Company: Apple
Date: 2015-11-22
Overall rating: 4/5
Employment status: current
Experience level: Junior

A great job that I like and dislike
Pros: Apple pays everyone well. Above average retail pay, amazing benefits! Managers will come talk to us, have a conversation and get to know each other, instead of just nothing-to-talk-about-if-it's-not-work-related.  Lot of coworkers, amazing products and accessories to play with. Lot of freedom in dresscode, working hours, taking breaks(no micro-managing on lateness). Lot of talented co-workers with all sorts of talent.  We work as a team, support each other-coworkers and managers. Managers here are exceptionally respectful, very well trained to lead (some people say apple hire a lot of outside managers, who cares, most important is they are competent leaders).  Lot of very interesting customers, get to see a lot of celebrities.   Apple as a company actively listens to feedbacks.  Constantly provide things that enriches our work environment  like food, music, more vending machine, etc.        Apple has so many benefits that even me as a part-time can't even count!  

Overall Apple changed my life for the better!!  Lifted me out of poverty :D   Helped me developed better personality traits like learning to setup expectations, developing habit of thinking outside the box,etc.
Cons: With good pay and a package of benefits, it also comes with a package of stress!!!

Lot of chinese customers who doesn't understand the product, and doesn't speak English, making it hard to communicate.  Some customers haven't learned proper manners.
Chinese customers will form a circle around chinese employees, waiting to be helped. While cutting out the willingness to be helped by someone else.  Chinese employees deal with unusual amount of stress on the sales floor and genius bar. 

A lot of co-workers. Very friendly, but very hard to form a deep connection.  Because of several different reasons:
1- When you are on the sales floor, so many customers and co-workers, you will probably get distracted 2min within the conversation.
2- Schedule is so flexible that everyone has a different schedule, so you don't go on break with a specific person.
3- We have a break room, with a lot of co-workers taking break.  Some goes to lunch, some are eating lunch. Some are on the computer, others are listening to music.  Everyone is on a different schedule. If you sit down with someone... the most you can do is probably a 5 min dialogue.  Will sure get interrupted by someone/something else-- other people asking questions, going back to work,etc.   
Before I came to Apple, i used to work in an environment where i can be next to a co-worker for 2-3 hours with a short 2min task to do every 20min or so. That allows us to connect with each other deeply and really get to know each other's lives. 
At apple, you probably just dive into some superficial stuff like how are you? Where are you from? Do you go to school?   and...    I heard  that guy has a lot of Apple stocks.      Heard of instead of personally listening.        And after a year of working here, I don't know half the coworkers.  So many of us, so many transfers, so many new hires. 
Can't really connect unless you take coworkers phone number, and hang out outside of work.

Another stress.. in the middle of a transaction with a customer, you may get interrupted by another customer, co-worker, or a manager assigning you another customer.   You really have to step up your refusal skills to survive on sales floor or genius bar.