Apple reviews

1. This was some of the dullest work I've ever done. At the Austin location, most work seems to revolve around helping Apple-associated repair shops do paperwork. I wrote a lot of processes about things like explaining to an Apple keyboard jockey how to replace incorrect serial numbers and how to document returned parts—and so forth—to support these repair shops. 2. It can be impossible to get away from deficient personality types, and that can screw up organizational functioning. I had the misfortune to get saddled with the smuggest, most pedantic—and yet still unfriendly—person I have ever met. The kind of person who can't distinguish between "can" and "may," but who will take a paragraph to critique your use of "who," instead of "whom." The kind of guy who makes his neck tendons stand out from strain when he's trying to make an ordinary point about a slideshow in a meeting. There's no need for that kind of inanity in a clock-punching job. Anyway, he trained me and occupied the adjacent cube during my entire tenure. And because he dug himself in, there was no way to get away from him, even though it was clear to my supervisors and coworkers that this guy was an obstacle, regardless of how hard he worked. Everyone hated him, but there he is, immovable. 3. Apple is Byzantine. More arcane than you'd dare guess, and yet there's not an organizational chart to be found. Ask for one, and you get a weird oral history recounting the succession of lords and ladies in the various sub-departments. But not, say, a hierarchy of departments and brief descriptions of their functions. This makes it unnecessarily difficult to figure out how the organization works. 4. Good luck getting access to the systems you need to do your job! I never got access to some of the systems I was actually writing processes for! Many times! Unbelievable.

Working in customer service for Apple can be incredibly emotionally draining. Apple is known for its world class customer service and as a result, customers have come to expect it. In fact, many of Apple's customers have become incredibly entitled. The majority of the customers are still Mostly decent people, but not a day went by without being insulted, harassed, or yelled at by someone. When they aren't rude, they are needy and expect to have their hand held through all troubleshooting, and you are on strict timelines to keep your calls short. This is mostly to be expected in customer service, but Apple is so busy that you find yourself going through this back to back to back to back with little chance to breath. Scheduling changes every 3 months, and it's left up to chance- like a lottery, unless you are a top performer, in which case you can choose your schedule. Being a top performer isn't easy, and the criteria is strict. Your call handling is monitored, critiqued, and micromanaged down to the tiniest details. You are in a break or after call time for 20 seconds too long, and a manager is checking on you to see what's going on. Some people excel at jobs like this, for the rest of us, it is exhausting. The stress began to take a toll on my mental and physical health. I was an Apple Store employee for 7 years, but I only last for 1 as an Apple care advisor. I almost filed for a medical leave because of how sick and crazy this job was making me, but I found a new job instead. The good news is that Apple has fantastic disability benefits, probably because they know how sick and crazy his job makes people.