Pros
Good first step into getting experience to use towards a better career at Apple, Best Buy, or Microcenter. Free certifications concerning servicing Apple Products Benefits were actually great
Cons
There was a time the future of Simply Mac looked bright and the life of a Store Manager great. sadly, year over year that dream would become just a passing thought. The company Simply Mac turned into is absolutely disgusting on every level. You had no free thought or speech. If you had an issue with a policy or procedure, or even had a good idea, upper management did not care one bit. They would tell you corporate crap to make you "feel" good about your idea but ultimitely it would never happen. This is because RD's and above honestly believe they are smarter than DM's and Store Managers. However, one RD even admited to not knowing how to use our POS system. They will throw math in your face and tell you that "They're numbers people" yet.. will admit that they have never really done the math themselves. The place is one big gossip tabloid. You cannot say anything to anyone. If you think you can trust the person, you can't. They will rat you out faster than it takes to blink. No one can keep their mouth shut. Everyone has a bad day and vents a bit, I get it.... but they don't. They see it as you not being bought in and will call you out. Say one negative thing and you're crucified. They do not want you to think. They only want you to push their own agenda. If you stand up for your team in the name of morales and ethics, you were pushed out. If you so much as say you disagree'd with a policy or procedure, you were pushed out. I know many great people who were. Steve Bain, former CEO of Simply Mac (please take his name off of Glassdoor) was pushed out. There were also DM's and Store Managers who were pushed out (and even fired out of the blue with no rhyme or reason). If you weren't a "yes" person you had no future in the company. Pay-work-life balance is non existant. If you broke down what the average store manager works (about 50-55 hours a week) we would probably make $13 an hour. The level of detail and dedication we were expected to show is maddening. They expected you to work from home, and on days off. They would never tell you that you had to, but they implied it every which way they could. They would tell you that you were a bad manager if you were "too unplugged" from your store at home (While you were off). They do not care about your life outside of work. To them life IS Simply Mac. There is no real structure to the company. This is mostly due to the fact that they "restructure" every year. This is all done in hope that it will "fix issues" but it only causes confusion because they hurry and roll it out without real training or a clear path. Perfect example is when we initiated the Assistant Store Manager in all stores summer of 2016. They told ASM's that they are to lead the sales floor, to coach and train the employees on the sales floor, yet give them a ridiculous sales goal that they have to hit or they do not get their full bonus. This caused a lot of confusion among ASM's as to what exactly they were suppose to do. Yet, upper management scratch their heads and wonder what went wrong. All they cared about is the bottom line. They pay sales, service managers, and technitions next to nothing for what is expected of them. Along side of this, the way they wanted you to treat your associates is disgusting. They thrive on intimidation. They would ask why techs did not sell a computer case along side a repair, or want you to give a stack of screen protectors to associates and expect them to sell all of them by end of their shift (or else). Sales goals for associates is laughable. The scorecard constantly shows 75%+ of the company NOT hitting commission goals. Again... upper management scratch their heads and honestly have no clue as to why people are not hitting their goals. Instead of honestly talking to their employees about a solution, their solution is to simply tell people, "Sell more." I honestly think it is this way so they dont have to pay out bonus/commisions. Less money to give out, more money to put in their own pockets. For store managers our daily lived in store involved Google Docs. Opening routines, manager routines, closing routines, playbook compliance docs, sales process forms, break charts, various service google docs, and many more. If you failed to do one of these you were called out as a "manager who does not care." Not filling out a form = not doing your job, or not caring about your team.
