Company: Apple
Date: 2012-04-27
Overall rating: 4/5
Employment status: current

Disappointing, discouraging, but still hard to leave.
Pros: People are definitely the biggest pro to working here. Apple has the tendency to hire amazing people (unless they do a mass hiring event) and the family atmosphere is definitely there. Even if leadership is continually fostering negativity, your friends are always there and you can't let them down despite being discouraged.
The benefits are also good. They've drastically improved the part time benefits and they're much more affordable.
Cons: The pay for what's expected of you is low.
Of course, the schedule isn't the best but it's retail- you go in knowing this.
Management (at least in this specific location) is extremely discouraging. I've been in two other locations and never experienced this. Almost everyone (and I mean everyone- I have positive relationships with about 90% of the staff, neutral with the rest, which consists of leadership and new hires I don't know yet) expresses disappointment with their interactions, lack of real acknowledgement and recognition, and leaderships' focus on negativity. If you have a heartfelt opinion that you think would benefit the team and the business (which I vividly remember Apple as a culture ENCOURAGING THIS) you're beaten down- they accuse you of being negative, lacking social tact (quoted- seriously!) and any chances for advancements quashed. The leadership team picks favorites and fosters this strange environment that makes you feel unwelcome, muffled and worthless. They seem to not like older people, particularly ladies- which I think is due to the feelings of one manager specifically who is quite obviously a misogynist. They also have a habit of creating their own policies outside of Apple corp's HR rules, such as vacations not exceeding 12 days (even though you can take up to 14. Almost everyone that's been there at least 8-12 months is leaving or actively pursuing opportunities elsewhere.