I recently applied for a job for an apple reseller store and at the interview i was shocked to hear about the sales tactics that would have to be used. the sales staff are on a commission in increments of every £10,000 in sales they receive a bonus. you are expected to take the customer through a tour of the shop on the way to the sales till after making a sale to show them accessories they might need such a software, keyboard, cases and suchlike. you are also expected to push applecare onto the customer with a target of every 1 in 3 items to be sold with applecare.
i was also told any theft of products from the area of the store you were assigned to was taken out of any bonus that you'd accrued.
needless to say, i looked shocked by hearing all this and the manager conducting the interview said it wasn't their store policy, it was apple policy that they had to adhere to, and that apple frequently conducted mystery shops on their stores and their reseller stores to ensure the correct sales pressure and techniques were applied.
Upselling an overpriced warranty was part of Dixons/Comet/Currys/PC World mantra - worrying to hear that another poster has had similar with Applecare - let the product sell itself.
To be fair to Browett (much as I don't want to be, seeing as I agree with every criticism made of his performance at Dixons) the upselling of Applecare took place years before he came into his job. I was pushed hard to buy Applecare (and eventually did, for no appreciable benefit and ultimately I waste my money as the thing has never gone wrong) when I bought a 2008 Macbook Pro.
I sympathise with the earlier comments about the execution of 'capitalism' in that shareholders rarely see the issues. The reason for this, of course, is that most of the shareholders in Apple will be financial institutions, pension funds, and the like, whose only interest is in the appreciation of the stock through increasing profit margins. As most financial investments of that type are typically very short term (stocks are bought and sold on computer algorithms to create profit for the investor) the holders of that stock don't really pay any attention to the longer term strategic mis-steps of people like Browett.
The answer is for people who are emotionally invested in the success of a company - fans, if you will, and this doesn't just apply to Apple - to become financially invested as well, and from that point start making their voices heard by raising motions at company AGMs. Raise the issue in a way that the Board of Directors can hear. They don't read these sorts of forums and they don't really listen to the customers. They tend to get tunnel vision and only look at the performance indicators that cross their desks. If other indicators exist they probably don't even know they're there - i.e. the views of human (not corporate) shareholders who actually have experience of the real world performance of the company AND who would also tend to have some interest in maintaining an enthusiastic and 'bought-in' sales force.
Buy some shares in Apple if you really care about the products and the future of the company. Complaining from the sidelines won't get you heard. You have to speak in the forum where you will be guaranteed a hearing.
This is un nerving. jobs would have never allowed this to happen. IMHO. This guy is just tying to get his fat bonus. Screw him. If we see a degrade in customer service forget waiting in line for one of their damn products. Hey, them Samsung Galaxys are starting to look real good.
Send an email to [email protected] see what happens, but explain the situation in full detail without getting nasty. MAYBE he'll surprise you. It doesn't cost you anything.
I tried emailing Tim a while ago when my wife's MacBook Pro died before its second birthday. No reply.
The posts re Dixons/Currys/PC World written as if they are now defunct are amusing. Dixons Retail is very much around though still not somewhere I'd choose to shop in a hurry.
So you are upset that you don't get the freebies you used to get anymore? Well, cry me a river. This practice of selective random largesse to customers irritated me no end because I've purchased a lot of Apple products too but I never enjoyed any freebies while I kept hearing about them.
Apple probably stopped giving selective freebies because their lawyers learned about this practice and warned management that they are running the risk of being sued for offering 'hidden warranties', something for which automakers have gotten into expensive trouble.
And besides, when word of a free, post-warranty replacement is broadcast on the internet by some lucky, boastful guy, the good will generated from one happy customer is far outweighed by the tens, maybe hundreds others who are annoyed, even infuriated that they don't get to enjoy such priveleges.
The damned battery is out of warranty. Batteries have a lifespan, when it dies after reaching its expected lifespan, buy a new one. Why sould you be entitled to free battery replacements but not me?
Too bad they have decided to give money back as dividends instead keeping an eye on the ball and actually caring about customer service, integrity and brand value. I am starting to think that SJ's death really was the end of the company...it is slowly just becoming like any other company rather than trying to be a beacon of light for people to aspire to. Could it be that maybe Google is becoming the new beacon of light.
I recently applied for a job for an apple reseller store and at the interview i was shocked to hear about the sales tactics that would have to be used. the sales staff are on a commission in increments of every £10,000 in sales they receive a bonus. you are expected to take the customer through a tour of the shop on the way to the sales till after making a sale to show them accessories they might need such a software, keyboard, cases and suchlike. you are also expected to push applecare onto the customer with a target of every 1 in 3 items to be sold with applecare.
i was also told any theft of products from the area of the store you were assigned to was taken out of any bonus that you'd accrued.
needless to say, i looked shocked by hearing all this and the manager conducting the interview said it wasn't their store policy, it was apple policy that they had to adhere to, and that apple frequently conducted mystery shops on their stores and their reseller stores to ensure the correct sales pressure and techniques were applied.
I suspect the manager was lying to you; this is most likely the shop's policy and has little to do with Apple. I'd be surprised if Apple dictates how third party resellers handle product theft, since its not really any skin off their nose.
To be fair, that would have been my strong recommendation as well, and I'm not trying to sell you anything. Maybe the Genius has see how many iPads come back damaged, and for the $100 you know that there's no problem with repairs for the foreseeable future. I personally wouldn't buy an iPad without AppleCare, just like I wouldn't buy a Mac without AppleCare. Accessories and smaller items are fine without it, yes, but anything $400 it's worth it for the peace of mind.
This is all to say that it may not be as calculated or cynical as you think.
No way! Insurance always has been and always will be the biggest scam. Just take care of your stuff and put your cash to better use.
I hate when they (salesmen of any breed) push this crap.
On behalf of Britain, I'd like to apologise for this idiot. It's obvious that his retail management style isn't very flexible - he had a strategy and it worked at Dixons for a while. He's tried to apply the same strategy to a completely different retail operation and it has been a PR disaster. I'm still shocked that Apple hired him in the first place.
But at least Britain already gave you Jony Ive, right?
Too bad they have decided to give money back as dividends instead keeping an eye on the ball and actually caring about customer service, integrity and brand value. I am starting to think that SJ's death really was the end of the company...it is slowly just becoming like any other company rather than trying to be a beacon of light for people to aspire to. Could it be that maybe Google is becoming the new beacon of light.
What an idiotic post. There's not a shred of evidence that Apple has changed in any major way. If you thought SJs death was the end of the company, just jump ship now. I'm sick and tired of these concern-trolling posts that have no real basis in a reality and are based in nothing but sensational, unverified Internet reports. The fact that you consider Google a 'beacon of light' considering all the shady privacy shit and otherwise they've done in the past few years, makes your opinion lose any shred of credibility in terms of what you think about Apple in this regards. You're willing to throw Apple under the bus and jump to massive conclusions based on imaginary reports, all while complimenting Google who has very real and very documented abuses. Well done.
Tim Cook isn't a hack. he worked closely with jobs for almost 2 decades, and Jobs trusted him enough to hand him the reigns to his company. Everything that Tim Cook has ever said makes it clear he understands deeply what makes Apple successful, and I doubt he's lying his ass off about all his opinions and feelings. Most of Apple's current executive team has been there for ages, and all worked closely with Jobs. They've all proven themselves to be extremely passionate, skilled, and focused people who understand what Apple is. They wouldn't have kept their jobs so long with Jobs at the helm if they did not. I'm not going to let unsourced, unverifiable, sensational reports like this which are nothing but link bait magnets influence my opinion of the company, if I don't see real, 1st hand experience of this 'degradation'. But apparently, people like you lap this shit up in order to post boring, predictable 'the end is near' rants.
I think this is the wrong direction. No one sell experience better than Apple and it is the special sauce that make for the phenomenal success. We have seen the ruins of many fine company when they focus on accounting and less on customers. The last store to step into is Best Buy as it usually is the Worst Buy. Mr. Cook bring out new products and retains fairness and all of you will retire wealthy.
In a way I cannot wait for Apple to be small again like the early 2000's where products and innovation were key and not balance sheets and KPI's.
If anyone wasn't certain, this post confirms you're a troll. Apple's innovation has done nothing but massively speed up the last few years. Yeah, keep waiting for 'Apple to be small again'. Should happen 'any day now'.
Let me know how that works out for you. Maybe 2013 is the magical year where Apple will suddenly shrink in size to whatever nostalgic, falsely rose tinted glasses time period you preferred. Or maybe not, and the rest of us, along with the rest of the world will continue to enjoy the best products that Apple has made in its entire history- which are its current products.
Today I blame Browett for the obvious "past legacy" style of his own awful management approach...
Tomorrow I'll blame Tim Cook for allowing it to continue.
You don't build brand from profits. You build profits from brand… you mess with a successful brand this way, you're more likely to break than improve it. Besides, what is it about the Apple Store that "needs improving"? By almost EVERY metric it exceeds every other retail model by HUGE margins. It's immensely profitable, a SUPER positive brand touchpoint, and frankly, better TOO MUCH great customer service than not enough… that's a winning model for Apple. I don't hear any shareholders complaining about the "bloated Apple Stores" while their stock rockets toward a trillion dollar market cap… hell no! ANd these Apple Stores are a HUGE part of what drives the brand perception.
One of Steve Jobs' keys to success was, "do it as well as it can be done, AND do it better than anyone else does… just do THAT… and the money and profit will follow." His model, and the brand it created have proven the philosophy correct. This brand is all about the customer expereince. From the quality of the product interfaces to the interactions at the point of sale.
The moment you put profit ahead of brand, you will RAPIDLY return to the days of John Sculley and the demise of a once great company.
This might finally push me to making a platform switch to Microsoft Surface. First it was the draconian App Store policies and now destroying the retail experience that so many of us depend upon every day of our lives. The Apple retail experience was so good many of us make a habit of visiting international stores on vacation.
Comments
I recently applied for a job for an apple reseller store and at the interview i was shocked to hear about the sales tactics that would have to be used. the sales staff are on a commission in increments of every £10,000 in sales they receive a bonus. you are expected to take the customer through a tour of the shop on the way to the sales till after making a sale to show them accessories they might need such a software, keyboard, cases and suchlike. you are also expected to push applecare onto the customer with a target of every 1 in 3 items to be sold with applecare.
i was also told any theft of products from the area of the store you were assigned to was taken out of any bonus that you'd accrued.
needless to say, i looked shocked by hearing all this and the manager conducting the interview said it wasn't their store policy, it was apple policy that they had to adhere to, and that apple frequently conducted mystery shops on their stores and their reseller stores to ensure the correct sales pressure and techniques were applied.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Inotrope
Upselling an overpriced warranty was part of Dixons/Comet/Currys/PC World mantra - worrying to hear that another poster has had similar with Applecare - let the product sell itself.
To be fair to Browett (much as I don't want to be, seeing as I agree with every criticism made of his performance at Dixons) the upselling of Applecare took place years before he came into his job. I was pushed hard to buy Applecare (and eventually did, for no appreciable benefit and ultimately I waste my money as the thing has never gone wrong) when I bought a 2008 Macbook Pro.
I sympathise with the earlier comments about the execution of 'capitalism' in that shareholders rarely see the issues. The reason for this, of course, is that most of the shareholders in Apple will be financial institutions, pension funds, and the like, whose only interest is in the appreciation of the stock through increasing profit margins. As most financial investments of that type are typically very short term (stocks are bought and sold on computer algorithms to create profit for the investor) the holders of that stock don't really pay any attention to the longer term strategic mis-steps of people like Browett.
The answer is for people who are emotionally invested in the success of a company - fans, if you will, and this doesn't just apply to Apple - to become financially invested as well, and from that point start making their voices heard by raising motions at company AGMs. Raise the issue in a way that the Board of Directors can hear. They don't read these sorts of forums and they don't really listen to the customers. They tend to get tunnel vision and only look at the performance indicators that cross their desks. If other indicators exist they probably don't even know they're there - i.e. the views of human (not corporate) shareholders who actually have experience of the real world performance of the company AND who would also tend to have some interest in maintaining an enthusiastic and 'bought-in' sales force.
Buy some shares in Apple if you really care about the products and the future of the company. Complaining from the sidelines won't get you heard. You have to speak in the forum where you will be guaranteed a hearing.
This guy is just tying to get his fat bonus. Screw him.
If we see a degrade in customer service forget waiting in line for one of their damn products.
Hey, them Samsung Galaxys are starting to look real good.
I tried emailing Tim a while ago when my wife's MacBook Pro died before its second birthday. No reply.
Oh well, I guess he was busy.
Quote:
Originally Posted by charlituna
If it is out of warranty it is out of warranty. You should have gotten Apple Care.
truth
Quote:
Originally Posted by maccherry
This is un nerving. jobs would have never allowed this to happen. IMHO.
This guy is just tying to get his fat bonus. Screw him.
If we see a degrade in customer service forget waiting in line for one of their damn products.
Hey, them Samsung Galaxys are starting to look real good.
Go get your turd android phone from Walmart and be happy then. The service will be so much better...
The posts re Dixons/Currys/PC World written as if they are now defunct are amusing. Dixons Retail is very much around though still not somewhere I'd choose to shop in a hurry.
Apple probably stopped giving selective freebies because their lawyers learned about this practice and warned management that they are running the risk of being sued for offering 'hidden warranties', something for which automakers have gotten into expensive trouble.
And besides, when word of a free, post-warranty replacement is broadcast on the internet by some lucky, boastful guy, the good will generated from one happy customer is far outweighed by the tens, maybe hundreds others who are annoyed, even infuriated that they don't get to enjoy such priveleges.
The damned battery is out of warranty. Batteries have a lifespan, when it dies after reaching its expected lifespan, buy a new one. Why sould you be entitled to free battery replacements but not me?
Too bad they have decided to give money back as dividends instead keeping an eye on the ball and actually caring about customer service, integrity and brand value. I am starting to think that SJ's death really was the end of the company...it is slowly just becoming like any other company rather than trying to be a beacon of light for people to aspire to. Could it be that maybe Google is becoming the new beacon of light.
In a way I cannot wait for Apple to be small again like the early 2000's where products and innovation were key and not balance sheets and KPI's.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Wayne2612
I recently applied for a job for an apple reseller store and at the interview i was shocked to hear about the sales tactics that would have to be used. the sales staff are on a commission in increments of every £10,000 in sales they receive a bonus. you are expected to take the customer through a tour of the shop on the way to the sales till after making a sale to show them accessories they might need such a software, keyboard, cases and suchlike. you are also expected to push applecare onto the customer with a target of every 1 in 3 items to be sold with applecare.
i was also told any theft of products from the area of the store you were assigned to was taken out of any bonus that you'd accrued.
needless to say, i looked shocked by hearing all this and the manager conducting the interview said it wasn't their store policy, it was apple policy that they had to adhere to, and that apple frequently conducted mystery shops on their stores and their reseller stores to ensure the correct sales pressure and techniques were applied.
#next_pages_container { width: 5px; hight: 5px; position: absolute; top: -100px; left: -100px; z-index: 2147483647 !important; }I suspect the manager was lying to you; this is most likely the shop's policy and has little to do with Apple. I'd be surprised if Apple dictates how third party resellers handle product theft, since its not really any skin off their nose.
All sounds very unlikely to me.
#next_pages_container { width: 5px; hight: 5px; position: absolute; top: -100px; left: -100px; z-index: 2147483647 !important; }
Quote:
Originally Posted by 11thIndian
To be fair, that would have been my strong recommendation as well, and I'm not trying to sell you anything. Maybe the Genius has see how many iPads come back damaged, and for the $100 you know that there's no problem with repairs for the foreseeable future. I personally wouldn't buy an iPad without AppleCare, just like I wouldn't buy a Mac without AppleCare. Accessories and smaller items are fine without it, yes, but anything $400 it's worth it for the peace of mind.
This is all to say that it may not be as calculated or cynical as you think.
No way! Insurance always has been and always will be the biggest scam. Just take care of your stuff and put your cash to better use.
I hate when they (salesmen of any breed) push this crap.
On behalf of Britain, I'd like to apologise for this idiot. It's obvious that his retail management style isn't very flexible - he had a strategy and it worked at Dixons for a while. He's tried to apply the same strategy to a completely different retail operation and it has been a PR disaster. I'm still shocked that Apple hired him in the first place.
But at least Britain already gave you Jony Ive, right?
What an idiotic post. There's not a shred of evidence that Apple has changed in any major way. If you thought SJs death was the end of the company, just jump ship now. I'm sick and tired of these concern-trolling posts that have no real basis in a reality and are based in nothing but sensational, unverified Internet reports. The fact that you consider Google a 'beacon of light' considering all the shady privacy shit and otherwise they've done in the past few years, makes your opinion lose any shred of credibility in terms of what you think about Apple in this regards. You're willing to throw Apple under the bus and jump to massive conclusions based on imaginary reports, all while complimenting Google who has very real and very documented abuses. Well done.
Tim Cook isn't a hack. he worked closely with jobs for almost 2 decades, and Jobs trusted him enough to hand him the reigns to his company. Everything that Tim Cook has ever said makes it clear he understands deeply what makes Apple successful, and I doubt he's lying his ass off about all his opinions and feelings. Most of Apple's current executive team has been there for ages, and all worked closely with Jobs. They've all proven themselves to be extremely passionate, skilled, and focused people who understand what Apple is. They wouldn't have kept their jobs so long with Jobs at the helm if they did not. I'm not going to let unsourced, unverifiable, sensational reports like this which are nothing but link bait magnets influence my opinion of the company, if I don't see real, 1st hand experience of this 'degradation'. But apparently, people like you lap this shit up in order to post boring, predictable 'the end is near' rants.
I think this is the wrong direction. No one sell experience better than Apple and it is the special sauce that make for the phenomenal success. We have seen the ruins of many fine company when they focus on accounting and less on customers. The last store to step into is Best Buy as it usually is the Worst Buy. Mr. Cook bring out new products and retains fairness and all of you will retire wealthy.
If anyone wasn't certain, this post confirms you're a troll. Apple's innovation has done nothing but massively speed up the last few years. Yeah, keep waiting for 'Apple to be small again'. Should happen 'any day now'.
Let me know how that works out for you. Maybe 2013 is the magical year where Apple will suddenly shrink in size to whatever nostalgic, falsely rose tinted glasses time period you preferred. Or maybe not, and the rest of us, along with the rest of the world will continue to enjoy the best products that Apple has made in its entire history- which are its current products.
Today I blame Browett for the obvious "past legacy" style of his own awful management approach...
Tomorrow I'll blame Tim Cook for allowing it to continue.
You don't build brand from profits. You build profits from brand… you mess with a successful brand this way, you're more likely to break than improve it. Besides, what is it about the Apple Store that "needs improving"? By almost EVERY metric it exceeds every other retail model by HUGE margins. It's immensely profitable, a SUPER positive brand touchpoint, and frankly, better TOO MUCH great customer service than not enough… that's a winning model for Apple. I don't hear any shareholders complaining about the "bloated Apple Stores" while their stock rockets toward a trillion dollar market cap… hell no! ANd these Apple Stores are a HUGE part of what drives the brand perception.
One of Steve Jobs' keys to success was, "do it as well as it can be done, AND do it better than anyone else does… just do THAT… and the money and profit will follow." His model, and the brand it created have proven the philosophy correct. This brand is all about the customer expereince. From the quality of the product interfaces to the interactions at the point of sale.
The moment you put profit ahead of brand, you will RAPIDLY return to the days of John Sculley and the demise of a once great company.
Let's not go there, OK Tim?
This might finally push me to making a platform switch to Microsoft Surface. First it was the draconian App Store policies and now destroying the retail experience that so many of us depend upon every day of our lives. The Apple retail experience was so good many of us make a habit of visiting international stores on vacation.
This is seriously bad news for consumers.