Would You Let An Employee Going Through A Crisis Represent Your Company To The Public?

If your employee was going through an emotional crisis and seem unable to suck it in and do their job, would you let him/her represent your organisation to the public?

The easy answer is that professionals do their job, regardless of the circumstances or their personal feelings. But recently, while touring a technology equipment exhibition, I met one of the unhappiest, most unprofessional frontline person it has been my misfortune to meet. She made me consider the kind of damage an employee in crisis could wreak on an organisation.

The prestigious, very well-advertised technology equipment fair was bustling with more than a thousand people, many of them talking, demonstrating products or trying out some gadget or another.

But somehow this company’s stall was empty, the air around frontline person almost still. She sat at a table at the corner of the stall, her body hunched over, figuratively screaming for people to leave her alone.

On closer inspection of the company’s banners and posters, I realized she represented a small, lesser-known financial institution funding business start-ups. I would have been remiss in my own duties if I didn’t approach her and ask for more information so I could tell my business readers about it.

She did not respond verbally when I asked for information about the company’s financial services. She simply stood up, stomped up to a shelf to grab a brochure and pushed it into my hand. Then she stomped back to her chair, glared at me as if daring me to ask for something else..

I was furious, and my gut response was to take the brochure and write a blistering column about the company’s customer service. I also felt a bit sorry for her – clearly she was in the middle of a big emotional crisis (I refused to believe that was her normal state!). But whatever the problem was, this woman had no right to be interacting with the public.

What I did was note the name of the company and contact details, to send them my complaint later. Then I put the brochure right back on the table. “My mistake,” I said to her. “I don’t want to know your company and I certainly won’t be recommending your services to my readers, unless your company responds to my complaint and convinces me your unprofessional behavior was an anomaly.”

I did send a letter of complaint to the company, outlining the circumstances, but they failed to respond. That's the one company I won't be recommending to the 35K+ daily visitors ( mostly chief executives, senior managers and entrepreneurs) who read the news portal I write for.

Damaria Senne is a journalist and author based in Johannesburg, South Africa. She writes about the telecommunications industry in South Africa and Africa, including cellular, mobile and wireless technologies and messaging news and trends.

Read her business related articles at http://www.itweb.co.za She blogs about parenting/writing at http://damariasenne.blogspot.com

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