Apple, work from home support job

Paidi28 · 03-06-2016 01:52PM

Can anyone who's had the position say what the story is with training ? How many weeks it is, hours and what days it's on in the week?

lima1990 · 03-06-2016 03:11PM

Paidi28 wrote: »

Can anyone who's had the position say what the story is with training ? How many weeks it is, hours and what days it's on in the week?

3 days orientation, 3 weeks classroom training which ends with an exam and a transition week before you're on your own. All of that is done during regular business hours so Mon-Fri starting between 8 and 9 and ending between 4:30 and 5:30

demz101 · 03-06-2016 09:57PM

Is this training done from home or do we need to travel up for it would anyone know?

el_gaucho · 03-06-2016 11:43PM

It's from home.

Table Top Joe · 05-06-2016 08:23AM

wexfordlad wrote: »

Think it's 27% for yourself, 17% for friends and a discount of a few hundred euro off every 3 years. Refer a friend to them and if they get hired you get a substantial bonus.

That's pretty much it ya, after 90 days you'll be eligible for the once every 3 years discount, it's about 450 quid off a phone or a Mac (only about 220 off an iPad) and this is on top of the 27% discount so it's very nice indeed, it basically means you can get a free iPhone, I went all out and got the 6s plus and it came to about 250 quid but that's just me, you could get a cheaper phone and it wouldn't cost anything at all after discount, the watch was 50% off last year as a special price because it was new but it's back to 27% off now, there's also 10% off non Apple products sold in the Apple Store

I'm in the job a year so if anyone has any questions fire away, the recruitment process can take an eternity by the way so don't worry if you go long periods without hearing anything

Mickeroo · 06-06-2016 02:51PM

Apologies, I know this has certainly been asked before but I wouldn't know where in the thread to look (should edit it into the OP maybe?),, but where does one go about applying for one of these jobs?

06-06-2016 02:53PM

Mickeroo wrote: »

Apologies, I know this has certainly been asked before but I wouldn't know where in the thread to look (should edit it into the OP maybe?),, but where does one go about applying for one of these jobs?

https://jobs.apple.com/ie/search?searchString=At%20Home%20Advisor#&ss=At%20Home%20Advisor&t=0&lo=0*IRL&pN=0

wexfordlad · 08-06-2016 01:08PM

Table Top Joe wrote: »

That's pretty much it ya, after 90 days you'll be eligible for the once every 3 years discount, it's about 450 quid off a phone or a Mac (only about 220 off an iPad) and this is on top of the 27% discount so it's very nice indeed, it basically means you can get a free iPhone, I went all out and got the 6s plus and it came to about 250 quid but that's just me, you could get a cheaper phone and it wouldn't cost anything at all after discount, the watch was 50% off last year as a special price because it was new but it's back to 27% off now, there's also 10% off non Apple products sold in the Apple Store

I'm in the job a year so if anyone has any questions fire away, the recruitment process can take an eternity by the way so don't worry if you go long periods without hearing anything

How did you find the training? And what do you think of the job overall?

Willie Stroker 1976 · 08-06-2016 01:25PM

I'm in this job a year now if anyone has any questions fire away I'll do my best to give an answer.

Willie Stroker 1976 · 08-06-2016 01:28PM

wexfordlad wrote: »

How did you find the training? And what do you think of the job overall?

I know you didn't ask me but heres my input lol,
The training is great, they provide alot of info. As stated previously the first 3 days are just like an intro, usually people start on a Wednesday so the first Wed,Thurs & Fri are just an intro, then the following Monday ya start 3weeks training, with some tests.

Theres an exam at the end which is an open book exam, I was worried I'd fail but I got 96%, from what I can remember I think you need over 80% to pass. But the exam is fine, once you listen you will ace it, if you have any other questions fire away.

Willie Stroker 1976 · 08-06-2016 01:31PM

Oh and for anyone who got offered the position, well done ðŸ˜€

Something handy to know is that you are not required to sent photo's of your chair and desk until the end of training so there is no panic rushing out to get the equipment for the start of training

Paidi28 · 08-06-2016 01:46PM

Thanks for answering some questions for us! Is the exam like multiple choice type thing or how does it work ? And I was wondering have you used or know the details about the dental insurance and what kind of stuff it covers ?

Willie Stroker 1976 · 08-06-2016 01:55PM

Paidi28 wrote: »

Thanks for answering some questions for us! Is the exam like multiple choice type thing or how does it work ? And I was wondering have you used or know the details about the dental insurance and what kind of stuff it covers ?

No problem

yes it is multiple choices, as for the dental I'm really not sure to be honest I havent used that thankfully lol

wexfordlad · 08-06-2016 02:48PM

Willie Stroker 1976 wrote: »

I know you didn't ask me but heres my input lol,
The training is great, they provide alot of info. As stated previously the first 3 days are just like an intro, usually people start on a Wednesday so the first Wed,Thurs & Fri are just an intro, then the following Monday ya start 3weeks training, with some tests.

Theres an exam at the end which is an open book exam, I was worried I'd fail but I got 96%, from what I can remember I think you need over 80% to pass. But the exam is fine, once you listen you will ace it, if you have any other questions fire away.

Thanks for the reply. How do you find the job itself, is it as stressful as people had implied earlier on in this thread?

Aeternum · 08-06-2016 03:09PM

Just wanted to pop in here and let people know that the exam is open book too - you have access to a whole database of information it's just about finding it ðŸ˜Š

demz101 · 08-06-2016 03:41PM

can anyone tell me if the first few weeks (orientation and training) will be monday - friday or will I need time at the weekends too?

Willie Stroker 1976 · 08-06-2016 03:53PM

wexfordlad wrote: »

Thanks for the reply. How do you find the job itself, is it as stressful as people had implied earlier on in this thread?

Nah once you pass training etc its a walk in the park, Seriously its not stressful at all. Not to me anyway and Im not a tech genius.

Willie Stroker 1976 · 08-06-2016 03:53PM

demz101 wrote: »

can anyone tell me if the first few weeks (orientation and training) will be monday - friday or will I need time at the weekends too?

It is Monday to friday yeah

lima1990 · 08-06-2016 05:07PM

It's a matter of opinion on the stress factor. You'll be taking 25-35 calls a day with less than 60 seconds between each call with customers who are often demanding, confused and unable to follow basic instruction and sometimes unfortunately rude or condescending towards you.
It's a typical call centre job and those are often considered among the most stressful and definitely not for everyone, you shouldn't expect anything other than spending 95% of your time on calls to customers.

There isn't much incorrect about what posters have said earlier which is why there is a high turnover, it's definitely a love/hate type of job.
Feel free to pm with any questions.

el_gaucho · 08-06-2016 06:15PM

I have a questions I forgot to ask in the interview. Are you assignment to one particular app? I read on other forums that people were supporting iTunes or IOS.

Also, how much of an advantage is it to own Apple products? I was thinking of buying a cheap 2nd hand iPhone.

Willie Stroker 1976 · 08-06-2016 06:45PM

el_gaucho wrote: »

I have a questions I forgot to ask in the interview. Are you assignment to one particular app? I read on other forums that people were supporting iTunes or IOS.

Also, how much of an advantage is it to own Apple products? I was thinking of buying a cheap 2nd hand iPhone.

Well what role did you apply for? Is it iOS tier 1?

Apple will send you an ipod which is as good as an iPhone if you want to get some experience using it.

el_gaucho · 08-06-2016 08:33PM

It wasn't specified. Like a few other recent posters I'm on the college programme. They didn't mention an iPod, but my partner has an iPod touch and I have an iPad.

Table Top Joe · 08-06-2016 08:43PM

wexfordlad wrote: »

How did you find the training? And what do you think of the job overall?

Just to add to Willies comment, training is very good....for the most part, a big criticism id have though is there is very little time given on how to use the system (ilog....yes they add "i" to everything) before you take calls, maybe its changed now but we had practically no time at all with it which was a bit frustrating to be totally honest, theres plenty of time to ask questions though and every trainer I've ever had in there has been dead on.

The exam itself is actually grand though, think its 50 questions in 2 hours, no one failed in my class of 20 odd, if you do you can repeat it, its open book so you can check the internal Apple knowledge bases or just Google it or whatever, its natural to be nervous of it but its fine really, just pay attention as best you can during training (i drifted off at times tbh:o)

As far as stress goes i found the first few weeks tough enough, it gets easier though and you'll get to the point quite quickly where very few issues will throw you, lot of the same stuff comes in over and over (you'll go from being stressed to being bored at times from the same stuff), just stick it out, a few people dropped out during this period but just suck it up, its a new job the money is decent after probation so hold tough and you'll settle in and wonder what the hell you were so worried about

Theres a lot of metrics to keep an eye as well, call time, after call time etc....that goes down after awhile as well though and they'll give you time to settle in, you won't be hounded on this or anything (though obviously they'll expect it to improve a few months in!)

I wouldn't say i love the job but its grand most of the time tbh

Table Top Joe · 08-06-2016 08:47PM

el_gaucho wrote: »

I have a questions I forgot to ask in the interview. Are you assignment to one particular app? I read on other forums that people were supporting iTunes or IOS.

Also, how much of an advantage is it to own Apple products? I was thinking of buying a cheap 2nd hand iPhone.

Surprised they didn't mention what dept it is, in IOS your given an iPod touch anyway........either way, dont buy a phone, you'll be able to get a free one after 90 days (see my post on the previous page)

Table Top Joe · 08-06-2016 09:01PM

lima1990 wrote: »

It's a matter of opinion on the stress factor. You'll be taking 25-35 calls a day with less than 60 seconds between each call with customers who are often demanding, confused and unable to follow basic instruction and sometimes unfortunately rude or condescending towards you.
It's a typical call centre job and those are often considered among the most stressful and definitely not for everyone, you shouldn't expect anything other than spending 95% of your time on calls to customers.

There isn't much incorrect about what posters have said earlier which is why there is a high turnover, it's definitely a love/hate type of job.
Feel free to pm with any questions.

This is the most difficult aspect of the job for me to be honest, i can deal with the tech stuff (even if it means frantically looking it up on a call:eek:) but ya, you will have people calling up who will honestly sound and act like they've never even seen a computer or iPhone before and your trying to guide them around it, some of these people are old (and i give them a pass, they didnt grow up with this stuff) and some of them are just.....not very bright shall we say and it can try your patience like you wouldn't believe, i took 20 mins just to change the timezone with one woman on an iPad before (even the most basic steps can be like rocket science to some of them......but then thats one of the reasons the job exists)

I find Apple customers grand for the most part, maybe its because i have lots of customer service or something but i think the vast majority of them are very nice, I get maybe one difficult person a day and if they're being really difficult you can escalate the call anyway so don't worry about this

Worry about spending an hour getting an 80 year old to find her emails and failing

mansize · 08-06-2016 09:04PM

How long between the intial call re job and the second? Do they email you if you are unsuccessful?

Table Top Joe · 08-06-2016 09:09PM

Paidi28 wrote: »

Thanks for answering some questions for us! Is the exam like multiple choice type thing or how does it work ? And I was wondering have you used or know the details about the dental insurance and what kind of stuff it covers ?

Im not 100% on the dental either but as far as i know you pay for it and its reimbursed then......i think, haven't had to use it either

Table Top Joe · 08-06-2016 09:12PM

mansize wrote: »

How long between the intial call re job and the second? Do they email you if you are unsuccessful?

My memory is hazy on the exact length of time for each step but I do remember every step took ages, from initial email to offer an interview to start time was 2 months........they rang me to offer the job though i remember that much

Don't be alarmed by them taking ages, theres 100s of people being hired over the Summer so it will take awhile

Willie Stroker 1976 · 08-06-2016 09:14PM

el_gaucho wrote: »

It wasn't specified. Like a few other recent posters I'm on the college programme. They didn't mention an iPod, but my partner has an iPod touch and I have an iPad.

Yeah an iPad would be fine you wont need to go fork out money for an iPhone, maybe wait for 3months and use your big discount, I got my 6s for €19

Willie Stroker 1976 · 08-06-2016 09:14PM

Table Top Joe wrote: »

My memory is hazy on the exact length of time for each step but I do remember every step took ages, from initial email to offer an interview to start time was 2 months........they rang me to offer the job though i remember that much

Don't be alarmed by them taking ages, theres 100s of people being hired for the Summer so it will take awhile

Yep, thats pretty much spot on :-) how long are you with Apple? I've probably spoken to you at some stage lol

Apple, work from home support job

Comments