

Apple's Retail Philosophy - Employees reveal calculated culture - abhigupta
http://www.adweek.com/news/technology/apples-retail-philosophy-132549

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tptacek
You could substitute "carefully designed" for "calculated", which has a
negative cast not justified by the WSJ's story. Details about Apple's retail
culture include:

* The stores were consciously designed to be uncluttered and less threatening than big-box electronic stores, and benefit from fewer locations and a focus on a single brand.

* The retail operation is run by seasoned retail veterans, not CS majors.

* Growth in Apple's retail locations is strong and beats the general trend of decline in retail in general.

* It's hard to get a job in Apple retail, at least compared to other retail jobs.

* It doesn't pay much better than typical retail jobs.

* Retail is not a good career path into Apple corporate.

* You can't write online about Apple and expect to keep a job at an Apple store.

* Apple retail employees don't get sales commission and are trained not to sell, although you can get reassigned if you upsell fewer AppleCare plans than Apple expects of its retail team.

* If you've found Apple employees to be unthreatening, helpful, laid back, and easygoing, that's because Apple trained its team to do that.

* Don't be repeatedly late or you'll get fired.

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tvon
Indeed, how calculating, it's almost as if someone at Apple read "How to Win
Friends & Influence People".

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gaius
I was in the Apple store in Covent Garden recently, I knew what I wanted and
had phoned in advance to check they had it, so I was just there to pick it up.
As a former consultant, I am trained in exactly these sorts of techniques, and
can easily spot them, and Apple's training is _too_ good. I don't know how it
is to regular people, but the Apple employees I spoke to were downright
creepy. Whatever the actual-human equivalent of the "uncanny valley" is. I'll
stick to the online store I think and just deal with the hassle of having to
be in when I'm expecting a courier.

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tptacek
The "technique" you're talking about is "not trying to sell stuff". That
bothers you?

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gaius
The technique is "quickly build a rapport with this person". It feels like
being manipulated just as much as outright sales technique, because, well, it
is.

~~~
JonnieCache
Agreed. Don't know if it's like this everywhere, but the apple retail
employees I've dealt with have all been creepy like this. The uncanny valley
is a good analogy. It's like being sold stuff using mental judo by NLP robots.
I occasionally also get the feeling when talking to them that I might suddenly
wake up and realise that I've been having a dream about being trapped in an
aspirational TV advert.

But I'm british so maybe the whole thing just clashes with our general
mistrust of our brother man. We just can't really believe that anyone is
actually being nice to us for no benefit to themselves.

~~~
alanthonyc
_"But I'm British..."_

That's interesting. I wonder if gaius is also. Maybe it's a cultural thing. I
find Apple Store employees to be extra "friendly", if that's the word, but not
overly so.

~~~
JonnieCache
I am british, but let it also be known that I am often a miserable bastard,
and this may also be a factor. This isn't really science.

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MatthewPhillips
Not selling can have a negative impression on the customer, though. I have
noticed that they don't sell hard; I interpreted it as hubris. That my sale is
unimportant to them because of how crowded the place always is. It's one thing
to play it cool but you also shouldn't seem disinterested or make the customer
feel unimportant.

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GBond
link to WSJ article sited
[http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142405270230456310457636...](http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304563104576364071955678908.html#printMode)

~~~
tptacek
As usual, you can read the whole thing by searching for the headline ("Secrets
From Apple's Genius Bar: Full Loyalty, No Negativity") on Google News. This
AdWeek summary add no value and inserts a weirdly sensationalized headline.

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learc83
Having worked at Best Buy during college and for a few years after, this is
what Best Buy has been trying to do for a while now.

They try to encourage solving problems, and building rapport instead of
selling. However, the problem with Best Buy is follow through.

This kind of training comes down from corporate, but the district managers are
allowed to run their districts like their own little fiefdom. Since most of
the district managers (and store managers) got to where they are b/c they are
great salesmen, they push the salesman attitude onto everyone else.

~~~
morganw
> building rapport instead of selling[...] This kind of training comes down
> from corporate, but the district managers are allowed to run their districts
> like their own little fiefdom.

So then what's the point? Why pretend to have a retail philosophy if
individual salespeople are sent out on the floor to hawk satellite
subscriptions?

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astrofinch
Based on the article, Apple seems pretty effective with this--I'm curious if
non-Apple salespeople would be more effective if they followed these
principles, or if it only works for Apple.

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Apocryphon
This article is a lot shorter than I expected, but it does teach something
critical: if someone (especially an Apple employee) uses the phrase "as it
turns out", be ready for bad news!

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r00fus
One can only hope that JCP will gain a lot of this customer-oriented focus
when Ron Johnson is firmly in place.

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shithead
> using natural materials like wood, glass, stone and stainless steel.

Boggle. Nature so advanced it includes glass and steel. They grow in trees, I
suppose.

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StudyAnimal
What shops don't do this?

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revscat
Best Buy. Auto dealerships. Any place that tries to upsell you something.

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omouse
It's a shame they don't pour more time into making employees happy by giving
them better benefits and wages.

~~~
tptacek
They're among the most successful retail operations in the world, and are a
desirable employer for people working retail. Is there a specific reason you
think they should "pour more time into making employees happy", or are you
just inclined to say this about any company?

~~~
sorbus
There was a thing a while back about Apple's retail employees complaining
about low wages and few benefits, but I don't think that the allegations were
ever confirmed, or that anything came out of it. The GP may have been
referencing that.

Actually, a bit of Googling shows that this is still going on, with employees
trying to unionize. According to [1], one person wants "to form a union to
fight for better wages and benefits and to address what he says are unfair
practices".

[1] [http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/06/12/us-apple-
idUSTRE75...](http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/06/12/us-apple-
idUSTRE75B1FL20110612)

~~~
tptacek
It's one guy, who says he's gotten little public support. But even if he had a
deep wellspring of support: this is supply and demand. Apple is a highly
specialized retailer that nonetheless can draw on hundreds of thousands of
potentially qualified candidates. How could a union change that dynamic?

