Please note: This is not a misplaced April Fool's joke.
Apple
This bombshell comes from the MacRumors blog, reportedly based on independent sources in several key markets. In the U.K., for example, new hires and trainees are getting the ax en masse while some recent promotions were rolled back. Stateside, part-timers supposedly got their schedules drastically reduced as more responsibility moved over to full-time employees.
This seems strange at first, given that we're in the middle of back-to-school season, where youth-oriented retailers like Apple would normally hire more temps. But it's actually consistent with the avowed customer-service focus of Apple's recently appointed retail chief, John Browett.
Browett came to Apple from British electronics retailer Dixons -- largely a Best Buy
Seen in that light, cutting back temp hours in a crucial gadget-retail season looks like the polar opposite of Circuit City's cardinal sin. When the defunct retailer needed to land a Hail Mary of the highest order to save its bacon, City chose to cut costs instead. Farewell to pricey old-timers who actually knew what they were doing and hello, fresh hires with minimal training and no experience. Months later, the chain declared bankruptcy because consumers would rather get decent service from rival Best Buy. (Ironically, Best Buy may be treading the same disastrous path these days.)
So Browett wants Apple to maintain top-notch customer service from seasoned veterans at crunch time. New hires can be picked up and trained in the offseason. The retail boss has been installed in Cupertino since April and probably needed some time to learn the ropes before doing anything big, so this action could very well be a sign of how things will work from now on.
Browett's predecessor, J.C. Penney
Will this return to Retailing 101 drive Apple to new heights of global expansion, or have the stores lost their magical spark? We've created a premium report on Apple to help you track this important issue -- and many more besides. Grab your copy right now and enjoy a full year of freshly updated analysis as Cupertino adjusts to new leadership and new realities.