今週の初めにオーストラリア、メルボルンのHighpoint Shopping CentreにあるApple Storeの店員たちが、黒人の学生たちに、店を出るよう求めた。それは、彼らが“何かを盗むかもしれない”と心配したからだ。その後Appleは、学生たちに謝罪し、AppleのCEO Tim Cookが最近全社員にメールを送った。BuzzFeedが入手したそのメール（下に全文掲載）の中でCookは、そこで起きたことは“許容できない事件だ”と言っている。
[ツイート訳: Apple Storeの男たちはソマリ族とスーダン人の学生たちの入店を拒否した。彼らを、人種差別した。]
Cookはこう書いている: “Web上のそのビデオの視聴により人びとの目と耳に入ったものは、わが社の価値を表していない。それは私たちが顧客に伝えたい、あるいは私たち自身が耳にしたい、と一度でも思ったことのあるメッセージではない。わが社の社員はただちに彼の悔恨を表明し、その学生たちに謝罪した”。
メールの終わりの方にはこうある: “これが一度かぎりの事件であり、ストア全般の症状ではないことを堅く信ずるが、この時を、学習と成長のための機会として生かしたい”。
Cookはそれに続けて、統合*と顧客関係にかかわる社員教育を刷新し強化する、と述べている。〔*: inclusion, 差別をせずに受け入れること。〕
以下が、メールの全文だ:
（Appleはコメントを断ったが、本誌TechCrunchはこのメールが本物であることを確認した。）
〔以下、英文ママ〕
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
