apple How Apple Brainwashes Its Store Employees

[BoredBozirini]

So what we can learn from this thread is that this kind of behavior happens in American companies as a general, and its worst in other cases.

And that Boz still hates Apple, thus this thread.

Anything new?

[jnelsoninjax]

Weird. Sounds like something a cult would do.

I read something a few years ago about the whole 'i' stuff from apple, basically the article was saying that those of us who buy apple products (specifically the i stuff) are then owned buy Steve Jobs and that he (Jobs) was making a killing off of the consumers and doing rather well for himself by using cheap labor in China, etc. I do not recall that the article was written by an apple hater it seemed to me to provide a glimpse into the whole wacky world of Apple, and it seems to me that Apple is still that company (very elusive, etc) me personally do not wish to own an apple products, but I do not try and tell others that they are idiots for doing so...

[sanctified Veteran]

$30k dllrs a year is not bad at all. At least not for someone who lives in a third world country, like me.

[jnelsoninjax]

$30k dllrs a year is not bad at all. At least not for someone who lives in a third world country, like me.

I would love to make that kind of money! I only made ~$10K last year, so that would be a huge improvement for me! But then again I do not work full time, and do not have a college education yet, so $10K was not bad for me (family of 3) we manged to survive! I do not think that I could stand to work in sales either, so that might rule out the kind of money I can make right now.

[sanctified Veteran]

I would love to make that kind of money! I only made ~$10K last year, so that would be a huge improvement for me! But then again I do not work full time, and do not have a college education yet, so $10K was not bad for me (family of 3) we manged to survive! I do not think that I could stand to work in sales either, so that might rule out the kind of money I can make right now.

Your story reminds me of this:

A family of 3 that chooses to live with 10k or less: http://hcsoftware.sourceforge.net/jason-rohrer/simpleLife.html

Hold on in there, is doable.

[Japlabot]

When you are in an Apple store, this training really shows. It is like the employee is in a Bubble, completely oblivious to the real word, and everything that comes out of their mouth is scripted. They are soulless, having been sold to the devil for a crappy wage.

[sanctified Veteran]

When you are in an Apple store, this training really shows. It is like the employee is in a Bubble, completely oblivious to the real word, and everything that comes out of their mouth is scripted.

Like any other transnational?

Seriously, its so cool hate on Apple ;)

[-KJ]

Wait, Verizon shop staff make $60k? No wonder their services are overpriced.

[-KJ]

no no, i'm just saying the concept of clapping here and conforming isn't as weird as it sounds, their are many rituals/practices in another regard which replicate this concept which alternates for each company/corp. culture. I think models of encouragement, especially clapping and compliments is a nice thing people need more in their life!

I'm a designer/developer at a local company. The owner shares a trampoline court, indoor basketball court and gymnasium, and back offices (which are actually really nice) in one large building. We often design cheerleading/gymnastics type sites because our services are used in part of the web app software he started. He comes by twice a week and asks us how our stress levels are and gives the occasional fist bump/dap. Really cool guy. The pay is average (I just started working there) but the people are awesome and everyone is friendly. We're like a big family. I mean what other places have a mandatory dodgeball meeting? :D

So I kinda went off-topic here but the fist-bump is part of our corporate culture, lol.

[+jamesyfx Subscriber²]

When I worked for Dixons Retail (Then DSGi) the training I had there was more ridiculous than what Apple does.

Literally, we had to picture rooms in your head, and we were told what to picture, and we had to sort of walk through five rooms. It was ****ing ridiculous and didn't work, but each room was the stage of the sales process. And if you weren't sold on the sales process, you got sacked on the spot. You had to be unnaturally positive and follow strict sales patter without appearing robotic.... It was never going to work.

I've heard that they've since dropped that sales technique... onto something even stupid.

It's insane what retailers think they need to do to get a sale and good customer service.

[-KJ]

When I worked for Dixons Retail (Then DSGi) the training I had there was more ridiculous than what Apple does.

Literally, we had to picture rooms in your head, and we were told what to picture, and we had to sort of walk through five rooms. It was ****ing ridiculous and didn't work, but each room was the stage of the sales process. And if you weren't sold on the sales process, you got sacked on the spot. You had to be unnaturally positive and follow strict sales patter without appearing robotic.... It was never going to work.

I've heard that they've since dropped that sales technique... onto something even stupider.

It's insane what retailers think they need to do to get a sale and good customer service.

I would fail that so hard.

[primexx]

Would you get fired from an Apple store if you told a customer that the Microsoft Surface was awesome?

siri better watch her words then

[Hell-In-A-Handbasket]

The article says that the same type of employees, at Verizon for example, make twice as much.

people in verizon stores are heavily commissioned. its doubtful you are taking that into consideration. yes it may be as high as 60K, but thats if they sell their a$$ off, on average they make lower then 35 if that.

35K a year can buy a house where i live, and be comfortable payment wise.

[flexkeyboard]

Wow.. they make $30k a year. Talk about being abused.

[.Neo]

Would you get fired from an Apple store if you told a customer that the Microsoft Surface was awesome?

Would you get fired from a Microsoft Store if you told a customer that the Mac was awesome?

Would you get fired from a McDonalds if you told a customer Burger King has better food?

Would you get fired from a T-Mobile store if you told a customer he's better off at Vodafone?

Would you get fired from a Volkswagen dealer if you told Renault offers more value for your money?

[Aergan]

the first thing they needed to do was acknowledge the problem

And yet when I have had to ring their warranty department, that was the hardest part of the conversation - along with trying to trick me into saying that it had been exposed to water.

[123456789A]

Would you get fired from a Microsoft Store if you told a customer that the Mac was awesome?

Would you get fired from a McDonalds if you told a customer Burger King has better food?

Would you get fired from a T-Mobile store if you told a customer he's better off at Vodafone?

Would you get fired from a Volkswagen dealer if you told Renault offers more value for your money?

1) No, but they'd probably say you were lying to customers and put you into a retraining program.

2) No, because if someone is at McDonalds, they're already hungry and want to eat right away and they don't care if Burger King is better.

3) Yes, because T-Mobile is horrible.

4) Not if you were recommending the Renault Le Car.

[moloko]

Wow a job is a job. They are in uniform and showing team spirit. Even 9 to 5 jobs do this at times...or good companys do.

Working this job is better than being a ****ing bum. You get to play with cool tech and its a neat store.

[Rippleman]

k, you provide for a family of 4 on 30k a year, its fine for people like me who are in or graduating from college, but anyone with real aspirations and dependents will know this is not enough. So no - you are attempting to be self righteous when in reality it is sheer ignorance.

millions upon millions of people do it everyday, stop your crying because you are broke. no ones fault but your own if you wastefully spend on things. kids now-a-days geesh.

[Hell-In-A-Handbasket]

Would you get fired from a T-Mobile store if you told a customer he's better off at Vodafone?

Would you get fired from a Volkswagen dealer if you told Renault offers more value for your money?

because you would work on comission if you worked at Volkswagen or T-Mobile, yea you would get fired, or quit for not having any money

[I am Not PCyr]

It's not like handing around a shop is brutal work. Half of the time the Amsterdam Apple Store employees do nothing and chat with each other.

thats about what most employees do ANYWHERE !

especialy the younger they get.

And the method for supervisors is to ignore "the lost causes"

and harp and grind more out of the others that they think they can get more from.

The lack of work ethic is staggering and disgusting.

I've also seen these techniques going back into the early 90's

i worked at a sales job in Toronto in '93 and they would make everyone clap

and dance and do all kinds lame crap.. they called it "getting juiced"

Very VERY lame crap !!!

All i can say is a Tool quote "Learn to swim"

"Learn to swim.

Mom's gonna fix it all soon.

Mom's comin' round to put it back the way it ought to be."

This topic is symptom / example of the pathetic state of things in general

if i found out a comet was coming tomorow to wipe us out a part of me

would agree with what it says in that song i quoted..

Good riddens.. life needs to reset because what we have done so far is disgusting and shamefull

[.Neo]

because you would work on comission if you worked at Volkswagen or T-Mobile

Depends on the country.

thats about what most employees do ANYWHERE !

The ratio customers/staff is completely out of whack in the Apple Store.

[BoredBozirini]

k, you provide for a family of 4 on 30k a year, its fine for people like me who are in or graduating from college, but anyone with real aspirations and dependents will know this is not enough. So no - you are attempting to be self righteous when in reality it is sheer ignorance.

Anyone with real aspirations and dependents (a family of 4) made a really big mistake by settling down on a retail job and not shooting for anything higher initially.

The problem is not the pay, is the low standard of the person settling for the retail job. If you don't know how to do anything else, then tough luck.

Next we will get a dish washer demanding $500,000 a year so he can maintain a family of 30...

[ILikeTobacco]

If retail staff bring in profits of hundreds of thousands per head, they should be compensated accordingly. Naivety of believing that you are doing a good thing would not pay bills, put roof over your head or food on a table.

You are right but 30k will in a country where the poverty line is 1/3 of that will do more than put a roof over your head and food on the table. These people do less work than Wal-Mart employees and those only get minimum wage. Some people just complain to complain.

[ILikeTobacco]

k, you provide for a family of 4 on 30k a year, its fine for people like me who are in or graduating from college, but anyone with real aspirations and dependents will know this is not enough. So no - you are attempting to be self righteous when in reality it is sheer ignorance.

Weird. My dad made 25k in the military and was easily able to provide for my mother, sister, and I. We had 2 cars, owned a 3 bedroom house with a large backyard, and I had every gaming console while flying to Germany and Austria once a year. Sounds like you need some money management classes. 30k a year is above the poverty line. And before you argue that the poverty line shouldn't be the standard, in the USA, the poverty line is enough to buy a car, computer, and cellphone. We have a skewed idea of what it means to be poor.