I always wanted a Kitchenaid mixer. Now? F*ck them!

[jillan]

I apologize if this has been posted already -

As Obama reminisced about his grandmother, Madelyn Dunham, who died shortly before Obama was elected president in 2008, the tweet appeared on KitchenAid's official Twitter account, @KitchenAidUSA: "Obamas gma even knew it was going 2 b bad! 'She died 3 days b4 he became president!"

The outrage was almost immediate, with angry Twitter users threatening to boycott the Benton Harbor, Mich., company.

The appliance maker, which is owned by Whirlpool Corp., quickly deleted the tweet. Cynthia Soledad, a KitchenAid marketing executive, issued a series of apologies via Twitter and Facebook.

"I would like to personally apologize to President @BarackObama, his family and everyone on Twitter for the offensive tweet sent earlier," she wrote. "It was carelessly sent in error by a member of our Twitter team who, needless to say, won't be tweeting for us anymore."

Soledad said in a separate statement that the employee meant to post the tweet on a personal account but mistakenly sent it instead through the corporate account. She referred to the tweet as a "tasteless joke."

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-kitchenaid-twitter-debate-20121005,0,2815849.story

---------------

Tasteless joke? When did the death of a loved one become a joke, especially when it was about the woman who raised the President of the United States?

If anyone tweeted something like that in my name, they would be out the door.



(edit to add link)

[MADem]

1. What does "won't be tweeting for us anymore" mean?

Did they take away his iPhone, or his job?

[jillan]

2. I don't know. That's what I find infuriating. How did they deal with this?

My old Sears Mixer will just have to do!

[obamanut2012]

22. S/he won't be taking care of the social media account

I would personally probably fire an employee for something like this.

[MADem]

36. I was thinking a pink slip might be in order.

After all, if it's a rMoney-liking company, surely they, like Mitt, enjoy firing people...!

[abelenkpe]

3. I'll just add kitchen aide to my ever growing list of things to avoid

Chic fil a
Papa johns
Walmart
Any Koch brothers paper products....

[ohheckyeah]

4. They've always been too expensive for me

anyway.

[jillan]

5. And they are just the same as Whirlpool!

[ohheckyeah]

10. I've never been into cooking enough

to pay $200 for a mixer. I knead my bread by hand and I don't need much of a mixer to make mashed potatoes.

[wordpix]

34. +1000 but I am a cook. Have a hand masher for potatoes, works great for mashed squash, too

[obamanut2012]

23. They mixers are much better than Whirlpool products

Kitchen Aid and, probably, Viking are just topnotch. This is an instance where you get what you pay for.

[HipChick]

6. One person's tweet does not represent the entire Company view

but, I am holding KitchenAid responsible..

At work we have to attend countless training based on appropriate and non-appropriate behaviour

My take is this person was not canned, just re-assigned....I would have named, and shamed him and booted their arse out the door..

[jillan]

9. I used to work for one of those too big to fail banks. One of the first things we were told is that

when we wear our name tag out in public, or go out to lunch in the area around the branch where our customers may be, we represent the bank.

It was understood. It's not rocket science.

It doesn't matter where you work, you represent that company.

[Incitatus]

7. How many tweets do they put out that require a Twitter team?

That seems a little strange. I wonder if it could have been a higher up in the company that was drunk and stupid.

[Art_from_Ark]

8. A corporate "Twitter team"?

That takes this whole Twitter thing to a new level of absurdity

[JHB]

18. Don't know about Kitchen Aide's situation, but a "Twitter team" can be just a few people...

...who do other things too, but are expected to monitor and maintain the corporate Twitter account, which has become another "customer point of contact". The place where I work has a "Twitter team" with a few people to ensure someone is 'on duty', but they all have other primary responsibilities. This is just one of their daily tasks.

[obamanut2012]

25. It is very effectve and immediate marketing

I bought my newest pair of running shoes based on a demo video released by a running company I follow on twitter. Not absurd at all.

[obamanut2012]

24. Even small companies have a social media person

It's an FT in some places, and just part of their job in some companies. I know someone who is the social media person for a sports shoe and clothing company, and it's a FT job. They would NEVER think of injecting something personal in a corporate tweet.

One part of the job is to search twitter for mentions of their company, and answer the tweets if appropriate. I had Whole Foods do that will me a few weeks ago.

[pinboy3niner]

11. Leave...

Leave Kitchenaid alooooooone!1!!


Romney obviously used their K5A to good advantage in scrambling his past positions into something completely different in the debate.

[HiPointDem]

12. why would a company allow such a thing in its official public communications? it seems very

unbusinesslike.

[Warpy]

13. That guy "Is no longer working on the team" per Kitchen Aid

I don't know if they shitcanned him completely or just took his keyboard away, but he won't be Twittering under @Kitchenaid again as long as he lives.

They've been apologizing and doing damage control all day.

I still love my Kitchen Aid mixer. No other manufacturer has ever come close to their quality.

[Barack_America]

28. You'll have to take my stand mixer out of my cold dead hands.

Every company has assholes, that's the way I see it. Bummer for Kitchenaid that one of theirs revealed himself so spectacularly.

I'm not holding it against them.

Just another epic workplace fuck up, like the broker who got drunk and bought up half the world's oil.

[Le Taz Hot]

67. I second that!

I know people who have them who dust them off once a week whether they need to or not. Mine? More like sand blast. And when you add the attachments? Fuggetaboutit.

[Trajan]

14. They are out the door ....

This was known this morning .... Everybody else knew that person was fired this morning ....

Why is it you didn't ?

I accept the apology ....

[catbyte]

17. where did YOU read the offender was fired?

Mr or Ms Know-it-All? I didn't see a firing announcement either. Sheesh, lighten up.

[Logical]

19. Proof?

[jberryhill]

31. Where did you get this "fact"

Nobody - NOBODY - reported that anyone was fired. Your unsourced post is the first time I've seen this information.

Care to share where you obtained this remarkable fact?

Or did you just make it up?

[MADem]

38. The company statement wasn't clear on that score. Do you have more info? nt

[csziggy]

15. Just watch for KitchenAid mixers on Craigslist

That's where I got my vintage KitchenAid for $40. While it has to be at least thirty years old it is in nearly new condition. The guy selling it had inherited his grandmother's house with all her belongings and had no use for a heavy duty mixer. I did have to go out and buy a dough hook for it, but it was still a bargain.

I've seen new in the box ones sold there, too but they go for more than I paid - probably were wedding presents that people didn't need or want.

Buying on Craigslist lets you get a KitchenAid without giving money to the company.

[Snotcicles]

16. What would Fred Upton think of it? nt

[cherish44]

20. KitchenAid products are overhyped and overpriced

You can get the same damn thing for half the price or less if you look around

[obamanut2012]

26. Kitchen-Aid and Vking mixers are worth the money

You won;t get the same damn thing for half the price. This is an instance where you do indeed get what you pay for. My grandmother's mixer is literally over 40 years old.

They are also still made in the USA, unless that has very recently changed.

[Gemini Cat]

49. My Mother bought a Kitchen-Aid shortly after the war. (WWII)

It still works, and very well at that.

[Beacool]

70. They are good quality products.

A friend of mine received a new KitchenAid mixer from her husband for Christmas some years ago. She passed me the one that had belonged to her mother. The mixer is from the early 60s, it still works like new.

[marybourg]

77. They WERE good quality products. They're typical poorly made off shore

junk now. You can't even wash the beater in the dishwasher or soak it in water any more or it peels off into your batter. Hang on to the old U.S.-made ones as long as you can.

[Beacool]

81. I will, thanks.

[obamanut2012]

21. The tweet wasn't sent "in error"

I don't know why corporate "apologies" always say that. Someone didn't get write a tweet in error and then press the "tweet button" in error.

A shame, because their mixers are still made in the US.

[GoneOffShore]

50. Unfortunately the gears inside are no longer metal.

They're nylon and will strip out if you try and make bread - even with the larger consumer versions.

You actually have to get a professional model to have them last very long.

[Marrah_G]

27. I still want one

This was obviously NOT the view of the company, but rather one careless worker with a fucked up world view.

[elfin]

29. In a sad, ironic twist - Benton Harbor is mostly African American

Kitchen Aide is one of the few companies left. Whirlpool used to be huge there, but has dwindled drastically. BH also under Snyder's "emergency management" program, I believe.

This is awful on so many levels.

[Renew Deal]

30. It was an honest mistake.

You should get the mixer. It is nice.

[jberryhill]

32. Yes, an "honest mistake"

They could have just called the president a n@@@@@r, for more "honesty", instead of pissing on the memory of the woman who raised him and tragically died before his greatest triumph.

[Barack_America]

33. Hate the employee, not the company.

The employee is clearly an idiot in many ways.

[jberryhill]

35. The employee is indicative of the caliber of person they retain

I would not have such an employee.

If one of their production line workers screws up a few units, what do you suppose happens?

They continue to retain this particular employee.

I am entitled to make inferences from that fact.

[Renew Deal]

41. You've never worked with any low "caliber" people?

How do you know the employment status? All it said was that they person isn't tweeting any more. Employment status is a private matter.

[jberryhill]

45. I run my own firm, and would not hire or retain such a person

[Renew Deal]

56. Neither would I

[Barack_America]

44. How were they supposed to know this person was so hateful?

Prior to this incident?

Do you advocate a pre-employment political test?

[jberryhill]

46. They do now

This person's actions have harmed their brand and done incalculable damage to it.

I guarandamntee you that if a line worker took a shit in the machinery and did less damage, they'd be gone.

[Barack_America]

48. "won't be tweeting for us anymore"

[jberryhill]

53. Yeah, it's a director's nephew, so they'll find other "work"

"Won't be tweeting for us anymore" - for all I know, they gave him a promotion.

[Renew Deal]

40. Who is "they?"

[jberryhill]

54. Them, there

The executive types who layabout "tweeting" so they don't get their hands dirty doing anything of substance.

[obamanut2012]

43. It wasn't an honest mistake

Their mixers are wonderful, but so are Viking's.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

37. wow...low blow is an understatement. It's going to get uglier than ever out there this month

[Le Taz Hot]

39. I'm sorry you feel this way.

ONE person twatted one tweet and you want to boycott the entire company forever and ever? That's pretty severe. I hope no one judges you like that. Also a reminder that KitchenAid Mixers are still made in the U.S.A. so a boycott affects them as well. If this was the company that made that statement then I'd be right behind you. I just think you're way overreacting here.

[Bake]

60. Comanies judge individuals like that every day.

Sometimes you only get ONE CHANCE. They blew theirs. You want to buy their overpriced stuff? Knock yourself out.

Bake

[Le Taz Hot]

64. Well I believe that

two wrongs never did make a right -- they usually make a mess.

And I only paid $149.00 for my band new KitchenAid stand mixer in 2005 on Black Friday but then again, I'm an excellent shopper.

[Zalatix]

76. So let's put a ton of AMERICAN workers out of a job all over a tweet

that the company clearly disavows?

Really?

[Bake]

83. So we should put up with their shit and HOPE they put people to work?

I think we've BEEN doing that. Not working out so well. Fuck 'em.

Bake

[Zalatix]

84. But the company disavowed it. Vehemently. What else can they do?

[Jeff In Milwaukee]

42. People Please....

Some low-level douchebag tweeted something for which he/she has most assuredly been fired. I think the KitchenAid spokesperson was practicing a little understatement when she said the person "won't be tweeting for us anymore."

I can't imagine a set of circumstances where that person would still be employed.

They hired and fired an asshole and apologized for what he did.

Case Closed.

[Proud Public Servant]

47. Thank you, exactly

I know people who tweet for institutions. They're young, frequently lacking in maturity, and (like lots of people under 30) think everything they say and do deserves a trophy. I have no doubt the hammer came down hard on the tweeter, and the fear of God was put into the rest of the team.

Idiocy at the highest ranks of a company is one thing; but idiocy in the lowest ranks is simply the American way. My KitchenAid will be mixing up some delicious bread dough this weekend, same as always.

[Bake]

59. Maybe -- just maybe -- they should rethink who they hire.

You know, make it crystal clear what they can and cannot do.

They fucked up. Sometimes you only get one chance. They blew theirs. There are other equally good high-end kitchen appliance makers.

Bake

[Proud Public Servant]

61. They did rethink who they hired

That's why they fired her/him.

Or should we apply your logic to all institutions: one f*ck-up by one employee = condemn the institution forever. Where shall we start? Public schools?

[Bake]

65. You can apply whatever logic you wish

As consumers, we are free to vote with our dollars, for whatever reason we choose.

Bake

[HappyMe]

52. I agree.

One person does not a corporation make.
If the president of the company or some other high ranking official did this, that's one thing.

The quality of their products is very good, they are made here in the US. I can't afford one of their mixers right now, but I will not boycott this company because of one low level moran.

[Jeff In Milwaukee]

58. It's expensive, but it's the last one you'll ever buy

I bought one for my wife upon the birth of our first child (she actually wanted it, lest you think that jewelry would have been more appropriate), and our first child is now off in college. Mixer and child are both still going strong.

And mom is looking might fine, as well!

[slackmaster]

66. Thank you for shining the cold light of reason on this, Jeff.

I still want KitchenAid mixer.

[Le Taz Hot]

68. You'll never regret it.

I plan on being buried with mine.

[Jeff In Milwaukee]

71. Here's hoping that it's not any time soon!

[progressivebydesign]

51. corporations stupidly outsource their social media to pay idiots... and then this shit happens.

And the RNC and other PACS have been paying people to blast anti-obama tweets, comments, etc, so no doubt the asshole they outsourced to, was ALSO doing RNC work, and realized they were logged into the wrong account.

I have a twitter account for my political stuff, and I do social media for a company I work for. One day I sent out a company tweet on the political page... it happens. Lucky it wasn't the other way around.

Corporations are STUPID in that they outsource the very FACE and VOICE of the company to people that have no biz representing them..

[Proud Public Servant]

62. They may not outsource

Could be they do it in-house. But I guarantee the person doing it is young and inexperienced in the ways of the working world.

[ChisolmTrailDem]

55. I maintain the Twitter account...

for a business client of mine. I get no input from the client who, as far as I can tell, doesn't even know what Twitter is. I also have several Twitter accounts of my own, depending on the subject. So, I have one for politics. One night I was tweeting on my personal political account. And, trust me, I give those repugs hell. Then I logged out to make a tweet on the company account to announce a sale. I made that tweet and then went back to DU.

You can guess what happened next. I saw something on DU that I just had to comment on on Twitter. But I forgot to log out of the company account. Fortunately I realized very quickly what I had done and deleted the tweet. And at that point, not one month ago and after 6 years with the client, I didn't know his political leanings. Since then I have gotten a comment from the client, in response to the comment "shaking the bushes", that said: "we shook the Bushes, now we need to shake the Obamas".

So, it's easy when dealing with more than one account to post to the wrong one in haste or not paying attention to which account you're logged into. I got lucky. The KitchenAid guy/gal, not so much.

[Fawke Em]

57. Actually, this sounds like less KitchenAid's fault than the employee.

I Tweet for my company and our account is limited to two users so this kind of crap doesn't happen. I completely keep my work Twitter and personal Twitter completely separate and NEVER consider blending the two to avoid anything like this.

Not sure if I'd retain or fire the employee in question, but, yes, this person would NEVER have access to the company account again.

[Lex]

74. Companies are held accountable for their employees' actions on a daily basis.

I don't see why this would be any different.

[Matariki]

63. I don't know why you'd hold the company accountable for that

It sounds like it was done by an idiot employee and they fired the person, or at least took them off their 'twitter team'.

[Beacool]

69. Oh please, all the manufactured drama.

The employee was punished. The company offered an apology.

What the heck more do you expect them to do?

[applegrove]

72. I'll never by anything made by them anymore.

[Lex]

73. A pity too, since they are still, even now, American made.

[Zalatix]

75. If some idiot working for me pulled this, I'd hate to be condemned forever for it.

His ass would be fired, and I would issue a ton of apologies. KitchenAid said this idiot won't be tweeting for them anymore. Companies make mistakes and they corrected this one, IMO. Hopefully this fool has been terminated, of course.

As it stands my choice is to accept KitchenAid being a victim of one low level punk fucking them up, or deciding there's nothing they could do to apologize enough, and decide to go buy from some place made in Mexico or China. Uh, no to the latter.

[Lone_Star_Dem]

78. Screw that jerk! I'm keeping my mixer!

It's over a decade old anyway, and my prized kitchen appliance. No way I'm letting that baby go. It's worth it's substantial weight in gold to me!

I will think of this ass every time I'm whipping egg whites to a stiff peak though. I'll just pretend it's his hateful little ass being whipped into a froth!

[Beacool]

82. Yeah, you tell them!!!!

I'm keeping mine too. LOL!!!

[Manifestor_of_Light]

79. I make my bread in a Cuisinart DLC-7.

Made in Japan in 1982 or thereabouts. Very heavy motor.

It holds six cups of flour and it rolls in a ball around the shaft. Take it out and put it in a bowl to rise; punch down and let it rise again in the loaf pan.

For mixing cakes, I have an old chrome-plated Sunbeam Mixmaster that works well. It was my mom's, made in the 1960s.

Find a good machine on ebay.

[kentauros]

80. You can always buy used.

And it most likely would have been built long before this tweet was made.

Or, get a used Hobart at a restaurant supply store