Write this one up as the downside of social media. It’s painful to even post about this because I feel so bad for the Dominos Pizza brand. I mean, this is just brutal to watch and read about, but it has to be pointed out that this is the world we live in now. So, sorry Dominos.
If you go read this story (found from Huffpost), you’ll find out about a few completely horrible humans, err, scumbags who were working for Dominos who took some videos of themselves picking their noses and putting it on people’s food, and then wiping their butts with a wash cloth and washing the pizza pans with it.
I don’t want to put the videos here, but you can watch them here. Prepare to be disgusted and angry.
Again, this is completely disgusting and those people who did this should not have only been fired, but brought up on criminal charges of some kind.
Now back to the bad news for Dominos. Social media is going to allow this to spread, and fast. There’s really nothing they can do. It’s not libelous or untrue so they can’t have lawyers take down the videos and “news”. All they can really do is respond and hope it buries itself.
The VP of Communications had this to say on the site we found the story on.
Hi, Jeremy.
We just got off the phone with the franchise owner, who was absolutely dumbfounded by this. He has told us that he will be terminating their employment effective immediately. We suggested that he call them and get a written statement from them, asking them to “explain” (to the extent anyone can, really) their actions. We are also seeking legal counsel to see what kind of action we can take against them for damage to the brand.
You are welcome to use anything I’ve sent to you in the past 24 hours. I do want to thank you for bringing this to our attention…I just wish it hadn’t been posted so prominently on your web site…while it was certainly fair game, it does hurt the company and the thousands of people we employ in this country whether it’s intended or not.
Regards,
Tim
Tim McIntyre
Vice President, Communications
Domino’s Pizza, LLC
On one hand I’m glad that this type of thing can be exposed in such a way. I mean, if I was eating from that store I’d be VERY glad to know that those people are gone. But on the other hand, I feel bad for the brand, and it brings up a powerful discussion of social media and branding in today’s world.
What would you have done if you were Dominos? What could they have done beyond what they’ve done already? How would you handle this?
If I was Dominos, I’d just hope it disappeared. But unlikely.
Challenging times ahead for this new world we live in.
Sometimes ignorance is bliss. It'll be awhile for me to eat out period, let alone at Dominos. I'm sure this happens more than we know. That scares me.
I didn't watch the video but I don't need to after your description.
I will say thought that in my mind this does not hurt the Dominos brand. Actions like these are gross as they are do not imply that dominos is gross but instead these two are despicable human beings.
I agree criminal charges should be sought
Jim,
This may hurt the brand, short-term, but the franchisee of that store will be really feeling the pain. As much as the franchisee wants to play Ostrich, a great local PR firm could help with damage control, if contacted…like today.
Interestingly enough, I just posted about poop, too, over at The Franchise King Blog. Maybe this secretly has to do with it being tax day.
The Franchise King
Joel Libava
I just watched the videos and while, yes, they are gross, are they in fact viral?
In my experience, viral videos have something compellingly watchable about them. This handheld footage of two chortling high school fast food employees is actually pretty dull, especially if you know ahead of time what they're about. Lacking in production values as well as wit.
So I don't think they videos will get wide play (except as a cautionary tale to people interested in online branding) and so I don't think they'll negatively impact the national brand.
The local franchise is a different story, as Joe points out. Anyone with knowledge of those kids / that franchise *is* likely to find the videos compelling. Particularly local health inspectors: Health officials inspect Conover Domino's [WCNC]
This is a good example of why I trust smaller pizza businesses. Usually these places are run by families or close friends and you do not have to worry about asinine employees messing with your food.
err, I hate this, this would be a good motivation to prepare not only pizza but your meals for yourself (which I do most of the time). Thanks for the article is good to know but is just disgusting what people do in the back.