‘Scott, You Don’t Understand’

Thinking about Apple’s for-pay on-campus employee cafes always makes me think about this story from Scott Forstall, from Steven Levy’s wonderful “Oral History of Apple’s Infinite Loop” for Wired:

Whenever I ate with Steve, he insisted on paying for me, which I thought was a little odd. Even if we went in together and he selected something quick like pre-made sushi, and I ordered a pizza in the wood-burning pizza oven, he would wait for me at the cash register for 10, 15 minutes. I felt so awkward. Finally, I told him. “Seriously, I can pay for myself, so please don’t stand there and wait for me.” He said, “Scott, you don’t understand. You know how we pay by swiping your badge and then it’s deducted from your salary? I only get paid a dollar a year! Every time I swipe we get a free meal!” Here was this multi-billionaire putting one over on the company he founded, a few dollars at a time.

★ Monday, 14 March 2022