NEWS: Looking a Gift iPhone in the Mouth

GEEK: Looking a Gift iPhone in the Mouth

It's not easy being a genius. Adoring fans and millions of dollars in sponsorships notwithstanding, it's lonely at the top of the intellectual heap. That said, it must be even more difficult being a certified genius at the Apple store genius bar. Forced to work that beautiful mind of yours in the presence of the troglodytes over at Charlotte Russe across the mall walkway, and dealing with the likes of me bursting into tears all day all over the genius bar counter when you have to explain why that deep-fried hard drive is unsalvageable, and all for a fraction of the bank you thought you'd be making when you first registered as a computer science major -- it must start to get under a guy's skin after a while.

Steve Jobs knows this (for, indeed, he knows all), which is why he thinks up little perks to make the job more worthwhile. A free iPod shuffle, for instance. Or, more recently, a free iPhone for every full- and part-time employee having worked for the company more than a year. Small tokens of appreciation, just to show he cares. (And maybe also to make sure that his army of hard workers is the hippest white-earphoned army on the block, but hey, collateral.) From the point of view of an outsider such as myself, it's a pretty sweet deal for a mall job where you're basically lucky if you get a $10 gift certificate to your own store from your boss for Christmas.

But for some, it isn't enough. Should such a pacifier, even one as lovely and shiny as an iPhone, be enough to placate the superior brains of an Apple Genius? Not hardly, but an extra hundred bucks never hurt anyone, so when Apple issued a cool Benjamin to all early adopters to make up for the recent holiday-anticipatory price shift, a few extra-special Apple subordinates decided to put that intellect to the test: could they outsmart their employer, walking off with a hundred dollar rebate for a device they never paid for in the first place? Could they?

Well, as Ars Technica reports: dudes, seriously?

Eight. Hundred. Employees. Great minds think alike, yes/no? That's the thing about little rebates you think such a huge company will never notice -- when everyone cashes in on them, they add up fast. Even for Apple, eighty thousand dollars is a noticeable wad of cash. What sucks is that, even as the story breaks, a few poor saps might not even know yet.

(So, you know, if any of this sounds like you, you might want to batten down the hatches and dust off that resumé. Just an idea.)

Yeah, I'll be the first to admit that working in retail sucks, and it's really easy to get into the mindset of alleviating the stress with the odd freebie here or there, but then again most jobs don't give you utterly delicious brand-new cell phones just for showing up. I also submit for your approval -- and I think this is an important point -- that if you're going to pull a fast one, it helps to be smarter than the guy you're pulling a fast one on. I realize you're all some of the brightest special snowflakes in the box, but let's face it, you're not exactly, oh, I don't know, Steve Jobs.

Damn, guys. Maybe you're a little less genius than you thought.



_DictionaryGirl_'s boss gave her five-dollar chocolate-scented lotion for Christmas last year. It smelled like ass. Not quite a cell phone, innit?

Hm. Where I work, we only got a bottle of Cognac.

Apple do seem disturbingly generous.

I will trade you that bottle of Cognac for my bottle of chocolate body lotion.

(Oh and hey, happy birthday!)

Hey, they gotta pay that AT&T bill somehow!

'fraid the shipping costs would be excessive.

That, and I don't trust the postal services with glass.

(Thanks! )

I could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure Apple retail employees weren't part of the iPhone deal.

ha ha suckers, i get a shiny new car every 3 months. but i have to give the old ones back . latest one is an alfa romeo GT. yyyyuuuuummmm shiny things.

I can't help but read this article, and picture a scene from 40 Year Old Virgin as everyone scurries about to get one over on their employer.



This of course, would be from the uncut version and all...

Ahahaha. Pretty sure my sister is one of those dumb Geniuses.

Wow. Their balls must be gigantic!

...and a hot plate.

Something for Christmas from my work...surely you jest- I suppose that I get christmas off....
And talk about trying to take advantage of someones generosity....
Maybe I can get one of their jobs...

I'm not surprised.

It's just more proof that our culture is increasingly one of most everyone feeling self-entitled to everything. God forbid you actually have to WORK to get something in return. I think it would've been funnier for Apple to force the employees to give their iPhones back, rather than firing them.

dude, my AT&T bill is $60/month including the iPhone plan. nothing major there.

Sure, rub it in.

I got a bottle of wine...

...but I was pregnant

I could be wrong, but it I'm pretty sure you didn't read the story. That's sorta kinda why they were fired.

I work at a bar where for christmas last year we got a christmas party with an open bar... i ended up getting plastered on patron which was nice...

We all get a ham. If we are lucky we get a couple more work shirts that let everyone know who we work for. Maybe a can of mixed nuts.

Ditto, only it was the company picnic.

I'm pretty sure he's saying that Appple corporate employees were offered the phones, but not Apple Store retail employees. I still don't know if it's true either way, but that's how I read it.

Also, this is what I got when I clicked on the "dudes, seriously" link:



Was there an article there for other people?

Also, also, I got a bottle of wine, dinner with an open bar, and a generous Christmas bonus check last year. Then I quit my job, moved to Portland, and now I'm unemployed.

One job I worked our boss have myself and the other guy in charge of running the place for him $200 every Christmas. Was always cool.

The article didn't come up for me either. However, the link includes the phrase "greedy retail employees", and the link about the free iPhone said all Apple employees (which would include retail level). So I'm pretty sure gdarklighter is wrong.

I'm pretty sure I didn't read his comment. Or yours!!

Ok, so here is the deal. All full time employees, and part time employees (employeed for more than a year) received iPhones, 8GB iPhones. All I have to say to the folks who tried to pull a fast one is, HAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHA. Morons.

Ok, Seriously. Apple makes great products. They have great marketing. They have a wonderful OS, which I am using. But as a former mac genius, I must say, the job sucked. No really. For the cost of living in my city, I could barely make ends meet. Which translates to very poor work environment satisfaction. And I was one of the best paid genii. Sales people do NOT make a commission. Let me repeat this. Sales people = NO COMMISSION, or bonus, or quarterly earning bonus. Ya, there is the stock purchase program, the 401k, and awesome health insurance. However, when management tries to fit genius bar appointments for a staff of 8 when the store only has 4 genii on staff, stress is the name of the game. A pat on the back and customer satisfaction only go so far when you have some shmuck at the bar yelling about his failed HD/loss of data, late for/missed my appointment serve me now, or the ever popular, I left windows for this?!?! The sense of entitlement is overwhelming.

The only thing that keeps people there, are the people, It's true. You will never work in such a cool environment with so many diverse and cool people. Its like going to work with friends you have known for years. Because, you know they are getting the same shit end of the stick. Like I said, love Apple. Happy I don't have to work the genius bar anymore.

Peace