Apple desperately needs to hire…More App Store employees needed

With all of the controversy and public fixation on the Apple App Store approval process (or lack thereof) and the seemingly increasingly ridiculous app rejections that are coming to light, many have called for an explanation. Being the tightly run and secretive company that Apple is, answers to such pleas have gone largely ignored until recently when the FCC jumped in on the bandwagon with the Google Voice rejection. However, the real sweet bit of information came when Apple revealed exactly how apps get approved/rejected and just how many bodies are responsible. The glaring truth: Apple needs to hire more people…

Now, you may notice that above I said “rejection” even though Apple clearly stated in their response to the FCC that they were “still studying it”, referring to the Google Voice app again. I’m not retarded nor am I in 1st grade. I can see right through PR BS just as many of you can. And a PR BS propaganda response it is. Google has confirmed with several other insiders tied to various other blogs that they were notified by Apple that the app had been rejected.

The Google Voice rejection is hardly the first, nor will it be the last. But, a company of Google’s magnitude as well as building frustration in the consumer market has escalated Apple’s App Store policies and actions to an all new level previously not seen. While the App Store is far and wide the most successful app store by far, constantly shooting yourself in the foot and garnering negative publicity daily isn’t exactly the most beneficial behavior a company can do for themselves.

Even more telling has come within the last 1-2 weeks with Apple’s Senior Vice President of Worldwide Marketing, Phil Schiller personally reaching out to individuals and/or developers burned by the often absurd reasoning for app rejections. Such one-on-one treatment is something that isn’t a usual character trait of Apple whom as mentioned before typically takes the walled garden, secretive approach.

Could it be that Apple realizes the severity the current escalating issues concerning the App Store and it’s policies reaching?

Moving past the current drama surrounding Google Voice and App Store policies, Apple let slip a few answers to some of the most asked questions and information concerning App Store operations — exactly how many people are “app store employees”, how many apps come through per week, and how many app store employees work on each app.

For those of you who have somehow managed to not see the answers to those just asked questions, it goes as follows:

• 40 full-time app store employees

• roughly 8,500 apps per week

• At least 2 different reviewers study each application before it gets the green light

Of those 8,500 apps that pass through Apple’s digital doors each week, a claimed 95% get approved within 14 days. Not bad for only 40 employees, but certainly not great by any stretch. Looking at it further, at 8,500 apps per week divided by only 40 employees means each employee only gets to spend a few minutes with each app. Hardly a thorough review if you ask me. Don’t get me wrong, it isn’t necessarily any one of the forty individual app store employee’s fault, but more Apple’s fault for not hiring more employees to sift through the mountain of app submissions. Apple is notorious for running a lean yet efficient crew to keep business moving yet staying out of profit margins as much as possible. And for the most part, their approach has worked wonderfully — in everything except the App Store.

While Phil Schiller can reach out to as many developers and other individuals as much as he wants, the bigger issue won’t be resolved until Apple does something more dramatic, namely hiring some more people to handle app store submissions, reviews, and approvals/rejections. 40 people is practically a skeleton crew for as much work as is being demanded. Apple really needs to consider hiring more App Store employees to keep this from going from bad to worse.

Your thoughts?

Source: Tech Crunch