A former Apple employee says her manager criticized her for clocking in four minutes late, but the comment came after she stayed two hours past her shift.
The employee, known as Domenica Hope on TikTok (@domenicahope), says in a recent video that she worked in the repair department of what she calls “the fruit store.” She says she dealt with many rude customers who would verbally abuse her if she couldn’t fix their devices.
One day, the employee was dealing with an unpleasant customer who wanted her shattered iPhone fixed but wouldn’t give any information about how it shattered, Domenica says. Without that information, the employee was having a hard time servicing the customer and moving her appointment along. Meanwhile, a queue of 30 other customers was piling up, she says.
@domenicahope #stitch with @domenica hope Story time as a “fruit” store employee 🍎📱 #storytime #iphone #techtok #geniusbar #toronto #retail ♬ original sound – domenica hope
Twenty minutes into the appointment, Domenica says the customer was yelling in her face and calling her names. The customer eventually told her what happened to the phone (she broke it with a wine bottle) and cried while telling the story.
Domenica says she tried to comfort the customer, but the other customers waiting in line were getting impatient and made her shift that much more unpleasant. To service all the waiting customers, the employee ended up working two hours past when her shift was supposed to end. By that point, she had worked almost 11 hours.
The TikToker says she was “emotionally exhausted” when she went to clock out. But her manager asked to speak with her and brought her into her office.
Domenica says she expected her manager to praise her for her hard work and offer positive reinforcement after her “really, really challenging” shift. Instead, the manager called her out for clocking in four minutes late that day.
“I stayed two hours later, it was a 12-hour shift I did, but she wanted to talk about that I clocked in four minutes late,” Domenica says in her TikTok. “This is why I will never fucking work in retail again.”
Viewers largely sympathized with Domenica and commented words of support for her hard work.
“Omg, I feel for you girl! I keep making the mistake of going above and beyond for my retail job and it usually ends up horribly for me :(,” one viewer commented.
“Omg girl, that one’s a doozy!!! You need an ‘I survived the fruit store’ medal!” another viewer wrote.
Multiple users commented sharing their own horror stories from working at “the fruit store.”
“Broooooo if this ain’t the realest depiction of the fruit store,” one user said.
“My brother used to work there! He had to get put on ODSP and had therapy to deal with the trauma from there,” a second added.
A third shared, “Dude. Fruit store was a cult. I hated every second of working there. No free programs or discounts could make up for it.”
The Daily Dot reached out to Domenica via TikTok comment and to Apple via email.
