Well, that's great. Could you send some of your colleagues over here (Spain)? Cause I definetly think they didn't follow the same training sessions as you did.
Note that the article talks about Apple Retail Stores, i.e. he stores owned and operated by Apple itself. Right now, there aren’t any of these in South Africa: http://www.apple.com/retail/storelist/
There are no official Apple Retail stores in South Africa, only stores run by Core Group which is the official distributor. That's why they're called 'iStores' and not 'Apple stores', they're not the real deal.
With few exceptions, the sales staff at South African iStores are utterly awful; the smarmiest, smuggest and most deceitful bunch I've had the displeasure to buy from who will most certainly not try to find you the solution that suits you best but will try to upsell you on the option that boosts their commission the most.
It would do wonders for Apple's damaged reputation in South Africa to establish an official presence and set up real Apple Retail stores.
