Marketing Spoonful

I’m not here to defend Tiger Woods. I’m also hacked off at Mark McGwire. And Lance Armstrong wasn’t very nice to his first wife.

Many of the guys who are heroes to me for one reason or another fall short in other areas.

I was reminded of this tonight as I watched Cake Boss on TLC. Buddy Valastro, who head’s up Carlo’s in Hoboken, New Jersey, is famous for his creativity, artistry and vision. On tonight’s episode of the show, Buddy and his team were honored by making the cake to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Sesame Street.

Now, Buddy is pretty cool. He puts up with a lot being the leader of a whole bunch of creative people and family members, including his high-maintenance sisters. But on tonight’s show, after everyone had helped load the Sesame Street cake into the delivery truck, Buddy designated the delivery kid, Stretch, to stay with the truck while it ran all night to keep the cake cold for the next day’s delivery.

The next morning, instead of telling him, “Thank you,” Buddy pours cold water on Stretch while he’s still sleeping in the truck. I’m sorry, but I have to say it: What a dick.

Still, Buddy’s only human like the rest of us. We all make mistakes in terms of how we treat employees and coworkers. But one thing’s for sure: It’s always better to be on the lookout for chances to say, “Thank you,” than to make a practical joke.

Tags: blog, employee relations, Food, food marketing blog, human resources, Marketing