syraquse

flootist said:

New poster here, and I promise I'm not a troll. Hello to all. 

Unfortunately this is all correct, and it has been their modus operandi from day one (which means it actually began under Jobs, though who knows? May have been Forestalls baby). 

About ten years ago, I got hired twice at the local Apple store. I never accepted because of the low pay, which at the time was less than $7 an hour (though please note that geniuses make more than sales people).  No, there are no sales commissions or potentials for advancement. I actually made more working part time at a call center than I would have for the richest company on earth (and got benefits, too!). 

I always assumed this was to keep their frontline comprised of young, 'hip' staff that don't need to rely on the job or just don't know any better, though I have seen the occasional employee over 30 since that time. 

One last thing (no pun intended): Apple retail is a separate division internally, you are NOT working 'for Apple' proper. If you have fantasies of climbing the Apple ladder, forget it. The two divisions do not intermingle.

Depending on a person's needs and temperament, it could be fun, but there are other non-professional jobs that offer more to their employees. Heck, you'd likely do better waiting tables or working for Geek Squad.

I had a very similar experience. Started in Syracuse NY in August 2006 while I was still in college, eventually transferred to Boston, and moved to an IT role at another company in August 2014. Nothing was perfect; there were great times and tough times. Ultimately, the people who were all about sales/numbers and not genuinely interested in just having a good experience for their customers and themselves were few and far between. Throughout my 8 years across different stores and regions, people were sought out and hired because of their personality, knowledge, and willingness to learn and do what was right for the customer AND their co-workers. I worked alongside people of a wide range of ages, from fresh out of high school to people in their 70s (and still going strong!).

When I started, the pay was higher than any other retail job in the mall, short of commission-based ones where the customer didn't matter. We were never told to "upsell" unless it was legitimately better for the customer. If someone was looking for something we didn't or couldn't offer, I'd point them to Best Buy or Circuit City. Why sell something to a customer that will just have them come back disappointed or angry at us? I've had people come in and say "I have X amount of money. Sell me on this." And I'd end up saving them money with a better solution than the most expensive computer with bells and whistles that they would never need or use.

As for advancement, Retail and Corporate are pretty tough to jump across, but they do offer career experiences and other roadmaps to help get you where you want to go. Realistically, this leaves tens of thousands of people vying for a handful of corporate opportunities. You're better off leaving the company and coming back with other experience.

As for the Forestall reference, I think it was more of a John Browett thing. I remember there being a hiring freeze and slashed hours for part-timers, and fewer opportunities for overtime, even when it made more sense to work an extra hour or two to help out. For me (and most people I worked with in different markets), eventually it was the retail hours and working on holidays that led to us leaving the company more than any issues we had with the company itself or the way it was run. There are certain things you'll face with any retail environment that will be cons no matter how cushy the job or company.

I never thought I'd work in retail as long as I did, but it was a genuinely fun place to be and for all the things about it that annoyed me or I disliked, I don't regret it at all and it's gotten me to where I am now, which is not bad at all.

TL; DR: