple.com/jobs. I quit Apple shortly thereafter since there was no way in hell I was moving from NYC to Cupertino. Fast forward 4 years I'm the lead software engineer for a digital agency based out of NYC. Apple really has a really hard time retaining their top talent.

As a side note, it turns out some of the web apps I wrote then are still in use at the store today.

 

[Glideslope]

Yup....

..... unfortunately I noticed the same experience last Sat. My take was not that they were incompetent. I sensed they were simply being asked to "do their best" with no real direction from above. Even with the 35 Million Dollar Blitzkrieg.

Kind of felt bad for them in a way. They looked like Lost Sheep being stripped of their wool.

----------

You fail to consider the fact that Apple Stores did not receive the Watch until the last minute, and staff were given one hour hands on with the try-on devices before the store opened and they were expected to field all sorts of questions. You should also consider that part time retail staff probably still haven't all had this training and are being thrown in blind. Don't forget that in the leaked training guides here on MacRumors, the focus was on handling the watch and discussing highlight features.

I dare say if you put a fully working Apple Watch in front of a Specialist they will still be fumbling about trying to work out the interface.

The fault is on Apple.

100% percent accurate.

 

[Aldaris]

You mean the apple hipster sales staff doesn't know anything? (Serious sarcasm).

I've become increasingly disappointed with them over the years-the majority are clueless, I only go to them when I have to. I really would like to be able to go in, scan with an iPhone or pick up and be on my way then navigate the throngs of folks to find a blue shirt that's not too busy...