Apple Store Employees Made This Music Video to Teach Customer Service Skills [Updated]

This video was produced by the staff of an Apple Retail Store as an entertaining way to teach Apple's customer service strategy. That strategy, based on one from the Ritz Carlton hotel -- widely acknowledged as the gold standard in customer service -- allows Apple Retail Store employees to assist customers without pressuring them to buy.

As Apple products generally sell themselves, the theory is that employees merely need to present the proper solutions to the customer based on their needs. Uncovering those needs is key to completing the sale and creating satisfied customers or "promoters" in Apple Store parlance.


The Apple Steps of Service, as taught during Core Training, which every new hire at Apple goes through:

A - Approach the customer with a "warm welcome"
P - Position, Permission, Probe -- Tell the customer what you want to do, ask permission, and then ask them questions to determine their needs.
P - Present the appropriate product solution that fits their needs.
L - Listen to their concerns.
E - End with a fond farewell and an invitation to return.

There are also the three A's -- three steps used with the "L" above to help alleviate customer concerns.

A - Acknowledge that their concerns are valid.
A - Align with the customer, agreeing that you would feel the same were you in their shoes.
A - Assure the customer that you will be able to solve their problem to their satisfaction.

The video, which was well-received by employees at an all-hands store meeting, was posted by former Apple employee Kyle Sisson as part of his editing portfolio. It is a brief look into the back of house, where much of the video was filmed, an unusual occurrence at the intensely private Apple Store.

Update: The video has been removed.

Popular Stories

iPhone 17 Pro Lower Logo Feature 1

iPhone 17 Pro Coming Soon With These 14 New Features

Monday June 30, 2025 1:08 pm PDT by
Apple's next-generation iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are less than three months away, and there are plenty of rumors about the devices. Apple is expected to launch the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Air, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max in September this year. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models:Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an...
Apple Watch Ultra Night Mode Screen

Apple Watch Ultra 3 Launching Later This Year With Two Key Upgrades

Wednesday July 2, 2025 1:13 pm PDT by
The long wait for an Apple Watch Ultra 3 appears to be nearly over, and it is rumored to feature both satellite connectivity and 5G support. Apple Watch Ultra's existing Night Mode In his latest Power On newsletter, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said that the Apple Watch Ultra 3 is on track to launch this year with "significant" new features, including satellite connectivity, which would let you...
iPhone 17 Pro Lower Logo Magsafe

iPhone 17 Pro's New MagSafe Design Revealed in Leaked Photo

Wednesday July 2, 2025 8:37 am PDT by
The upcoming iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are rumored to have a slightly different MagSafe magnet layout compared to existing iPhone models, and a leaked photo has offered a closer look at the supposed new design. The leaker Majin Bu today shared a photo of alleged MagSafe magnet arrays for third-party iPhone 17 Pro cases. On existing iPhone models with MagSafe, the magnets form a...
Wi Fi WiFi General Feature

iOS 26 Adds a Useful New Wi-Fi Feature to Your iPhone

Wednesday July 2, 2025 6:36 am PDT by
iOS 26 and iPadOS 26 add a smaller yet useful Wi-Fi feature to iPhones and iPads. As spotted by Creative Strategies analyst Max Weinbach, sign-in details for captive Wi-Fi networks are now synced across iPhones and iPads running iOS 26 and iPadOS 26. For example, while Weinbach was staying at a Hilton hotel, his iPhone prompted him to fill in Wi-Fi details from his iPad that was already...
iPhone 17 Pro in Hand Feature Lowgo

iPhone 17 Pro Max Battery Capacity Leaked

Thursday July 3, 2025 5:40 am PDT by
The iPhone 17 Pro Max will feature the biggest ever battery in an iPhone, according to the Weibo leaker known as "Instant Digital." In a new post, the leaker listed the battery capacities of the iPhone 11 Pro Max through to the iPhone 16 Pro Max, and added that the iPhone 17 Pro Max will feature a battery capacity of 5,000mAh: iPhone 11 Pro Max: 3,969mAh iPhone 12 Pro Max: 3,687mAh...
iOS 18

Apple Releases Second iOS 18.6 Public Beta

Tuesday July 1, 2025 10:19 am PDT by
Apple today seeded the second betas of upcoming iOS 18.6 and iPadOS 18.6 updates to public beta testers, with the betas coming just a day after Apple provided the betas to developers. Apple has also released a second beta of macOS Sequoia 15.6. Testers who have signed up for beta updates through Apple's beta site can download iOS 18.6 and iPadOS 18.6 from the Settings app on a compatible...
maxresdefault

New MacBook With A18 Pro Chip Spotted in Apple Code

Monday June 30, 2025 8:05 am PDT by
Apple is developing a MacBook with the A18 Pro chip, according to findings in backend code uncovered by MacRumors. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. Earlier today, Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo reported that Apple is planning to launch a low-cost MacBook powered by an iPhone chip. The machine is expected to feature a 13-inch display, the A18 Pro chip, and color options...

Top Rated Comments

David G. Avatar
178 months ago
One good thing that came out of the video is we now know what the back room looks like, as it was previously unseen by all of us Apple fans.:rolleyes:
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
starvingartist8 Avatar
178 months ago
This makes me want to order online even more
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Kaibelf Avatar
178 months ago
This is terrible, get back to your minimum wage unskilled job.

Really? Making fun of others' jobs and income makes you feel like more of a man. I can only assume you are a complete loser and/or a horribly inadequate lay.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
BLUELION Avatar
178 months ago
come on,

This was a personal project from a former employee. Not really an official Apple project so I don't think the outcry is warranted. it was obviously created in humor to get the steps across.

However, the video clearly shows the BOH which is off limits to non-Apple folks.

Overall, it was obviously fun for them so what does it matter what anyone thinks about it. If you like it great, if don't great. makes no difference either way.

this is the type of corny 'project' you would expect from a best buy or the like. not apple.

really embarrassing to watch even a few seconds of that.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Wokeupinapanic Avatar
178 months ago
I'm assuming this is the video of Marc F. rapping about the steps of service... First off, I worked in this store (The rock) when this video was made, about a year ago, maybe longer.

Second, the guy in this video was a manager at the time, and would do stuff like this alllllllllllllll the time. He was a really nice guy, and did a lot of crazy, goofy things like this.

It was meant to be goofy. It wasn't a promotional video, and didn't really get passed around or anything. We saw it at one store meeting, and that was really it. IIRC, it was edited in-store, and recorded after work one night. Fortunately, I wasn't in it haha.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
mach1andy Avatar
178 months ago
Entertaining, maybe. Steve wouldn't have allowed this to get out. Anything that looks like a joke or involves culture that can be dated would be cut from existence with a hawk's eye. Tough for me to say because I'm a musician and don't think it's bad, just seemingly not Apple at it's core.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)