The shoe shop, the walkout and the online fallout

Until last month, Niki, Jess and TJ worked at a shoe store in a Rochester, New York shopping mall, where they passed their days inserting children’s sweaty feet into new pairs of trainers. But then, en masse, they resigned. On a giant piece of paper they composed a letter to their boss that began: “Dear Jamie, Since you decided to say ‘cancer is not an excuse’ and swear at your employees like you do ALL the time?.?.?.?WE QUIT.” They pinned the letter to the shop window and walked out.

The story might have ended there, were it not for the internet. Someone took a photo of the shut-up shop – a Journeys outlet – and posted it on Reddit. Thousands of supportive comments poured in and the story went viral. "You abuse your roll [sic]" the letter went on, in a round, childish script. "We Aren't Allowing it ANYMORE."

Hooray, I thought. Power to the people! Who needs a trade union when you have the internet? Niki and her colleagues more than compensate for any weakness in spelling by the strength of their courage. The three of them are modern-day martyrs, sacrificing themselves to a good cause. Their letter is a warning to all companies that obnoxious middle managers not only kill morale, they are a danger to their reputation and their brand.

Just as I had worked myself up into a lather of indignation, the story took on a new turn. Jamie and sources close to Jamie surfaced online peddling their own counter-allegations about Niki, Jess and TJ.

What actually happened?
To try to find out what actually happened I called Journeys' headquarters where a woman directed me to an online statement that said the company was investigating the matter. Having been thus unhelpful she added: "Thank you! Have a great day!"

As I put down the phone I marvelled at my own naivety in having expected anything good to come from this sort of thing. Perhaps it was because I had seen The Sound of Music on stage the night before, and the memory of Captain von Trapp's transformation from a man who summoned staff with a whistle to a softie singing Edelweiss was too fresh in my mind. When it comes to making people behave better, the internet is much less powerful than a trainee nun with a guitar case. It is far too big and too blunt a tool to improve conditions at work.

An amplified battle on social media is no way to settle a matter that may be quite nuanced. Indeed, there is no sign that viral acts of revenge by departing employees leave any lasting marks on the companies they are aimed at – though they may make the person who carried them out rather less employable than they were before.

The culture at Goldman Sachs bears no visible scars from the savage quitting of Greg Smith, who wrote an op-ed in the New York Times the day he left calling the bank's culture "toxic" and "destructive". For an hour or two, the world listened: Goldman's market value dropped by
$2 billion. But then the bank fought back. The only upshot was that Mr Smith got a book deal – even so, by the time the book came out, no one much cared.

Brass band
There are other cases too. There was Joey, the smiling guy in the red shirt who worked at the Renaissance Providence Hotel. When he quit the job he loathed in 2011, he took a brass band with him when handing in his notice. Four million people viewed the stunt on YouTube, but even then nothing happened. Joey made a follow-up video recently, claiming that conditions at the hotel had become even worse, but by then only 10,000 could be bothered to watch it.

Then there was Steven Slater, the steward at JetBlue Airways, who was so fed up with rude customers that he ejected himself from the aircraft through an emergency chute on to the tarmac. The result? He became a minor celebrity, but also got a criminal conviction.

We all love such dramas. Everyone at some point in their working life fantasises about flouncing out, so we are thrilled when anyone actually does it. Yet as an audience we are brutal and capricious. The reason the internet can never be a trade union is because we don’t care enough to follow through.

In the case of Niki and Co, I would have left it there. But I've just seen the following corporate waffle on the company's website: "Journeys gives YOU the
chance to be YOU. We celebrate individuality and creativity. The stores offer a high-energy, customer service focused vibe. Our employees are passionate and energetic about what they do and it shows."

Guff like this makes me determined to stick it out. I will leave it a month, and
then try to find out what has happened to Niki, Jess, TJ and Jamie. I'll keep you posted. – (Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2013)