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Apple At-Home Advisor...
- Thread starter iHalo
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I was contacted by my TM yesterday, and he stated October 5th. Also, the email he sent out yesterday stated the same!
I applied at the beginning of July and it was a month before I heard from the recruiter.
I got a email from my TM Monday morning but never received a call. Also just checked FedEx and my iMac and stuff was shipped out today. But in the email it does state we go live 10/5 nesting is between 9/25-9/30
"that guy" is here! Just no trolling the site. I have to keep this specifically about the process. 
I start in 3 weeks!!! 
I start in 3 weeks!!! 
"that guy" is here! Just no trolling the site. I have to keep this specifically about the process.
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TM just called me after that post. See you in class Monday!
I agree with everything you said except the part above. How can you do anything you want once you are logged in and calls are coming? You are chained to the computer and not allowed to leave unless you want to use some of your scant offline time (or whatever AUX code it was called). The only time I felt safe leaving the computer or even my chair was on one of the 15 minute breaks or during lunch. Am I missing something here?
yea I got that email, I guess they were wrong during the paperwork session or maybe our nesting period got cut in half with the possible new releases!...what have people done to keep away telemarketers, ever since I set up my line, I get these freaking calls non stop, will this effect my work???
yea I just got that email, nesting ends 9/30...so Im going to take a wild guess and say we get a 5 days off before going live
I don't know what queue they have you in, but if you have time to run on the treadmill and go outside during your shift, you clearly are not as busy as some who have done this job. I worked T1 iOS, and the longest period between calls on any of my shifts was about 2 minutes, hardly long enough to take a bathroom break outside of the 15 minute allowed break period. I agree, either you are geared for this job or you are not - I clearly was not. I got a pit in my stomach when it came time to clock in each day, dreading the English speaking European calls that blasted the queue until 3 p.m. EST (because of time zones). Those calls came in with about 9-10 seconds between calls (yes seconds). It was insane. We were told there was to be absolutely no background noise while on the phone - no kids, no dogs, no birds singing, no TV. That in itself was stressful, in addition to the stats you are expected to meet and avoid the inevitable dstat.
Glad this is working out for you - it just wasn't a fit for me. At first I thought I was nuts for quitting a job at Apple, but my sanity was more important to me than the benefits of working from home and working for Apple. People just need to be realistic about the expectations before going into the job. They may have an experience like yours, or like many, find out it wasn't what they expected and because of circumstances, are forced to keep working until they find something else. Fortunately for me, I found another job that pays better, and lacks the stress of the AHA position that I experienced.
I made it through almost 4 months, which included the holidays. I had never worked in a call center before, though I worked from home for many years doing IT technical support. The "Rah Rah" mentality wasn't for me, and I figured the youngsters and kool-aid drinkers would eventually see the reality of the job. Everything is about the metrics and the stats. Call handle time, CSTAT's, T2 escalations and so on. I'm not a salesman, so offering AppleCare before troubleshooting was a struggle for me. All I wanted to do was troubleshoot and resolve the problem, but always hanging over my head was how long I was on the call, or should I consult T2 and get that black mark, and oh what if I forget to offer AppleCare. Surely my TM will listen to all of the recorded calls and add that to my call evaluation "room for improvement".
I didn't give them two weeks either. I just couldn't take it another day - the stress of signing in on my shift and taking call after call, adhering to a strict schedule and stats - I had enough. As I look back, I'm amazed I lasted 4 months. It's interesting to read through the threads on this forum and see the excitement and anticipation from those hoping to get hired for this job. Open your eyes and listen to those who have been there. Apple is a great company with awesome benefits - that I will agree with. For me, there are more important things than money and benefits.
I applied Aug. 13 for the Albany, NY listing. Haven't heard anything yet.
The job posting was dated July 26 and it's now dated Aug. 15. I just hope I didn't slip through the cracks when they renewed the posting. It still has the same posting number and it won't let me reapply.
I don't really disagree with anything that you've said, but I think this part your post makes the reality of the job a lot easier to summarize.
If you really, really believe in Apple ("drink the Kool Aid," if you will) and want to sacrifice your individuality in order to be the best Apple person you can be, you might be okay.
If you think the whole job is a scam and you really don't give a rat's ass about your next Northstar, you might be okay.
However, if you're somewhere in-between, to the extent that you're not an Apple cheerleader but it still bothers you if your stats or evaluations are off, you're screwed. Royally screwed.
As for me, I'm in the second group. The job is a joke to me, but I really don't care at this point. I fully expect "room for improvement" on each of my evaluations. As such, "room for improvement" shows up on every one of them, yet my stats are quite good. Go figure.
Even on the AppleCare sales, I'll never be at the top of any leaderboard, but I get one every now and then. My approach is to ignore everything that everybody at Apple ever told me and instead rely on my own gut instinct. If I think you're an Apple-loving sucker who might feel like dropping a few extra bucks on your Apple-loving lifestyle, I'll sell you a plan and check my box for the week. If I think you're in a situation where you might legitimately benefit from AppleCare, I'll sell you a plan and check my box for the week. Otherwise, I'll just mention it and move along while you try to think of an excuse to turn me down. I really don't care.
On the one hand, I assume that my manager is listening to my calls and that I'll be canned sooner or later. On the other hand, I was the boss for most of my life and I know that you cut people a lot of slack when turnover is high and the numbers look good. Either way, I won't lose any sleep over this job. Much like you, I hate logging in and starting my shift every day. I agree wholeheartedly that there are more important things in life, and that this is not a good way to spend my time.
Much unlike you though, I don't feel a bit of stress about it. Screw 'em. I'll take the paychecks until I find something better.
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