Is it any coincidence that nearly every store has Mac Specialist job openings? Most likely it’s because of feedback about the stores that Apple has received from customer surveys–you’ll find the link at the bottom of every e-mail receipt. The results of those surveys go both to the specific store and to retail execs, and are essentially classified as either promoters or detractors. Now, after analyzing months of surveys, the execs have concluded that much of the negative feedback results from low staffing: can’t find an available employee, sales sessions seem rushed, etc. So now hiring is in full swing to bulk up the permanent staff, all with the intent to improve the customer experience. Check for job openings here.
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Former Genii
October 3, 2007 at 3:47 pm
none
October 3, 2007 at 5:39 pm
store37
October 3, 2007 at 7:18 pm
professor
October 4, 2007 at 5:47 am
none1
October 4, 2007 at 9:22 am
LonePalm
October 4, 2007 at 10:07 am
FRMRApple
October 4, 2007 at 10:45 am
formerspecialist
October 4, 2007 at 1:00 pm
anotherformerspecialist
October 4, 2007 at 5:04 pm
a much happier formerspecialist
October 4, 2007 at 8:07 pm
FRMRApple
October 6, 2007 at 9:33 am
an apple customer
October 7, 2007 at 2:33 pm
former employee
October 17, 2007 at 4:42 pm
Your comments...
the postings are probably for holiday.. they try to get the holiday people hired and trained by the 1st week of november..
the stores are understaffed.. but this is for holiday i bet..
Great, now the salary will go even lower.
If the article is true, and it’s not just seasonal hiring (which is highly likely), it would be long overdue. I had the opportunity to work under managers who each approached staffing differently. One went entirely by the books, trying to meet her numbers by cutting staff hours. As a result, customers came in, stood around, and some never any contact by the staff because they were too busy with othe customers. As a result, numbers never did anything amazing and every week was the same as the week before–a struggle to meet goals.
Then, at a different store, a new manager came in and staffed according to what he thought would provide good customer service. As a result, there were always enough people, no one was stressed, and weekly numbers broke records for that store week after week, quarter after quarter.
The right choice seems obvious, but it’s too easy to try to meet weekly numbers by cutting staff hours apparently. And that way doesn’t do anything for the long term perception of customer service.
It’s a narrow-minded view, but one that gets support from the top rather than the other way…unless something has changed. If so, hurray!
Apple no longer hires seasonal staff. Anyone hired during this process will be there for the long term, not just the 90 days of the former seasonals. Nearly all the regions have extremely high hiring goals. The southeast region is trying to hire nearly 4,000 new associates.
This is probably why after applying for so long i finally got an answer back and go for my seminar later this month so everyone please wish me luck!
It’s for the holiday season and beyond, per store personnel that I spoke with last night. In my case, it was part-time hours.
Interesting- Apple did this a few years ago too, It was a big deal too, announcing it to great praise by the staff. Then… nothing. It fizzled out. I happen to think this is for Holiday. Apple Retail’s past hiring/staffing record has shown that they would rather staff very lean and allow those who are working the floor take it on the chin.
I have always thought the Apple Stores have been a victim of their own success. At the beginning there were tons of staff, lots of time to talk and teach and the stores were more a hang out rather than a place to sell sell sell. Now with the success of iPod it is a fast paced sell sell sell environment but customers have heard the “legend” of the one-on=one perfect service and expect it. Even when the stores are staffed lean and are busy, the customer service is better than any other electronics retailer out there. People don’t expect anything from Best Buy or Circuit CIty so when they don’t get anything beyond the basic help, they are fine with it.
As a former employee, I can say that they will never hire for full-time. If you want to work full-time, you really have to wow them in your part time. Also, they are hiring for seasonal, but in much larger numbers than ever before.
Also as a former employee, I was disappointed by how much management harped on the attachments. One even went on to say that the margin on a notebook was 12.00. I’m not sure where he pulled that as the employee’s cost (at another large electronics chain-that’s-not-doing-so-well-these-days), which was the company’s cost from Apple, was a better diff than 12.00. Tells me they figure all the overhead of the store and staffing into that to purposely put out a BS #. I was very disappointed at how the store is very much in line with “typical retail” even though we were selling the coolest products. Left a very bad taste in my mouth and as a result I no longer work PT at the ‘one in the mall’.
In the beginning it was about the customer Sadly the stores have become more about numbers. I was let go because my attachement wasn’t go enough and this was after five years and million dollars in sales. Now they find themselves in a hole and trying hire more people to regain the customer service edge. My suggestion is don’t work for Apple get a real job that has a future or go back to school
Of COURSE it is about selling stuff- attaching services to products. It is a BUSINESS! Because Apple has such great stuff that many, many people want people often forget that the Apple Stores are just that: STORES. Sure, they are owned by Apple, but they are not Apple. They are Apple Retail. Name of the game? Make money. It doesn’t matter what the margin is on anything, because as a specialist, the job is to sell things. That is it. Not to be friends with customers, not to hang out among the cool toys… but to SELL stuff. Period. And not just sell one or two things, but to sell everything that can attach to those things.
The stores are a business first, everything else second. Always has been (or at least that always was the plan). So the next time someone gets a job at a retail store and is shocked to find out they have to actually SELL stuff, remember what field you are working in.
I agree it is a retail store but I also see Happier point of view. He must have been doing something right to sell over million dollars. I think you are missing the point of customer service. Apple’s hallmark is customer service. That is what bring customers back after the sell. Your type of attitude is what is wrong with the Apple store. You give a customer no reason to purchase from your store. Hopefully your time at Apple will be short.
former employee here…
December 2006… I had a girl that wanted a shuffle.. no problem.. then on top of that she wanted to buy the iPod APP… I told her “Look as much as i would look super cool to my managers by selling you this app, seriously save your money and buy a new shuffle if it breaks after a year… 59$ warranty on a $79 ipod?…” I told a manager I was close to about that.. and he was like that’s pretty stupid of her.. don’t tell anyone and I never heard you say that…