Tim Cook a pris la plume pour réagir après l'incident survenu mardi dans un Apple Store de Melbourne et largement relayé sur internet. Pour rappeler le contexte, six jeunes étudiants originaires d'Afrique avaient été éconduits par la sécurité de la boutique et un employé leur avait sommairement expliqué que les vigiles craignaient qu'ils ne soient là pour dérober quelque chose. L'échange avait vite tourné court devant le refus de l'employé de s'expliquer plus avant.

Une vidéo montrant la brève et maladroite discussion entre l'employé et les jeunes garçons a ensuite fait le tour des réseaux sociaux.

La directrice de la boutique s'est d'abord excusée auprès des intéressés pour le comportement des salariés concernés. Tim Cook ensuite a transmis à plusieurs sites, dont BuzzFeed, un courrier intitulé "Apple est tolérante", dans lequel il condamne cet « événement inacceptable » et qui ne « représente en rien les valeurs » d'Apple, assure-t-il.

Même si je crois fermement que ce fut un incident isolé plutôt que le symptôme d'un problème plus large dans nos magasins, nous allons utiliser ce moment comme une occasion d'apprendre et de mûrir. Nos équipes de direction dans tous les magasins à travers le monde — à commencer par ceux en Australie — vont actualiser leurs programmes sur l'accueil des clients. Ce sont des sujets et des pratiques qu'ils connaissent bien, mais qui peuvent toujours être renforcés.

Cook a félicité la responsable de cet Apple Store pour avoir invité mercredi les étudiants à revenir et leur assurait qu'ils étaient les bienvenus comme n'importe quel client ou visiteur. Une réponse jugée satisfaisante par le groupe de garçons ainsi que le directeur de leur établissement.

La lettre in extenso :

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