Working at Apple

Kotek Besar

Just a quickie..

I'm thinking of moving to Cork and working for Apple, as a Technical Support agent. Does anyone know what the starting salary is? And what they're like to work for?

Many thanks.

suppafly

had a mate that work there before. I think the start salary is around 20k. AFAIK they do shift work. 8-8 and i think you can work yur hrs in just 3 days if u want (3 12 hr shifts) or normal. Heard this from another mate that when for an interview recently. Apparently they allow free food while yur working too

Kotek Besar

Wow, thanks suppafly, sounds good.

Anyone know if they're recruiting right now?

craichoe

benifa wrote:

Wow, thanks suppafly, sounds good.

Anyone know if they're recruiting right now?

Starting salary is 17,500
You work bank holidays as normal days
No free food (don't know where that came from)
Full VHI (Plan
27% Discount on Products (1 per year)

Shifts are
8 - 4.30
9.30 - 6
11.30 - 8

Their only really looking for people with a language + english
i.e. French, German, Italian, Danish, Dutch, with norwegain being the smallest team.

Be prepared for the normal call center xyz targets rubbish

Personally i wouldn't touch them with a barge pole again.

babyguinnessfan

Hi benifa,

I worked for Apple a few years ago, and so things may have changed a little since...this is what I can tell you though:

1. They are extremely strict on punctuality - i.e. if you punch in say at 8.03 a.m. instead of 8.00 a.m. you are given a warning - up until 3 warnings I think.

2. You get 2 x 15 min breaks and 30 mins for lunch. Only thing is the canteen is a bit of a walk from the call centre area and if there is a queue for food you find yourself inhaling your lunch and legging it back to your desk - not v. relaxing!

3. Constantly answering the phone and saying the same things/ solving the same problems 40 (call average) times a day really really really gets on your t*ts.

4. There is the whole American ethos as well - team meetings every second minute etc. etc. We once got an email after some major sales thingy telling us to "high-five your colleagues in the corridor!!". Not joking. Thing is, some of the people there nearly would - be prepared for a lot of Steve Jobs idolisation.

5. On the UP side however there is one hell of a social life. There is always something on (even if a lot of it is going to peoples' leaving parties).

6. Great place to meet people from all kinds of different backgrounds.

7. Free parking.

8. When I worked there, if you moved from overseas they gave you a relocation package and you could use an allocated phone to ring home free.

There you go - my bits and pieces to let you know what the place is really like!

All the best with whatever you end up doing.

craichoe

suppafly wrote: »

had a mate that work there before. I think the start salary is around 20k. AFAIK they do shift work. 8-8 and i think you can work yur hrs in just 3 days if u want (3 12 hr shifts) or normal. Heard this from another mate that when for an interview recently. Apparently they allow free food while yur working too

Your mate was working in the manufacturing plant on contract. Not in the CallCenter

radioactiveman

craichoe wrote: »

Starting salary is 17,500

....
Be prepared for the normal call center xyz targets rubbish

Personally i wouldn't touch them with a barge pole again.

+1 - I haven't worked for Apple but I did apply for a job there 5 odd years ago and the starting salary back then was around 19-20k. I then got a job in a different company closer to home (it was also tech. support in an apparently respectable company) but it was Not a long term option at all.
The punctuality stuff was similar - 30 minutes to scoff your lunch, I remember my supervisor ticking me off after a break saying "come on come on! 15 seconds late!"

you are also constantly talking all day. I had slight problems with my voice for a good while after I left.
I don't know what apple is like but if it's like most call centres, their number one priority (I cannot stress this enough) is to answer as many calls as possible and if that means the destruction of your health, tough shít.
Only go for it if you have a definite plan to move on to something else. Otherwise there is a risk of finding yourself in the job 1 year down the line, looking for something else and not knowing what to do. Only so many people can get promoted to upper level support so it is risky banking on that (and even that may not be without its own stress).

The fact that their wages haven't changed a lot means they could have a high turnover and they may be reasoning to themselves "Well if we pay more they might leave anyway, so why pay more if we are getting by?"
- remember a call centre doesn't produce profit, it's an expense that they can't avoid.

craichoe

radioactiveman wrote: »

+1 - I haven't worked for Apple but I did apply for a job there 5 odd years ago and the starting salary back then was around 19-20k. I then got a job in a different company closer to home (it was also tech. support in an apparently respectable company) but it was Not a long term option at all.
The punctuality stuff was similar - 30 minutes to scoff your lunch, I remember my supervisor ticking me off after a break saying "come on come on! 15 seconds late!"

you are also constantly talking all day. I had slight problems with my voice for a good while after I left.
I don't know what apple is like but if it's like most call centres, their number one priority (I cannot stress this enough) is to answer as many calls as possible and if that means the destruction of your health, tough shít.
Only go for it if you have a definite plan to move on to something else. Otherwise there is a risk of finding yourself in the job 1 year down the line, looking for something else and not knowing what to do. Only so many people can get promoted to upper level support so it is risky banking on that (and even that may not be without its own stress).

The fact that their wages haven't changed a lot means they could have a high turnover and they may be reasoning to themselves "Well if we pay more they might leave anyway, so why pay more if we are getting by?"
- remember a call centre doesn't produce profit, it's an expense that they can't avoid.

Aye, when i was there the attrition rate was 25%, i.e. 25% of the workforce in the callcenter left after a year.

Its not a proper job, its an intermediate thing in between jobs, college, travelling and such.

In Tech Support in apple it wasnt as simple as as many calls as you can.

IF your calls were too short it was a problem.
IF they were too long it was a problem
If you didnt mention an AppleCare protection plan and sell a certain amount, it wasnt a target but it was "frowned" upon.
If you spent too long in the toilet (Aux 0) its a problem and i mean 1 or 2 minutes over the 10 minutes a day your allowed.
If you were over 2 minutes over lunch (Aux 5) i.e. 32 minutes it was a discussion.
If your into work at 9 and you start at 9, your late. Your expected to be early and be at your desk at 9 and waiting for work (I had a major problem with this since it took a good while to get from the front door to my seat)


Its crazy, wait till you have a ACR coach sit down with you. You hit all your targets and theres still a problem !

Its like being in soviet russia !

radioactiveman

yeah another thing is if you're kept on a call after your shift ends - could be 15 minutes extra but you'll never hear about that;)
The attrition rate in the place I was, was nearer 60% but that was over 18 months or so..

craichoe

Yeah ... and bank holidays are just normal work days !

Maybe we should turn it into the callcenter recovery thread

babyguinnessfan

Oh God yeah - had forgotten about those Aux codes!! God help you if you had *ahem* a 'bowel problem' on a certain day - you would nearly have to tell your team manager. Just. not. right.
I remember bumping into my old team manager a couple of months after I left Apple in town one night. I was after a few jars and was all too delighted to tell him that I was sooo happy I left and that he should think about leaving too. Turns out the guys standing with him were American Apple head honchos...I was given the evils by the TM big time:D Good times...

geffkane

bad memories. was there about two years ago and what I remember the most was the disrespect shown to you as a person. It is all the little Hitlers that get promoted to Team Managers and they are encouraged to go on their pathetic little power trips. attrition was very high (certainly far higher than the 25% previously mentioned) but as long as they can replace people I don't think they care too much. burn them out and throw them away attitude. It is noteworthy too that Apple never advertise in their own name. They use agencies to hide the turnover rate.