Earlier this week, there was a huge hullabaloo over an incident at an Apple Store in Australia where six black teenagers were blocked from entering because the store was worried about theft. It did not take long for Apple CEO Tim Cook to fire off a company wide email that was published by BuzzFeed. Cook stressed that the moment is “not a message we would ever want to deliver to a customer or hear ourselves.”
The unfortunate incident occurred in Melbourne, Australia at the Highpoint Shopping Centre where several teenagers (hailing from Sudan and Somalia) were told by the security, “They’re just worried you might steal something.” This moment was recorded on a smartphone and shared on Facebook where it outraged those who who watched it. Although an Apple Store senior manager did apologize to the teens and their school principal, Cook says the gesture is not sufficient. Cook’s letter expressed his disappointment:
“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.”
One can bet that Cook will treat the situation with the seriousness it deserves.
(Via Buzzfeed)