Company: Apple
Date: 2008-11-18
Overall rating: 5/5
Employment status: current

Great place to work, except for add-ons
Pros: Working at apple is great because it has great products, great people, and great atmosphere. I love not working on commission, because you can truly sit there and have a deep talk with the customer, and just talk about computers and things that they are going to be using it for, this allows for a much deeper connection, and makes people feel better about what their buying. Thats something thats great about apple, you believe in what you sell for the most part. They are great computers most of the time, and the iphone ipod touch etc are amazing gadgets.  The people that work there are also great, and I have met many friends that I have become close with. Also, the managers are very caring, and for the most part are there to either fix a mistake, or facilitate a smooth interaction between you and a customer. This is a very good quality that every manager should have, and having the power and ability to help someone out by going to the manager is a great satisfying feeling. If i feel someone shouldnt have to pay for something, or they've been treated badly before and it isn't right, then I can talk to the manager and for the most part he/she will agree with me. I love having that power to truly help someone. Along similar lines, is that you aren't trying to sell someone something they don't want, so you can be completely straight forward and honest. Say hey these are the great things about this computer, but if you personally don't feel justified for spending this much money? Then go somewhere else and buy another computer if thats what you prefer, theres no difference for me. I tell people that all the time, I say hey I'm not on commission, and if you don't want to buy this thats absolutely fine with me, I personally think that it is a worthy investment but that of course is your choice, and I wont push it on you. What I WILL do is inform you, and give you the information you need to make an informed decision because ultimately I want you to be happy with your choice. That is a great thing about this place, being able to really help, and be a completely honest unmasked person, not working for money based motives. And if people ask you questions you don't know, you arent forced to lie, or make something up to sound good, you walk over to a computer and google it, or find someone else who knows the answer and get the information. No stress of sounding right, because if you aren't right, you just go to someone else and find the right answer.
Cons: On the other hand, there are the add-ons. Although there is no commission, we are expected to sell applecare, procare, 1v1, and mobileme at certain percentages. I hate this because it almost is like working on commission because you are worried about your numbers, which they do look at pretty heavily. Applecare is fine, because hey you should buy applecare it is a good idea. On the nanos/touchs its a little iffy, but still a worthy investment. But procare? Very situational service, as is mobileme and 1v1. You pitch all these services and feel like you're pushing them, and sometimes you are harder than you should, because you start thinking man this could help my procare numbers! And everyonce in awhile, someone buys it and they never use it, but you made it sound good. 1v1 is great, if you need lessons. Mobile me is awesome, if you have multiple devices you want to sync, or would use the ilife sweet and storage space online. and procare is cool if you have an extra 100 bucks to plop down to be a VIP. But the fact of the matter is people do come in on budgets, and they shouldnt be treated any less well than others. If someone says hey, i have 1323 dollars, I'm going to buy a macbook, but I'll be back with that money. I know he/she is not getting applecare or any other service, so I don't paticularly want that sale. If they see me and come to me when they come in than thats that, but if they dont, ill be happy about that. That shouldn't be in my motivations. The reason you can buy applecare within a year, is because this is a huge investment and people sometimes don't have the money to throw down an extra 160 and up. Yes its worthy, but if you've been saving to get yourself this computer, and you just made 1300, you're not going to save up another couple weeks and come back to buy applecare and the computer at once, u'll buy it and tack it on later when you have the money. Theres nothing wrong with that, that person gets a great computer that they've been wanting and has the option of spacing out the spending on applecare. The problem, however, is we think shoot no applecare, and that person becomes slightly less important. They shouldn't but they do. If someone buys an ipod Touch from me, and they get applecare, I will go out of my way to put on a screen protector, I have a good chance of offering to do it. But if no applecare, than unless they ask I'm not putting on a screen protector. They didn't help my numbers. It just makes commission stress in a non-commissioned job, and sometimes that can get to be overwhelming. I should be excited for them and say, lets enjoy your new computer Ill show you cool things, have fun with it! And i do, but a little less enthusiastically because in the back of my mind I"m thinking, where can I put applecare into this sentence so they come back and buy it from me? Yes, some people just blow off applecare, but I'd rather pitch it my best, and then at least know they're very likely to get it in the near future. It is a great service, but some people are skeptical, and if they want to go home ask their friends, research it before they buy it, then they should be able to! I shouldnt be gunning for them to buy now! They'll find out its great, and they'll get it! If there were a way to link a particular computer to that sale, so that when applecare eventually is registered..that would be better, but still, we're being judged on how much money people have, and what they are willing to spend. somedays Ill get 100 percent applecare, somedays people jsut don't want it. I pitch it the same, and I'm good at it, but thats the way it is. I purposely avoid saying you have a year to sign up, because I know once I say that its game over...then they say oh we'll get it later. They should know that, they should have options upfront so they can make the best decision for them. For some people that just want to cruise, this isnt a problem. You won't get fired for your numbers unless they're really bad for a really long time. But for people like me, who hope to one day be a manager, the stress is unbearable. Every sale you want to improve you're numbers, you want to blow every one else out of the water, you want to be that successful stand out that is the only choice for manager. But sometimes its just the people that you get, and not how great, how helpful, and how good you are at pitching the services. I can go on for hours about how cool mobile me is, but if you don't want it/can't afford it, you're going to tune me out. If you don't have multiple devices, then I talk about iLife, if you don't use that, and have no interest, I talk about storage space and backups...if you just don't want it, and have no need for it, than I won't sell it to you or try any harder to sell it. And in the back of my mind I think, damn, there goes a little bit of my numbers.
Another negative about working there is the occasional rude customer. At least once a week I get a foreign person that comes in, and tries to buy 3 iphones, with no applecare, mobileme etc. (ouch my numbers!) but the annoying part is it is because they are reselling them, and there is no point of having a personal connection with them, in fact they will resist it. All of them will lie straight to your face, and that is demeaning  and depressing. On at least 3 occasions I've had someone tell me they are psyched to get an iphone, they tried their friends and loved it, they are buying one for themselves and one for their family member...I start ringing it up, get an error, call at&t and they say this account has purchased too many iphones. Then i go back out to the floor, and say to the person that literally just told me this is my first iphone, im excited!, that they have already had too many, and cannot buy another one. Once the guy continued with the act, said really on my account? that cant be, maybe my brother bought one....and I say, you need 10 to be limited, and he says no way....then says, i'll figure it out with at&t and come back. Clearly does not come back. That is a negative to working here, but its an acceptable annoyance for mostly genuinely good customers.