We now have an update for you in the curious case of Brian Maupin, a 25-year-old phone salesman at a Kansas City, Mo. Best Buy (NYSE: BBY).
Maupin was suspended by his store last week after management discovered he was the creative force behind a video disparaging buyers of Apple's (NYSE: AAPL) new iPhone 4. In the now-famous video, a cartoon bear salesman tries to convince an iPhone seeker of the supremacy of the HTC Evo from Sprint (NYSE: S), based on Google's (Nasdaq: GOOG) Android software.
Since Best Buy wasn't identified in any way with the video, the company brought a lot of unneeded negative publicity on itself when the story got out that Brian would likely be fired.
After the uproar, cooler heads prevailed at the company's headquarters, and late yesterday management released this statement to the Kansas City Star:
We have completed our investigation into the videos created and posted by Brian Maupin, the aspiring film-maker and Best Buy employee. This is an important situation for us because it involved balancing our social media guidelines with a commitment to creating a supportive environment for our employees. It's important to note that our investigation involved three videos that were posted in late June because they were openly disparaging of our employees, our customers and our vendor partners. Our investigation is over, and these videos are no longer on the web. Contrary to rumors, Brian has not been fired, and is scheduled to return to his job at Best Buy this Friday.
But now, it seems Brian has had a change of heart himself. Saying the company's statement "is a 180" from what it told him last week, he told the Star he's taking a leave of absence to think about his career and his future. "I'm not sure if it would be comfortable returning to Best Buy considering the circumstances, but I will definitely consider all options."
Brian should think about returning to Best Buy, at least for a couple of weeks while his celebrity lasts. He'll probably sell a lot more phones than he normally does. Or perhaps the HTC Evo needs a new marketing campaign. I'm sure Brian would license the rights to his cartoon bear.
In any case, kudos to Best Buy. The company created a needless PR situation, but in the end, it followed the best path. As other companies struggle with balancing employees' online and work personas, they could learn from Best Buy's eventual conclusion in this case.
