Company: Apple
Date: 2008-05-05
Overall rating: 5/5
Employment status: current

The Apple Stores are the place to be.
Pros: Apple is a great place to work if you are into the latest technology.  They do a really good job of showing you everything you have to know to help out customers.  The company is always promoting personal growth and does their best to help you and promote you.  I started working there towards the end of the summer, buy December I had been made into a part-time employee and had been given a raise.  In the spring, I was given another raise because of my performance.  And that was due to the fact, they kept training us and giving us lots of useful information to use out on the selling floor.  I love the fact that they don't make it all about commission.  It's more about helping out the customer and finding out the right solution for them.  In the end, that's what retail should really be about.
Cons: One of the downsides of working at Apple is that at times many people feel like they're being pressured to sell certain things.  The fact is, Apple is only trying to make sure every customer gets the most out of the product.  They encourage us to ask lots and lots of questions to find out what the customer's needs are.  Our job is to let others know of the different services available to them.  If the customer finds that service useful, then they can use it.  Other employees feel like they are pushing people to buy stuff when they mention the services because they are not asking the right questions.  If I know a customer has been a Mac user for a number of years, then there might be some things I leave out that wouldn't really pertain to their needs.  If you make it a habit of talking to all your customers and mentioning everything, then the metrics take care of themselves.  I used to think it wasn't true, but it really is.  That's how I got about three raises in less than 2 years.  The only other thing I don't like about Apple is the fact that starting in November (around Thanksgiving), requesting time off is strongly discouraged until after January (because of Macworld).  I understand they need people to be selling and that they holidays are coming up, but we do have family and friends we like to spend time with.  A weekend off during the holiday season will not hurt anybody.