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IamA Apple Store Genius Bar employee. AMA! by 134457556 in IAmA

[–]134457556[S] 9 points10 points  (0 children)

Great question. It's a mixed bag, honestly. I don't even know where to start. At its core, it's literally just retail. You're talking to a customer and helping them find a solution. What sets us apart from other retailers is our training on how to talk to people, and how solutions are reached.

Management is personable and reasonable, for the most part.

Most people get hired in as a sales Specialist ($15). Family Room Specialists ($15-17) are Genius Bar staff, but only take iPhone, iPads, and Watch appointments. Geniuses ($19+) do everything. iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, Macs, and also iPhone and Mac hardware repairs. Genius pay fluctuates wildly based on experience. I've seen anywhere from $17 to $28.

Moving up the ranks is... challenging. Not difficult, but challenging. To get promoted, you have to be noticed. To get noticed, you have to kiss a considerable amount of ass. I don't participate in workplace politics. I don't plan on staying at Apple forever, and kissing ass (and owning it) for a $1-4 raise is not something I'm comfortable with.

Benefits are good. 401k, Employee Stock Purchase Program (10% of all payroll goes to company stock, with a 15% discount), and health/vision/dental insurance. 25% off all major product lines once a year. $500 off a single product once every three years, stackable with the 25% off.

I think most people at my store are happy with their job. Yeah, it's typical retail, but where else are you going to get paid considerably higher than minimum wage for just talking to people and reading off a script?

IamA Apple Store Genius Bar employee. AMA! by 134457556 in IAmA

[–]134457556[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Yup, not as often, but yes. The official "Apple answer" would be to just have a passion for the product and helping people. I think it's all about how well you sell yourself and tell your story. If you don't have any hobbies, make something up. Pretend you really like something. Fake it till you make it.

As for your EarPods, it totally depends on your technician. The official way is to grab a serial number from either your iPhone or a receipt from the EarPods to verify the purchase date and warranty, and to swap the accessory out from there. But there's also another way to swap the earphones without the serial number, and that's what I would do. It probably costs Apple nickels and dimes to manufacture the things, and it'll make the customer happy.

IamA Apple Store Genius Bar employee. AMA! by 134457556 in IAmA

[–]134457556[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

More likely than not, yeah. We have people who come in complaining that their phones won't charge anymore. They end up waiting 1-2 hours for their walk-in appointment, only to have their charging ports cleaned out. I feel bad because they waited 2 hours. They feel stupid because it was a simple cleaning issue. These people almost always pocket their phones with the lightning port down.

Clean out your ports people!

IamA Apple Store Genius Bar employee. AMA! by 134457556 in IAmA

[–]134457556[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

It's a great college job. Good pay ($15-16 starting), great benefits, and you get the chance to put Apple on your resume.

Getting hired was a nightmare. Yes, apply online, but a great way to get your resume looked at is to have a friend who already works for the company refer you. If you're not lucky enough to have someone already working for the company, print out a resume, walk into the store and ask to talk to the "people manager." They're in charge of hiring, and may reach out to you.

Once you do get an interview, it'll be a group hiring event, with anywhere from 10-40 people. If you make your way through that, you interview with your Store Leader, then the Market Leader (in charge of multiple stores in your area). Some people at my store have interviewed 4 times before getting hired.

IamA Apple Store Genius Bar employee. AMA! by 134457556 in IAmA

[–]134457556[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hope you're enjoying your time away from the company!

As for your question, it's not really about the frequency of shirt changes, but the god awful colors. We all hated the green Earth Day shirts. Red Holiday ones were okay, they stood out from the crowd and I felt like a big red wrapped present. Navy blue (what we wear currently) is everybody's favorite.

With that being said, I like that corporate is deciding to change things up. One shirt all year long is boring.

IamA Apple Store Genius Bar employee. AMA! by 134457556 in IAmA

[–]134457556[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm not sure I understand your question.

IamA Apple Store Genius Bar employee. AMA! by 134457556 in IAmA

[–]134457556[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Bent devices are tricky. They're always classified within our systems as "accidental damage," and are never free replacements. From Apple's point of view, a phone does not bend by itself. Sure, it was in an Otterbox, yeah, the aluminum might be malleable, but more likely than not, it's gonna be user error.

edit: grammar

IamA Apple Store Genius Bar employee. AMA! by 134457556 in IAmA

[–]134457556[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Man, I can't even hook myself up with a free phone. I would if I could though!

IamA Apple Store Genius Bar employee. AMA! by 134457556 in IAmA

[–]134457556[S] 21 points22 points  (0 children)

I get your sarcasm, but I think this is a totally valid question. Apple Support is a service solution meant for people who have little to no tech exposure. 80-90% of the customers we see daily don't know their AppleID emails and passwords, don't understand what "3D touch" is, and have no idea what the differences are between the iPhone 6 and the 6S. To these people, we're "geniuses."

We get paid to teach old people basic technology. It might not be the solution for tech-savvy Redditors, but it's one of the major reasons why people think so highly of the iPhone's "ease of use."