Kasper JadeThe top dog of Apple customer support has exited the company ahead of significant changes to the struggling program.
Sources close to the computer maker said that Wilhelm parted ties with the company last Monday. AppleInsider later positively confirmed his departure through two independent sources, despite Apple's refusal to comment on the subject.
Wilhelm's departure comes amongst a major restructuring of the company's Apple Care customer support division, which sources said would be put into effect sometime this week.
A downsizing of Apple call centers is expected to follow the restructuring, as the company continues to outsource its customer support to locations in India, Holland and the United Kingdom.
It's unclear if Wilhelm departed from Apple on his own terms, or if he was forced out of the company. However, speaking to AppleInsider under anonymity, one source said that Wilhem was 'let go.'
Migrating to Apple from NeXT Software, which Apple acquired in 1996, Wilhelm climbed the corporate ladder to become vice president of Apple Care— a title he held for at least two and a half years. But unlike the company's prosperous iPod and retail divisions, Apple Care has been described by sources as 'a mess' that continues to underperform in terms of profitability.
Like several members of Apple's executive team who have recently cashed-in while riding the success of the company's recent stock surge, Wilhelm too stands to gain a pretty penny from options garnered throughout his tenure at Apple.
According to sources with ties to the computer maker, Wilhelm is likely to be succeeded by Farrel Farhoudi, a close associate who has recently acted as director of Apple Care's business development.
Neither Apple, nor Mr. Farhoudi were willing to comment on Wilhelm's replacement.
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13 Comments
outsourcing customer support is a really great way to show you care. :P
customer support means having someone with skill and knowledge giving customers solutions, not just have some trained robot read a manual back at them. nor should it just be seen as another avenue to pursue profit.
The American consumer is ultimately responsible for the downturn in customer support. Whether because of socioeconomic realities of the last thirty years or some other motivation, low prices has trumped customer support. Call it the "WalMarting of America".
Global outsourcing is a modern trend, and not just for Apple. The company I work at has essentially outsourced our first level IT support to India. If we have a problem, we need to either email or call the "global helpdesk," who either fixes the problem remotely, or kicks it up to second level support, where someone from the local IT group (in my case, two cube rows over) comes around to address it.
I'm not saying I like or agree with it. It's extremely frustrating to have to call an international number, and be put on hold and subjected to Indian music, when our on-site IT guys are within shouting distance of my cube. But it is a reality of modern business, and Apple isn't the only one doing it.
One observation that may be more a matter of perception and not based upon factual documents is that Apple isn't centralizing its outsourcing.
It appears to be outsourcing to three regions it most certainly could gain in marketshare with having local support available.
I may be stretching on this but mindshare in Holland is a long stronger when it is supported in Holland and not from the U.S. exclusively. The same for the U.K. and India.
I may be wrong, but it may not be the management of AppleCare that's causing poor revenues. With all the repairs Apple has needed to perform (I speak of iBook logic board replacements), this may well be a factor in computing its profitability.
Fortunately for me, I live relatively close to an Apple Store. The people at the genius bar have graciously offered any support I've needed at no cost.