Tim Cook has weighed in on the Apple Store accused of racially discriminating against six black students who were barred from the store because security felt that they might steal something.
In an email sent to all Apple employees this morning the CEO called the situation ‘unacceptable.’ Cook said he thinks the Highpoint store issue was an isolated incident, but notified employees that leadership teams will be ‘refreshing their training on inclusion and customer engagement,’ starting with Australia.
Read Cook’s full email below:
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
Buster Hein is a freelance writer who lives in Phoenix, Arizona. Twitter: @bst3r.
7 responses to “Tim Cook calls racist Apple Store incident ‘unacceptable’”
Wonder who got yelled at and chewed out in Australia.
“End of discussion. I need to ask you to leave our company.”
there’s no proof such a thing happened. There’s comment that the store manager did call the boys and apologized for the incident but who knows the tone that took or that anyone was even given a written warning in their file much less fired
As an Australian Apple fan this incident sickened me. I certainly hope that security staff are included in this inclusion training.
Are blacks on some kind of endangered list, that they need special attention every time. They are responsible for the perception that exists. I guess it would be acceptable if a bunch of White, Asian, Hispanic or Middle Eastern kids were thrown out. But black kids got thrown out of some place – OMG!! It’s the end of the world. Just look at the pathetic state of African countries and we can all see how good they are.
Totally agree with you. They (black people) created this reputation for themselves.
You cannot train out racism. OF COURSE the stores are open to everyone, unless they actually go through the doors, then unless you are white or a light skinned Asian, you are not exactly welcomed. I came in with a Mac Pro on a little dolley to take it to the Genius Bar, and they actually asked me if it was mine. And I am in the United States and was born here. I use my Mac in my business, and no that is not a computerized burglary ring.
There are comments on other sites that the video doesn’t tell the whole story. Allegedly the young men were in the store and were making a huge disturbance and that’s why they were asked to leave. Supposedly they are known by the store and supposedly after they had been in the store things had been discovered to be missing.
now who knows if any of that is true. heaven knows bringing out the S word wasn’t a smart move. but the fact that we haven’t seen stories about Tim Cook firing a staffer over being a racist asshat doesn’t make one wonder if it really was a racism thing or if the boys just took it that way and Tim’s letter to his staff was just a pre-emptive reminder that that show, when someone gets the bug to be that way, won’t fly.