Apple Store Employees

MotionMan

Lifer
Jan 11, 2006
17,124
12
81
Is it just a So. Cal. thing, or does it seem like a requirement for all Apple Store Employees to have sleeve tats, odd (pink, green, etc.) colored hair, or both (but, strangely, no facial piercings)?

MotionMan
 

timbob66

Junior Member
Jul 11, 2000
12
0
0
LMAO! Well, here in my very slow to change, somewhat conservative area of the South, most businesses are not very progressive in that sense. Usually the folks that enjoy their piercings, tats, and omni-colored hair are relegated to jobs in the back such as dish washing and telemarketing. Fair? Nope. Just the way it is here.

Still, I laughed out loud at this post.
 

MotionMan

Lifer
Jan 11, 2006
17,124
12
81
LMAO! Well, here in my very slow to change, somewhat conservative area of the South, most businesses are not very progressive in that sense. Usually the folks that enjoy their piercings, tats, and omni-colored hair are relegated to jobs in the back such as dish washing and telemarketing. Fair? Nope. Just the way it is here.

Still, I laughed out loud at this post.

Snagged a lurker!

MotionMan
 

Aikouka

Lifer
Nov 27, 2001
30,383
912
126
I see plenty of "normal" looking people that work at the Apple Store. Even people that are 40+. There were some cuties when I was there this past Friday and I'm not a fan of large tattoos and such... if that tells you anything.
 

MotionMan

Lifer
Jan 11, 2006
17,124
12
81
I see plenty of "normal" looking people that work at the Apple Store. Even people that are 40+. There were some cuties when I was there this past Friday and I'm not a fan of large tattoos and such... if that tells you anything.

Which store.

I was in Sherman Oaks, CA.

MotionMan
 

MotionMan

Lifer
Jan 11, 2006
17,124
12
81
Maybe its a valley thang.

Pasadena's store is pretty regular. Just younger employees than you see at best buy or the like. Not ALL that more knowledgeable though.

The people in the SO store seemed to really know their stuff. I had an appointment, but they were running 35 minutes late, so I got to hear a few of their help sessions, both for computers and iDevices.

Many of the people asked the same stupid questions you hear at Best Buy and Fry's*, but the staff knew how to handle them quite well and could explain the concepts in a way that even the densest client could understand.

The tat and hair-colored employees at the Apple Store run circles around the Russians at Fry's and teenagers at Best Buy.

(*I actually laughed out loud when I overheard a guy with a dead HD ask, "Isn't there just some button you can push to fix that?")

MotionMan
 

Kadarin

Lifer
Nov 23, 2001
44,296
16
81
Here in San Jose we have Apple retail stores at Valley Fair and Oakridge malls (and "The Mothership" store at the Apple campus in Cupertino), and the employees tend to look like regular people, if on the younger side in most (but not all) cases.
 

Pliablemoose

Lifer
Oct 11, 1999
25,195
0
56
The Santa Monica store has a lot of counter culture hipsters and ordinary looking folk.

Damn Apple stores are a genius move, they're packed every time I go to one, when I first heard about them, I thought it was a stupid move and going to lose a ton of money, I was wrong, not just wrong, but really wrong...
 

dmw16

Diamond Member
Nov 12, 2000
7,608
0
0
Out here on the other coast most Apple stores seem to have a mix, but tend to be mostly "normal" people. There are a few gauge-in-ear and/or odd colored hair and/or tattooed people but the average employee is probably mid-20's and normal.

I will also agree that they tend to be so much better informed than your average Best Buy employee.
 

Shadowknight

Diamond Member
May 4, 2001
3,959
3
81
Is it just a So. Cal. thing, or does it seem like a requirement for all Apple Store Employees to have sleeve tats, odd (pink, green, etc.) colored hair, or both (but, strangely, no facial piercings)?

MotionMan

Over here in Charlotte NC, too. I had a guy with dreads and tatoos to "help" me at the Apple Store. By help, i mean he blew me off to flirt with a girl five feet away from me after occasionally glancing at me, when I was trying to see if I could have someone help me with some issues with my Macbook Air, but the on-line genius bar scheduling screwed up.
 

dmw16

Diamond Member
Nov 12, 2000
7,608
0
0
Over here in Charlotte NC, too. I had a guy with dreads and tatoos to "help" me at the Apple Store. By help, i mean he blew me off to flirt with a girl five feet away from me after occasionally glancing at me, when I was trying to see if I could have someone help me with some issues with my Macbook Air, but the on-line genius bar scheduling screwed up.

If the girl was hot I'd probably blow off an AT member with a broken computer too :D
 

Sentrosi2121

Platinum Member
Aug 8, 2004
2,567
2
81
Here in Albany, NY it seems there is a big mix between the business culture employees and those that have drunk the Jobs iKool-Aid and embraced the iApple Culture. You ask a question like, "have you had others come into this store with the same problem I have" and you're met with either a very business like response or an "OMG, someone is questioning HIS WILL!" glance.

I went in with a faulty iPhone4 top button issue and asked about it. The Jobs Kool-Aid girl almost had the iApple police sequester me for de-briefing. I go in another time to ask about a reception problem, and the business culture woman gave me a very legaleze answer, but at least she didn't demonfy me.

Honestly, I was fully expecting the "WE HAVE FOUND A NON-BELIEVER, MAY WE BURN HIM?" chant start in the store for my button issue.
 

Redfraggle

Platinum Member
Jan 19, 2009
2,413
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They have generally seemed to be average people when I've seen. Whole Foods, however, seems like it has some unwritten Hipster Hiring Policy in my area.

Facial piercings are often not allowed, even in the most progressive workplaces. It does seem silly though if you allow unnatural hair colors, visible ink, and the like.
 

MotionMan

Lifer
Jan 11, 2006
17,124
12
81
They have generally seemed to be average people when I've seen. Whole Foods, however, seems like it has some unwritten Hipster Hiring Policy in my area.

Facial piercings are often not allowed, even in the most progressive workplaces. It does seem silly though if you allow unnatural hair colors, visible ink, and the like.

Not just some visible ink. I saw absolute full sleeves.

MotionMan
 

Redfraggle

Platinum Member
Jan 19, 2009
2,413
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Not just some visible ink. I saw absolute full sleeves.

MotionMan

Visible ink is not an amount. If they allow visible ink (some places won't), then I don't think they can rightly say how much ink, it's too subjective. Full sleeves and full back pieces and full leg work is not that uncommon now.

Given that Apple has a trendy reputation, it wouldn't surprise me to see trendy people in their stores. It's consistent with the rest of their image. That's mostly what the stores are after all -- Apple's public face.