As if you needed any more proof that Apple is a cult, try this: Apple Store employees, who hock luxury computing goods all day, make nothing. But they still do it because Apple says it’s noble work.The New York Times just kicked Apple’s ass again. Following up its report on the dismal labor conditions in the Chinese factories where Apple’s magical gizmos are made, the grey lady offers us a lengthy look at the decidedly less dismal, but still kind of shitty labor conditions in the U.S. stores where Apple’s magical gizmos are sold.The report isn’t revelatory, but it is revealing. Here’s the gist:A lot of employees and ex-employees that talked with the Times really hated working at Apple Stores. The average full-time Apple employee makes $11.62 an hour, like $23,000 a year, despite bringing in an average of $473,000 in revenue for the company. They make no commission on sales and the average employee quits after two and a half years. Many are college-educated and work long hours in stressful, frenzied conditions, even though there’s little to no room for advancement for the vast majority of them.But they endure it while they can for one shining reason above all: They love Apple!Some select, examples of weird, effusive Apple love, and the company’s canny efforts to exploit it:That marketing squad has pulled off a double whammy, it seems — it’s boosted sales and brought down labor costs. Such is the power of Apple’s mighty brand management that its workers are in such awe of the products they’re selling; so much so that they’re will to suffer an endless stream of shit for them. Someone needs to get these employees a copy of No Logo, stat—and perhaps they should even consider, gasp!, organizing. Too bad there’s no iPhone app for that, and there never will be.
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- One manager said it was common for people offered jobs to burst into tears.
- “The phrase that trainees hear time and again, which echoes once they arrive at the stores, is "enriching people's lives." The idea is to instill in employees the notion that they are doing something far grander than just selling or fixing products. If there is a secret to Apple's sauce, this is it: the company ennobles employees. It understands that a lot of people will forgo money if they have a sense of higher purpose.”
- "When you're working for Apple you feel like you're working for this greater good," says a former salesman who asked for anonymity because he didn't want to draw attention to himself. "That's why they don't have a revolution on their hands."
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- There was never a shortage of résumés," he said. "People will always want to work for Apple."
Much has already been made of the cult of Apple, the adulation heaped on Steve Jobs and his iPhones and MacBooks. But thus far, I’d assumed that the consumer cult’s allegiance ended at slavishly upgrading to its latest product lines and interminably discussing how cool iPads are in public places. Nope. It turns out people are actually willing to take crappier jobs, forego commissions, and make less money, just so they can bask in the glow of the Apple logo at work.And it isn’t the employees’ faults; I can see how, in that aimless post-collegiate haze, hocking Apple gear can seem like a cool, low-impact and impermanent gig. Or why a hard-working tech fan would see a job at Apple as a window of opportunity. But savvy upper management has recognized this latent devotion and actively works to manipulate it — “enriching people’s lives” my ass. You’re selling laptops. You’re helping rich people locate a wine bar downtown more efficiently. Furthermore, by allowing the stores to seem unconventionally hip and relaxed to customers — people can film music videos and goof around here! See?
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