Apple's Tim Cook Sends Company-Wide Email After Melbourne Incident

To say it's been a bit of a PR nightmare for Apple this week is totally fair. Video surfaced on Tuesday showing Apple Retail Store employees in Melbourne, Australia giving three black teenagers the boot, preemptively worried that the group "might steal something," as one employee phrased it.

Apple has since apologized for its employees' actions and issued a statement reaffirming the company's stance on diversity and inclusion:

"We believe in equality for everyone, regardless of race, age, gender, gender identity, ethnicity, religion or sexual orientation. That applies throughout our company, around the world with no exceptions," reads Apple's statement.

"We will continue to do everything in our power to ensure all our customers are treated the way they should be."

Apple also invited the three students, and their principal, to revisit the store in question. And while it might seem that the entire ordeal is now over and done with, the Melbourne employees' actions are likely going to leave a more lasting impact on Apple as a whole.

Apple CEO Tim Cook sent an email out to every Apple employee earlier this week, reiterating the company's values and highlighting some additional steps Apple will take to ensure that this kind of a situation doesn't happen again.

"Apple is open," Cook wrote.

"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."

Going forward, all Apple Retail Store leadership teams will be refreshing their training on "inclusion" and "customer engagement," Cook noted. Even though he believes the Melbourne incident was isolated, and not indicative of a typical Apple Retail Store experience, "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," Cook wrote.