ifoAppleStore, the website handling news and information about Apple Inc.'s retail stores,
reported last week that a Glendale Apple Store employee was fired for posting
photos taken by customers on display iPhones. Although categorized as "innocuous" by the publication, it seems that Apple isn't fine with such practices. The ex-employee, of course, wasn't fine with Apple's not-fineness with the matter either. So who's right and who's wrong here?
The pictures show parts of an Apple store, customers or only their limbs, groups and single shots of customers' faces and so on. mikeywally falls short of providing specifics as to how he got himself fired, but given that another blog post of his explains how two of his co-workers had been recently fired for "timecard fraud," some might be tempted to believe he was under the eye of Apple Store management. Speaking of which, mikeywally also criticizes management for "inconsistency" and other problems.
Forget the pictures (hopefully they aren't removed by the time you read this piece), and let's analyze mikeywally's blog post to try and understand exactly what went wrong at the Glendale Apple Store.
Just so everyone understands what this "time fraud" is all about, it means the employees were cutting their working hours short and replacing them with eating, or "chilling in the 'break-room'." The break-room is another aspect of the Glendale Apple Retail Store mikeywally wasn't at all fond of.
Speaking of the "timecard fraud", a dubbing mikeywally finds ridiculous ("TIME FRAUD!? Are you serious?"), the ex-employee reveals that everyone did this and "it was less than two minutes." He admits he also "did this on many occasions," and that he "even got caught a few times," but "was never fired."
"Why were these guys fired? Were they bad employees with bad records?," mikeywally rhetorically asks. "NO. One of them had been with Apple Glendale for a year and a half (he didn't like the job, but he certainly knew his way around the sales floor and was courteous), and the other was one of the best, most considerate, knowledgeable, and patient Mac Specialists I had ever met, and to make things worse, he had just gotten married! What compassion Apple Glendale!"
Sure enough, mikeywally's arguments don't reveal anything bad (or unusual), but just an attitude on his behalf. As for his two friends, well...:
1. He says one of them didn't even "like" his job, so it's easy to guess that Glendale Apple Store management could see that. Generally, employers want staff who are passionate about their work,
especially Apple.
2. The fact that the other friend had just gotten married is, in no way, something a company's management should care about, unless that employee specifically demands (in writing even) that he should be granted special treatment for a certain given situation. Plus, the mere fact that the friend had just gotten married should have made him act more responsibly (at least for a while).
3. Since these two guys are good friends of mikeywally, we can all agree he is likely to have shared their habits and a few extra ones as well, such as posting photos of the store on the web.
Many companies actually hand you this paper which says you must not divulge too many (or any) details that might trace back to your existence in their organization, which, of course, you must also sign if you want the job. It's called a "non-disclosure agreement." You may also be required to sign a "confidentiality agreement."
Here's one more sample from mikeywally's blog post, to conclude the whole matter: "I had never worked in a place where so many people did not want to be, and when so many people do not want to be at their workplace they cut corners."
...or, they find a job suitable for themselves, Softpedia would suggest.
Of course, we can't point any fingers, given that it's actually hard to find a good working environment with good management so, for all we know, the guy could be right. We should at least grant mikeywally the benefit of the doubt. In fact, should future posts of his bring better arguments as to where Apple management goes wrong when it comes to lower-ranked employees, this might even deserve a follow-up.
Also, any Apple Store employees, or people familiar with how things are in the Apple working environment, are welcome to share their impressions.
Here are some of the photos in question:
