Apple said it conducted an intense investigation to find out if its employees at the Carindale store were actually guilty of stealing data from customers’ devices. But so far, it hasn’t been successful in finding any evidence.
Apple says no evidence – really?
Apple said that no evidence had been found to prove that its former employees inappropriately transferred customer data or photos. The company did meet with the store team to make them aware of an ongoing investigation and also inform them of the steps it is taking to ensure customers’ privacy is protected.
“We are investigating a violation of Apple’s business conduct policy at our store in Carindale, where several employees have already been terminated as a result of our findings,” the company said in a statement. “Apple believe in treating everyone equally and with respect and we do not tolerate behavior that goes against our values.”
Allegedly, some employees at Apple’s store in Queensland, Australia stole intimate images from customer phones. Not only this, but they were accused of rating photos of female staff and clients using their appearance as criteria.
The Courier Mail claimed that there was a photo sharing ring among staff at a store in Carindale. They allegedly used to swap pictures taken of female staff and customers and rate them on a scale of 10. They even added side commentary of their own. The publication said the employees took more than 100 close-up and explicit photos of female staff and customers without their knowledge.
Is firing employees enough?
It is said that Apple fired four of its employees over the incident, which came into light when a staff member saw another employee looking at a customer’s phone in the repair room. Reportedly, an “overseas HR Executive” has been brought in too.
This incident made everyone feel uncomfortable, and female staff members are actually hurt as they are unsure about how to feel and react because the leadership won’t reveal the names of the guilty employees. It is clear that Apple’s leadership team is not entertaining questions from staff members and hasn’t told customers anything about the privacy breach, said the Courier Mail.
One of the staff members said that not letting the women know about what has been going on is an attempt to save the guys from the full brunt of the consequences. Employees expressed concerns that though the company fired the guilty employees, justice to the victimized customers is still due.
