Upheaval in Apple Retail Stores?

Gary Allen, writing at IfoAppleStore:

But according to those with close ties to the retail stores, Browett feels the stores are “too bloated” with employees, and he is willing to gamble the stores’ legendary customer experience to gain back a few points of profit margin. Browett’s decision reportedly came despite strongly-worded advice from Retail segment veterans that reducing personnel ahead of the annual Back-to-School promotion and the September introduction of the iPhone 5 could create a customer service catastrophe. Browett disagreed with his staff, and said the chain needs to learn to run “leaner” in all areas, even if the customer experience is compromised. […]

Update: Within 24 hours of this posting, a story by The Wall Street Journal stated that Browett had admitted the personnel changes were a mistake and the changes had been rescinded. However, he denied that any employees had been laid off.

“Even if the customer experience is compromised” are Allen’s words, summarizing what he heard from his sources, not Browett’s. But if they’re accurate, it’s hard to conclude anything other than that Apple made a terrible decision hiring him.

★ Thursday, 16 August 2012