“Apple Inc.’s retail boss told employees that the company made mistakes with its staffing levels, leading to news reports that the company was cutting employees, according to two people familiar with the matter,” Ian Sherr reports for Dow Jones.
“In a communication with store leadership teams, senior vice president of retail, John Browett, who took the reins of Apple’s retail stores in April, said that the company had been trying a new staffing formula for its retail stores, leading some employees to see their hourly shifts cut and retail locations to be understaffed,” Sherr reports. “This happened for a few weeks before the company decided to revert to its older system, hoping to rectify the problem.”
Sherr reports, “He instructed leadership teams to tell employees, “We messed up,” according to two people who were aware of the communication, which also stressed that while shift schedules were affected, no one was laid off. He also wanted employees to know that it was hiring new staff, these people said. Apple acknowledged the retail staffing changes. ‘Making these changes was a mistake and the changes are being reversed,’ said Kristin Huguet, an Apple spokeswoman. ‘Our employees are our most important asset and the ones who provide the world-class service our customers deserve.'”
Read more in the full article here.
Gary Allen reports for ifoAppleStore, “A series of recent administrative moves to reduce the number of Apple retail store employees is being attributed to Sr. VP Retail John Browett, who is hoping to increase the chain’s contribution to company profit. The staff reductions seem to be in direct contradiction to an increasing number of visitors to the stores, and the need to maintain Apple’s global reputation for excellent customer service. According to those with close ties to the retail stores, Browett feels the stores are ‘too bloated’ with employees, and he is willing to gamble the stores’ legendary customer experience to gain back a few points of profit margin.”
“Browett’s decision reportedly came despite strongly-worded advice from Retail segment veterans that reducing personnel ahead of the annual Back-to-School promotion and the September introduction of the iPhone 5 could create a customer service catastrophe,” Allen reports. “Browett disagreed with his staff, and said the chain needs to learn to run ‘leaner’ in all areas, even if the customer experience is compromised.”
Allen reports, “Other related rumors say Apple is quietly dropping the free workshops that retail stores have offered since Day 1, and that staffers are instead pointing customers to the $99 One to One training service. Management is also pushing employees to sell more iPhones with carrier contracts, hoping to increase revenues.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Bozo Alert, Mr. Cook! You might want to keep a closer eye on the new guy with the shitastic Dixons “ideas,” okay?
In fact, you might want to require final approval on any changes he dreams up unless or until he finally gets it, if he ever does. If he doesn’t grasp the Apple way within the next, oh, say, thirty days, CUT HIM LOOSE. iPhone 5 launch will be here before you know it.
This is precisely the kind of stupid shit we worry about seeping into the post-Steve Apple. This was Tim Cook’s first big hire. Not looking good, Tim. This is not delighting customers. Shareholders should be concerned.
In fact, Apple shareholders might want to email CEO Tim Cook and ask him if this is true and, if so, what exactly he’s doing about it: tcook@apple.com
Note to John Browett: Watch it, buddy. You’re not in Dixons anymore. We have zero qualms with dedicating our lives to making yours miserable until you’re out of Apple Inc. and at Microsoft Retail where you belong. If it ain’t broke, don’t “fix” it, capice?
Related articles:
Apple retail chief Browett to get $56 million golden hello – May 27, 2012
Apple grants 100,000 shares to new retail head John Browett – April 25, 2012
Tim Cook emails UK customer: John Browett’s role isn’t to bring Dixons to Apple Retail – February 1, 2012
Eyebrows raised over Apple’s hiring of Dixons CEO to run Apple Retail Stores – January 31, 2012
Apple hires Dixons CEO John Browett as new retail chief – January 31, 2012
Apple Inc.: The most profitable retailer in America – August 15, 2012
Apple’s retail juggernaut is magical and revolutionary in its own right – May 25, 2011
Apple Retail Stores hit 10th anniversary (with video of Steve Jobs’ tour of 1st store) – May 18, 2011
Apple Store: ‘The best damn retail experience in America!’ – December 2, 2010
Apple’s retail stores generate huge sales – December 27, 2007
Piper Jaffray finds ‘gravitational pull’ at Apple Retail Stores – November 26, 2007
Apple thinks different with cash register-less retail stores that bring in billions – November 23, 2007
Apple makes retail seem ridiculously easy – May 29, 2007
How Apple’s Steve Jobs is revolutionizing Manhattan retail – May 08, 2007
Fortune: Apple Inc. is America’s best retailer – March 08, 2007
How Apple Retail Stores beat Best Buy, Neiman Marcus, and Tiffany – December 19, 2006
Browlett (and Cook) would do well to remember whose hand that mountain of profit was in before they plopped down on top of it. If they don’t understand that Apple is ALL about the customer experience and that that singularly unique business strategy is the direct AND PROPORTIONATE cause of Apple’s huge success, then they should be shown the door and move along to any one of their clueless competitors.
+2000 bamaNana — both to the guillotine
Apple now has it’s own Steve Ballmer, John Bowett.
well seems the staff whom hired
john might take so credit here too
In Tim Cook’s defense, Steve Jobs hired some bozos too. It’s the decisiveness with which he cut them loose that made him Steve Jobs.
My email:
Mr. Cook,
I was very concerned with the initial hire of John Browett, as Dixons is well-known for a lack of service. The recent news that he ignored the advice of veteran staff members in order to cut hours during back to school is cause for alarm.
Mr. Cook, one of the most important things to realize about retail is that it is an incredibly incestuous field. Most career retail managers, VPs, and executives have an extraordinarily narrow view of what constitutes an effective, successful retail organization. Comments from employees referring to Apple Retail as GAPple- from a tendency to hire store management from GAP- is reflective of the realities of retail. Bad practices and mismanagement are endemic and wide-spread in retail.
Focus on profits and metrics over customer service and employees (Apple’s “greatest asset”) is one of the most hideous and ineffective diseases in all of retail. Mr. Browett exhibited that pattern of thinking at Dixons and is now showing it at Apple.
I urge you to begin a new search for an Apple Retail executive and to strongly consider promoting from within the upper echelon of Apple Retail. Retail in general, and Apple Retail in specific, require new ways of thinking to grow and serve customers. Ron Johnson was, in partnership with the executive team, incredibly effective at this. You need true, visionary leadership at Apple Retail, someone who is willing to try new things and take chances that may not add to the bottom line. The narrow view that Mr. Browett possesses serves neither Apple, Apple Retail, nor your customers.
i thought apple listens to its customers
cook avoided your email
Well, Ron Johnson may be available again in another quarter or two.
I know a retail genius at JP Penneys that might need a job soon.
Dear John,
We’re. Watching. You.
~ Us
Sorry, but we warned you.
Dixons over here = shite, generally. The only big change in the last three years was when they copied the Apple Store layout . . . but with far fewer assistants . . . none of which (as ever) knew jack.
It’s nice he got shares worth many, many millions just for rolling up, though, isn’t it? When Apple said he was ‘head and shoulders’ above the other candidates, were they retail midgets? Or did Browett just talk the talk better.
I worry that that ‘talk’ was ‘marketing-ese’.
Remember what Steve said about what happens to a company when it gets run by ‘the marketing guy’?
He needs to call or email every detractor that he has created in the past few weeks. He has put his staff through hell. Unforgivable.
PS: If you read what he’s apparently said about ‘wanting to increase retail’s contribution’, you will see that he is trying to ’empire build’ . . . but his own, rather than Apple’s. He’s trying to use the retail sector to big himself up.
Precisely how much profit does Apple actually *need* to make? The stores are already ridiculously profitable per square foot. Apple is all about the experience and building loyalty, not squeezing margins.
As warned, the bloke’s a dick.
He clearly just doesn’t get it.
Sack him.
Anyone who has ever experienced Dixons will know this guy is a fucking joke.
No idea how on earth he made VP at Apple.
It’s not a good sign.
one strike and he should be gone
no questions
ditch him now
First EPEAT now this. I am losing patience and respect for Cook by the day. What about the bonehead statement “double down on product secrecy,” which turns out to be a joke?
Cook, I hope you remember that you can take Browett out of the PC gutter, but you cannot take the PC gutter out of him.
Btw, my sources have told me Browett is not only an Apple executive, but also Cook’s golden boy. It was Cook who overruled other executives’ objections in the room and personally approved Browett’s staff cutting proposal.
agreed
cook promised a mind blowing year
i didnt think it was meant this way
apple just jumped the shark
This type of creep is what I worry about as an Apple shareholder. Not the man as a creep, but creeping little changes that gradually reduce the superb experience we have with Apple products. Whether it’s understaffing, or some little change to the way we use Macs (Save as …. ?) , I would hate to see Apple diminished in anyway. Especially by some newbie who wants to eke out a little more profit to pad his resume, for the most profitable and admired company in the world.
blame cook, he hired this dick
Oh my gosh. He’s trying to create a ‘Best Buy’ atmosphere – less head count, and I’m sure he would be happy with less intelligent head count too (he can pay them less); and pushing services ($99 one-to-one) as well as service carrier contracts. Oh my gosh. What a MBA carrying dick. I have zero tolerance for greedy a-holes like this. Look at your cash pile for Apple. It didn’t get there by providing crappy products and crappy customer service.
Unbelievable… he has to try and make his mark. ..
“I have my own theory about why the decline happens at companies like IBM or Microsoft. The company does a great job, innovates and becomes a monopoly or close to it in some field, and then the quality of the product becomes less important. The product starts valuing the great salesmen, because they’re the ones who can move the needle on revenues, not the product engineers and designers. So the salespeople end up running the company.” – Steve Jobs
Here we go another “suit guy” with financial charts who probably knows noting about products, customers, or vision. Apple would be much better off promoting from within to keep the culture/vision in tact. Their model is successful and generating record profits so why mess with it? This is problem with external CEO hires. They have to change things and make some sort of mark even if does not
many common sense.
I’m British.
I don’t want Browett back.
Apple should carry on hiring him.
Apple should lock Browett in a dark room in Apple’s dungeons.
Apple should NEVER let him out unless he agrees to work for Microsoft.
Please, you can have Julian Assange in compensation!