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Apple Apologizes for Refusing to Let Black Teens Into Australian Apple Store, Cook Says 'Apple is Open'

Apple Apologizes for Refusing to Let Black Teens Into Australian Apple Store, Cook Says 'Apple is Open'

Posted November 14, 2015 at 6:19am by iClarified
Apple has issued a formal apology after a group of black teens were refused entry into an Australian Apple Store. On Tuesday, a group of African teens tried to visit the Apple store at Highpoint shopping centre in Melbourne.

A video caught an Apple Store employee telling the teens to leave the store over concerns that they might steal.

"These guys are just a bit worried about your presence in our store," said a staff member. "They're just a bit worried you might steal something."


"Guys, end of discussion, I need to ask you to leave our store."




The teens returned to the store with Maribyrnong College principal Nick Scott the next day to seek an apology, meeting with a senior manager.

"She apologised to us and told us that we are welcome here anytime," Mabior Ater said. "It feels like we have justice now."


Apple has issued a statement on the matter:

“Inclusion and diversity are among Apple’s core values. We believe in equality for everyone, regardless of race, age, gender, gender identity, ethnicity, religion or sexual orientation. That applies throughout our company, around the world with no exceptions,” Apple said in a statement to BuzzFeed News.

“We’ve looked into the details of the situation and we apologise to the customers involved. We will continue to do everything in our power to ensure all our customers are treated the way they should be.”

Cook has now sent a company wide email declaring 'Apple is Open'.

-----
Subject: Apple is open

Team,

I’m sure you are all aware of the unacceptable incident which took place at our store at the Highpoint shopping center in Melbourne, Australia, on Tuesday. Several young men, who are students at a nearby school, had been asked by a security guard to leave the store. In an attempt to address the situation, one of our store employees gave an answer which shocked many of us.

What people have seen and heard from watching the video on the web does not represent our values. It is not a message we would ever want to deliver to a customer or hear ourselves. Our employee immediately expressed his regret and apologized to the students.

None of us are happy with the way this was handled. But we can all be proud of Kate, one of the senior managers at the Highpoint store.

On Wednesday, she greeted the same group of students to express a heartfelt apology on behalf of our store and our company. She reassured these young men that they and their fellow classmates would always be welcome at our store. The school’s principal later told a reporter that she delivered her message “with good grace,” and one of the students said, “It feels like we have justice now.”

Her words that day echoed a message you’ve heard many times from me and from Angela. It’s a simple pledge we all make to our customers and to ourselves:

Apple is open.

Our stores and our hearts are open to people from all walks of life, regardless of race or religion, gender or sexual orientation, age, disability, income, language or point of view. All across our company, being inclusive and embracing our differences makes our products better and our stores stronger.

The Apple Store Highpoint is staffed by people who share these values and illustrate our commitment to diversity. The team is made up of coworkers from Australia, as well as Egypt, Italy, India and five other nations. Collectively they speak 15 languages, including Urdu, Portuguese, Arabic and Mandarin.

While I firmly believe that this was an isolated incident rather than a symptom of a broader problem in our stores, we will use this moment as an opportunity to learn and grow. Our store leadership teams around the world, starting in Australia, will be refreshing their training on inclusion and customer engagement. These are concepts and practices they know well, but can always stand to reinforce.

Respect for our customers is the foundation of everything we do at Apple. It’s the reason we put so much care into the design of our products. It’s the reason we make our stores beautiful and inviting, and extend their reach to benefit the communities around them. It’s the reason we commit ourselves to enriching people’s lives.

Thank you all for your dedication to Apple, to our values, and to the customers we are so very fortunate to serve.

Tim
-----

Please follow iClarified on Twitter, Facebook, or RSS for updates.

Read More [via BuzzFeed]


Apple Apologizes for Refusing to Let Black Teens Into Australian Apple Store, Cook Says 'Apple is Open'
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Comments (26)
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Kallooss
Kallooss - November 17, 2015 at 7:56pm
I wonder how stupid this shop sellers ??
JusticeNotHere
JusticeNotHere - November 15, 2015 at 6:21pm
Those kids deserve an iPod or something.
ywhat
ywhat - November 15, 2015 at 3:21am
Alot of the stuff u mentioned.....also happened during Steve Jobs Era. But i do feel your frustration. The bugs and software issues make Apple $......... for example: The Genius Bar lol...
Saree
Saree - November 14, 2015 at 9:37pm
Woooow
Jackson Browne
Jackson Browne - November 14, 2015 at 8:54pm
Perhaps there was a reason (other than being African-American) that made the store employees suspicious of these folks. There is not enough in the video to address that. The same people who say that is is wrong to assume that the youths were up to no good should also realize that it is wrong to assume that the employees were racists, at least based solely on this video.
Zanka
Zanka - November 14, 2015 at 9:02pm
Well why apologize? Let alone why would the CEO of the company release such a statement?
Jackson Browne
Jackson Browne - November 14, 2015 at 9:06pm
@Zanka - Because it is good PR to apologize. This video is what makes the rounds on the internet, not the whole story. There is no adequate way for Apple to explain the situation without looking like they are protecting some racist employees. So they do what is best for Apple. Or perhaps there is more video that Apple has and it is clear that the employees were in the wrong. I really have no way of knowing from what is publicly available.
Zanka
Zanka - November 14, 2015 at 9:43pm
Well Jackson based on Tim Cooks own words the video. The fact that the employ apologized which was accepted, your original statement has me at a lost based on your own words. Clearly they know more than you and I do. Brushing this off as a PR ploy when the employ himself apologized is a reach. Aside from that to me it seems folks are confusing stereotyping with racism anyway. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Bostondiesel
Bostondiesel - November 14, 2015 at 8:52pm
Well said, my friend, well said!
Zanka
Zanka - November 14, 2015 at 8:51pm
Bingo. Finally somebody who gets it.
Saree
Saree - November 14, 2015 at 9:42pm
This is the truth.
mister humann
mister humann - November 15, 2015 at 3:30am
Hmm, so these Australians you speak of when you say that "Australians are racist" are they of a particular race? Because if so that's overly inclusive and therefore a pretty racist statement. And I mean inclusive in the bad way that lumps everyone from a race, ethnic group or simply by skin color together around a negative trait. To me it sounds exactly like saying, "Blacks are thieves," or, "Jews are stingy." You see where I'm going with this?
justabrake
justabrake - November 14, 2015 at 7:27pm
I went to the Apple Store today in freehold nj and it was crowded and if a bunch of young people came in and make a ruckus I think would walk out nobody wants to be disrupted!
Chin
Chin - November 14, 2015 at 3:07pm
A couple black don't buy Apple. Apple still in business.
Rahman
Rahman - November 14, 2015 at 2:20pm
Shame on Apple staff and the top staff to have employees like this.
gamerscul9870
gamerscul9870 - November 14, 2015 at 3:06pm
You know Tim mentioned about his company being open. This wasn't his idea to do, it was the employees fault and Apple is making this mistake fixed for them.
1
David Maldonado
David Maldonado - November 14, 2015 at 3:07pm
Apple has done things to make many people feel this way and it won't end with just an apology
Robert Livas
Robert Livas - November 14, 2015 at 1:24pm
This is disappointing news. I'm of African decent and love and support Apple products. Tim needs to do something about this so that it will never be heard of again. Not to any other race. It can affect sales.
PaulieP
PaulieP - November 15, 2015 at 12:12am
Blacks not buying Apple affecting sales? Please! Yes racism is bad, I agree 100% but not with the losing business part. Lol
Rulz121
Rulz121 - November 14, 2015 at 1:00pm
Not only have the staff were judgemental, also that's discrimination. If I was those teens I would take it further because sometimes by 'apology' don't mean enough. No 1 deserves to be told to leave apple regardless of their colour or race.
justabrake
justabrake - November 14, 2015 at 7:22pm
I don't where you live but most high end little shops in Manhattan have buzzer doors to keep this kind out ! You ever see what a flash mob does !
justabrake
justabrake - November 14, 2015 at 12:42pm
It's a judgement call You see radical teens no matter what color it's your job to make a call if Cook thinks he could call it from his office then let him give the managers his phone number !
Sly
Sly - November 14, 2015 at 9:03am
Well, apple employee wanted them out so he could steal himself. He later been caught being screened at the end of his day...
evilsearch
evilsearch - November 14, 2015 at 7:14am
please watch the video above until the end and come back here and tell me its india or aussie before you being harsh to other people by telling them nerds. well its not like nerd is a bad thing, since two nerds i know already made billions of dollars out there while both of us is just sitting here behind the keyboard and commenting on iclarified. so, be nice. have a good day.
joshWUa
joshWUa - November 14, 2015 at 6:57am
The way I see it, it's everywhere and we deal with that crap every day here in the US.
Jess
Jess - November 14, 2015 at 6:44am
Probably theft is very low there
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