Apple fires Genius for no-show after he volunteers for Haitian Earthquake Relief
8:21 am, January 25th, 2010, John Brownlee
Apple’s shown some commitment to Haitian Earthquake Relief Efforts by making it easy for iTunes users to donate to the Red Cross, but according to one Genius Bar employee, this commitment doesn’t extend to letting its employees rush off to Santiagio to help facilitate relief efforts: he was fired for his troubles.
According to the ex-Genius, Apple fired him for breaking their three strike “no call, no show” policy.
Last week I was presented a time-sensitive opportunity to fly to Santiago in the Dominican Republic as part of a volunteer relief group, assisting in sending aid to Haiti. I was working with a volunteer group that was being co-sponsored by Airline Ambassadors, an N.G.O. program working in conjunction with the airlines, as well as the United Nations. I followed the standard procedure for calling out of work at exactly 4:47am on January 16th, the same hour that I was notified that I was eligible to participate in the program. I was gone for five days.
As of today, January 23, 2010, I have been terminated by Apple. I was told because I didn’t follow protocol, which requires that I call out for each day that I am absent, that three “no call/no shows”, is grounds for termination. I thought that explaining my whereabouts for this past five days would have been sufficient, clearly it was not.
I want to be clear that I am not outraged that I was fired. I am just deeply saddened that Apple lacks the compassion and empathy when it came to reviewing my employment in the context of my situation. I acknowledge and accept that I need to be held accountable for leaving work so abruptly, but to not let me make it up to them is harsh.
In a nutshell, I was fired for a technicality, my work in Santiago helping send aid to Haiti, irrelevant.
In truth, it’s hard to really fault Apple here. A major humanitarian disaster in a third-world nation, as tragic as it is, does not mean that Apple Stores get shuttered. The employee in question undoubtedly had noble motives, but he also admits openly that he violated the company’s policy on calling out: he only called out once, then retroactively explained his absence for the additional five days. It’s pretty much an admission that if he’d followed Apple’s policy, he’d still have his job.
But hey, at least it makes for a good martyr story, right? “FIRED FOR SAVING HAITI.” Too bad so many Western disaster responders do more harm than good.
Posted by John Brownlee in Apple, News | Comment on this article
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Cmon dude! It’s the company rules, you signed a contract with those rules. You can’t just say “it was for charity” and get away with it. Everybody else will start saying the same thing for something totally different.
Ronald, on January 25th, 2010 at 8:25 am
Oh come on. This is just as much of a disgrace as the amount of money they charge for AppleCare. Just a little bit of respect for what has gone on in Haiti. Who gives a crap if you miss some work. These are human beings. Disgraceful.
Pfml07, on January 25th, 2010 at 8:30 am
Apple – or at least that specific store could have turned this into positivie publicity with a small press release and disciplined him behind the scenes with something less than firing him.
Instead it turned out the worst way for both sides, negative publicity inclusive. People who hear this story won’t care for the 3 strike rule when they hear that this guy was helping the people in haiti. All they’ll care for is: This guy helped people who have lost everything in a distaster and was fired by Apple for it.
Not the smartest move IMO, let alone how exactly was he supposed to call every day when he’s abroad? To me it seems more like some boss who’s nitpicking here to follow some company rules that could easily be ignored in a case like that.
Stefan, on January 25th, 2010 at 8:31 am
Yeh, that BS. I don’t think you should have to call 5 days to say, “Yup, still in Haiti.” If you made the call and said, “Sorry, but I’ll be out of town for the next 5 days.” I think that should be enough. Write me up if you want, but fired ? That seems a little extreme.
krye, on January 25th, 2010 at 8:43 am
I’m not sure about Apple’s no-call; no-show policy but I’m curious to know if the ex-employee, told the company or store manager, that he will be gone and out of communications during the relief effort. In short, if Apple required an employee to call each & every day for a family emergency (i.e. death), I think there is something seriously wrong with this policy.
Major, on January 25th, 2010 at 9:21 am
Apple, even considering the reason the employee called out is correct. And the employee admits his own error. If he called out on the first day and explained that he needed to be out of town on an emergency for the next 5 days and explained why, then he might have been released. All approved before he left.
To the commenter above – there is a Bereavement policy and depends on in-state or out of state deaths and gives you an extended absence
Eric, on January 25th, 2010 at 10:19 am
Imagine if he was a store manager. Would his unexcused absence be seen in the same light? My company has a policy on absences. If I disappear without cause it is grounds for termination. I know the policy. The fact that he was helping out in Haiti is irrelevant. People, stop thinking with your emotions. It lead to irrational results.
Khurt Williams, on January 25th, 2010 at 10:44 am
This sounds like something that needs to be checked out further at snopes.com
Note that the guy didn’t go to Haiti, didn’t choose to work with an aid-group where he lived. He went to Santiago Chile?
C’mon… something smells with this one. And then the guy runs to the press to so Apple looks bad?
THINK people. Something’s not right w/this story.
Nightwriter927, on January 25th, 2010 at 10:51 am
Oh doh! My bad… just noticed the story said Santiago in the Domincan Republic.
Still… the guy was “presented with an opportunity” and he chose to take it. Then complains about “harsh” treatment. Seems like he should have cleared it w/his employer first.
The whole story still sounds fish to me.
Nightwriter927, on January 25th, 2010 at 10:56 am
Yes – If you don’t show up for your job, you will be fired. That’s how it works.
Erin's Dad, on January 25th, 2010 at 10:57 am
Apple has a business to run, and to have a Genius missing affects customer satisfaction, so while it appears there seems to be some miscommunication on the part of the employee, it’s still in Apple’s best interest to let this person go.
We’re obviously not hearing the whole story, so you can take this story with a grain of salt.
Ted, on January 25th, 2010 at 10:59 am
I was just wondering about the people bashing Apple on this.
Suppose I was a genius and didn’t call or show for five days because:
- I went to work in a homeless shelter
- I went to help my neighbor because his house caught fire
- I went to help my brother to care of his kids after his wife ran out
- I went to Somalia to help with famine relief
- I went to….
etc etc
they are all worthy humanitarian causes and there are thousands more, can I violate company policy and not call because they are good reasons and keep my job? (how are companies going to run like that and people wonder why the US economy is so bad it has to borrow hundreds of billions $$$ from China and Japan)
Frankly reading the article Apple policy seems very open that you only have to call for no show. If he couldn’t call everyday maybe he should on the first call request a formal leave of absence?
DaveW, on January 25th, 2010 at 11:23 am
I totally disagree. The inflexibility of bureaucracy will kill us all. Use common sense, the guy screwed up, punish him and move on. Don’t fire the guy. I can remember back in the day when we were all human and we treated each other like family in the work environment. Now, we see TSA employees patting down two year old babies because their name is on the terrorist watch list. Common sense has died and the birth of political correctness has moved into his abode. Farewell, humanity. I can’t believe a conservative, like myself, is in such disagreement with Apple.LOL
JoelC, on January 25th, 2010 at 12:28 pm
uh – it’s two strikes you’re out – not three. My own experience was, as an employee who showed up every day 20 to 30 minutes earlier . . . and then reported to a regularly scheduled shift . . . that was changed to two hours earlier without prior knowledge – (so in a sense no call – show as I continued that day for a full nine hours). … terminated – no excuses. Alas I had missed a day eleven months earlier due to snow road conditions. Management recommended I stay home but I still drew my first no call no show. Apple Retail is heartless when it comes to time and attendance. You are simply corporate meat.
Terminated, on January 25th, 2010 at 12:59 pm
Good for Apple.
You want to be gone for 5 days, that’s what
vacation is for (which has to be approved in advance).
No matter how noble you think your motives are, they’re only important to you. A business has to be staffed.
Helping Haiti might be important to you, but there are plently of
people who would trade 10,000 3rd world lives for 20% off a Mac purchase. So it could cost Apple business if you’re not there to serve them.
Pray your next potential employer has a bleeding heart too
when you try to explain why you were fired for
cause.
dupree878, on January 25th, 2010 at 1:07 pm
1. Who gives a shit that he wasn’t at his store to answer Joe/Jane blows question about how this works or that works he was dong something far more important then selling macs he was helping Haitian relief.
2. I wouldn’t directly fault Apple over this but I would fault the store specifically the manager. If this guy is smart he’d take this to someone else above the store management drone and fight for his job.
Fired for missing 5 measly days because he was helping with Haitian relief, he did nothing wrong I hope he embarrasses the store drone for being such a retard.
porkchop1234, on January 25th, 2010 at 1:17 pm
@DaveW specifically
You are using a example involving Somali famine relief and selling macs at a genius bar. Selling a stupid computer is more important then helping millions from starving to death?? Dude your above post takes the cake for being the most ignorant short sighted comment I’ve ever seen on here.
porkchop1234, on January 25th, 2010 at 1:23 pm
having worked retail, this isn’t any different than any other company.
It seems that the guy didn’t go to his manager and mention that he was a volunteer for said group and they were working on going down in advance.
then he calls out, likely via a voice mail, for the first day and admits that he didn’t do anything the rest of the week. so the first day he was in the clear but then missed 3 other days with nothing. no contact, no return calls. for all they knew he was just ditching.
and then he comes back and when he’s told he broke the rules that were likely spelled out in the beginning of his employment he’s all “okay yeah but hey I was gone for a good reason”. but it really wasn’t a good reason at all. Not good enough to explain why he didn’t follow the rules and call or talk to someone in advance that it was possible.
Heck when I worked retail we had to go to a manager in advance if we got a jury summons. Tell the boss the dates and then after calling in each night, notify the store that yes I have to go in tomorrow, or no, i’ll be at my shift.
And this guy is a Genius. As I understand it, almost all stores only take folks by appointment and the work schedules for the Geniuses are set to sync with the appointment slots. So he forced his store to on the fly cover all his appointments. That was probably a serious headache especially those other 3 days when they had no idea if he was going to show or not until he just didn’t show up. So even if they had the latitude to bend the rules they probably weren’t in the best of moods.
As for the guy outing the company, tacky. He screwed up and knew it. should have kept his mouth shut. Hopefully a future boss hasn’t seen all this stuff and puts it together in his interview.
Charli, on January 25th, 2010 at 1:26 pm
As someone who managed retail stores for years, I personally think management could have worked with this guy. If, when he called, he explained the circumstances and that he would be out of reach for those five days, it would have been simple to verify where he had been. But he would need to speak to someone directly to negotiate this, IMHO. If, for instance, the store was already short-staffed, that would have left them in a bind and I can’t blame them. I don’t know what the “standard procedure” is when calling in, but if all you can do is leave messages (and I’ve worked at places like that), then he’s stuck. It sounds like the guy just took off without clearing it with anyone.
Batguano, on January 25th, 2010 at 1:35 pm
This is the policy in many places, actually. And agreed with the last link – there are too many groups that “self-deploy” to disaster areas and cause more problems than they solve. I witnessed this during Hurricane Katrina. Haiti is a bit different – it’s been difficult for even experienced folks to get down there, but inexperienced folks have been flying into the D.R. and trying to get across the border. Heck, I’m a Firefighter/EMT with SAR experience and have run into roadblocks getting down there.
Jon, on January 25th, 2010 at 1:38 pm
“In truth, it’s hard to really fault Apple here.”
Really John. REALLY? Is it hard to fault them? Really? Life is all about perspective. We have rules against speeding, but we may bend them if, for example, someone is in labour or near death and needs to find a hospital.
You lot are absurd. As I said, life is all about perspective. At the end of the day, a human being has lost his income because he tried to help those in suffering. Whatever the rule. Yes, let’s nitpick and make glaring accusations as to how the world would fall apart, and Apple would bankrupt, if these rules were not followed by all.
At the very least, there could be a clause or a proviso added the rule. Are they not a progressive company? Are new rules and ratifications not able to be done? There are always exceptions. Short staffed, that’s rich and there is no evidence of that. There is no evidence of anything other than being restrictive and “by the book.”
It’s like being fired for being late when you stopped on the highway before coming into work to pull someone out of a burning wreck… There are somethings that can, nay, should, be overlooked…
WS, on January 25th, 2010 at 4:18 pm
hey @ porkchop
you say “@DaveW specifically
You are using a example involving Somali famine relief and selling macs at a genius bar. Selling a stupid computer is more important then helping millions from starving to death?? Dude your above post takes the cake for being the most ignorant short sighted comment I’ve ever seen on here.”
That’s dumb statement. Did you actually understand my post?
Did I say selling computers is MORE important that famine relief? Can you quote where I said that?
I said you can’t take ‘good causes’ as an excuse and don’t follow company rules which agreed to when you started work.
If you think famine relief is the thing to do go ahead and do it.
Why do you think a company should keep you on staff when when you decide to run off even for what( you deem) as ‘worthy’ cause especially when you’re not following rules you agreed to when joined up about informing them?
So everybody can just go on a walkabout whenever he thinks its a ‘worthy’ cause? Especially everyone has their own ideas about what is worthy, look at ‘abortion’ ‘anti abortion’ marches. You’re saying some anti abortion guy might not turn up for days because he ‘believes saving baby lives is more important than selling computers’ or a artist thinks going to save a historical monument in China is more important than selling computers….etc.etc.
there must be a MILLION things more important than selling computers! but if you feel so join a company selling computers and sign a contract agreeing to their rules???
Go ahead quit and join a somali relief organization if it so takes you but don’t just walk out of your company and be missing for days!!!
And you call me short sighted and I think you are near clueless.
Obviously you’ve never managed staff or if you have I pity your company!
DaveW, on January 25th, 2010 at 4:54 pm
And it’s bullshit like what’s in this comment thread that makes me cringe with disgust at Apple fans. This cult is seriously screwed up and seems to believe that Apple can do no wrong.
The employee gave the store notice. They knew he was in another country. He explained his motives for doing so. Firing him over such a technicality is not only unfair, it’s plain stupid.
Imagine that there was no real opportunity for the man to call his employers, and as stated above it’s kind of redundant to call every day and say “Hi, still in Haiti, saving lives.”
Regulations aside, it’s a common sense issue. They knew exactly where he was. They knew he would be hard at work providing humanitarian aid. It’s absolutely inhuman to turn around and fire this man on such a pathetic technicality, when the rules could have been bent (in my mind they’re already ‘bent’) to allow for a lesser punishment.
This really is a matter of common sense vs blind bureaucracy.
@dupree878
I do hope you’re trolling.
Jake, on January 25th, 2010 at 5:41 pm
I totally agree with DaveW.
Martin, on January 25th, 2010 at 8:39 pm
In California it better to be fired than to quit! You can’t collect unemployment if you quit, so I imagine he could have asked to be fired. What you see on the surface might be something else bellow…
Adrianna, on January 25th, 2010 at 9:03 pm
I’m glad he got fired.
Mattzook, on January 25th, 2010 at 11:14 pm
I worked for AT&T in the past. They provided me with a free phone, and expected me to keep in contact. Phone companies don’t like to hear people say that they couldn’t call.
Apple is a phone manufacturer. IIRC, Apple gave each of it’s employees an iPhone – don’t know if this guy got one.
Steve W, on January 25th, 2010 at 11:27 pm
Blind obediance to the letter of a rule is not a virtue.
Adrian, on January 26th, 2010 at 1:21 am
For all those who are so angry with Apple, perhaps you have never been employed at a place (retail or otherwise) where someone’s absence has affected daily workflow. Is going to Haiti a noble and excellent cause? I think that goes without saying. Is leaving people who depend on you in the day-to-day not a major breach of responsibility and also a let down to your co-workers? Yes. This gentleman could have figured out a way to make both charity and responsibility coincide, for sure.
M, on January 26th, 2010 at 2:26 am
Any company stuck with following its policies like dumb sheep are doomed. It’s very contradictive how a dynamic company like Apple, known for breaking the “rules” of business on a daily basis are so hard knuckled when it comes to its own employees. What will happen the day Jobs steps back? Can’t he see that what his company needs is to breed a new generation of heretics; natural leaders that just like him does the opposite to what company lore tells them to?
Tom, on January 29th, 2010 at 4:57 am