NEVER MIND THE DEATH THREATS: An Apple Store worker tells us what it’s really like working for Apple

A veteran Apple retail worker has given Business Insider a lengthy interview about what it is really like working at Apple in the UK. This staffer told us:

• Workers feel the company’s mandatory internal criticism policy makes Apple “like a cult.”
• Apple Store workers routinely face death threats from customers.
• It’s easier to get into Harvard than it is to work at an Apple Store.
• Even if you sell an enterprise contract worth hundreds of thousands, all you will get is £8 an hour and a handshake.
• Apple store workers are paid so little many cannot afford the products they sell and some go into debt to buy them.
• Apple doesn’t promote from within or give bonuses to its best workers.
• What happens if you come to work carrying a Samsung phone.
• Why Apple staff will ask you about your favourite flavour of ice cream.

APAll Apple retail workers wear the famous blue shirt. (Note: None of the images in this article show the specific Apple worker who talked to us.)

Apple is notorious for its secrecy and the length it will go in order to prevent leaks about its products. But fewer people know that the secrecy extends all the way down to its Apple Store retail staff, too. Every salesperson in a blue Apple T-shirt signs a confidentiality agreement from their first day on the job, which bans them from speaking publicly. They can’t even mention it on Facebook, or take a selfie with their Apple T-shirt on.

More seriously, Apple store workers in the UK have historically been stopped from advancing inside the company by internal policies that prevent part-time workers from going full-time, and prevent them from being promoted into management positions, our source says.

Apple pays about £8 per hour in the UK (about $11.70). Our store worker — who asked to remain anonymous in fear that Apple would pursue a legal action based on the confidentiality agreement — says that many store workers cannot afford the products they sell, and receive no sales bonuses even when they sell hundreds of thousands of pounds of equipment per day. Some go into debt while employed by Apple.

There are benefits to working at Apple, however: You and your colleagues are selected because you’re are more educated and more creative than the average retail worker. You get a generous discount on Apple products and a 15% discount on AAPL shares. And you (occasionally) get direct access to Apple CEO Tim Cook.

Lastly, this veteran staffer describes the routine idiosyncrasies of working for Apple. From the intense compulsory internal feedback from other staff to the death threats from irate customers whose devices don’t work.

Apple declined to comment when contacted by Business Insider for comment. Needless to say, the company likely disagrees with much of what this staffer has to say. And this employee is just one of tens of thousands; the opinions expressed here may be neither typical not representative of other Apple store workers. But still …

If you have ever thought of applying to wear the blue T-shirt, you need to read this.

Justin Sullivan/Getty

Business Insider:Why don’t you start by telling me when you worked at Apple.

Apple store worker: I worked at Apple from 2011. I stopped working at Apple in late 2015.

BI: 2011 was the year Steve Jobs died. What was that like?

A: That day was really strange. It was almost like there was a candle-lit vigil for him. We were there for our “Daily Download,” which happens every day. The atmosphere was like “now that Steve’s gone we’re really appreciative that we have these new staff in-store carrying on Steve’s legacy.” Very strange, very cultish.

BI: Did you have any idea who Steve Jobs was or why he was important, back in 2011?

A: Yeah, everyone does. You go through a lot of interviews to get a job at Apple. You’re not expected to know the products inside out, but you are expected to know about Apple and what it stands for. You’re expected to know who Steve Jobs is. So on that day, it was really gloomy. The store was in mourning.

BI: Any specific example of that mourning?

A: Normally when you go into an Apple store everyone is so happy, everything’s great. You get this idea, when you go into an Apple store, what the staff is going to be like. That day it was the complete opposite. Everyone was sad and quiet. The Apple light on the front of every store was half-dimmed.

BI: You can dim the lights on the Apple logo?

A: Yes. It was like having the flag at half-mast. The logo was half-dimmed.

BI: Did the customers know?

A: We had a load of people come in that day to ask “did you hear about Steve?” and of course everyone had heard about Steve. But they just wanted to come in and talk about him and talk about his legacy.

BI: Did anyone come in just wanting an iPhone?

A: Yes. People who didn’t know who Steve Jobs was still came in. But it was a very big deal that day. When you’re doing training at Apple, you don’t necessarily learn about the products, but you’re taught things like “Steve Jobs designed all the staircases in the Apple stores that have stairs. Apple bought a mountain so that all floors in the stores were exactly the same. There’s a way that those tables line up with the tiles on the floor”, all of that, Steve Jobs designed. In the early days, he would inspect the retail stores to make sure those tables lined up and that everything was as it should be.