14 DAY TRIAL // When you’re a company the size of Apple, every single mistake that your employees make might have serious consequences, and this is close to what was about to happen to the Cupertino-based firm following a weird case in Australia.
A group of black students visiting the Apple store in Melbourne were asked to leave because staff believed they could steal something, as the security guards explained them.
The teenagers, who were wearing Maribyrnong College uniforms, recorded the full discussion with the security staff and posted it on Facebook, causing a wave of criticism aimed at the local Apple store managers and showing support for the black students.
“We're just worried you might steal something,” the security guard is heard saying before one of the students asks, “Why would we steal something?” “End of discussion, I need to ask you to leave our store,” the security staff continued.
Store manager, Apple have already apologized
According to a report by SBS, the principal of Maribyrnong College, Nick Scott, paid a visit to the local Apple store together with students to seek an apology not only from the local staff but also from Apple itself. The manager indeed said it was all just an unfortunate event while Apple issued a statement to explain that the company doesn’t look at age, gender, or ethnicity when deciding who should buy its products.
“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. 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.”
On the bright side, the students claimed they understood it was all just an isolated case and said Apple could not be blamed for the behavior of just one employee.