[Nergol]

Apple’s Retail Army, Long on Loyalty but Short on Pay

Doesn't make Apple look very good.

[mduell]

What's the problem here? Unless they have excess turnover they're smart to use their hip image to attract and retain staff at lower rates.

Wages are sticky and very painful to ratchet down.

[olePigeon]

How is it lower rates? It's $11.25/hour. Current minimum wage is $7.25/hour. I made only $8/hour when I had my first job at Target. I would have been ecstatic to be making $11.25/hour while peddling Apple goods. Not to mention they get a 25% discount, and if you have a full-time position, you get access to benefits.

Seems fine to me. It's a retail job. What were they expecting?

[Shaddim]

When I wander in to my local store I see college kids playing with the products and goofing off. Under paid? Heh.

[ghporter]

When I get a chance to wander into my nearest Apple Store, it's a weekend at a Major Mall; it's full of customers, and the folks in the store are pretty much working hard throughout the place. I do not see the Genius Bar folks running around like the sales people, but I see a line to see them, even with the appointment system.

Granted, this Major Mall is one of the places the swank come to be seen, and we get a lot of traffic from out of town (because it's a Major Mall with all sorts of cool stuff), but the ONLY other store here in town is also pretty much packed on weekends. I seldom get a chance to check out an Apple Store during the week, so maybe it's different then.

[Shaddim]

Ours is in a mall too but I don't go to there on the weekends or in the evenings, it's usually late morning or early afternoon.

[subego]

The two Chicago stores are usually pretty busy.

I've never seen an employee goofing around. The closest is a group of three talking to each other.

[ort888]

I can't wait for the next NY Times investigative report on how dropping Apple products on your toes can lead to broken bones.

[andi*pandi]

$11.25 is pretty good, especially for retail. Perhaps the genius or techs should be making more, but for a sales monkey quit whining. I'm sure you're making more than the kids at FoxConn who make the iPhone.

[finboy]

Originally Posted by ghporter 

Granted, this Major Mall is one of the places the swank come to be seen, and we get a lot of traffic from out of town (because it's a Major Mall with all sorts of cool stuff), but the ONLY other store here in town is also pretty much packed on weekends. I seldom get a chance to check out an Apple Store during the week, so maybe it's different then.

I get to the Galleria (West Houston) or Bay Brook (South Houston) stores about once a month during the middle of the day, and they're always packed. I can't imagine what they're like on weekends.

The lack of monetary pay should tell people to work somewhere else. There are enough fanboys out there that would take the job in a heartbeat, and that keeps the hourly rates down.