It’s iPhone 6 launch weekend, Christmas for Apple fanboys and girls — and for employees of the Apple Stores where eager customers are currently lined up around the block, it’s a strange glimpse into the tech-obsessed human psyche.
WNYC’s New Tech City recently interviewed a few former Apple Store employees (even ex-staffers are strictly forbidden from talking to the press, but these guys did anyway) to see what iPhone frenzy is like from the perspective of a blue-shirted specialist inside the glass cube. You can listen to the podcast here.
“It was an exercise in empathy. There was a little bit of psychology to it,” one employee explained. “I found myself counselling or consoling people twice my age.”
The psychological aspect of the job was echoed by the others: Specialists on the floor are hired less for their technical know-how and more for their ability to empathise and connect with people, they said. “When someone comes to you in tears, you just have to be human,” an employee told New Tech City.
I can only imagine this is extra crucial on product launch days, especially since employees have often only played with a brand new device a few minutes themselves before being expected to field a torrent of questions about how to use it.
The 20-minute podcast has some interesting anecdotes — if you’re stuck in line waiting on your new iPhone 6, give a listen. And once you’re in the store, be nice! [New Tech City]
Picture: An Apple store employee pulls two iPhone 6s today in New York, via AP Images