The cone of silence has lifted at Apple just long enough for a golden nugget to slip out and into the public sphere. Those sly cats over at Gizmodo have managed to find a Genius training workbook for Apple Store Geniuses and publish its golden nuggets online for all to see.
The Genius Workbook has role-playing, banned words, and even a list of ways employees should watch for visual cues in customer behavior to provide better support. Whether you love or hate the company, it’s an interesting read. Gizmodo obviously takes the “indoctrination” approach to the manual like a jilted ex-lover would, but if you can stomach it for a little while, there’s plenty of interesting reading.
This is where we recommend you go to read the article on Gizmodo.
I spent some time one summer doing work on the fringes of a Wal-Mart distribution warehouse and nothing irked me more than the company’s complete inability to use words like problem. Instead they insisted that all problems be framed as opportunities. If there was a dispute, management would call it an opportunity. It drove me absolutely crazy all summer long.
Long story short, as much as I love a lot of Apple’s products, I couldn’t work retail for the company. I wouldn’t last a week before I lost my mind.
