An Apple retail store in Georgia is making news this week after one of its employees refused to sell an iPad to a 19-year-old U.S. resident, presumably because she is from Iran, a country the employee claims has "bad relations" with the West.
WSBTV.com is reporting that an Alpharetta, Georgia woman was denied the sale of an iPad after being overheard speaking Farsi with her friend. Although 19-year-old Sahar Sabet is a U.S. citizen, she and a friend interested in buying an iPhone both hail from Iran -- which at least one Apple Store employee believes is reason enough not to sell the device.
The incident happened last Thursday at the Apple retail store inside North Pointe Mall, where Sabet wanted to buy an iPad for her cousin who still lives in Iran. An employee at the store overheard Sabet and her friend speaking Farsi and inquired about what language they spoke.
"When we said 'Farsi, I'm from Iran,' he said, 'I just can't sell this to you. Our countries have bad relations,'" Sabet claims.
Sabet isn't alone -- Zack Jafarzadeh had a similar experience at the nearby Perimeter Mall after attempting to purchase an iPhone for an Iranian friend living and studying in the Atlanta area on a legal visa.
"We never talked about him going back to Iran or anything like that. He was just speaking full-fledged Farsi and the representative came back and denied our sale," Jafarzadeh explained.
While Sabet and Jafarzadeh are claiming racial profiling, an Apple Store manager points to the company's corporate policy, which forbids "the exportation, sale or supply from the U.S. to Iran of any Apple goods" -- at least without authorization of the U.S. government first.
This week, The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) has called on Apple to change this policy after hearing about the news report. But Iranians here in the U.S. have a better idea: Silence is golden when dealing with Apple.
"I would say if you're trying to buy an iPhone, don't tell them anything about Iran. That would be your best bet," concluded Jafarzadeh.
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MacTechFreak
June 21, 2012 at 11:25am
As a US Navy Veteran who served in Operation Enduring Freedom I say, GOD BLESS AMERICA & GOD BLESS APPLE and all other Tech Companies who refuse sale to OUR ENEMYS WHO SHOW NO SHAME IN KILLING AMERICANS!!!
robertdothan
June 20, 2012 at 10:06am
I know it sounds stupid and overboard, but they thought they were doing the right thing. Let's dig into the policy, not the people trying to follow it.
igreen
June 20, 2012 at 10:31am
Actually, this is pretty a pretty common policy with technology/computer companies. The culprit is not the companies, but rather the U.S. government which dictates where and what U.S. Technology companies can sell overseas.
I'll add, Iran is on a short list of countries that the U.S. has trade embargoes on. The Apple Store employee in question if he sold an iPhone/Ipad/Notebook to a person knowing it was going to be re-exported to Iran would be in violation of U.S. Export laws. As soon as the customer said "I'm shipping this to Iran" the Apple employee's hands were tied.
ebrainer1
June 20, 2012 at 8:07am
Well, this is just stupid. To think that a company like apple that claims to “connect people and improve their lives” would flat out deny someone a purchase because of their country of origin. They really should change this policy, or else people might start another petition.
