Opinion: Why Apple’s sales-based retail reward scheme is a bad way to boost iPhone numbers
Mark Gurman revealed on Friday that Apple has introduced a new reward program designed to boost iPhone sales in Apple Stores.
The program’s goal is to push Apple retail employees to sell more iPhones by promising rewards and all-expense paid vacations to Cupertino, California to employees who sell the most iPhones in their region, according to sources.
I do, of course, recognize the pressure Apple is under following flat iPhone sales last quarter and the company warning that its revenue will this quarter see its first ever year-on-year decline since 2003. But Tim Cook has himself repeatedly claimed that Apple focuses on making great products rather than sales numbers, repeating this line earlier this month.
Offering staff incentives to push iPhone sales strikes me as a mistake with the potential to damage the company’s image …
