“If there is any company that can be said to be on the cutting edge of retail, it’s Apple,” Christopher Matthews reports for TIME Magazine. “Yes, the Most Profitable Company in the World has come to be one of the most admired names in business not only because of its irresistible products, but also because of the one-of-a-kind retail experience that the company offers its customers.”
“The secret of Apple Stores’ success has a lot to do with their staff as well. Apple specialists are friendly, laid-back and knowledgeable, and the customer service they offer is usually excellent. Since these employees play a part in driving Apple’s world-beating sales, it stands to reason that they should be appropriately compensated for their contribution,” Matthews reports. “Though there is a case to be made that labor isn’t getting its fair share of the capitalist pie these days, it’s tough to look at Apple retail employees and say they are specifically being exploited — especially when their case is compared with those of the millions of workers overseas who work just as hard as their American counterparts, and are just as integral to the success of the company but are forced to work for far less.”
Matthews reports, “The more easily addressable question is whether Apple is investing enough in its employees for its own good. And by reading Apple’s actions in the past few months, it’s clear that the company believes it needs to invest a little more… It is only recently that Apple has seen noteworthy increases in employee unhappiness as measured by their internal surveys, and Apple has responded recently by giving many of its hourly employees significant raises… It is difficult to create a retail-shopping experience that will separate you from the pack if you have underpaid and unhappy employees. And to this point, I don’t think it’s fair to say that Apple has this problem.”
Read more in the full article here.
Related articles:
The unedited Q&A: Apple retail employees respond to NYT’s profile, share life from inside Apple Retail Stores – June 25, 2012
Every Apple Retail Store employee just got a $4-per-hour raise – June 18, 2012
after my MBP buying experience last year, i’m avoiding the apple store next time. it’s like the old circuit city, but nicer
A statement like that deserves details. I’m curious.
——RM
get approved for credit card
buy 13″ MBP to be picked up at UWS store in manhattan
took 4 hours for confirmation email to come in
email said to find some guy who works there
get to store and the 5 people by the door said hes busy and go over there
spend 20 minutes waiting for MBP to be brought up from their vault
meanwhile there is lots of stuff on the counter for the express shoppers who come in off the street and know what they want
next time i’m buying MBP from amazon. even best buy is faster for pickups these days
Last fall, I ordered and picked up an MBA from a local Apple Store quickly and without any hassle. I heard essentially the same story from several friends of mine.
It is possible that your experience is driven by the store location and/or the number of customers in the store. The Apple Store buying experience certainly degrades during the holiday season when people are packed in elbow-to-elbow. The evidence does not lead me to believe that your experience is commonplace, and you should not let one bad experience dictate your future shopping habits.
If you did not do so, you should provide feedback to the Apple Store in question. If they improve their service as a result, it will help lots of people in the future.
The delay with the confirmation email has nothing to with Apple and everything to do with the bank issuing the credit. Apple has no direct involvement in the application and approval of credit.
“Though there is a case to be made that labor isn’t getting its fair share of the capitalist pie these days, it’s tough to look at Apple retail employees and say they are specifically being exploited”
That hits the nail right on the head. It’s not Apple retail employees that have a problem. It’s retail employees that have a problem. And more broadly, labor in general is having a problem. But just like Apple is the leader in technology and the leader in environmentalism, Apple could be a leader in labor relations.
I definitely think Apple retail employees should form a union – not because they’re specifically being exploited, but because that would give Apple a good vehicle to relate better with its employee base, and then those union leaders could go and say, “Yes, Apple does treat us well. We’ve been in negotiations with them, and they have been positive.” It can only be a plus for the company’s image.
As a current victim of union thuggery, I can say that unions are not the answer. The only ones being exploited are the union members themselves. There may have been a time when unions were beneficial, but those days have long since passed.
I don’t know about your specific experience. Maybe you had bad union leadership. But at least in principle, collective bargaining is more effective than individual bargaining. A single person can always be shamed, humiliated, or beaten down for speaking up for himself. But as the saying goes, “the people united can never be defeated.” 🙂
Perhaps I shouldn’t paint all unions the same with a broad brush, but this isn’t my first encounter with one. And in my experience, and from what I’ve heard from first hand accounts, this is more the norm than the exception. And it’s ironic you should mention “shamed, humiliated, or beaten down”, because that’s exactly what these union goons are doing against those who exercised a choice wasn’t in line with the union’s.
Maybe the people should form a collective union. Maybe we can get rid of the the deadwood that litters the political process and again have some say in a Republic.
“I definitely think Apple retail employees should form a union ”
What if they don’t want to buy hookers and blow for mobsters and politicians?
Unions in the USA today are nothing but another protection racket.
-jcr
Perhaps by “protection racket” you mean “keeping the middle class from evaporating.” Go look up the data: the gradually disappearing middle class directly tracks to decline in union membership. That’s a strong correlation. It doesn’t prove causation, but it doesn’t take much logic to point out that dramatically increasing imbalance in pay between the workers and corporate executives just might be caused by those lower-level workers’ inability to establish a strong negotiating position. Especially when you see those executives fail and their poor decisions lead to cuts in wages and jobs for the hard-working folks while the decision-makers who caused the failures keep their bonuses and sky-high salaries.
The fact that some unions aren’t very effective in acting on behalf of their members doesn’t mean that the concept of a group of people banding together to “do business” (provide their labor) is a bad idea. Often unions are prevented from being effective by all kinds of anti-union regulations. Want de-regulation of corporate behavior? I hope you’re also in favor of unleashing unions.
Eric – unions are the problem in the USA, especially the gummint unions. Apple employees are free to work at other stores or other jobs.
That is not a substantive argument. That is a Fox Noise sound bite.
Thats all the neocons on mdn have, talking points and party issued opinions. It is predictable and pathetic.
Cue the commie rants: 3….2….1
There are lots of people looking for work. Retail wages won’t get much better until there is a shortage of high school educated laborers.
My friend worked for Apple Stores for five years when all salaries were frozen. He was promoted four times but never got a raise. When he quit, they hired six people to replace him on the Genius bar. That’s the Apple way. Pay starting salaries only, even if you have to hire more people.
I’ve spoke to several employee’s and they feel quite happy about their salaries. They make more money then any other person at the malls I’ve visited. Even without commission, they pull in on average 4-6 dollars more per hour then other mall counterparts.
If you want doctors pay, you have to become a doctor.
‘ then any other person’. SB ‘than’ any other person.
Where did these people go to school?
Sorry Jean.
Just maybe I was typing to fast and didn’t take the time to correct my iPhone when it changed words for me.
After reading many of the other comments I would like to add that at least Apple gave their employee’s raises. I haven’t had one for three years. Good for them!
I call BS.
I’ve personally known *several* Apple store employees. One I’ve known since he was four years old. He started as one of the rank and file (typically greeting people at the front door), moved up the chain and now is a regional “manager” back at Cupertino. He was telling me the other day that his net worth, a lot (though not all) of which is from Apple stock through company purchase plans and awards, is *well* over $1 million — and he’s not yet 30 years old. Seems some people with the drive and intelligence can actually make a decent living starting out as the greeter to the Apple store!
No one (literally none of the store employees, past and present, that I personally know) has ever mentioned a blanket five year salary freeze for store employees. (I have heard unsubstantiated reports of very localized, temporary freezes.) If it happened, none of the people I know ever heard about it. Also the people that I know that got promoted almost always got a raise — some of those raises were quite significant. Also the people I know have been getting raises for several years even without promotions.
Maybe your friend never personally got a raise because he never moved past OS 9?
Ah, but he’s a manager – did he get those stock options from day 1 as a rank and file employee, or is it only those in management that get those stock options? And while we’re at it, do wages pay enough that you can participate in stock purchase plans and still make ends meet while you’re waiting for your stock portfolio to appreciate? Aha, there’s the kicker.
It’s always been every employee. While it is a bit harder to get a share of stock, those of us who were there in the beginning used 10% of our gross pay to purchase stocks and reaped tens of thousands of dollars as a result. Separating yourself from 10% of your gross is easy so long as you look at it the same way you look at a few beers after work except with the knowledge that you’ll get this back. Profit is made immediately with each share purchased.
Thanks for that piece of information – I wasn’t aware it started from day 1. As for simply looking at it the same way you look at a few beers after work, for some (those of us who don’t drink), it’s not as simple. Costs of living are going higher and higher, the rent is rising (despite how funny he may sound, Jimmy McMillan is right when he says the rent is too damn high), food, transportation costs, etc, are all rising. So it may not be a simple matter of cutting out simple luxuries, but a matter of making ends meet.
I agree with you on the cost of living. The drinking was my observation working with the college crowd for 8 years at an Apple store. Those that didn’t drink came out to and ate. This of course could be regional but that’s also relative.
Not only that, when my wife was an Apple retail employee the stock purchase plan offered the lowest price available within the last 90 days, if I remember correctly. She was buying at $30 when the current price was at $40. And if she’d kept those $30 shares they’d be worth $570 today.
Actually Zeke, it was better than that. The purchase period, when it started, was from the end of June to the end of December and the two prices were the closing price at the beginning and end of the six month period then they took the lower of the two and discounted that 30%. During the fast moving times, and sometimes volatile fluctuations, the profit was phenomenal.
Yes, that sounds correct. I was going from memory and remembering that she was once paying about $30 per share while I was paying $50 or more per share. Point being, I think she was making more on the stock than in wages.
So true. I made more in stocks (2002-2011) that I did my entire 8 years there.
It would be interesting to see how the levels of employee unhappiness correlate to sales in the stores and growth of stores. Are they not opening stores fast enough to cope with demand so that existing stores are being over saturated in terms of what employees can handle.
Why do most people have a problem with the concept that the market determines wages unless some tyrant like government or unions intervene to get employee votes?
I understand your sentiments; however, as Apple profits have increased it seems reasonable that everyone’s income increases proportionally. Most people would prefer something tangible, like more money, rather than the abstract benefit of listing Apple as a former employer on one’s resume. Until the demand for grunt laborers exceeds the supply I think Apple’s compensation to its lowest workers will remain stagnant.
Unless, again, Apple decides to show leadership in the area of labor relations. I’ve said my peace on it, so I’m not going to sound like a broken record, but for those who think labor relations isn’t “profitable,” I would remind you to “think different.” 😀
I’m not disagreeing with you. Loyalty is a two-way street.
I don’t know what that comment is meant to imply, but just to be sure, forming and joining a union would be a great show of loyalty. I mean, which is easier? Forming a union, or defecting and finding another job? Still, I think the former would be better for all in the long run.
There is little loyalty between unions and corporations. You should know that, historically, the relationship is particualry adversarial. However, enlightened minds could forge a common goal and direction.
‘ I’ve said my peace on it.’ Piece, it’s piece Eric. Peace!
Spend some time and think of something substantive to say. Trolling for spelling errors is played out.
If the Market actually did determine wages then employees of the Apple Stores would be making more than bond traders. On average each employee generates nearly half a million dollars in sales for the company. The article (if you read the entire thing and not just the blurb on MDN) notes on that. The problem is that The workforce is contributing more than its receiving. Its not about commission or unions Apple states its a responsible employer and leader in retail but when it comes to compensation they repeatedly compare themselves to others in the market. You can’t lead and follow at the same time.
The problem I have with that analogy is that it is like comparing restaurant servers; if you work for tips, an 8-hour shift in Denny’s, even with a 15-20% tip, is nowhere near what an 8-hour shift at a 5-star NY restaurant, where each meal might be $50 or more, where a Denny’s meal might only be $10.00. Making the argument based on what the selling price of the item itself is, strikes me as very weak. Most people know what the Apple device costs and don’t have to be “sold” on it. If the item were considerable cheaper, would the rate of compensation need to be comparable less since the per employee figure would be less?
What’s with this entitlement mentality? If you don’t like the job (working conditions, pay, benefits, etc.), then go find another job. Nobody is forcing you to work there. It’s not some forced labor camp. There are plenty of people looking for work and they would be happy to have your job.
What’s with all these accusations of an “entitlement mentality?” Seriously, I hear it so often that it’s become some cliche people use when they want to bully people just for wanting a better quality of life. The unions are not the bad guys that Fox Noise wants you to think they are. There’s nothing wrong with people wanting to band together and collectively petition for a better quality of life, and if management were more welcoming of union involvement, maybe they’d have more motivated and less stressed employees, which is better for management, and employees would have more income, which is not just better for them but for the economy as a whole. We’d all be better off if we’d stop buying into this notion that there’s an “entitlement mentality” – if there is, it’s among people like the Koch Brothers, Mitt Romney, and all these 1%-ers who want to accuse the working class of having an entitlement mentality just because they want to collectively bargain!
The problem rarely is the union itself. The problem with unions is almost never the rank and file. It is almost always the union management.
My dad worked for a union back in the day. Every three years his union went on strike like clockwork every time the contract came up for negotiations. Yes, the union paid him a minimal amount for showing up and picketing (way less that what would have been considered “minimum wage” back then). However, he always lost more money during the strike from not working than he made back from the increased wages over the next three years. I did the math several times. When I asked him about it, his explanation was that it was just the way it was and if he wanted to work there he needed to work within the union. He died as a member of that union. They didn’t even send a card.
But guess what? The union bosses collected their salary from the union no matter whether the rank and file were on strike or not. If the strike lasted a couple months or more (which happened a couple times) the bosses were not hit at all yet our family had to take out loans to make ends meet.
Also, on a direct, personal note, many, many years ago I worked as an iron worker (high steel rigging). I was not a member of the union until…. one job site was visited by the regional union boss. He went to the company for which I worked and said, “Yes, you legally can have non union workers working here, but if you do, I’ll have several hundred picketers here tomorrow and for weeks after that making work nearly impossible for you.” Guess what? He caved. We all joined the union. Yes, I got a significant raise as a union member working at union wages. But over 120% of that raise went to union dues! Yes! I took home less as a union iron worker than I did as a non union worker. Benefits of being part of a union? I didn’t see one spec of benefit.
While I have nothing against unions themselves, I have EVERYTHING against union management.
Having never been a part of a union myself, I don’t know how union procedures work, but in principle, the way it should work is those union leaders should have been thrown out on their asses. They are doing a pitiful job of representing the union membership, and they certainly have separated themselves from the people they represent. Honestly, I would think that the union leadership should be right there side by side, reaping the same benefits as the membership (no more, no less) and suffering the same consequences. That, to me, is what a union should be.
Unions are a great leveler – downwards towards mediocrity. I escaped from socialist England and unions long ago. We had to down tools two or three times a day at the union controlled factory where I worked. I’ve been fighting unions ever since. They are the reason that cities across the USA are going broke.
That sounds like a symptom of unions and management failing to work together for everyone’s benefit. And quite frankly, I suspect that’s more a factor of people in management having contempt for labor in general, which the unions were originally formed to combat that contempt. And I’m sure there are exceptions, but in general, this is symptomatic of the 1% in this country showing their contempt for everyone below them, using false phrases like “entitlement mentality” and such as an excuse to bully the working class. If we could come together and actually work together, we might be able to all prosper together. But before that can happen, the 1% needs to get over _their_ entitlement mentality.
Very well said. Union management is often no better than the corporate pigs and their excesses that everyone complains about.
One in the same.
“if management were more welcoming of union involvement, maybe they’d have more motivated and less stressed employees”
But, if companies did the right thing by their employees more often than not, we wouldn’t need unions. In the final analysis, unions aren’t the solution, but since management is being taught “lower wages and I’ll pay you more (or let you keep your job)” there is no driver for doing otherwise other than unions.
But unions could still be a valuable tool for management to communicate with the employees. If union members can elect leaders that truly represent them then management knows who to go to when looking for thought leadership from their employees, and it could be a valuable tool for management who does want to do the right thing by their employees.
But for that, we’d have to stop listening to Fox Noise and acting like unions are already and automatically the bad guys.
If you’re being underpaid, it’s your fault. You agreed to the salary; you could’ve walked away. Ask for more or quit.
“forced to work for far less.” This may be an attempt at brain washing. No one is holding a gun to anyone’s head, “forcing” them to work for Apple. Unless you have a contract, you can quit today! If you do have a contract, don’t renew it! That’s how you quit. Problem solved.
These recent stories are very strange:
Apple seriously audits worker conditions overseas: Lots of articles about how terrible Foxconn is (NYT, etc).
Apple is going to use green energy at it’s data center: Greenpeace goes crazy about Apple’s new data center.
Apple increases retail wages by 25%: Lots of articles about how Apple short-changes employees.
Maybe Apple should do something wrong and they’ll get good press.
So your solution is if you don’t like it quit. You sound like some of the assholes I have worked for in the past.
Great solution if you want a revolving door of new employees.
And preventing that revolving door is another key reason management in all companies, not just Apple, needs to be more labor friendly, and unions, if run right, can provide a good sounding board to make that happen.
All jobs pay the same… just enough to keep you there.
BTW- Commentator Al needs to understand that depressed wages occur everywhere and that they are only one factor in job satisfaction. The market determines wages when capitalism fully exploits the value of human endeavor. since we’ve allowed ourselves to be overwhelmed by “cheap” labor, overall economies will decline as a result. It has nothing to do with tea party know-it-alls, liberals and progressives or dogmatic socialists. Devaluing human endeavors will have vast consequences for the majority of the world’s population.
I think you’ll find that in all Apple stores there’s an exit leading to the great outdoors.
+10.
Some individuals believe it is their birthright to whine and expect unearned advantages. They are an anathema upon those who strive, perform, learn, and grow.
Aside from what everyone seems to consider low pay, Apple employees enjoy a stock purchase plan, 401K entry from day 1 with matching funds, Healthcare benefits for part time employees, $100 monthly transportation allowance and generous discounts on Apple branded products. These benefits aren’t seen in your typical retail store and they hand in hand with an hourly wage above most.
See, this is what irks me.
Whenever a union is making noise, the public is fed the line that they’re paid $65/hr or some such, ignoring that fact that’s actually for those with 10+ years experience, and the actual salary is $35/hour; the rest is pension, health, and other benefits.
And yet here we have Apple workers who generally aren’t complaining about wages, because of these benefits you mentioned, and someone with an axe to grind uses 1) the starting salary, and b) doesn’t include benefits.
Bottom line: every side lies. Because the facts don’t rile up emotions that bypass the logic centers of the brain.
This is quite true except Apple was always upfront about what you were getting and what type of raises to look forward to. There are also very clear career paths from retail to corporate. I’ve had many coworkers move on to working in product development in Cupertino. They have an internal website that list every available job at Apple an what you need to do to work towards them. The people I’ve worked with that griped were those that thought they were automatically owed something for being there after 3 months. They were definitely the minority.
Apple is no different then any other retailer. Pay low and keep the profits high. Just because they are a popular company should mean they should be held to a different standard. That inches they New York Times who seem to be on an Apple bashing spree,
TIME:
” … compared with those of the millions of workers overseas who work just as hard as their American counterparts, and are just as integral to the success of the company but are forced to work for far less.”
They work just as hard, perhaps maybe harder?
Forced to work for far less? Well, no surprise here. Neighbor of NYT.
Obviously the cost of living is different in the U.S. compared with China. Admit I did not read the full article, possibly TIME ran the numbers to prove their reporting.
That aside, agree with several comments that a union at Apple has little to no value in this day and age. The Molly Maguires and robber baron days have long since passed. Workers today have more civil rights than ever. The Apple employees have a right to work there or wherever they choose for a better opportunity.
Union bosses feathering their nests at the expense of hard working union loyalists, puhleeze, not again.
Scott Walker should weigh in … 😉
Well, let’s see, the clueless Apple board compensation committee gives Tim Cook a salary of $900k plus a bonus of $900k for signing up, plus a stock award that was initially valued at $376 million, vesting in 10 years.
thus if he works one more decade at Apple and receives no raises or bonuses in the future and Apple stock values suddenly flatline, his average salary will be $38,590,000 per year.
That’s $105,700 per day assuming he’s on call 24/7 with no vacation.
So are the rank & file underpaid at Apple? Yes. Compared to this absurdity of compensation, absolutely yes. Tim – indeed no human – can never possibly be worth 500 times another person’s salary in the same firm.