In the past months, I’ve read a lot of books about Apple, and in particular about Steve Jobs. Bartending by Stephen Hackett, however, is the only one that struck me as being completely honest and real in the subject it covers: Apple’s retail stores as a genuine, living collection of stories and people. Not just a business.

Bartending: Memoirs of an Apple Genius, is short, direct, and entertaining. You can probably finish it in 40 minutes if you’re in the mood of reading about Apple’s retail employees and the stories of customers who happen to swing by the Genius Bar every day. And if you like a style that’s fun, cuts to the point, and isn’t ashamed of recollecting the real thoughts of an Apple Genius who sees all kinds of customers on a daily basis, I bet you will devour Bartending from cover to cover in less than an hour. It is a pleasure to read Stephen narrate how he helped a woman recover the precious photos of her children after her hard drive failed, or how the iPhone represented a major shift both in terms of audience, and at the Bar.

I like to think of Bartending as more than “a book about the Genius Bar”. Whether or not you are aware of how Apple’s retail behemoth works behind the scenes, Bartending provides a fun and enlightening look at the interactions that occur every day on both sides of the business. In front of and behind the Genius Bar. I think Stephen’s greatest accomplishment with this book is that he explains with a human, friendly tone that, in spite of the gadgets and dollars involved with the business, the people ultimately define the stories we remember. And if the rules can be bent a little for the good of the customer — to “surprise and delight” — even better. That’s what makes this book a story of its own that fits in the Apple Community so well.

Bartending is a must-read. Get it today at $8.99 on Amazon (iBooks-friendly ePub version also available here).

After MacRumors showed off Apple’s plans yesterday for the Fifth Avenue Apple retail store (renovating the cube with 15 long pieces of glass), Apple has given Gothamist a render of the final design. While we expected the landmark to be striking with its new design, we didn’t expect it to be this striking. Never underestimate the removal of 75 panes of glass.

[Gothamist via Minimal Mac]

The last time we heard evidence of a Grand Central Apple Store was back in May, when the Wall Street Journal reported that the Metropolitan Transport Authority (MTA) was contacted by Apple who was interested in retail space. Today, according to the New York Post, Apple will open a 23,000 square-foot store in the terminal’s north and northeast balconies. Affected is the Metrazeur restaurant, bought out in the apparent deal. Apple’s rent will initially cost $800,000 for the retail space during a ten-year lease.

It should be noted that the deal isn’t finalized yet: the MTA still has to ask their financial committee to approve the deal on Monday before receiving a final okay from the board of directors on Wednesday. With the deal likely to rake in $5 million in profits (at minimum), and with the renter being Apple, the MTA is undoubtedly going to vote “yes”. I don’t think there’s any question there.

[via NY Post]

One of Apple’s greatest achievements is the success of their 324 retail stores, spanning several countries and employing 30,200 employees who are, on average, paid much more than their competitors. Becoming an Apple Employee isn’t easy, but those who are hired on as a “blue shirt” come to enjoy a past-paced product environment and challenging rewards with health benefits and company perks based on the stores’ target success. With 2,500 positions open in retail, Apple is still looking to add Geniuses, Creatives, and managers to help customers and sell product on their show floors, and it’s Shareen Pathak from FINS who comments on Apple’s success in this space.

According to people familiar with the operation, the Fifth Avenue store employs one staff member for every 20 square feet of retail space. That’s one staffer every few feet. All a shopper has to do to get help in an Apple store is reach out and touch someone.

The employees, under strict NDA and ready to serve potential customers, are offered a relatively healthy amount of pay for their hard work. Geniuses on average make $18 dollars an hour, with the helpful blue shirts earning around $16 dollars an hour as they guide customers to new products, show them how to use services, and make sales. In comparison, Pathak writes that a Best Buy Geek Squad Agent on average only makes $12 an hour. Part of Apple’s success is that while work can be demanding, employees are motivated and expected to work hard and sell the Apple experience.

In the first two fiscal quarters for 2011, Apple’s retail division has already earned $7.04 billion in revenue of Apple’s $51.41 billion, in comparison to Pathak’s figure of $10 billion in retail of Apple’s $60 billion at the end of September, 2010. The retail division is on track to nearly double the revenues earned by 2012, after Apple’s Peter Oppenheimer announced a billion retail customers have visited the Apple Store on April 20th, 2011.

From the glass entrances to the Glowing Apple above the double doors, to updated iPad experience and the employees who are ready to help you at moment’s notice, Apple’s retail stores offer a level of convenience and friendliness that big retail chains just can’t match. It’s well worth your time to read the rest of Pathak’s writeup on how Apple hires, how valuable employees are to the company, and just how hard they work to make the whole system operate as a well oiled machine.

[via FINS, Fiscal Q1 2011, Fiscal Q2 2011]