Operator error: Snowblower shatters $450,000 pane in Apple Store Fifth Avenue’s glass cube (with video)

“Several readers are reporting that a snowblower has accidentally knocked into and shattered one of the large glass panels at Apple’s iconic 5th avenue Apple Store,” Mark Gurman reports for 9to5Mac.

“That’s one of 15 panels, and those large slices of glass were installed a couple of years ago,” Gurman reports. “Apple is looking at a roughly $450,000 bill to fix that glass panel.”

“Reports say that the store has not been closed because of this damaged glass,” Gurman reports, “and it’s unclear when Apple will conduct the replacement.”

 
Full article, with photo, here.

MacDailyNews Take: Oops!

70 Comments

    1. Their insurance company is, if they are covered. Otherwise another company bites the dust!
      The window will be replaced when another one is made as I don’t think they have windows of that spec stocked up in a warehouse just in case! 🙁

      1. One way or another, the snow blower contractor bites the dust. After any insurance company pays THAT bill, the blower company isn’t getting insured ever again.

        This is all rather surreal. $450,000 for a huge glass panel. Extravagant.

        1. A close friend of mine owns a landscaping company and plows snow. After several accidents over the years, his premiums are through the roof. This company will probably go down, either by loss of their insurance, or by exuberant premiums. Hard to get good labor these days. The operator of that blower is an idiot, and I’m sure he’ll be applying for unemployment tomorrow.

      2. Wrong, the snowblower contractor is liable (not the insurance company, which did not break the glass). Hopefully he has insurance to cover the damage. Otherwise Apple’s insurer will pay for the replacement and go after the snowblower contractor to recover its costs.

  1. With everyone carrying handheld video cameras these days, especially around iconic Apple stores, where’s the video of it actually breaking?

    This would have been a perfect time for one of those vertical smartphone video’s. 😉

  2. Of course, if it was anyone else, they would have put up a huge piece of plywood and waited for the glass. No idea what material they used, but it doesn’t look half bad, all things considered.

  3. Saw this in morning and to be honest have been surprised as I thought the comments from bloggers would start –
    1) Apple’s glass is now inferior with Tim Cook than it was with Steve Jobs;
    2) Apple has lost its innovation as glass now shatters
    3) Employees now jumping off the Apple ship as they’re scared of working at the new MotherShip campus that sports same glass
    4) If Steve Jobs were still alive, this would not have happenned.
    5) Apple losing margin from closed 5th Ave store due to broken glass
    And an overall, the earth is now off its axle due to Apple –
    Still have faith that the NYT will pull off some pathetic piece …

    1. Nice one, loved it… it’s still early though, there’s still time for all five of your predicted headlines to hit the web yet. I wouldn’t be surprised if you’ve managed to miss a few. Good luck.

      Go Apple!

  4. In response to “No idea what material they used, but it doesn’t look half bad, all things considered.” It’s tempered glass. It is shattered but still in place. They will probably just leave it there until the new piece is ready. Proves that Apple windows are better that Microsoft Windows. Hah!

  5. Imagine that call to insurance company –

    “Ah, we have a broken piece of glass” “Well, just go to hardware store and get it fixed. How difficult can that be?” “Well, it is a bit large.”

    1. The term “global warming” refers to an overall increase in average global temperature. A change of just one or two degC is significant if you consider the amount of energy involved in such a change and the effects that it has on energy transport within the Earth system.

      When the thermal equilibrium of a complex planetary system is perturbed (via an altered thermal balance, for instance), a response known as “climate change” occurs. This can manifest itself in regional warming or cooling, droughts or heavier than normal rains, delayed monsoons, more violent storms, alterations to typical storm paths, etc.

      No one would want to sound like an idiot by implying that there is no change in average global temperature just because it snowed in New York in January (i.e., winter).

        1. Yes! Jesus is coming. And like the parents coming back after a weekend trip to find their teenager has trashed the house with a huge party, Jesus is going to be REALLY pissed when he sees what we’ve done with his house.
          Being “given dominion” didn’t mean we were supposed to shit all over the place.

      1. uh, Melvin, the age of the earth is 4.55 billion years old, the earliest known temperature recording by man was 1,844 years ago (Claudius Galenus in 170 AD0.

        Do ya’ see the problem with the accuracy of your “sampling,” dumbass?

          1. Now, now, Botty. If you can’t behave like a big boy and play nice with your friends, you’re going to have to go to come in early and go bed without any dessert.

          1. Ice cores, radio carbon or isotopic analysis, while impressively polysyllabic, have absolutely no bearing on projections based on infinitesimally small samples of temperature recording by man in comparison to the age of the earth.

            Based on the above inarguable empirical data, which do you think is the more likely line of rational thought:
            A. Global Warming is legitimate.
            B. Global Warming is a man-made scam to garner monies from dumbasses through a “carbon tax”?

            1. You have absolutely no idea what you are babbling about. Temperature forecasts are modeled using hundreds of thousands of observations for just such science. Have another dose of OxyContin with Rush. You clearly can’t form a coherent argument.

            2. You couldn’t tell your ass from a hole in the ground could you? Al gore’s ranting has nothing to do with the scientific evidence of human induced climate change. Not a drop. Climate scientists don’t take marching g orders from Al. Only tinfoil hat, head-in-their-ass illiterates buy that faulty reasoning.

          2. Weather and Climate are two different things. Obvious, yes, but many people just don’t seem to get that – I’m not directing that to anyone in particular here… just sayin’.
            Mark Twain had the best comment ever about weather:
            “Everyone talks about the weather, but no one does anything about it.”

      2. And no one would want to sound ignorant to suggest that ‘climate change’ was all to do with co2 being emitted by humans and not solar flares, magnetic radiation, volcanoes or ….oh wait

        Boy it’s a good thing we had a carbon tax – we managed to reverse the predicted no polar ice left predictions and actually increase them yay!
        Double the tax let’s chill!

    1. Snowblower probably sucked up a snow covered, discarded, Samedung phone thrown on the ground by some fed up user heading into the Apple Store to get a phone that really works.

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