How to go from "You're hired!" to "You're jaded!" in 4 months or less

i've been working at the new apple store since it opened and it's been fun and there have been bad days and on sundays we have the worst customers, rude, belligerent, snarky and my response to this guy is, it's retail. deal with it, most people figure if you work in retail they can treat you however they want. we've had all the customers of the same time he's had and we deal with it, by going in the back and having a chuckle about it and accepting that sometimes the customers are going to be special. and you're right about the possibility of him getting fired, particular if he mentioned the store by name.

I do advanced tech support for financial brokers and career agents who sell retirement investments. Believe me, this guys experience with the 'general public' is nothing compared to the verbal abuse I have to endure. Most of my customers are older cheap luddite millionaires who think they are VIP's. So I get a lot of 'I don't have the time for you to fix my spyware infection!', etc. Believe you me, it's not easy to clean 2,500 spyware items off WinXP! The last one I fixed took three days (4 hours per day) to completely get rid of all the spyware so it didn't just re-install itself. (re-installing Windows was not an option, the guy didn't have a good backup strategy. And it would have taken longer to re-install Windows all the apps and restore all the data). When I come home to my Mac's there's always this overwhelming feeling of relief! It's very very very stupid to blog about the company you work for! Unless you want a one way ticket to the unemployment office. Of course, I get paid 20 times better then an Apple retail staff member. People should not get a job working at an Apple store just because they love their Mac's! They should seriously consider what retail work is really like because it's the same working for any retail store. You have to maintain your cool and you need a huge amount of patience as well as the ability to not take the stress with you when you go home. All technical support and sales roles need the same skill. There is high turnover in most help desks because it's a difficult job that needs the right kind of personality to handle it. It's all about not letting the ID10T's get you down! If someone flips out on you, let them rant and rave until they get tired but be sure to listen carefully. Then calmly do your best to address the issues. Most people will respond positively, but if there is nothing you can do; then there is nothing you can do. Always be polite. If you are in tech support, read BOFH now and then (but not too often or you'll become the B in BOFH!). As far as retail? Try to find an outlet for your frustration. If you are stuck at an Apple retail store, be sure to go to school so you can get a better job!

I work in retail also at a pharmacy. While the customers are obviously different from those at an Apple store, the questions are just as stupid. Just the other day I had a customer come in to buy a box of Sudafed 12-hour tablets and ask me how often to take them. Well, every 12 hours like it says on the box. That said, there are a lot of other customers who are just so nice, friendly and knowledgable that I could answer their questions all day long. So I can totally understand where this guy is coming from. A lot of customers just don't think before they ask questions. Just the smallest bit of common sense would save a lot of stupid questions.

Actually this is quite normal for a low-level "bench tech" in a retail store. The job sucks, customers suck, products suck, and he/she is always expected to have the answer--and is the scapegoat otherwise. The unfortunate fact is that stupid people use "computers" and "technology" as their way to avoid rational thinking. These same people frequently use "questions" as a shortcut to thinking. Example: Remember battery powered portable radios--the small ones. Would you ask your sales rep if you could take it into the pool with you? If so, you're just avoiding utilizing your brain. For some reason certain people have turned off their thinking caps when it comes to anything related to new technology and "computers". This is a blessing in disguise though and "technical" people everywhere should count their blessings. Why you ask. Because the guy who fixes the small portable radio makes about 1/3 of what the guy who fixes the IPOD, iMac, i"Device". Lastly, and a special word to the referenced blogger, fixing computers and small devices is about the lowest on the technology totem poll. So before you start knocking your less-than-savvy customers, remember this, you're just another cog and the clock your in is ticking its way towards China.

Whatever. Those are really stupid questions and those people must be idiots.

Customers ARE idiots. They just don't like it when you tell them that.

peterb - 1. I don't know how you get your RSS feeds, but EVERY article is linked to in each feed. In NetNewsWire, for instance, you can click on the title of the post or the link that says "permalink." 2. "more after the jump" is commonly used so that it's clear (particularly in an RSS feed) that there is MORE to the post. We tend to split long posts onto 2 pages so that more fresh content can appear on the home page. 3. I state in the first paragraph WHY I am not linking to the source. But if I found it in the midst of a casual search, anyone can find it. If you really won't sleep tonight without reading this guy's blog tonight, try harder. 4. Have you considered more fiber in your diet? Seriously... lighten up! It's Sunday and tomorrow things will only get worse :)

OK, this is some sort of new weblogs, inc. low point: (1) No link to the topic being discussed in the RSS feed. (2) Annoying and unprofessional use of stupid "after the jump!" meme, which makes no frigging sense on the web but then topping it off: (3) actually NOT LINKING TO THE SOURCE OF THE STORY AT ALL! It's the Unofficial Apple Weblog! Here's some stuff! It might be true! It might be bullshit! You'll never know! thanks, guys. GREAT job.

Now that I've read more of his blog, I will cut the guy a little more slack. He doesn't seem as jaded as that one post made him sound and in other recent posts he does reaffirm that he still enjoys working there, likes his co-workers and likes helping customers. The problem is this is the internet and if I found what he wrote, anyone can find what he wrote and that's "a bad thing." He's young and has demonstrated very bad judgement in venting in public - at least as far as Apple policy is concerned. I DO work in tech support, folks. I have also worked in am Apple-related retail environment, for one of the largest apple resellers and service providers around. My friends and co-workers at the time can regale you with stories of how I'd vent and blow off steam when it seemed like every person that I dealt with that day had rocks for brains. But I didn't leave a public record of my bad days. And having had days like this kid has had (and will have more of, I'm sure) I can tell you that you can and you must adopt a better attitude in order to do that job day in-day out. He calls himself a "wage slave" in other posts and that's the part that will hurt him. The moment you care more about the paycheck than the job, you're doomed. It doesn't matter if you have quotas and attachment rates and goals to meet - because if you genuinely care about the job, you'll be much more successful. Trust me on this one...

nthdegx, have you ever worked retail? The whole point is that the repetition wears you down. Of course nobody starts a job looking to get jaded or annoyed, but it happens. That's just the way retail is these days. You think that you are going in to spread the love of technology and all your boss cares about is making the store's numbers. "Make you sure you push a digital camera or a printer with that mini!" "Don't spend too much time with the customers who know what they are doing." Sure, you could say it's a management problem...and it is. But it's also what retail is...