March 9, 2026, 3:40 pm | Read time: 2 minutes
Employees at the Apple Store receive guidelines for interacting with customers. During conversations, they should avoid using certain words.
“People visit an Apple Store for the experience and are willing to pay for it,” explained Ron Johnson, who developed the concept behind Apple Stores, to the Harvard Business Review. The Apple Store was created more as a brand ambassador than a source of technology. Consequently, the employees in the stores act as Apple ambassadors. It’s no surprise that the company trains them thoroughly and gives strict instructions.
However, one directive from the company with the apple logo seems a bit like a conspiracy theory. In Apple’s stores, there are certain terms that employees are not allowed to use, as The Guardian reports. The British newspaper refers to the instructions the company prescribes to its employees.
Training Manual for Employees
In the Apple Store, customers expect employees, known as “Geniuses,” to be Apple experts with technical knowledge. But their actual role is to use a kind of emotional guide to sell products in the store. The training manual for technical support staff contains instructions for employees. It teaches them how to use empathetic communication to influence customers’ purchasing decisions and reduce tension. The goal is to make customers happy and increase their willingness to spend money.
As an example of this guideline, “The Guardian” cites the following:
Customer: “This Mac is just too expensive.”
Genius: “I understand why you feel that way. I felt the price was a bit high, but it’s a good price considering the built-in software and performance.”
This strategy aims to prevent customers from feeling bad. Additionally, employees show empathy. It’s a kind of problem-free brand philosophy, one might say.
Taboo Words in the Apple Store
In this context, some words are on a taboo list. “Crash, hang, error, or problem” are words employees should not use with customers in the Apple Store. Instead, employees should use neutral terms, such as saying a device is unresponsive, or use words like situation or condition. Some employees reportedly complain about this rule for sugarcoating, leading to absurd conversations. It would be better to address the problem directly.
Additionally, the behavior guidelines for Apple Store employees state that they should try to offer additional services to customers.