Paula Deen has gotten so much bad press I would think they wouldn’t want to add to that. Horrible situation for the employees.

Given how much crap has been thrown at Paula Deen recently, I’d be willing to give her a pass on this one.

It is true that telling the employees face-to-face or over the phone would have been a better way for them to find out instead of via Facebook.

However, this could very well have been a case of “we meant to tell the employees first; but screwed up.” We don’t know for sure, do we?

At this point, in dealing with Paula Deen, I wouldn’t trust anything the media has to say.

I don’t have a problem with people shutting down rapidly and not giving employees advance notice. In fact, my preference is that managers not give advanced notice. See here: http://www.inc.com/suzanne-lucas/5-reasons-why-layoffs-should-be-a-surprise.html

The problem here wasn’t the lack of advanced notice. The problem was telling Facebook before telling employees. That’s rude an unacceptable behavior.

In the food industry, you shut it down as soon as you suspect there’s a disgruntled employee who might commit the unthinkable out of sheer spite. On the manufacturing side, this might happen when a union contract expires, or some nut calls into a radio station about something allegedly going on in your factory. On the serving side of the business, there’s no telling what an employee might do to the food if he/she knows it’s the last shift and is really angry about it. One little peanut finding its way somewhere it doesn’t belong can kill someone.

Now look at the fact the owners gave the employees severance pay. Where do you see that in the restaurant industry? The severance pay served as the employees’ “notice,” and the customers were protected at the same time. That was just good business, no matter what anyone says.

Combine this “new normal” with an hypersensitive populace that is so thin skinned that they are constantly “offended, insulted, wronged” without the common sense the God gave a dog and it cannot help but end well.

If you want to toss in a Pandora’s Box metaphor….here ya go; This ignoring, at the least, the “feelings” of employees is now out of the box never again to be contained in the box of morality, integrity and respect so prepare yourselves. Why? Because a culture of “taking it the next level” does not apply simply to the “good” things but the bad also and, like any bad, insensitive, disrespectful or otherwise offensive act, I am sure it is easier the second time around….

Not a very optimistic outlook I know but hold on to your hats….

Perhaps people should take a breath, take a step back and think long and hard on the impact of their actions and words before crying out racism, bigotry, prejudice and other inflammatory accusations…..