Comcast: Tied to a Chair and Hit in the Face With Cake: The Regular Humiliation Ritual at the US Corporate Giant
A former Comcast Xfinity sales adviser alleges that the lowest-performing employee at a Connecticut store was tied to a chair and hit with whipped-cream cake as part of a monthly ritual.
A former Comcast retail employee is suing the company, alleging that a Connecticut Xfinity store held a monthly ritual in which the worker with the lowest sales figures was tied to a chair in the back office and hit in the face with a whipped-cream cake by colleagues, at the instruction of the store manager.
The lawsuit, filed in Connecticut court, alleges that the manager, Sally Peterson, devised the ritual and ordered it to be carried out.
The incidents were sometimes recorded on video, the complaint says.
The claimant, David Figueroa, says he was hired as a sales adviser at the Plainville, Connecticut, store in early February and resigned less than a month later.
He says a whiteboard in the back office ranked employees by performance and marked who had already been hit in the face with cake and who was due to be targeted.
Figueroa says he saw a colleague named Ty, who was “rewarded” with a cake being thrown at him because of poor sales figures.
He later saw another video in which a cake was thrown in the face of an assistant sales manager after she received a low score in a customer-satisfaction survey.
He alleges that he raised his concerns with the regional manager, Miranda Cody, by text message and received no response.
Figueroa says he then became increasingly afraid that he would be the next target, and that this was the main reason he resigned.
The lawsuit includes a claim of negligent supervision.
Comcast is accused of knowing, or having reason to know, about the practice and failing to stop it.
Figueroa is seeking financial compensation, back pay and punitive damages in a claim worth more than fifteen thousand dollars.
Comcast said it had “zero tolerance for harassment, humiliation or any conduct that undermines a respectful and safe workplace”.
The company said it disagreed with the allegations and with the way the alleged events had been characterised, and would respond through the legal process.
It did not say whether the manager named in the claim remains employed by the company.
Comcast is a US media and technology giant founded in 1964. It employs nearly 180,000 people worldwide and is listed on Nasdaq.
Its operations include Xfinity, a home internet, cable and mobile brand that is considered the largest cable-internet provider in the United States.
The alleged humiliation ritual took place at one of its stores.
The lawsuit, filed in Connecticut court, alleges that the manager, Sally Peterson, devised the ritual and ordered it to be carried out.
The incidents were sometimes recorded on video, the complaint says.
The claimant, David Figueroa, says he was hired as a sales adviser at the Plainville, Connecticut, store in early February and resigned less than a month later.
He says a whiteboard in the back office ranked employees by performance and marked who had already been hit in the face with cake and who was due to be targeted.
Figueroa says he saw a colleague named Ty, who was “rewarded” with a cake being thrown at him because of poor sales figures.
He later saw another video in which a cake was thrown in the face of an assistant sales manager after she received a low score in a customer-satisfaction survey.
He alleges that he raised his concerns with the regional manager, Miranda Cody, by text message and received no response.
Figueroa says he then became increasingly afraid that he would be the next target, and that this was the main reason he resigned.
The lawsuit includes a claim of negligent supervision.
Comcast is accused of knowing, or having reason to know, about the practice and failing to stop it.
Figueroa is seeking financial compensation, back pay and punitive damages in a claim worth more than fifteen thousand dollars.
Comcast said it had “zero tolerance for harassment, humiliation or any conduct that undermines a respectful and safe workplace”.
The company said it disagreed with the allegations and with the way the alleged events had been characterised, and would respond through the legal process.
It did not say whether the manager named in the claim remains employed by the company.
Comcast is a US media and technology giant founded in 1964. It employs nearly 180,000 people worldwide and is listed on Nasdaq.
Its operations include Xfinity, a home internet, cable and mobile brand that is considered the largest cable-internet provider in the United States.
The alleged humiliation ritual took place at one of its stores.
