Cy-Fi Gets Scary
I’m sure we have sci-fi fans out there. Science fiction movies run the gamut from funny to scary. There’s a lot of funny stuff in cyberspace, too. As previously noted (click here, here, here, here, here, and here), cy-fi is also pretty scary.
The latest employee video to land on YouTube involves two former Domino’s Pizza employees. One Domino’s employee prepared sandwiches while putting cheese up his nose and nasal mucus on the sandwiches as the other employee filmed and narrated. Within a few days, it was viewed on YouTube over a million times.
Domino’s fired the employees, which is the least of their problems, since they’ve also been arrested for delivering prohibited food, a felony. Domino’s is planning to sue the employees for the damage they’ve caused.
Before concluding Domino’s is overreacting to a prank, consider the opinion of brand experts. The national perception of Domino’s quality has gone from positive to negative. The video is graphic enough that it affects customers adversely. The narration on the video doesn’t help: “In about five minutes it’ll be sent out on delivery where somebody will be eating these, yes, eating them, and little did they know that cheese was in his nose . . . . Now that’s how we roll at Domino’s.” The employees say the sandwiches were never delivered.
As noted in my previous posts, when people, particularly young people, interact with social media, they become temporarily insane. That may be OK for them, but it’s not OK if their employer is dragged into the mess. If you don’t already have a comprehensive Internet use policy, you need one. If you don’t address this subject in the strongest possible terms during orientation, you need to. The world of cy-fi is explosive, scary and expensive.
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About Chris Parker
Chris Parker's practice focuses on the representation and counseling of companies in matters pertaining to the workplace and the protection of their intellectual property and trade secrets. In addition to serving as an advocate for clients, Mr. Parker is also trained as a mediator and frequently serves as a third-party neutral.
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Jimmy Daniel provides counseling to businesses of all sizes related to the employment relationship. He assists in the drafting of employment agreements, policies, and handbooks, as well as provides guidance related to compliance with federal, state, and local legislation such as the Fair Labor Standards Act and the Family and Medical Leave Act.
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While serving in an Of Counsel relationship with the firm, Mr. Bridgesmith also serves as the Executive Director at the Institute for Conflict Resolution at Lipscomb University and as an officer and principal in Strategic Resolutions Group, LLC. In these roles, Mr. Bridgesmith brings over 30 years of legal experience in dispute resolution and innovative workplace strategies to clients, students and business entities alike.
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Besides firing and suing the employees, how are they going to deal with the videos now on YouTube? Will YouTube withdraw the offending videos at Domino’s request? One way or the other, it seems like Domino’s is going to have to upload its own YouTube video to try and undo the damage.
Good questions, Paul. I don’t think YouTube can pull the video at Domono’s request, because Domino’s had nothing to do with making the video or placing it on YouTube. The video was finally pulled when one of the culprits claimed a copyright on the video. She appears to have done this out of true remorse.
This points up a big problem with the Internet, social media, etc. It moves so fast, and the law moves so slow. Even if there were some kind of applicable law to this situation, it’s possible that a viral YouTube video will be seen a million times before anyone can get to court.
I’m sure Domino’s is doing its own media campaign to try to combat damage done.
Thanks for weighing in.
John