There is a tradition at Apple stores of clapping an employee when they leave the business for the last time as an employee. I witnessed it first-hand yesterday in their 5th Avenue store in New York. There were several hundred shoppers in the store at the time and around 50 to 60 employees. There was an announcement an employee was leaving to take a job elsewhere. All the employees burst into applause and clapped their colleague out the store. It was a special moment to witness.
One employee explained to me it’s like they are sending them off into the world with their blessing and good thoughts.
It was interesting to see the departure treated in such a positive way.
Its a marketing prank to make customers think Apple are great to their staff. I wonder whether they do the same thing in their head office or in the factories where they make Apple products when a worker is carried out with exhaustion! We farewell our staff by going out for drinks at the end of the day which is a great way of saying goodbye as you can have a personal chat out of the workplace.
Couldn’t agree more Chris, American corporate drivel. You can show your appreciation for a good staff member in a much more genuine and sincere manner. Moreover when you see a bad one go, that’s a great opportunity to celebrate. Champagne anyone!
Mark, maybe they’re clapping because they are glad the person is leaving?????
I prefer your idealistic approach rather than our sarcastic answers, but I suspect they are probably right about the corporate drivel.
It felt to me that the employee I spoke with was speaking from the heart. They were not a manager – just regular shop floor staff. I took it for how it was explained to me. In the room, there was an overwhelming feeling of happiness.
You also need to witness a Apple “pre-start” meeting before the shop opens.
They huddle around like a sports team, the manager gee’s his staff up, they do a team clap & off they go to their customers ‘lined up’ in front the shop… Extremely positive brain-wash with results that speak for themselves.
I think Apple spend their efforts avoiding paying taxes, not wine & dinning 1 less employee. Maybe they clap every-time they make a billion dollars.. 🙂
LOL.. It’s a pity the reality is that apples pays their US employees under the average wage and has even worse practices in other countries where there isn’t a strong labour representation. I imagine they get alot of clapping practice because alot of staff leave to go onto better jobs in better companies
Paul Apple pays its real employees more than the average for retail employees. I have a family friend working for a US department store on $8 an hour. At Apple they would get $14.76 an hour. http://www.glassdoor.com/Salary/Apple-Salaries-E1138.htm