Company: Apple
Date: 2011-09-07
Overall rating: 3/5
Employment status: current

An incredible experience but long term is questionable
Pros: An exciting place to be if you love Apple technology.  Every day is different but at the same time everyday could be a challenge.  The realm of customer service here usually goes above and beyond to keep customers happy.  Apple follow its motto very well of the customer experience being the most important part of its DNA.  The cultural is lose and eccentric and you will make many many friends in the long run.  Management is also more eager to communicate with you as a group because of constant change in technology and business plans.
Cons: Because of its retail nature, expect a lot of disorganization, ambiguity, and constant changes throughout your day.  Some days will leave you feeling high and that you changed the world, others can leave you feeling down and question your career path.  Nice customers make up for a third of your conversation while the other 2/3 sounds like they own you because they are here to spend 4 digits of dinero.  Busy seasons from Nov-Jan and from Jun- Sep are the most strenuous.  Every year, traffic increases and it always feel understaffed.  Turn over is high among internal employees.  Management are always busy with customer service issues so they don't have time look out for your development.  As a result, if you don't fight for it, likely you will be left behind to always do sales.  Sometimes it feels like the ones who are most friendly with the managers, are the ones to move up quickly naturally because managers don't have time to get to know everybody in the store.  It can also sometimes feel very red-tape, every move-up requires a formal interview and assessment of your skills.  They even interview you formally if you want to transfer between stores.  There are no bonuses and salary increases are mostly 3% unless you significantly changed roles.