Teh One Who Knocks
12-02-2013, 02:17 PM
Written by Clark Kauffman - Des Moines Register
An Iowa restaurant owner says her business took a dramatic hit this fall after a customer’s photo of a sweating, barefoot worker made the rounds on Facebook.
The incident illustrates how the proliferation of cellphone cameras and customers’ use of social media can have a major impact on small businesses.
State records indicate Melinda Halvorsen, 31, a team leader at the Charles City Taco John’s restaurant, mowed the grass outside the franchise on Aug. 8. She then came into the restaurant’s food-preparation area, which is in full view of customers at the counter.
One of those customers photographed Halvorsen — with no shoes, gloves or uniform — as she prepared food for herself and two friends. The customer then posted the image to Facebook with the caption, “This is in Charles City Iowa Taco John’s!! This woman was preparing food with bare feet, no uniform, her bra and chest hanging out all over the place, she was pouring sweat, wiping it off with her hands and not washing them. I asked for the manager — she WAS the manager!! She was extremely rude because I was upset with her appearance and behavior.”
Within minutes, the photo was re-posted by others to the Taco John’s Facebook page and to other sites, along with more negative comments.
The next day, franchise owner Linda Johnson reviewed security-camera footage of the incident. Johnson fired Halvorsen, saying her conduct — which included a failure to pay for the food she made for herself and her friends — violated company policy and state health regulations.
By that time, the customer’s photo had gone viral, triggering a report on a local television station and more than 1,000 negative, written comments about Taco John’s and the Charles City franchise in particular.
The Iowa Department of Inspections and Appeals, which regulates restaurants, fielded a complaint from someone who alleged a manager at the Taco John’s “was preparing food in her bare feet and was wearing a tank top and was sweating badly and handling food.”
On Aug. 15, a state inspector investigated the complaint, and concluded it was founded — but noted that management had taken corrective action. The restaurant had passed a routine inspection four weeks earlier with only a few violations noted: mold in the ice machine; standing water and pools of grease in the basement; and a lack of sanitizer at the utensil-washing station.
Halvorsen, who had worked at the restaurant for 5½ years, filed a request for unemployment benefits after she was fired, but Johnson contested the claim.
According to state records, Johnson testified at an Oct. 15 public hearing and said her restaurant’s business had decreased 25 to 33 percent in the eight weeks since the Facebook posting, and said Taco John’s had indicated her franchise agreement with the company could be in jeopardy.
Administrative Law Judge Teresa Hillary denied Halvorsen’s request for benefits, saying the health code violations and theft of food “had a negative impact” on the restaurant and violated company policy.
Johnson and Halvorsen could not be reached for comment.
Taco John’s isn’t the only company that has faced negative publicity from customers documenting poor service with cameras and other recording devices.
In 2011, a homeowner’s security camera captured a FedEx driver tossing a package containing a computer monitor over a six-foot fence and onto the man’s porch. The homeowner posted the video to YouTube, where it quickly generated more than 4 million viewings and a public apology from Fed*Ex. But when it comes to fast-food restaurants, more often than not it’s the employees themselves who are behind, and in front of, the camera.
Last spring, a Taco Bell employee in California posted to Facebook a photo that showed him licking a stack of taco shells. Soon after, a Wendy’s employee was photographed by a colleague as he crouched under a Frosty dispenser eating the soft-serve treat as it poured from the nozzle into his mouth.
An Iowa restaurant owner says her business took a dramatic hit this fall after a customer’s photo of a sweating, barefoot worker made the rounds on Facebook.
The incident illustrates how the proliferation of cellphone cameras and customers’ use of social media can have a major impact on small businesses.
State records indicate Melinda Halvorsen, 31, a team leader at the Charles City Taco John’s restaurant, mowed the grass outside the franchise on Aug. 8. She then came into the restaurant’s food-preparation area, which is in full view of customers at the counter.
One of those customers photographed Halvorsen — with no shoes, gloves or uniform — as she prepared food for herself and two friends. The customer then posted the image to Facebook with the caption, “This is in Charles City Iowa Taco John’s!! This woman was preparing food with bare feet, no uniform, her bra and chest hanging out all over the place, she was pouring sweat, wiping it off with her hands and not washing them. I asked for the manager — she WAS the manager!! She was extremely rude because I was upset with her appearance and behavior.”
Within minutes, the photo was re-posted by others to the Taco John’s Facebook page and to other sites, along with more negative comments.
The next day, franchise owner Linda Johnson reviewed security-camera footage of the incident. Johnson fired Halvorsen, saying her conduct — which included a failure to pay for the food she made for herself and her friends — violated company policy and state health regulations.
By that time, the customer’s photo had gone viral, triggering a report on a local television station and more than 1,000 negative, written comments about Taco John’s and the Charles City franchise in particular.
The Iowa Department of Inspections and Appeals, which regulates restaurants, fielded a complaint from someone who alleged a manager at the Taco John’s “was preparing food in her bare feet and was wearing a tank top and was sweating badly and handling food.”
On Aug. 15, a state inspector investigated the complaint, and concluded it was founded — but noted that management had taken corrective action. The restaurant had passed a routine inspection four weeks earlier with only a few violations noted: mold in the ice machine; standing water and pools of grease in the basement; and a lack of sanitizer at the utensil-washing station.
Halvorsen, who had worked at the restaurant for 5½ years, filed a request for unemployment benefits after she was fired, but Johnson contested the claim.
According to state records, Johnson testified at an Oct. 15 public hearing and said her restaurant’s business had decreased 25 to 33 percent in the eight weeks since the Facebook posting, and said Taco John’s had indicated her franchise agreement with the company could be in jeopardy.
Administrative Law Judge Teresa Hillary denied Halvorsen’s request for benefits, saying the health code violations and theft of food “had a negative impact” on the restaurant and violated company policy.
Johnson and Halvorsen could not be reached for comment.
Taco John’s isn’t the only company that has faced negative publicity from customers documenting poor service with cameras and other recording devices.
In 2011, a homeowner’s security camera captured a FedEx driver tossing a package containing a computer monitor over a six-foot fence and onto the man’s porch. The homeowner posted the video to YouTube, where it quickly generated more than 4 million viewings and a public apology from Fed*Ex. But when it comes to fast-food restaurants, more often than not it’s the employees themselves who are behind, and in front of, the camera.
Last spring, a Taco Bell employee in California posted to Facebook a photo that showed him licking a stack of taco shells. Soon after, a Wendy’s employee was photographed by a colleague as he crouched under a Frosty dispenser eating the soft-serve treat as it poured from the nozzle into his mouth.