Joho the Blog
An Entry from the Archives

How I long for the day when organizations start thinking a little more about how they can participate on the web, rather than what kind of HR or PR dangers it poses.

I hope you're advising your friend to try to peddle this story to the Boston news media. I imagine the Herald, the Globe, or the Phoenix would be interested in picking up a story like this. It's got all the right human touches to make these guys look like assholes.

We the concerned or compassionate blogmob could also selectively place the tag _Mercenary Audio_ here and there for a while, just to help the company out a bit with their online marketing efforts.

I suppose that would be mean though.

Too bad the company didn't have the first amendment to protect itself against its own stupidity.

Should we really have expected anything else from Mercenary Audio? (The first time I read this post, I assumed that was a pseudonym, but the hyperlink matches.)

That's pretty incredible but not entirely so. Some people are just asshats or are afraid of technology. I find it surprising though that they didn't want to use him to enhance their business' site.

More than that I dunno about the states, but in the UK it's also illegal to fire someone over the phone. He has so many ways to take them to a tribunal or sue them.

I know he's the friend of the friend, and you're not inclined to probe. And of course it may have happened that way.

But isn't a plausible scenario that this guy got fired for something else? Or did you hear the audio of the "firing" voice mail?

This firing sounds really and only crappy on Mercenary's part, but how much can we understand about the context in which it happened, based on a third-hand blog report?

I appreciate you blogging about ths, David. But, for me, as someone who occasionally buys studio music gear, and who hears mostly good word of mouth about Mercenary, I'm frustrated that there isn't a firsthand account. And, what's the name of the boss at Mercenary? That's a relevant and important detail (because, e.g., sometimes we gear-buyers follow or avoid certain individuals, regardless of which shop they currently work for).

A good, incendiary, blog-mob reaction to this incident might be called for. But, I want to know more before I join in.

In Canada, Drew could sue for wrongful dismissal. The circumstances might also warrant punitive damages. That is, assuming the details of the story are indeed as you have reported them. Pardon me for being a tad skeptical, but it seems that there might be some aspects missing from the recounting of the circumstances, since it seems unlikely for a person to be fired for (what is essentially) their hobby, with no ability to tie said hobby to their workplace or employer.

I don't know about number two, but yeah. Any pro audio outfit -- online or off -- would be lucky to have him. Hope the firing is a blessing in disguise, giving him some quality time with his son, and that his evident talents gets him hired someplace much better soon.

His boss is a Jerk with a capital J. He asked his boss whether he could blog on the company site -- which would have initially put Mercenary in a totally favorable light (wow, what a cute baby!) -- and when his boss said no, he took a personal initiative without mentioning the company at all. "Separation between church and state," if you will. What's the harm in doing that? Did he break an unwritten rule?

Whoever gets Drew next will be fortunate. Mercenary just lost an asset who could have done a good thing for the company. It's a shame that the Jerk didn't recognize that.

P.S. This also belongs on Consumerist. I bet the Mercenary emails would come pouring in if they haven't quite already (though I already see a storm brewing).

Drew writes: "Mercenary DOES have a good reputation for treating it's customers well, which was the main reason I chose to work there. Unfortunately for me, I was an employee, not a customer."

Well, Mercenary devalues (or underestimates) the power of word of mouth in the blogosphere. Unfortunately, they're going to have a lot of reputation management issues to worry about when this is over. They might treat their customers well, but they just lost a whole slew of potential customers -- and the bloggers are just getting started. Shame, really. They turned what could have been a great thing for them to shambles. I wish you the best of luck.

Hi gang, it's me, Drewcifer, the "fire-ee".

Apparently my initial comment was accidentally deleted, so, to paraphrase: I've had legal advice which recommends I don't blog about this matter or talk about it in detail, at least for the time being. (This doesn't stop OTHERS from blogging about it, of course!). Suffice it to say that the reason given to me for my dismissal WAS the existance of the blog, and in no uncertain terms.

It's true that Mercenary has a good reputation for treating it's customers well, which is what drew me to the company in the first place. It is gratifying to make my clients happy every day.

Unfortunately for me, I was a Mercenary employee, not a customer.

BTW: On my blog, read the post from Feb 5 about the Wal-Marting of America...or the Post about Chili's restaurant.

I discuss the issue of free speech and online workplace speech, including blogging, at some length in my forthcoming book, Speechless: The Erosion of Free Expression in the American Workplace (Berrett-Koehler, 2007). Although the book doesn't ship until May, the book's web site has a couple of chapters available for downloaded, including the one on digital/online speech.

Meanwhile, in St. Augustine, Florida, another blogger has been portrayed as a criminal by a local newspaper for having to audacity to criticize a local politician who talked about shooting the cop who first responded at Columbine High School.

The fact that the blogger made his comments anonymously seems to be what incurred the paper's ire. Yet though the paper claims to have uncovered his identity, its editors have yet to share their findings with the reading public.

Mercenary sucks ass for firing this guy for having a blog. Especially after his wife just had a baby! For them to fire him because of a blog just goes to show you how little they care about their employees. Who doesn't have some kind of a blog now-a-days...?

Mr. Townson was dismissed for a variety of reason, the blog "Drewcifer's Tone Zone" http://drewciferstonezone.blogspot.com was merely the straw that broke the camel's back. I will give you the broad strokes in this blog entry.

Let me tell you a little about Mercenary Audio, then I will get into more detail about Mr. Townson's job performance.

Mercenary is a small company that has been around since 1989. We are an ethnically diverse, family oriented company that has 9 employees. Please feel free to visit our website http://www.mercenary.com read our policies http://www.mercenary.com/policies.html [which you will see are exceptionally customer friendly, and barely restrictive by any stretch of the imagination], as well as some of our informational articles [Police Blotter] http://www.mercenary.com/policeblotter.html and get a vibe for who we are, and what we do.

Prior to our 2 sales hires at the end of 2006 [Mr. Townson and another], and before the hiring of our two "intern/assistants" [who are there to learn the discipline of audio recording techniques] the person with the least time on the job had been there 6 years. The person with the next least time on the job has been with the company for 11 years. Our shipping and receiving person has been with us for 15 years [a job position with notoriously high turn over].

Mr. Townson was dismissed for excessive absenteeism, failure to meet the continuing educational requirements we expect and demand from our staff, misuse of company time and resources, attempting to create divisiveness among the staff, and finally, the insubordination of creating a blog that references "professional audio tools and techniques" [which is in direct conflict to the goals of the company].

Our company is unique in that it requires our key staff, especially the sales staff, to be up to date on the tools and technology involved in the recording of music. To this end we have built a well equipped audio recording control room so our staff can use the tools they discuss in sales matters. The idea behind this control room is to have our sales staff be educated about the tools they discuss from an applications perspective. Hence the studio is called "The Methods and Applications Laboratory". Our sales staff is mandated to spend a minimum of four [4] hours per week working in this area, those four hours may be spent during "company time" though most choose to spend their time in that room "after hours". Mr. Townson spent less than 4 hours per month expanding his education in this room.

Mercenary Audio never had a "sick day/time off" policy prior to the hiring of Mr. Townson. However, it seemed that as soon as Mr. Townson was hired there was a parade of "sick days", and personal days, which caused the management to begin a log of his days not in the office. Prior to the creation of this log our policy had been "if you need time off, take it", until Mr. Townson abused that policy. Mr. Townson was informed prior to joining the company that travel would be mandatory for trade shows, client demonstrations, and further education. This requirement extends to every employee at Mercenary Audio who is directly involved with the equipment we sell, be they in the marketing department, sales department or management. When assigned to attend a trade show and educational event in September, 2006; Mr. Townson declined to attend, leaving the company with a staffing shortage at this show, which required us to not only scramble to rearrange who would stay at the office and who would travel to San Francisco, but also damaged our ability to meet with various manufacturers, expand our relationships with those manufacturers, and discover new companies whose ethos was on par with Mercenary's goals.

Now I will address the blog entry. Let me start out by mentioning that two of our other employees have their own personal blogs, and we have absolutely no problem with the existence of these blogs, in fact, there are entries in their blogs where they are blowing off steam about the company! Mercenary Audio has its own "MySpace" page, we are not "anti-blog" by any stretch of the imagination.

We did take umbrage to Mr. Townson's blog for the following reasons. At one point Mr. Townson asked Mr. Fitz [Mercenary's C.O.O.] if he could start an educational blog about professional audio. Mr. Fitz said he may not start such a blog. He then asked me [Mercenary's C.E.O.] if he could start such a blog ["going over Mr. Fitz's head"], I too responded in the negative. Yet if you look at the blog, the very first line at the top of the page says: "Mics, Drums, and Rock & Roll: A Music Recording Blog!" That says "conflict of interest" to me, what does it say to you?

The majority of the time stamps on the blog entries were posted during company hours. Our "shop" is open from 10a Eastern Time to 6p [18:00] eastern time. During that time we are somewhat flexible as to what may be done with the time. Playing with the equipment in "The Methods and Applications Laboratory" is encouraged. Researching other audio related websites is encouraged. Viewing sites like CNN's, and "Boston.com" is tolerated. Mr. Townson also used that time to create the beginnings of a children's clothing line, which was also tolerated. The creation of an 'outlaw recording tools and technique' site was intolerable.

Further to that, Mr. Townson told several members of the Mercenary Audio staff about the existence of the blog, with strict instructions not to let either Mr. Fitz or myself about the existence of the blog, creating an air of divisiveness among the staff. They capitulated, but because we have a "family atmosphere" at Mercenary forgot the request when the picture of the child was posted on the blog. This was how Mr. Fitz came to learn of the blog. He held onto this information for several days before showing me the blog. Upon seeing the blog I sat with it for a day or two to let my temper cool before acting. It was at that point that Mr. Fitz, myself, and our Human Resources person met to decide a course of action.

Did the timing of his dismissal absolutely suck? Yes, it most certainly did. Had Mr. Townson's son not arrived only days earlier there would have been no "cooling off" period and he would have been instantly dismissed upon the discovery of "the blog". Yes, I dismissed Mr. Townson via telephone. No, he was not home when I called, so yes, he was fired on a voicemail. We discussed the matter later in the day when Mr. Townson called the office later to determine if this was "a joke" or not [it wasn't], and while we did not discuss the other matters at length. A proper letter of termination was subsequently drafted and sent to Mr. Townson.

When one act is the final catalyst to the end of the road it is often picked as a minor violation to which the reaction was inproportionate to the act. However, if you add up all the previous acts and trasgressions, you end up with what we deemed "just cause".

As always, YMMV.

Peace.
--
Fletcher
Mercenary Audio
http://www.mercenary.com
"this is not a problem"
Mercenary® reg US Pat & TM off.

If things (from Mercenary's POV) are as Fletcher states, this is an exemplary case study of how useful it is for all us bloggers to step back and seek more complete information before we shoot from the lip (as I did).

As mom always said, there are two sides to every story. A very well-prepared and scripted reply by Mr. Fletcher. I would expect absolutely nothing less. I will refrain from further comment per advice from legal council.

I'm not always in agreement with Fletcher, but I have the feeling he can back up everything he said, and it is pretty sound reasoning.

And this evidence:

"Prior to our 2 sales hires at the end of 2006 [Mr. Townson and another]"

would release Mercenary from any legal or really moral issues with letting Drew go. An employer has 1 year to let anyone go without any just cause of any kind. It is basically a trial period. I know this from past experience. ;-)

Geez, we are talking about a few months here? Get real.

Fletcher,

how is a personal blog a conflict of interest, simply because its about recording? It does not sell anything, it does not affect your business in the slightest. If I were your employee, and I knew other employees were allowed to even talk about the company on their personal blogs without repercussion, I'd think your actions were motivated by something completely other than the blog. It makes no sense why this blog would anger you.

The most basic rules of a good employer is to let an employee know when they're not meeting expectations. This gives them a chance to improve, if they're motivated. If you fire someone without so much as giving them prior written notice about any performance problems, then you, in my book, are a bad employer.

One word: Aha! (re: my earlier post). I thought the Townson version of the story had the whiff of week-old mackerel.

At first reading, there are some things that are just plain obvious. Drew did not get fired because of a blog. That is simply ridiculous. Please stop talking about it. It's crazy. He doesn't mention the company and so what if he did? There are bigger things to worry about in this world. No? Fletcher just wasted my time with his carefully thought out BS. And, to let him know, I have never heard 1 good thing about him. So, Mercenary has a good rep..but you really don't. I'd say Drew does. To each his own, right? I have also been a customer and been in the place a million times. Fletcher was never around to answer any of my questions. (probably on one of those important trips (spending company money in ways which some might see as innappropriately?) If Drew were to have accompanied them, the building would've been empty. I've been in the "lab" too. I never saw any employees in there. (besides Drew!) He was always around. The only other people were young interns with bad haircuts that knew close to nothing. (but they work for free don't they?) Mercenary will initially lose many local customers. That's just a fact. Bottom line is someone doesn't like Drew for whatever reason, and are using the blog as a poor excuse. If there are other infractions, you should have referred to them in your voice mail. It's too late to do that now, especially here! And, by the way, you make yourself look very unprofessional and out-of-control by posting here. I've never come across any credible or respected bosses that would do that. Fletcher and company obviously needed more than a few days to calm down and come up with the right course of action, because this is not it.

What is it about the internet that convinces otherwise rational people to accept gossip at face value?

This really isn't anyone's business besides Drew and the folks in charge at Mercenary.

Opinions really are like assholes. Everyone's got one, and some people feel compelled to post pictures of it all over the web. For FREE even.

Do you really want to be out there airing your dirty laundry on the web? It just seems kinda... crass.

Nonetheless, my condolences on the loss of your job, Mr. Townson. Good luck in the future, and congrats on the new baby.

Wow, that sucks, if it is true that you got fired over your own blog with no relation to the company, then I hope you do sue and win.

Most of the comments in the retaliatory post seem well-reasoned and justified, but one 'reasoning' behind the firing doesn't sit right. I am also one of the lucky few who get to work in a field that is of genuine interest to me (as in, I do my work not just for money, I also actively enjoy it). My work is directly related to a major hobby of mine. Many people (not me, but people like me) have blogs devoted to their hobbies - and I may well eventually have one focused on my main interest. I can see no legal basis for my employers firing me over having a blog devoted to my interests if it makes no reference to the company I work for...an interest is an interest. Although firing someone over posting on that blog using company time would be a terminable offense. So Drew's mistake, from a legal standpoint, shouldn't have been based on the content of the blog (all personal interest) but the fact that the posts were made on company time. Which Drew could have easily hidden had he simply not told his coworkers about it.

Most of the comments in the retaliatory post seem well-reasoned and justified, but one 'reasoning' behind the firing doesn't sit right. I am also one of the lucky few who get to work in a field that is of genuine interest to me (as in, I do my work not just for money, I also actively enjoy it). My work is directly related to a major hobby of mine. Many people (not me, but people like me) have blogs devoted to their hobbies - and I may well eventually have one focused on my main interest. I can see no legal basis for my employers firing me over having a blog devoted to my interests if it makes no reference to the company I work for...an interest is an interest. Although firing someone over posting on that blog using company time would be a terminable offense. So Drew's mistake, from a legal standpoint, shouldn't have been based on the content of the blog (all personal interest) but the fact that the posts were made on company time. Which Drew could have easily hidden had he simply not told his coworkers about it.

I'm a little shocked that a lawyer would even take the case. Massachusetts is an employ-at-will state. Your employer can fire you at any time for any reason so long as it isn't based on any EEOC issues like race, etc.

People get fired all the time for stupid reasons. I was once let go for being smarter than my supervisor. Of course, after I left and no one was covering his butt anymore, they brought in a new supervisor, but honestly? Whining about it online makes both parties look bad. Chalk it up to a life lesson learned and move on.

Drew's side of the story, now published

http://www.drewciferstonezone.blogspot.com

We have a very good friend who is a senior HR person with extensive experience firing people (humanely, btw) in Massachusetts. She says that although it is an "at will" state, so that employers legally can fire for any or no reason, judges almost always find for the employee if the reason is arbitrary.

Obviously, it all depend on the case and the judge, but it seems the courts frequently go to the trouble of inserting a little justice into the system.

maybe someone should post this on www.gearlutz.com , which is pretty much THE pro audio forum.. also a place where mercenary audio has a sort of renomee..(to loose) :)

I'm a management type; and it seems to me that 'Mercenary Audio' should stick with their specialty and hire an outside HR company to manage it's workforce.

To have policy stated as "Prior to the creation of this log our policy had been "if you need time off, take it", until Mr. Townson abused that policy.", is not policy. It's stupidity. Every little thing one does in HR must be in writing. If you allow sick days, then have it in an Employee's Handbook (that they sign for when it's given to them). If you have to release someone, you have to have a paper trail with every prior infraction written up, documenting every step you take, signed for by the employee. To even mention 'temper' in a post in a comments section of a blog, is sheer and utter stupidity, sorry Fletcher, but you better get ready for some unpleasant legal ramifications. A good lawyer, maybe.

And, get a real HR department...

ah jeece. who gives a fuck. everybody get back to work!

Over the years I've seen Fletcher in many lights. He can often be an ascerbic asshole, or an overky opinionated loudmouth.

That being said, all of which he is well aware of, and rather proud of, he also is one of the most direct and honest individuals I have ever encountered anywhere.

This is a sad and unfortunate series of events, and I'm sure there is more than a little misunderstanding. But i would never doubt the truth of Fletcher's statement for a moment.

And as to whomever said that Fletcher does not have a sterling reputation, you are misinformed. Tere are plenty of folks that can't deal with Fletcher's manner, perhaps. But no one doubts his integrity.

And by the way, I barely known the guy. Chatted once or twice at conventions. And I might have spent 200.00 there over the years.

Sadly, most U.S. Citizens are unaware that the Constitution limits activity by the GOVERNMENT against its citizens. There is no First Amendment protection in the workplace, unless the workplace is a government office.