Secret retail documents show Apple's 'intensive control,' meticulous planning

Posted:
in General Discussion edited January 2014
A new look at secret documents and details related to Apple's highly successful retail operations reveals inside information on the employee interview process, pay rates, training and store rules.



The information was obtained by The Wall Street Journal and detailed in a new report from Yukari Iwati Kane and Ian Sherr. Among the details included is the fact that employees are forbidden from correcting a customer if they mispronounce a product name, so that they don't feel patronized.



In keeping with a positive theme at Apple's retail stores, those who hold the title of "Genius" are reportedly told to say "as it turns out" rather than use the word "unfortunately." This choice of language is intended to sound less negative when a Genius cannot solve a customer's problem.



Geniuses earn up to about $30 per hour, the report said, while other employees are said to be paid about $9 to $15 per hour at the sales level. The report also said that opportunities for employees to move up to a corporate position are "rare."



Even Apple Chief Executive Steve Jobs is said to closely have a hand in Apple's retail operations. Citing a person familiar with the company, Kane and Sherr reported that Jobs decided what kind of security cables would be used in stores to keep devices tethered to tables.



"When the CEO grappled with a liver transplant two years ago, a person who visited him at the time said Mr. Jobs was poring over blueprints for future Apple stores," the report said.



Just getting a position at an Apple store is said to be difficult, as the process usually requires at least two rounds of interviews. Apple is even in the unique position of not having to seek out staff, as most stores are reportedly "flooded with applicants."



Employees are also said to go through extensive training, including classes that "apply Apple's principles of customer service." New hires must also silently shadow more experienced employees for weeks, and are forbidden from speaking to customers until they are appropriately trained.







The Journal's profile of Apple's retail success comes as the head of the company's retail operations, Ron Johnson, was revealed on Tuesday to be departing. Johnson will serve as the new president and chief executive of the J.C. Penney Company starting Nov. 1 of this year.



Johnson was lured away from Target by Jobs in 2000 to spearhead the company's fledgeling retail business. He had spent 15 years at Target as a key merchandising executive.



Johnson is renowned not only for crafting an international chain of retail stores that are among the world's most profitable per square foot, but also for pioneering the extremely successful "Genius Bar" concept found inside those stores, in the face of initial stiff opposition from Jobs.



In issuing a statement to wish Johnson well on Tuesday, Apple also revealed that it is "actively recruiting" a replacement for its newly departed executive. The corporate shakeup comes just after Apple's retail stores celebrated their tenth anniversary.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 94
    joseph ljoseph l Posts: 197member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by AppleInsider View Post


    A new look at secret documents and details related to Apple's highly successful retail operations reveals inside information on the employee interview process, pay rates, training and store rules.








    There are good reasons why Steve wants this stuff to remain secret. Revealing this information is against Steve's wishes.



    Revealing this stuff is bad for the entire Apple community.
  • Reply 2 of 94
    solipsismsolipsism Posts: 25,726member
    1) Apple has so much mindshare it's ridiculous.



    2) I like these rules. The last thing customers wants is to be put down.
  • Reply 3 of 94
    asciiascii Posts: 5,936member
    I don't think I've ever heard anyone mispronounce an Apple product name. They are often written wrong though, e.g. MAC, Imac.
  • Reply 4 of 94
    Hmmm maybe these 'geniuses' can explain to me why when I export photos from iPhoto - any photo that's in portrait orientation ends up inheriting the wrong file permissions...
  • Reply 5 of 94
    jonamacjonamac Posts: 388member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Joseph L View Post


    There are good reasons why Steve wants this stuff to remain secret. Revealing this information is against Steve's wishes.



    Revealing this stuff is bad for the entire Apple community.



    Why?? There's nothing in this that's particularly surprising to me.



    I think it shows that Apple takes care of the small things. Always being positive for instance is something that just makes good sense in retail, and generally in life. It can come across as cheesy to cynics but it's hard to argue against it. It's this attention to detail that makes Apple the unique company it is.
  • Reply 6 of 94
    addicted44addicted44 Posts: 830member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by pondosinatra View Post


    Hmmm maybe these 'geniuses' can explain to me why when I export photos from iPhoto - any photo that's in portrait orientation ends up inheriting the wrong file permissions...



    Hmmm....that clearly sounds like a bug. Maybe instead of posting here, you could visit:



    http://www.apple.com/feedback/macosx.html
  • Reply 7 of 94
    eriamjheriamjh Posts: 1,631member
    This is how to succeed.





    And making great products doesn't hurt either.
  • Reply 8 of 94
    solipsismsolipsism Posts: 25,726member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by ascii View Post


    I don't think I've ever heard anyone mispronounce an Apple product name. They are often written wrong though, e.g. MAC, Imac.



    This article refers specifically to product names but I assume it goes beyond that. I know people refer to their entire PC as specific components such as hard drive, RAM and CPU, and often get their mixed up. Unless it's prudent for what is begin discussed, like in a workshop, then it's not important what they call it so long as the Apple employee and customer understand each other. After all, Apple wants the components to be invisible to the user and their devices to "just work" so it's a double whammy to point them out.
  • Reply 9 of 94
    mac.worldmac.world Posts: 340member
    Steve Jobs uses the 6 "P"s. Proper Planning Prevents Piss Poor Performance
  • Reply 10 of 94
    slurpyslurpy Posts: 5,382member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by addicted44 View Post


    Hmmm....that clearly sounds like a bug. Maybe instead of posting here, you could visit:



    http://www.apple.com/feedback/macosx.html



    Pretty pathetic how you would choose this thread to ask such an asinine question, having absolutely nothing to do with the subject matter.
  • Reply 11 of 94
    Wow, Apple keeps secrets better than the CIA. As someone who used to work Apple Retail, I can tell you all of this stuff I learned in like the first week of work - in 2001!
  • Reply 12 of 94
    MacProMacPro Posts: 19,718member
    So in essence Apple took Best Buy's training and reversed everything
  • Reply 13 of 94
    jimdreamworxjimdreamworx Posts: 1,095member
    Anyone in the Apple community already knows most of this.



    I'm just surprised the WSJ feels this is newsworthy.
  • Reply 14 of 94
    quadra 610quadra 610 Posts: 6,757member
    A case study on success.



    The User Experience isn't just a one-time event. It doesn't just begin an end with the OS.



    It's a journey, from cradle to grave. It begins from the moment you walk into the Store. First impressions.
  • Reply 15 of 94
    curmudgeoncurmudgeon Posts: 483member
    The very word "Genius" still rankles me.
  • Reply 16 of 94
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by ascii View Post


    I don't think I've ever heard anyone mispronounce an Apple product name. They are often written wrong though, e.g. MAC, Imac.



    You obviously don't have friends like mine who insist on talking about their iTouch - it's an iPod Touch damnit!
  • Reply 17 of 94
    esummersesummers Posts: 953member
    Amazing. So Apple runs their store like a real company instead of a typical retail store. It is sad that this isn't the norm for retail.
  • Reply 18 of 94
    prof. peabodyprof. peabody Posts: 2,860member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by ascii View Post


    I don't think I've ever heard anyone mispronounce an Apple product name. They are often written wrong though, e.g. MAC, Imac.



    Well, there is the age old disagreement about whether OS X is "oh-ess-ex" or "os ten."



    You can always tell an old Mac user as they will rip your head off if you say "oh-ess-ex," (the 'wrong' way), even though that's the way it's written and Jobs himself says it often enough.
  • Reply 19 of 94
    jdsonicejdsonice Posts: 156member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by digitalclips View Post


    So in essence Apple took Best Buys training and reversed everything



    LOL - they definately did not emulate the success of Circuit City for sure.



    Does anyone have access to the full article on WSJ? The goon squad there will not me (a measly low level humble non-subscriber) read the full article.
  • Reply 20 of 94
    solipsismsolipsism Posts: 25,726member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by ourstanley View Post


    You obviously don't have friends like mine who insist on talking about their iTouch - it's an iPod Touch damnit!



    I have no problem with iTouch. I often use that term on forums for brevity just as I also use iDevices, neither or which are a product or product category, respectively.







    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Prof. Peabody View Post


    Well, there is the age old disagreement about whether OS X is "oh-ess-ex" or "os ten."



    You can always tell an old Mac user as they will rip your head off if you say "oh-ess-ex," (the 'wrong' way), even though that's the way it's written and Jobs himself says it often enough.



    I'm an old Mac user and I almost always say "oh-ess-ex". If X is the Roman numeral for 10 then saying X is just as valid as saying ten, decem, deiz, or zehn.
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