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First, as some have suggested, a decorative makeover of Apple's retail stores is the least of Ms. Ahrendts' concerns. The original design, perfected by Steve Jobs, is clean and attractive. For Apple to sink many millions into a project like that would not only be a waste of money but also greatly ignore the real problems related to the workload and compensation of employees — which I'll get to below. So scratch that off the hotlist except for wear-and-tear upgrades.
So let's move on to the important things, in priority order.
1. The number one priority for Ms. Ahrendts is to improve the relationship between Apple management and employees, something that's become increasingly strained. It's all in light of the notion by management, in general these days, that if certain severe steps are taken, the company can extract X percent more productivity from employees and Y percent more revenue.
The problem is that while a company's quest for growth and revenue are inexhaustible, the endurance of human employees is not. Put another way, Apple doesn't need to make Y percent more money from retail stores. Rather, it needs to make Z percent customers happier, more productive with Apple devices and more loyal to the salespeople they encounter in the store.
Where Z >> Y.
Along these lines, a source in a position to know wrote me recently:
… the most important thing she can do is pull back from the 'bottom line' mentality that’s taken over the company in recent years. Apple Stores used to be magical and focused almost exclusively on the customer experience: Break your iPhone? No problem, everyone gets at least one free replacement. Buy your first Mac? Awesome! The salesperson working with you would announce it to the store ('Jenny here just bought her first Mac!') and everyone would stop and freaking applaud.
But now … [the experience] is too sterile and transactional. The stores are so busy, and the staff so overwhelmed, that it’s just 'get in, pay for it, get out.'
Bottom line: improving the customer's experience means improving the salesperson's experience.
2. Employee Compensation. I remember when Apple was the David fighting the Microsoft Goliath. The opportunity to fight the good fight and change the world for the better made it an honor to work for Apple, especially for those of us who bought into the young company in the 1970s.
Today's young people can hardly remember when Apple wasn't a tech giant, and so many aren't stakeholders in the holy war of old. Instead, in many cases I've read about, young employees see an incredibly wealthy tech giant working them to exhaustion. The terrorism of severe sales metrics, overwork, odd hours weigh on even the most loyal, enthusiastic employee. Again, my source wrote:
… she’s got to increase compensation, especially [certain] store specialists. These folks are asked to do a lot, such as one-to-one personal training, repairs, data transfers, answer questions about third party accessories and software, handle abusive customers, and so on. [These people] were getting paid less than the kids across the street folding jeans at The Gap.
If it's an honor to work at Apple, it should be Apple's honor to compensate the employees well. After all, it stands to reason that if modern tech companies want growth in their sales, they should pave with way with growth in their payrolls.
3. Pursue contracts for larger available stores in some locations. It's been noted that, in some locations, it's shoulder to shoulder most of the time. Because of that, my wife refuses to accompany me into the store at Park Meadows Mall, Lone Tree, Colorado, on Saturdays. Apple probably doesn't measure the people who, when they see the crowd, walk away.
Not related to that, but potentially part of the issue is health. While Apple would like to keep the stores looking lively, busy and packed, there are limits to human tolerance to sneezing customers, constant collisions and greasy iPads that have been handled all day long. [They're cleaned each night with a Clorox solution, I am told.] Clean, airy, spacious and the smell of fresh hardwood can be nice.
As evidence of that, when Apple showcases a new store concept in architectural art, the store is always devoid of people, spacious and alluring. That reminds me of an old joke: it's called the demo version. Someday, perhaps, an Apple iWatch will send you an alert. “The air quality is too low and the crowding in this location is too high. Get out.”
Oops.
Wrapping it all up. There's a meme about working for Apple. Apple hires you for your expertise, but doesn't want you to change the company. Here's hoping Ms. Ahrendts can buck the system, do the right things and keep her job.
Next: The tech news debris for the week of April 28
Page 2: The Tech News Debris for the Week of April 28
This week's theme is the acquisition and abuse of power by our modern tech giants.
Let's set the stage. Every company has a deep fear that they could be greatly damaged by the innovative, ingenious efforts of a competitor. Plus, to make good money, there are limits to what they chose invest in with customer service — resulting in customer distaste. As a result some modern tech giants, buckling under the load of supporting the ever increasing products they sell combined with defections, ironically seek to become even larger via mergers. So they can squash the competition.
Today's argument is that if the FCC approves Comcast's acquisition of Time Warner, it should be ready for more of the same as competitors panic. “Media merger mania could swell in wake of Comcast deal.” Some day, Apple could find itself unable to provide the services it wants to thanks to the communication giants it must deal with.
Next, David Goodfriend at the Huffington Post writes, “Americans subsidize professional and collegiate sports through taxpayer-funded sports arenas, public infrastructure, statutory antitrust and tax exemptions, and other regulatory relief at the federal, state, and local levels. Fans therefore have every right to ask: what do we get in return?”
The answer may be: not much if Comcast can continue to acquire Regional Sports Networks. Think about the implications in: “Sports Fans! Comcast Is Coming to Take Away Your Games!” This all fits in with the future ability of the little back Internet boxes, like Apple TV, to deliver sports on decent terms. The situation with Aereo also fits in. If you're an Apple executive trying to wade your way through these TV industry machinations, good luck.
Apparently Hulu forgot about the 1982 law, the Video Privacy Protection Act, or VPPA, and shared its customers viewing history with Facebook. (What a little bit of money won't buy you these days.) See: “Hulu faces trial over sharing users’ video history with Facebook.“
Think about how we'd react if every photo we took on our iPhone were secretly up for sale by Apple.
Google is in hot water as well. AppleInsider writes: “A class-action lawsuit filed against Google on Thursday claims the company used Android's Mobile Application Distribution Agreements (MADA) to extend an alleged monopoly over Internet and mobile search.” The article is: “Google slapped with antitrust suit, accused of stagnating competition with Android MADA contracts.“
Perhaps the time is ripe for Apple to disrupt Google's search business.
As we know, companies are desperate to learn all about you, your habits, needs and preferences, so they can target you with advertising. It's hard to recall when exactly advertisers concluded that they had a right to be in your face and lurking silently via browser technologies, but there it is. Pressure by advertisers has, so far, blocked a solid implementation of Do Not Track in browsers as a result. (You can turn it on, but it doesn't do anything.) And so it's up to groups who try to protect our privacy (and the users) to battle back. “EFF’s new Privacy Badger Chrome extension helps prevent online tracking.“
Finally, as a fitting article title for all these shenanigans, we have, behold, “Facebook Figured Out How To Completely Take Over Your Phone.“
It pays to know what's going on behind all these “services” and arm yourself for combat. Oh, and by the way, your 11 year old daughter wants an Android smartphone and a Facebook account.
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Angela Ahrendts photo via Apple.
Corporate power via Shuttterstock.