During her tenure the Apple Store nearest me was transformed from the best retail experience available into a confusing, crowded and unpleasant destination. The merchandising aspect has been a step backward. Here's to Apple Store 3.0.
Overpaid but glad she's leaving. She seemed very bright, but the reality is she turned the best retail experience ever into the DMV and basically added nothing but logistical complication. The threat of her possibly becoming CEO has me breathing a sigh of relief as she was not a good fit.
The new head of people and retail seems like an AWFUL idea as she is basically head of HR, and now magically a master of retail?
What would be great is if Deidre is temporary and they convince Ron Johnson to come back. He was great at this role. Apple would be lucky to get him back.
At first that is surprising. But my experience(s) at the Apple Store has been one of wide employee variability: Talk to 5 employees and get 5 different answers. Plus. over the years there have been a number of employee gripes and complaints. It may be time for Apple to focus on their employees.
I guess it makes sense that Ms. Ahrendts would leave in April. She has about 105,000 time-based RSUs due to vest on April 1st.
But she's also giving up a lot of unvested RSUs. She has another 200,000 or so unvested time-based RSUs and perhaps 350,000 unvested performance-based RSUs.
With her giving up on so many RSUs. It seems to indicate to me that Apple might of been court a bit off guard by this seemingly premature departure, or maybe it’s the other way around and Apple forced it upon her? Either way this also might indicate that she wasn’t so happy at Apple after all? But 5 years is a decent stint (I’m surprised it’s been that long, it only seems to be a couple of years since she came onboard...time flies!) and she got paid handsomely for it. I wish her well where ever she ends up.
It’s very different to sell 20 Burberry coats a month than 46, 66 or 88 million phones in a quarter. Dont give her credit for being a simple decorator. She knows about retail as much as I know aeronautical quantum algebra???????. With Steve she wouldn’t have even lasted 10 minutes of interview. Welcome back Apple. Now you will be on the right rack again.
The Apple store before her time looks very similar to today’s store, with only minor incremental changes. And I say changes because some changes were not improvements.
The way she describes the Apple store as a comfortable social place is far from reality. The store feels more like a sterile medical center than a place to hang.
Come to think of it, putting an HR person in charge of retail while still retaining her former duties, seems liked a rushed panicky decision. So maybe Apple was caught off guard after all?
Overpaid but glad she's leaving. She seemed very bright, but the reality is she turned the best retail experience ever into the DMV and basically added nothing but logistical complication. The threat of her possibly becoming CEO has me breathing a sigh of relief as she was not a good fit.
The new head of people and retail seems like an AWFUL idea as she is basically head of HR, and now magically a master of retail?
What would be great is if Deidre is temporary and they convince Ron Johnson to come back. He was great at this role. Apple would be lucky to get him back.
She turned the best retail experience into the DMV? How so?
And what was great about Ron Johnson other than he ran Apple retail when it was a much smaller company?
Um he CREATED apple retail. When everyone said it would never work. Go google the articles of it's doom. He pulled it out of his mind and made it what it was. The highest $ per square foot retail ever. So yea, there's that teeny tiny creation thing.
As for DMV, go to a store today. You're a pinball. She added logistical complication and ruined and poisoned the retail experience. Before, you'd go to the genius bar and deal with your issues.
Now you show up, you try to find where to check in, there is no genius bar. You ask one employee, they say, um no, im not the check in person, go over there, thats where the check in person is. You go over there and say I'd like to check in. Oh I'm not the check in person, but they are right there. Then you check in and they send you to table X,Y over there. Some people go to the wrong table. The geniuses come looking for where you should be, but the person is in the wrong spot, and now the genius goes to 2 or 3 tables finding the right person. In the mean time, people who have problems are interspersed throughout the store with their poison "my iDevice doesnt work" griping, poisoning the buying experience around others.
Before, you just went to the bar, you and your problems were isolated and didnt poison others' purchasing experience, and you didnt pinball through the miserable DMV experience. I used to love just stopping by at apple stores when Ron was in charge. I cringe if I have to go there now. So that's how it's the DMV. https://www.businessinsider.com/apple-stores-suffer-from-customer-complaints-long-wait-time-2018-3/
She’s great and did a great job, but these execs are obscenely overpaid.
I noticed that when people hear how much someone is paid especially when they know nothing about the experience and expertise needed for that job they say they are over paid. Apple as all big corporations doesn't fill important positions like this one with rookies. Apple paid her the amount which was justified by that field of work. None of the negative comments here come from anyone that has held a high position in the fashion or the tech industries, but go ahead and feel jealous if it makes you feel better.
She’s great and did a great job, but these execs are obscenely overpaid.
I noticed that when people hear how much someone is paid especially when they know nothing about the experience and expertise needed for that job they say they are over paid. Apple as all big corporations doesn't fill important positions like this one with rookies. Apple paid her the amount which was justified by that field of work. None of the negative comments here come from anyone that has held a high position in the fashion or the tech industries, but go ahead and feel jealous if it makes you feel better.
I am holding the highest position in both fashion and tech industries: I am the customer !
Come to think of it, putting an HR person in charge of retail while still retaining her former duties, seems liked a rushed panicky decision. So maybe Apple was caught off guard after all?
Apparently the HR head has been at Apple for 30 years. Let’s see how it goes. My guess is it’s either temporary or there will be a new head of HR soon.
she turned the best retail experience ever into the DMV and basically added nothing but logistical complication.
Exactly. The Apple Stores were initially an answer to the horrible marketing of the Mac by third parties and you used to be able to buy not only Apple's stuff, but a wide array of stuff that worked with it. That was one of the things that made a trip worthwhile.
Now you go in and most of what they have on display can be bought at 5 places, but the stuff you might want to see before buying is nowhere in sight. Cannot buy a stinking Thunderbolt Hub at an Apple Store but they have plenty of stuff you can buy at any Wall-Mart or Target.
She was phenomenal with Burberry. As far as 75 million just to start working for Apple? I don’t know about that.
She seems like a nice person and all and probably a good manager? But she didn’t really improve anything as far as Apple’s retail efforts.
The Watch launch was a DISASTER. That was her rewriting the system and trying to fix what wasn’t broken. It just broke what was already fixed.
Turning Apple stores from high tech museums into JC Penny mall store lookalikes? Not good. The old store was amazing when it launched. You couldn’t NOT walk in and spend time there. It was like a high tech art museum with pieces you could take home with you. Sure, it was getting somewhat dated some 15 years into the old design, but it was a timeless design. The remodel could have really become something special, but instead, she opted for what all the other mall stores look like. Kind of a downgrade in some ways.
So many layers added onto what was once simple and made it a bit more complex.
Hopefully Apple gets back to making complex things simple and not the other way around.
Apple stores look like JC Penney stores? WTF? In what possible way does this look like a JC Penney store?
the bottom is just an entrance and is atypical. Their are also some new stores that kept the influence of the previous designs. But the main remodel plan looks like this:
now go to your nearest JC Penny store. Or if you want to just compare the tress, go to your nearest kindergarten.
The wall textures, the tree pots, the colors, etc. It’s just not Apple. the tables are nearly the same and are cool. The ceiling is a nice evolution and the floor is pretty good. The but wall textures/color, the cabinetry, and the trees themselves and especially the containers. Yuck.
You might not like it but it’s nothing like a JC Penney store. And to say it’s not Apple? What is Apple? Personally I think the previous store designs were stale and these are much more refreshing. I wish my stores (which are mostly mall stores) had the new design.
I just want them to fix my phone when its broke, answer my questions accurately and truthfully and provide good advice when I'm selecting a product.
Apple has had a period where form took precedence over function. That's not a good thing. I think I see them shifting things back into balance better: The Apple Watch is an example where its marketing has shifted from fashion to first exercise and now health (but it's still a beautiful product).
Come to think of it, putting an HR person in charge of retail while still retaining her former duties, seems liked a rushed panicky decision. So maybe Apple was caught off guard after all?
Apparently the HR head has been at Apple for 30 years. Let’s see how it goes. My guess is it’s either temporary or there will be a new head of HR soon.
My theory is that they realized they needed to improve the employee experience -- both from the customers' viewpoint as well as the employees' viewpoint. So, put the VP in charge of people (not HR) in charge. Steve knew that his company soared when its employees soared -- he only wanted "A Players". And he knew that those A players were extraordinarily talented, dedicated, committed people -- not "human resources" (which sounds more like managing slaves).
Overpaid but glad she's leaving. She seemed very bright, but the reality is she turned the best retail experience ever into the DMV and basically added nothing but logistical complication. The threat of her possibly becoming CEO has me breathing a sigh of relief as she was not a good fit.
The new head of people and retail seems like an AWFUL idea as she is basically head of HR, and now magically a master of retail?
What would be great is if Deidre is temporary and they convince Ron Johnson to come back. He was great at this role. Apple would be lucky to get him back.
She turned the best retail experience into the DMV? How so?
And what was great about Ron Johnson other than he ran Apple retail when it was a much smaller company?
Um he CREATED apple retail. When everyone said it would never work. Go google the articles of it's doom. He pulled it out of his mind and made it what it was. The highest $ per square foot retail ever. So yea, there's that teeny tiny creation thing.
As for DMV, go to a store today. You're a pinball. She added logistical complication and ruined and poisoned the retail experience. Before, you'd go to the genius bar and deal with your issues.
Now you show up, you try to find where to check in, there is no genius bar. You ask one employee, they say, um no, im not the check in person, go over there, thats where the check in person is. You go over there and say I'd like to check in. Oh I'm not the check in person, but they are right there. Then you check in and they send you to table X,Y over there. Some people go to the wrong table. The geniuses come looking for where you should be, but the person is in the wrong spot, and now the genius goes to 2 or 3 tables finding the right person. In the mean time, people who have problems are interspersed throughout the store with their poison "my iDevice doesnt work" griping, poisoning the buying experience around others.
Before, you just went to the bar, you and your problems were isolated and didnt poison others' purchasing experience, and you didnt pinball through the miserable DMV experience. I used to love just stopping by at apple stores when Ron was in charge. I cringe if I have to go there now. So that's how it's the DMV. https://www.businessinsider.com/apple-stores-suffer-from-customer-complaints-long-wait-time-2018-3/
This has never happened to me, it's always been a very smooth experience minus the wait once in a while (turns out they're super busy for some reason).
Well it's basically every single store in NYC, and most of northern NJ. Apparently Salt Lake city for other people here. That it's a sizable issue for many as evinced by numerous 'a-men' postings here means it's a problem, even if not in your neck of the woods. Also, if you happen to have a store that has not had the genius bar removed yet, perhaps the logistical changes/mess she brought on havent reached you yet.
She’s great and did a great job, but these execs are obscenely overpaid.
I noticed that when people hear how much someone is paid especially when they know nothing about the experience and expertise needed for that job they say they are over paid. Apple as all big corporations doesn't fill important positions like this one with rookies. Apple paid her the amount which was justified by that field of work. None of the negative comments here come from anyone that has held a high position in the fashion or the tech industries, but go ahead and feel jealous if it makes you feel better.
I am holding the highest position in both fashion and tech industries: I am the customer !
Well it’s unfortunate you had that experience, mine have been nothing but positive.
Little Rock, AR Germantown, TN Lakewood Village, Denver, CO Colorado Springs, CO Nashville, TN Knoxville, TN
All the above participants in the Apple Store DMV program. It doesn't matter what day it is, what time it is, it is an absolute mess. HR Dept should only be for resolving work place issues, compensation / benefits, training, policy, recruiting, etc. To often they become the most powerful entity in an organization and it is all down hill. Lots of clowns seem to end up in HR. HR heads, especially in large organizations like Apple's have way more duties to attend to in just the HR department. There is no way to run the HR department and think that the Retail division can receive it's due.
Under Ahrendts' direction, the number and range of products sold in Apple retail stores was reduced. I don't remember the reason. The net result is fewer SKUs.
Given that, how the hell do they keep running out of basic accessories? I've been to the Apple Store three times in the last month, and each time some basic item was out of stock. Yesterday it was the 2m USB-C to Lightning cable. It was needed because the brand new top-of-the-line iPhone I just bought comes with a cable that doesn't work with my top-of-the-line Mac!
With a smaller inventory to manage, shouldn't it be easier to maintain stock levels? Especially it's own products?
Comments
But my experience(s) at the Apple Store has been one of wide employee variability: Talk to 5 employees and get 5 different answers. Plus. over the years there have been a number of employee gripes and complaints. It may be time for Apple to focus on their employees.
Dont give her credit for being a simple decorator.
She knows about retail as much as I know aeronautical quantum algebra???????.
With Steve she wouldn’t have even lasted 10 minutes of interview.
Welcome back Apple. Now you will be on the right rack again.
The way she describes the Apple store as a comfortable social place is far from reality. The store feels more like a sterile medical center than a place to hang.
Good riddance.
poor you, your retail life seems awful.
I noticed that when people hear how much someone is paid especially when they know nothing about the experience and expertise needed for that job they say they are over paid. Apple as all big corporations doesn't fill important positions like this one with rookies. Apple paid her the amount which was justified by that field of work. None of the negative comments here come from anyone that has held a high position in the fashion or the tech industries, but go ahead and feel jealous if it makes you feel better.
The Apple Stores were initially an answer to the horrible marketing of the Mac by third parties and you used to be able to buy not only Apple's stuff, but a wide array of stuff that worked with it. That was one of the things that made a trip worthwhile.
Now you go in and most of what they have on display can be bought at 5 places, but the stuff you might want to see before buying is nowhere in sight. Cannot buy a stinking Thunderbolt Hub at an Apple Store but they have plenty of stuff you can buy at any Wall-Mart or Target.
Apple has had a period where form took precedence over function. That's not a good thing. I think I see them shifting things back into balance better: The Apple Watch is an example where its marketing has shifted from fashion to first exercise and now health (but it's still a beautiful product).
Yes we need a new CompUSA.
/s
Germantown, TN
Lakewood Village, Denver, CO
Colorado Springs, CO
Nashville, TN
Knoxville, TN
All the above participants in the Apple Store DMV program. It doesn't matter what day it is, what time it is, it is an absolute mess.
HR Dept should only be for resolving work place issues, compensation / benefits, training, policy, recruiting, etc. To often they become the most powerful entity in an organization and it is all down hill. Lots of clowns seem to end up in HR.
HR heads, especially in large organizations like Apple's have way more duties to attend to in just the HR department. There is no way to run the HR department and think that the Retail division can receive it's due.
Given that, how the hell do they keep running out of basic accessories? I've been to the Apple Store three times in the last month, and each time some basic item was out of stock. Yesterday it was the 2m USB-C to Lightning cable. It was needed because the brand new top-of-the-line iPhone I just bought comes with a cable that doesn't work with my top-of-the-line Mac!
With a smaller inventory to manage, shouldn't it be easier to maintain stock levels? Especially it's own products?