On February 15, a new chapter began in our Apple Retail journey in Japan as we welcomed our first Retail Contact Center in the city of Yokohama.
One of Japan’s first harbor cities, Yokohama has since olden days been the gateway to Japan, acting as a focal point for new cultures and information from other countries and visitors. At present, it is the country’s second-largest city and a major commercial hub, as well as a destination for arts and culture.
The Retail Contact Center
The Retail Contact Center is housed in Apple’s state-of-the-art research and development facility. In their newly minted surroundings, our team not only enjoys the best facilities, but is supported by features such as a Discovery Lab, where they can demo and learn about products in a store-like environment.
Spread across various functions in a designated space, the team will serve and support our Apple Online Store customers across Japan.
“We have a really large and beautiful office. The building has sustainable features, and that’s really Apple. We’re all really happy and excited to be joining the Yokohama Retail Contact Center and look forward to building a strong team culture here.”
– Q Fukunaga, Business Sales Specialist
The Team
True to our credo, the team of 67 in the Yokohama Retail Contact Center is truly diverse and will draw its strength from different backgrounds and prior roles in Apple.
Comprising tenured employees with over 10 years of experience as well as members from Apple Retail Stores, Apple Corporate, the Retail Contact Center in Singapore, along with external hires, Yongsun believes her team’s diversity will be an advantage, as they bring different experiences and perspectives to the Retail Contact Center.
“My managers have all been very supportive and have given me opportunities to develop and grow. Having challenged myself to take up this new position as a trainer in the Retail Contact Center, I received the support of not only the team here in Japan, but from all over the world.”
- Vicky Ozaki, Trainer
“Previously, I gained a lot of valuable experience through working on UAT programs, through stints at IS&T Retail Systems and being an IS&T New Store Opening mentor. All these experiences and relationships with my previous teams have really helped me in my current role, where I provide technical support for the hardware and tools that the teams here use.”
- Ken Watanabe, Desktop Systems Specialist
One Apple Retail
In the past, support for our Apple Online Store customers in Japan was through external partners and vendors, or remotely through the RPAC Retail Contact Center in Singapore.
With the launch of the Yokohama Retail Contact Center, we will now have a dedicated team of Apple-badged employees across Sales, Service, Order Admin, plus a host of support functions, including Outsourced Vendor Management, Customer Experience, Training, and Desktop Support/Operations for Japan.
These teams will be assisting customers with their online purchases through phone and chat, focusing on delivering the best customer service and support.
Yongsun Cho, the site lead for Yokohama Retail Contact Center, is also looking forward to stronger synergy among the seven Apple Retail Stores in Japan with the Retail Contact Center offering. She hopes to deliver a truly integrated ‘One Retail’ experience for customers, whether they are visiting or contacting Apple in store or online.
Yongsun said, “Like our credo, our goal is to enrich our customers’ lives, no matter where the customer is living in Japan. The great thing about our team is that we can now provide the same Apple Retail and customer experience to anyone who calls us or sends us a chat.”
When Apple first expanded internationally into Japan in 2003, the goal was to redefine customers’ buying experiences in one of the best shopping destinations in the world.
With the establishment of the Yokohama Retail Contact Center, the retail experience for this key market is once again redefined, establishing yet another milestone for the Apple Online Store and Apple Retail.
Welcome Yokohama Retail Contact Center.