She was horrible! Mission Accomplished? Didn’t a president say the same thing? It was no more true then than now. The only accomplished mission is getting rid of her.
People keep saying they got rid of the Genius Bar but what did they really get rid of other than that sign? There are still dedicated areas where you go to have your product service. I recently had my iPhone screen replaced. The process was extremely slick. Someone at the front of the store with an iPad checked me in. I waited for less than 5 minutes when another store employee came to work my issue. I sat down at a table, shoes him my cracked phone and he started the replacement process. An hour later I was back at the store to pick up my phone. The experience couldn’t have been easier and everyone I interacted with was very friendly,
My experience with an without the Genius bar was the COMPLETE opposite: With: make an appointment, talk to a genius almost immediately, and the job was done correctly and quickly and any possible questions or issues were discussed with a knowledgeable technician.
Without: Make an appointment that means nothing. Wait a half hour getting different stories from different employees, then told to leave it and come back in a few hours only to find that it still wasn't done. Then, finally, when it is "done" only to discover that it wasn't completely done...
The switch from service using highly trained technicians to sales using anybody who could sell did a severe disservice to Apple customers.
Thankfully, I think the Apple Stores are headed back to their high quality roots.
My recent free iPhone 6s battery replacement (five months ago?) was without problem. I did feel confused about where I was supposed to be and what the employee roles were, but there was no problem in my visit. The guy who handled me was straight-forward and wasn’t even “Apple employee creepy” (I find heavily-scripted employees to be heavily creepy).
What actually changed? Did the tech people get moved to/hidden in the back room where the on-sight work is done, leaving the employees in the main room acts as a buffer between customers and tech people?
What has changed that you think Apple are going back to what you consider high-quality roots?
"What has changed that you think Apple are going back to what you consider high-quality roots?"
It's too early to tell. The new SVP hasn't had much time to make any significant changes.
I think she did a pretty stellar job. Apple Stores are the envy of the world for their design, they make gobs of cash, they are centres of education and delight AND they are the most profitable stores on the planet per square foot. Any of that sound like a "fail" to you?
She didn't scrub Ron and Steve's vision, she built on it and contributed some great, lasting initiatives. She helped Lisa Jackson achieve the clean-energy goals, she incorporated open areas where people could just relax inside and outside the stores, and as she mentioned retention is higher than ever.
People who diss her time at Apple need to point to some similar accomplishments before I'll take them at all seriously. Now that UK guy who was in before her ... THAT was a disaster ...
Apple stores were always the envy of design and making gobs of cash years before she joined Apple. There were very minor tweaks made under her watch, and were obviously a product of collecting data. No community environment was ever accomplished, the stores are sterile and don’t feel inviting or convey a sense of community in any way. She was basically an image and did nothing noticeable.
This is exactly how I perceive it. The stores were, and still are, sterile and uninviting. Huge open spaces, lack of color (except on marketing materials), bright flat lighting, high ceilings with poor sound treatment, etc., is never an inviting environment. It’s like a replay of the brutalist architecture fad of the 70s, only the orange and brown wallpaper and carpeting has been replaced with a glossy coat of glass and plastic. It’s still retro-futurism without the humanity factor. The design thinking stopped at surface appearances (an endemic problem at Apple since 2013).
I see that changes were made, but I can’t say they made things notably better or worse. The corporate culture is the real problem: When Apple chose the mindless (and debunked) “open” office fad, they applied it to the stores, eliminating the Genius Bar and any other sense of “this space is for [purpose]”.
The corporate culture of today’s Apple seems to be riding on the coattails of the reputation earned by pre-2013 Apple. The arrogance is still there, but the expertise is lacking. Fads and shallow surface features matter more than functional design and purpose. People who did well before, who are still there today, seem lost in their obsessions, which are not being regulated by the singular vision the company lost when its real leadership went away.
I don’t labor under the delusion that Steve Jobs was a wonderful human being. I suspect Tim Cool is a kinder corporatist. His leadership and vision, however, is a sterile and generic Wall Street/MBA-type mentality. At this point, Tim Cook’s social ethics are the only thing I like about his Apple. And then [sigh] on comments forums, I have to slog through rants by people who have chips on their shoulders over the suggestion that being kind to other human beings needs a bit of policy to promote it; where they’re constantly posting about how Tim Cook’s social ethos is what’s wrong with today’s Apple. It’s a little hell of its own to be here. I’m actually surprised there has been little ad hominem commentary on this thread, so good work everyone.
Back to the store itself: The only change I can tell in Apple stores is an increase in the preexisting “where am I supposed to go and who am I supposed to talk to?” confusion, which was already an issue before. The real changes I’ve noticed in Apple are the greatly increased number bugs in iOS (and the failure to address them, revision after revision after revision, over more than SIX YEARS), and the obsession with a design fetish that has eclipsed and obstructed functionality.
Personally all American executives are overpaid, and the rest of the world follows. I can’t figure out what to do about it, as most of the shareholder votes are tied up in funds who are of course, part of the same corporatist system, deeply in bed with paid for executives and politicians who are all part of the corporatist world. Big Business, Big Union, Big Government.
As for Ahrendts, she basically quit five years to the day from start. I expect that is how long she gave herself before planning to exit on her terms.
She was horrible! Mission Accomplished? Didn’t a president say the same thing? It was no more true then than now. The only accomplished mission is getting rid of her.
What was horrible about her? I sincerely want to know. I also want to know how you know.
People keep saying they got rid of the Genius Bar but what did they really get rid of other than that sign? There are still dedicated areas where you go to have your product service. I recently had my iPhone screen replaced. The process was extremely slick. Someone at the front of the store with an iPad checked me in. I waited for less than 5 minutes when another store employee came to work my issue. I sat down at a table, shoes him my cracked phone and he started the replacement process. An hour later I was back at the store to pick up my phone. The experience couldn’t have been easier and everyone I interacted with was very friendly,
My experience with an without the Genius bar was the COMPLETE opposite: With: make an appointment, talk to a genius almost immediately, and the job was done correctly and quickly and any possible questions or issues were discussed with a knowledgeable technician.
Without: Make an appointment that means nothing. Wait a half hour getting different stories from different employees, then told to leave it and come back in a few hours only to find that it still wasn't done. Then, finally, when it is "done" only to discover that it wasn't completely done...
The switch from service using highly trained technicians to sales using anybody who could sell did a severe disservice to Apple customers.
Thankfully, I think the Apple Stores are headed back to their high quality roots.
My recent free iPhone 6s battery replacement (five months ago?) was without problem. I did feel confused about where I was supposed to be and what the employee roles were, but there was no problem in my visit. The guy who handled me was straight-forward and wasn’t even “Apple employee creepy” (I find heavily-scripted employees to be heavily creepy).
What actually changed? Did the tech people get moved to/hidden in the back room where the on-sight work is done, leaving the employees in the main room acts as a buffer between customers and tech people?
What has changed that you think Apple are going back to what you consider high-quality roots?
"What has changed that you think Apple are going back to what you consider high-quality roots?"
It's too early to tell. The new SVP hasn't had much time to make any significant changes.
Agreed. That’s why I’m asking this of those who think everything is back on track just because this specific executive is gone.
I don’t blame her for not looking at outside data, she had mountains of inside data and reviews that are more accurate. A company can better quantify improvements with their own verifiable data collected over decades.
The reality is that consumers expect a great purchase/service experience but if anything goes wrong, complaints and bad reviews. I imagine many bad Apple store visits a result of user error, being an idiot, or not in warranty.
I think she did a pretty stellar job. Apple Stores are the envy of the world for their design, they make gobs of cash, they are centres of education and delight AND they are the most profitable stores on the planet per square foot. Any of that sound like a "fail" to you?
She didn't scrub Ron and Steve's vision, she built on it and contributed some great, lasting initiatives. She helped Lisa Jackson achieve the clean-energy goals, she incorporated open areas where people could just relax inside and outside the stores, and as she mentioned retention is higher than ever.
People who diss her time at Apple need to point to some similar accomplishments before I'll take them at all seriously. Now that UK guy who was in before her ... THAT was a disaster ...
Apple stores were always the envy of design and making gobs of cash years before she joined Apple. There were very minor tweaks made under her watch, and were obviously a product of collecting data. No community environment was ever accomplished, the stores are sterile and don’t feel inviting or convey a sense of community in any way. She was basically an image and did nothing noticeable.
This is exactly how I perceive it. The stores were, and still are, sterile and uninviting. Huge open spaces, lack of color (except on marketing materials), bright flat lighting, high ceilings with poor sound treatment, etc., is never an inviting environment. It’s like a replay of the brutalist architecture fad of the 70s, only the orange and brown wallpaper and carpeting has been replaced with a glossy coat of glass and plastic. It’s still retro-futurism without the humanity factor. The design thinking stopped at surface appearances (an endemic problem at Apple since 2013).
I see that changes were made, but I can’t say they made things notably better or worse. The corporate culture is the real problem: When Apple chose the mindless (and debunked) “open” office fad, they applied it to the stores, eliminating the Genius Bar and any other sense of “this space is for [purpose]”.
The corporate culture of today’s Apple seems to be riding on the coattails of the reputation earned by pre-2013 Apple. The arrogance is still there, but the expertise is lacking. Fads and shallow surface features matter more than functional design and purpose. People who did well before, who are still there today, seem lost in their obsessions, which are not being regulated by the singular vision the company lost when its real leadership went away.
I don’t labor under the delusion that Steve Jobs was a wonderful human being. I suspect Tim Cool is a kinder corporatist. His leadership and vision, however, is a sterile and generic Wall Street/MBA-type mentality. At this point, Tim Cook’s social ethics are the only thing I like about his Apple. And then [sigh] on comments forums, I have to slog through rants by people who have chips on their shoulders over the suggestion that being kind to other human beings needs a bit of policy to promote it; where they’re constantly posting about how Tim Cook’s social ethos is what’s wrong with today’s Apple. It’s a little hell of its own to be here. I’m actually surprised there has been little ad hominem commentary on this thread, so good work everyone.
Back to the store itself: The only change I can tell in Apple stores is an increase in the preexisting “where am I supposed to go and who am I supposed to talk to?” confusion, which was already an issue before. The real changes I’ve noticed in Apple are the greatly increased number bugs in iOS (and the failure to address them, revision after revision after revision, over more than SIX YEARS), and the obsession with a design fetish that has eclipsed and obstructed functionality.
"I suspect Tim Cool is a kinder corporatist. His leadership and vision, however, is a sterile and generic Wall Street/MBA-type mentality."
Bingo. Which is to say he doesn't have much vision at all.
Well she's not exactly going to say her changes were for the worst is she...
"I don't read any of it and none of it is based on fact, it's everyone trying to find stories, et cetera" Ahrendts said.
"I don't read any of it" is a pretty damning thing to reveal, and is wrong for someone in her position. Sticking your fingers in your ears and saying "lalalala" isn't the way to run a business. Some specific scores may be up, but if overall customer experience is down, that's a failure. I'm sure some of those reports about poor Apple Store experience are a pile of doodoo, but there are plenty that are true.
The report she was talking about came from Bloomberg. You know, the same rag that brought us the sci-fi super spy chip story, then ran and hid under a rock when asked to present their evidence.
If she spent her time reading inaccurate bumpf from the likes of Bloomberg then that’s time wasted. The report being referred to claims that things went downhill when she replaced checkout counters with roaming clerks. The Apple Stores have never had checkout counters. So what’s worse: ignoring information from questionable sources, or acting on it?
There have been numerous complaints of a degradation in service at Apple stores under her watch right here on AI. We didn't need a Bloomberg article to tell us that -- but I'm glad that they confirmed it.
I think Apple is on the right path now that she's gone. But reminders never hurt.
What have Apple changed since she left that you characterize as “on the right path”?
A de-emphasis in selling product and re-emphasis on people and service. Thus they tapped the head of HR / "People" to lead it -- which hopefully signals a return to qualified, well trained staff.
Well she's not exactly going to say her changes were for the worst is she...
"I don't read any of it and none of it is based on fact, it's everyone trying to find stories, et cetera" Ahrendts said.
"I don't read any of it" is a pretty damning thing to reveal, and is wrong for someone in her position. Sticking your fingers in your ears and saying "lalalala" isn't the way to run a business. Some specific scores may be up, but if overall customer experience is down, that's a failure. I'm sure some of those reports about poor Apple Store experience are a pile of doodoo, but there are plenty that are true.
The report she was talking about came from Bloomberg. You know, the same rag that brought us the sci-fi super spy chip story, then ran and hid under a rock when asked to present their evidence.
If she spent her time reading inaccurate bumpf from the likes of Bloomberg then that’s time wasted. The report being referred to claims that things went downhill when she replaced checkout counters with roaming clerks. The Apple Stores have never had checkout counters. So what’s worse: ignoring information from questionable sources, or acting on it?
There have been numerous complaints of a degradation in service at Apple stores under her watch right here on AI. We didn't need a Bloomberg article to tell us that -- but I'm glad that they confirmed it.
I think Apple is on the right path now that she's gone. But reminders never hurt.
What have Apple changed since she left that you characterize as “on the right path”?
A de-emphasis in selling product and re-emphasis on people and service. Thus they tapped the head of HR / "People" to lead it -- which hopefully signals a return to qualified, well trained staff.
HR is about people as commodity. That’s what it is in every business and institution I’ve ever worked for. I haven’t worked for Apple, but they’re not known to be great at the Apple store employee level.
Well she's not exactly going to say her changes were for the worst is she...
"I don't read any of it and none of it is based on fact, it's everyone trying to find stories, et cetera" Ahrendts said.
"I don't read any of it" is a pretty damning thing to reveal, and is wrong for someone in her position. Sticking your fingers in your ears and saying "lalalala" isn't the way to run a business. Some specific scores may be up, but if overall customer experience is down, that's a failure. I'm sure some of those reports about poor Apple Store experience are a pile of doodoo, but there are plenty that are true.
The report she was talking about came from Bloomberg. You know, the same rag that brought us the sci-fi super spy chip story, then ran and hid under a rock when asked to present their evidence.
If she spent her time reading inaccurate bumpf from the likes of Bloomberg then that’s time wasted. The report being referred to claims that things went downhill when she replaced checkout counters with roaming clerks. The Apple Stores have never had checkout counters. So what’s worse: ignoring information from questionable sources, or acting on it?
There have been numerous complaints of a degradation in service at Apple stores under her watch right here on AI. We didn't need a Bloomberg article to tell us that -- but I'm glad that they confirmed it.
I think Apple is on the right path now that she's gone. But reminders never hurt.
What have Apple changed since she left that you characterize as “on the right path”?
A de-emphasis in selling product and re-emphasis on people and service. Thus they tapped the head of HR / "People" to lead it -- which hopefully signals a return to qualified, well trained staff.
HR is about people as commodity. That’s what it is in every business and institution I’ve ever worked for. I haven’t worked for Apple, but they’re not known to be great at the Apple store employee level.
From what I understand, that wasn't the case when Ron Johnson was running the Retail operations
Well she's not exactly going to say her changes were for the worst is she...
"I don't read any of it and none of it is based on fact, it's everyone trying to find stories, et cetera" Ahrendts said.
"I don't read any of it" is a pretty damning thing to reveal, and is wrong for someone in her position. Sticking your fingers in your ears and saying "lalalala" isn't the way to run a business. Some specific scores may be up, but if overall customer experience is down, that's a failure. I'm sure some of those reports about poor Apple Store experience are a pile of doodoo, but there are plenty that are true.
The report she was talking about came from Bloomberg. You know, the same rag that brought us the sci-fi super spy chip story, then ran and hid under a rock when asked to present their evidence.
If she spent her time reading inaccurate bumpf from the likes of Bloomberg then that’s time wasted. The report being referred to claims that things went downhill when she replaced checkout counters with roaming clerks. The Apple Stores have never had checkout counters. So what’s worse: ignoring information from questionable sources, or acting on it?
There have been numerous complaints of a degradation in service at Apple stores under her watch right here on AI. We didn't need a Bloomberg article to tell us that -- but I'm glad that they confirmed it.
I think Apple is on the right path now that she's gone. But reminders never hurt.
What have Apple changed since she left that you characterize as “on the right path”?
A de-emphasis in selling product and re-emphasis on people and service. Thus they tapped the head of HR / "People" to lead it -- which hopefully signals a return to qualified, well trained staff.
HR is about people as commodity. That’s what it is in every business and institution I’ve ever worked for. I haven’t worked for Apple, but they’re not known to be great at the Apple store employee level.
That's probably why Apple doesn't call it "HR". Her former role was VP of People. It is likely a take-off on how highly Steve valued the "A Players" as the core and meat of his business. He knew that the future of his company depended on those highly competent, highly motivated people. So, Apple never went down the road of "humans as resources" (like they were commodities) -- well, not until Ahrendts recruited the bouncy salesy types full of fake pride in Apple and chased away the A players or hid them away in the back room.
I worked for an Apple like company and the Jobs-like executives who founded it and ran it were clear and loud about one thing: The most important person in the company was that first-iine employee who picked up the phone when the customer called -- the whole reputation of the company rested on that person. It was true then and it is true now -- although, as you point out, most corporations do it the opposite.
Comments
A company of Apple's size and with the amount of resources that they have, they should be doing both.
It's too early to tell. The new SVP hasn't had much time to make any significant changes.
This is exactly how I perceive it. The stores were, and still are, sterile and uninviting. Huge open spaces, lack of color (except on marketing materials), bright flat lighting, high ceilings with poor sound treatment, etc., is never an inviting environment. It’s like a replay of the brutalist architecture fad of the 70s, only the orange and brown wallpaper and carpeting has been replaced with a glossy coat of glass and plastic. It’s still retro-futurism without the humanity factor. The design thinking stopped at surface appearances (an endemic problem at Apple since 2013).
I see that changes were made, but I can’t say they made things notably better or worse. The corporate culture is the real problem: When Apple chose the mindless (and debunked) “open” office fad, they applied it to the stores, eliminating the Genius Bar and any other sense of “this space is for [purpose]”.
The corporate culture of today’s Apple seems to be riding on the coattails of the reputation earned by pre-2013 Apple. The arrogance is still there, but the expertise is lacking. Fads and shallow surface features matter more than functional design and purpose. People who did well before, who are still there today, seem lost in their obsessions, which are not being regulated by the singular vision the company lost when its real leadership went away.
I don’t labor under the delusion that Steve Jobs was a wonderful human being. I suspect Tim Cool is a kinder corporatist. His leadership and vision, however, is a sterile and generic Wall Street/MBA-type mentality. At this point, Tim Cook’s social ethics are the only thing I like about his Apple. And then [sigh] on comments forums, I have to slog through rants by people who have chips on their shoulders over the suggestion that being kind to other human beings needs a bit of policy to promote it; where they’re constantly posting about how Tim Cook’s social ethos is what’s wrong with today’s Apple. It’s a little hell of its own to be here. I’m actually surprised there has been little ad hominem commentary on this thread, so good work everyone.
Back to the store itself: The only change I can tell in Apple stores is an increase in the preexisting “where am I supposed to go and who am I supposed to talk to?” confusion, which was already an issue before. The real changes I’ve noticed in Apple are the greatly increased number bugs in iOS (and the failure to address them, revision after revision after revision, over more than SIX YEARS), and the obsession with a design fetish that has eclipsed and obstructed functionality.
Thank you for fulfilling my negative expectations of the men who comment here.
The reality is that consumers expect a great purchase/service experience but if anything goes wrong, complaints and bad reviews. I imagine many bad Apple store visits a result of user error, being an idiot, or not in warranty.
The stores are great, I love them.
Bingo. Which is to say he doesn't have much vision at all.
I worked for an Apple like company and the Jobs-like executives who founded it and ran it were clear and loud about one thing: The most important person in the company was that first-iine employee who picked up the phone when the customer called -- the whole reputation of the company rested on that person. It was true then and it is true now -- although, as you point out, most corporations do it the opposite.