Never put in an email anything that may embarrass you if it were to show up on the front page of the New York Times or in this case Boston.com. According to Boston.com, Harvard Business School Professor Ben Edelman got into an email war of words with a local Chinese food restaurant after he realized that its online menu had outdated takeout prices and that he was charged $4 dollars more than what was listed online.
Should the restaurant have an accurate online take out menu? Yes. Online prices should accurately reflect current prices. While Prof. Edelman cites potential violations of Massachusetts law, he could have also mentioned that the matter was a potential Article 5 Violation of the FTC Act regarding unfair and deceptive trade practices. Is a class action lawsuit or an FTC complaint coming soon?
Even though it appears that Prof. Edelman utilized his personal email
account when interacting with the Chinese food restaurant, what if he
utilized his professional account? Since Harvard has closely monitored the emails of some of its deans in the past,
could this situation trigger Harvard to search through Prof. Edelman's
Harvard account to determine if he has violated any of its rules
regarding personal use of Harvard's computer accounts or systems?
Due to social media, every time Ben Edelman is Binged, Googled, Yahooed!, etc.. this situation may show up on the first page of his search results. Whenever I hear the name Ben Edelman, I will think about Chinese food and a $4 overcharge. However, this should also be a lesson to all businesses that they must ensure that their online advertised prices accurately reflect current prices.
The Digital Age has made our personal online activities more discoverable and it has eroded our personal privacy. Even though Prof. Edelman was right regarding the need for businesses to have the correct prices listed on their websites, the way he handled the situation may create some potential reputation issues for him both personally and professionally. The bottom line is that it is imperative to be careful whenever sending a digital correspondence.
UPDATE: 4:49pm
Boston.com is reporting that Prof. Edelman has released an apology. Here it is:
"Many people have seen my emails with Ran Duan of Sichuan Garden restaurant in Brookline. Having reflected on my interaction with Ran, including what I said and how I said it, it’s clear that I was very much out of line. I aspire to act with great respect and humility in dealing with others, no matter what the situation. Clearly I failed to do so. I am sorry, and I intend to do better in the future. I have reached out to Ran and will apologize to him personally as well.”
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