Photo: RetailWire
Will new retail associate roles drive Apple’s sales even higher?
In addition to removing “store” from its Apple Store name, Apple is adding three new positions at the store level.
The titles, first reported by MacRumors, are:
- Pro: a top-level sales position reserved for those most familiar with Apple products.
- Creative Pro: a mid-level training and support position. Creative Pros have more in-depth knowledge on some products than Creatives, as well as more familiarity with apps.
- Technical Expert: Freeing up Geniuses to work on more complex issues and repairs, Technical Experts focus on mobile repairs and troubleshooting software and products such as the Apple Watch and Apple TV.
In these areas, the name of its Red Zone Specialist position was also changed to just Specialist and Family Room Specialist to Technical Specialist. According to 9to5Mac, the new job hierarchies on the selling floor from most senior down at the three affected areas are:
- Sales: Pro, Expert, Specialist
- Creative: Creative Lead, Creative Pro, Creative
- Technical: Lead Genius, Genius, Technical Expert/Technical Specialist
In other areas, Apple has renamed the Back-of-House Specialist to Operations Specialist and Inventory Specialist to Operations Pro. At the same time, the company renamed different sections of the store, including changing the “Red Zone” on the selling floor to the “Product Zone” and “Back-of-House” to “Backstage.”
Many reports surmised that the new job titles are designed to further elevate customer service by reducing wait times and better managing traffic flow.
Writing for InvestorPlace, Brad Moon said the seniority recognition within the new titles may help retention. He wrote, “There also is a clear effort to streamline the troubleshooting and repair process, especially in mobile.”
In April, Apple logged its first decline in quarterly revenue in 13 years due to weakness in iPhones. Under the direction of Angela Ahrdents, the stores are also being updated to more of a boutique feel.
An article entitled “Secrets Of The Apple Store” on Thrillest.com pointed to a distinct hierarchy on Apple’s selling floor. Said one ex-Apple employee, “The power dynamic can be a little off-putting if you’re new since the higher-ups like to show off their knowledge any chance they get.”
- Apple Introduces Major Retail Changes, Including New Pro-Level Positions and Credo – MacRumors
- Apple Stores Renovate, Rebrand And Rename Employee Positions – Retail TouchPoints
- Apple shakes up retail workforce with new and renamed job titles, other changes – Apple Insider
- Apple introducing three new positions & poetic credo as part of retail store shake-up – 9to5Mac
- Apple Inc. (AAPL) Unleashes Major Apple Store Shakeup – InvestorPlace
- Why is Apple dropping ‘Store’ from the name of its stores? – RetailWire
Discussion Questions
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS: What do you think is behind Apple’s move to add three new senior positions at store level? Is the system of job hierarchies part of Apple Store’s success? Are you generally in favor of more segmented or simplified roles in retail stores?
Poll
BrainTrust
Paula Rosenblum
Co-founder, RSR Research
Lee Kent
Principal, Your Retail Authority, LLC
Ultimately Apple would benefit by having only highly trained and experienced personnel. It seems to me that a hierarchy of experience simply puts titles in line with a current reality. If the person you are dealing with at Apple does not know the answer they always bring in someone who is more of an expert.
From a brand perspective one would hope that this does not institutionalize representatives with little knowledge. Apple would be wise to invest in more detailed training rather than segmenting the help in this way.
Agreed, Tom. Retailers that are in it to win it align places, processes and people for the greatest productivity of each and add element-based contributions to the customer experience. Anchoring these in place provides shoulders for the next level of brand/customer engagement to stand on.
Regardless of what’s behind it, I think the secret to Apple’s success is not its Geniuses, it’s the products. And in the absence of new and exciting products, improving service levels is probably an okay idea but … Apple will soar when it creates innovative products again.
Apple is an “experience” that goes well beyond people or products. Every iPod, sales associate and advertisement is a representative of their brand. Ultimately, how well these new associates represent that brand will determine the success or failure of the move. I 100 percent agree with Paula that at the center of the Apple experience are their products and their products are in need of new innovation.
I think there are two type of Apple shoppers. People like me, who buy Apple products for their function and features and almost never visit the Apple store, and those who go to the store for the experience of purchase and support. For those who aren’t necessarily using the latest feature, buying an Apple product and knowing they can go to the store and get decent human support is a big differentiator to help with conversion and upsell.
Apple’s success is rooted in knowledgable salespeople who help customers solve problems. Their knowledge inspires trust, and trust results in sales. The new job hierarchies should help Apple retain employees and encourage new employees to strive for higher rankings.
Why buy an iPhone at an Apple store instead of the alternate retailers?
It is the people as well as the place. In this highly consultative sale, the people are fundamental to successful brand differentiation. The ongoing service is also driven by people. They are essential to maintaining RETAIL brand preference. It is what separate product brands from retail brands.
The challenge is to properly train these people so that the experience delights. That is difficult when considering the range of tech-savviness that exists among those buying/servicing a cell phone or other devices.
The tiered structure is like the winding lines at Disney. One is passed from level to level until you reach the proper level of knowledge. I just endured this and it sucks. My phone was on the fritz and wouldn’t accept a charge, and my arduous path upon the Apple hierarchy began.
Parts counters, pharmacies, even fishing tackle counters aren’t much different from purchasing in this category. All can be horribly condescending and drive away those insecure in their knowledge where there is greater sales and profit potential.
Apple must make sure that as expertise rises, the customer orientation rises with it. Otherwise, hello Amazon or Best Buy or AT&T…
Or as we like to say, “retail ain’t for sissies!”
Honestly, the last time I brought in a faulty iPad to an Apple store I had to persuade the “Genius” that it really was bad hardware, rather than software. The guy was so arrogant that we took an extra half hour re-loading the machine, letting it sit. I was just about to leave, dejected, when the machine started its weird behavior with a naked operating system. At this point, given the crowds and overall chaos of the Apple store, I’d just as soon buy from somewhere else.
Quite frankly I have never known the titles of anyone I’ve spoken to in the Apple store. This may make a difference to the way they use their staff but it will not be a game changer to the public, IMHO.
And for my 2 cents.
I’m reminded of Edwards Deming’s observation that 95 percent of improvement programs don’t have any impact. That seems like what we should expect.
This additional hierarchy is concerning. On the one hand, Apple has been able to (without revealing hard hierarchy to shoppers) segregate knowledge so that store shoppers feel a pretty seamless transition to knowledge and service.
But recently I’ve started to be pestered with more and more upselling and have noticed a tension on the floor. That has reduced the Apple experience — enough that I now go into the store and keep my head down to avoid the salespeople until I’m ready. In other words, it’s become like any other store.
My concern is that Apple will see a near-term sales increase, but in the long-term end up hurting their store experience.
Apple is Apple, the brand. Just as Amazon is Amazon, the brand. Do we really care what an associate’s title is as long as they are the one who can assist us with a problem or a product? I don’t think so. But Apple needs to understand those associates have to have a clear understanding of customer service. Taking off from Paula’s comment; the Geniuses are great, but it is the product we want.
The people in Apple’s retail locations are no different than anyone else in their desire to get recognized for their abilities. Adding the three new senior positions allows them to provide upward movement at the store level.
This is not a great move on the part of Apple for a few of reasons:
Of course product has a lot to do with Apple’s success, but IMO, their people are a close second. I once counted the number of associates Apple had on the sales floor (not Genius Bar) of the 5000 square foot store I was in. 32. 32 sales associates in 5000 square feet! Every single customer was being waited on hand and foot — and there were a lot of customers there as usual. Do we really think that there’s NOT a correlation between that number and the $ sales per square foot they put up? Everyone talks about emulating Apple but a high sales cost is rarely mentioned. Time to wake up.
Apple is also smart in that given online’s encroachment on physical retail, store associates will become even more critical going forward. So defining roles so that customers know what they do (not just for operations) is brilliant and necessary all at once. I wouldn’t look for the world domination to end any time soon.
The titles won’t change the fact that customers — regardless of the brand, want, and expect an experience that makes them feel welcomed and important. In the case of Apple devotees, they historically haven given a pass for less than ideal performance. The recent decline in sales has spurred Apple out of complacency. They’re trying to maintain their magic. Revamping their staffing titles may work but in the end its the product that put Apple on the map. It’s the product that will keep them there.
It’ll be interesting what their announcements are at the forthcoming press conference. Their website already posted the news of the iPhone 7. Maybe their staffing changes are needed to address the challenges associated with the iPhone 7 release? Just stay focused on delivering products that capture the imagination and stay ahead — not just trying to stay competitive with Samsung! (I hope they’ve used a different battery supplier!?)
This sounds like an employee retention strategy. In other words, a way to promote employees while still keeping them on the sales floor.
Adding bureaucratic layers to the store will only frustrate their customers and cause dissonance amongst employees. Remember, customers want a seamless omnichannel experience. Apple’s various in-store employee titles create quite the opposite effect— adding more seams to the in-store experience.