Apple 'Updating' Retail Store Staff, Equipment Ahead of Holiday Season

A report over at ifoAppleStore reveals that Apple has decided to make a few adjustments with its retail establishments and the employees in charge with selling its products. Staffers will not be differentiated by the color of their T-shirt anymore, while the EasyPay portable computers they carry around with them will be replaced with iPod touch devices connected to an advanced scanner accessory.

“The last three months of each year always bring a rush of shoppers to Apple’s stores, creating record revenues but also challenging the stores to maintain the 'surprise and delight' that visitors have come to expect during the holiday buying season,” ifoAppleStore, which provides exclusive information on Apple’s retail initiatives, reports. “This year, Apple will update its operations to reduce visitor confusion and streamline sales,” the report reveals.

“First, Apple will drop the aircraft carrier-like T-shirts that are color-coded to indicate the employees’ skills,” ifo explains. Interestingly, according to the source, “Visitors have reported that seeing orange, dark blue, light blue, medium blue and black T-shirts is simply confusing.” As such, the Mac maker has ordered that the entire store staff wear the same color T-shirt. Only rarely will the uniform be changed, while scenarios are not provided in the report.

However, “more dramatically,” ifo points out, “Employees will ditch the current EasyPay portable computers made by Symbol Technologies, and will begin using an iPod touch with an advanced scanner accessory and point-of-sale (POS) software.” This will allow staffers to capture data from products that have multiple barcodes using a single pass. As the site points out, the switch will be possible thanks to the OS 3.0 software update, which enables the operating system to recognize and integrate third-party accessories along with their own software. According to ifo, whether or not Apple has programmed its own POS software or is using an application from another vendor is not clear, as of yet.