Page 20 - The Apple Experience

When the Apple Store celebrated its tenth

anniversary, the majority of media articles credited its success to products and

design, but as Ron Johnson has pointed out, those are only a small piece of
the experience puzzle. If your employees are not trained, personable, and

passionate about the brand, you’ll have no chance of building a company that

delivers an Apple quality experience.

Sadly, many companies rank low on the customer satisfaction index

because their employees are discouraged, disillusioned, and uninspired.

Gallup has found that 71 percent of employees in the United States are “not

engaged” or worse, “actively disengaged and emotionally disconnected” from
their workplaces. This is a shocking observation. Seventy percent of
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employees are emotionally disconnected. That means they simply don’t care

about their job and their company. No wonder customer service is the pits.

Offering more perks like free soda in the vending machine or free-pizza

Friday won’t change the culture. People want to be inspired. They want to

work toward a higher purpose and to feel good about themselves and the

brands they work for.
I once met a college student, Lynda, whose former boyfriend was a

changed man after only two months at the Apple Store. She told me that if

he had exhibited the same traits when they were dating, the two would still

be together!

“What was different about him?” I asked Lynda. She said, “He was more

confident. He could talk to people easier. He was less judgmental. He was a

better listener. It sounds cliché, but he was the guy who I knew he was

capable of becoming!”

Apple touches the lives of its customers only after touching its employees.
“Why do you like working here?” I once asked an enthusiastic Apple