The package toss seen 'round the world

Call it the perfect confluence of events to cause a really bad day at one of America's most image conscious companies.  The ingredients; a good home surveillance camera, the Christmas package delivery season, a bonehead FedEx driver and YouTube.  Combine them, with the suspicion many already have about how their packages are really handled and you get an instant viral video hit.

So, how do you fix something like this? FedEx embraced the problem... well, maybe embraced is not the right word... more like stood up and took ownership of it. Company execs went to the customer’s home somewhere in southern California with a personal apology...and a new computer monitor. They somehow reached an understanding that "customer doesn't want to be identified," then they turned to social media, too.

The company used its own blog and YouTube channel to issue a very public apology and say "this is not who we are."

 
About the only spin they could put on it was to say the video will be used as a "teaching tool." No doubt an object lesson in what not to do in a world where cameras are everywhere and what goes on line lives there forever.


Oh, and that driver, FedEx will only say he is no longer working with customers and is facing disciplinary action which can range from a note in his file to termination. I'm guessing the note in his file will read "do not rehire."

It looks like FedEx communications handled this exactly right, although I'm sure it must have been very tempting to point reporters to video of a UPS driver making a "special delivery" too.