"The one thing that's missing? The fate of ethically-challenged dimwit Bayard, who the Daily Background has since caught posting his own fraudulent reviews for Belkin."

Umm... No, that's not missing... Employee discipline should always be an internal matter. The guy's reputation is screwed no matter how Belkin handles him, why should they make it worse by publicly announcing his fate?

@Tallanvor: Indeed, and for all we know Mark was just the triggerman - it's certainly possible that the directives to do this came from above.

Yeah, the fate of this guy is not our business.

@cuchanu: The hell it isn't.

Here's why it's our business:

In industries where trust is required in order for the product to have value--the news media or publishing, for example--announcing the firing or parting ways of a rogue employee is failry common. When that trust is betrayed, part of the public apology usually includes an unequivocal message to consumers on whether or not the company will have any more ties with that person.

I know Belkin isn't a media company, but this stunt has undermined trust in a significant and similar way. I don't think it's unreasonable to expect a more detailed explanation of how Belkin is going to address unethical behavior like this.

I *do* think Bayard should be fired, but I'm not demanding that. What I would like to see, however, is something that convinces me that Belkin is making it clear that this is not an acceptable part of the culture of their sales dept. Without that, I will assume that Bayard or someone like him will do it again, in a sneakier way, in the future.

Smells like typical damage control bullcrap to me. Are we really supposed to believe this was one rogue guy acting on his own when you won't even say you're canning the guy? Ah, but then he might spill the beans.

@Tallanvor: It is more than likely that he was directed to do this by his superiors. But hey, hey can't be expected to take the blame can they?

Straight out of the corporate playbook, making the guy walk the plank as a total rogue agent the company knew nothing about and would never condone if they did know but they didn't. Only when the media brings bad publicity their way do they hang him out to dry.

I'm betting that Belkin knew all about this... that's why they didn't announce firing this guy. Bet they figured, "better to apologize than to be ethical" and Mikey went right along lest he lose his job.

In any case, Belkin products suck major ass and anyone considering one of their products should have little trouble ascertaining that fact if they do even the most minimal amount of research.

The fate of the guy is ... nothing. Nothing changed. This guy was obviously authorized to do this since , persumably he was using company money to do so. I doubt he was paying hundreds of people for reviews out of pocket. While HR doublespeak will tell you about "privacy of the associate" (a legitimate thing btw), if this guy had been spending money without authorization, it'd be a criminal thing.

I've always wondered what is keeping people from doing this. Just pay some people or tell your employees to head over to "so and so" website and enter in a bunch of positive reviews from home. I don't see any way anyone can find out.

@Tallanvor: Because if they didn't axe him, that means he wasn't rouge. He was probably following orders. If it was isolated and he was the only one involved he absolutely would have been canned.

When I first learned the down-the-street, knock-on-doors sales business, a colleague explained some things to me. For example: office buildings that say "no soliciting" are still fair game, and game it is. He talked about the techniques he used to get around those buildings, even while security guards were looking for him. And if they caught him, they'd throw him out and call his boss. His boss would tell them, "Oh, I'm terribly sorry, I'll take care of that guy, he shouldn't have done that"--and then when the guy got back to the office, he'd get a pat on the back and quick wink. He was doing his job, and the managers knew that and wanted him to do it. Screw what anyone else wanted. So don't be outraged; you're wasting your breath. This guy did was he was told AND EXPECTED to do, and is probably getting a nice steak dinner or raise out of it.

@cuchanu: It is if belkin wants to sell anything again.

Actually, depending on where they are incorporated Belkin could open themselves up to a lawsuit by publicly disclosing the personnel issues of an employee. They aren't protecting him from anything, they're protecting themselves.

It's entirely possible he was on his own. Because sales jobs could be heavily evaluated for performance and commission and bonuses could be tied to more sales. But since they are not firing him, it's highly unlikely he acted alone. This is most likely a company wide sales tactic.

@Chris Walters: The problem is that the general reader wouldn't know a significant disciplinary action if they were handed one. They would feel like you, that the dude should be fired or even prosecuted even though this isn't technically illegal.

Further we don't even know if
A) This is a real person
B) if this person actually works directly for Belkin
C) If this action was authorized or even directed by his superior.

Forcing this guy to take the fall will accomplish nothing except quench the thirst of some vindictive blog posters.

Most people in a company don't even know if someone in the company gets fired as this is privileged information (since this is a private company).

Did you know when you are doing background investigations you aren't allowed to ask about the details of a former employee's termination?

Seriously, what is with people always wanting blood? I thought we'd moved past the gladiator days.

@Chris Walters: I disagree, more than once. I know he or somebody like him will try this again. The only reason anybody would need to know what happened to Mr. Bayard is if they were directly involved. Nobody here that just wants that information has any of the supporting information as to why he was/was not fired for this debacle. Any judgment calls as to if his firing is warrented are pure conjecture on our part.

@Ubermunch:
Why are you quoting something that was never said?

How is apologizing different than being ethical?

What more can they do at this point? They are removing the reviews this guy posted, they've made a public announcement to this effect and everyone knows they're stuff is crap. You want them to publicly flog the guy?

@CyrusOpeth: When I was a bored-sick office manager for a small office with five commercial real estate brokers who were always gone, I used to make a game out of seeing how long I could hold solicitors hostage in my front office. I'd make fake phone calls to the guys who were gone and tell the rube... I mean rep... that they would be with them as soon as they were able to get off the phone. I'd offer coffee and chit-chat. I'd warn the rep against the security guard. I'd pretend to be interested. I kept one guy there until it was 5:30, the building was closing, and everyone was gone. He asked me out, LOL. I didn't think my boyfriend would approve... oh well. :D

Having once been an insider in the online ratings and reviews game, I can say with authority that ALL online reviews have some insider reviews, both good (from the party that will profit) and bad (from competitiors). Do like they do in the Olympics to deal with partisanship - throw out the high and low scores and look at the rest...the voice of real consumers can still be heard.

That guy has got to be stone-stupid for using his real name on the Mechanical Turk site, I don't care whether he was doing that on Belkin's initiative or not. His was an epic failure of simple common sense - he obviously can't think his way out of a paper sack. If his next job is a supermarket bagboy, he'd probably lose that job, too, for putting the eggs on the bottom. ;o)

I'm glad they are addressing it but this is a real douchebag move by Belkin.

I will always read any reviews with great suspicion. Plus I will go out of my way to rail on them if they ever put out a substandard product.

@Chris Walters: I agree with you, Chris. By not saying how/if this employee was disciplined, it gives the impression- to me at least- that A) the company knew/condoned what was going on and if they fire him, he's more likely to expose others involved in the scheme or B) they gave him a slap on the wrist because they don't see this as a big deal. If either one of those is the case, I certainly don't want to have any dealings with this company.

@Corporate_guy:
agreed.

Belkin's got a LOT of making up to do if they ever want my money again.

"Belkin does not participate in, nor does it endorse, unethical practices like this."

But it did. And as discussed above, Bayard likely wasn't the only one involved.

And I HIGHLY doubt that their supposed isolated incident is the only time this is happened... this is probably the only time they were caught. Purely speculative, of course, but exactly why we shouldn't just assume they're going to discipline internally. FTC investigation, anyone?

I just bought a Belkin product, it was better than CATS, I laughed, I cried, I'd buy it again and again.

@Corporate_guy: For all we know he might have been fired. At the end of the day from the consumer's perspective, it shouldn't matter who, if anyone was fired for something like this, it's whether or not we feel the company recognizes that this was wrong and make it clear to their employees that they won't tolerate this sort of lapse in judgment in the future.

Besides, if they did announce that they fired the guy, he could end up suing them. --There's a reason most companies refuse to give references beyond the dates that a person worked for them these days.

Belkin doesn't want a defamation or wrongful-termination lawsuit if they announce "Mark Bayard did this so we're firing him." There's no SEKRET PLOT to cover up wrongdoing by his Shadowy Masters. Sheesh.

They're only sorry because they were caught, simple as that.

@snowburnt:

I'm pretty sure you're missing my point, possibly because you read it too quickly.

IMO, Belkin told this guy to do this, it wasn't something he did as a maverick. The quote is an extremely old saying that I learned from my Grandmother... and I think it describes Belkin corporate's position: it was easier to apologize if they got caught versus the sales increases they got by being unethical. So... No... I don't want them to flog the guy because I think he was merely following orders.

Do you get the point now or should I explain it in greater detail?

@speedwell, avatar of snark:

Nice job, heh heh!

I get them sometimes asking me for the name of the person they would need to call to make an appointment. If they are polite and nice to me, and treat me like a person instead of the front desk peon, I give it to them. If not, I like to put on this idiot, vacant expression and say, "Gee, I'm not sure who's handling that right now. Do you have a card? I can find someone to give it to."

Then when they leave, disappointed, I laugh my head off!

Giz posted a letter from a Belkin employee today.

"We have paid magazines for positive reviews, made custom devices or fixtures for use at trade shows to ensure quality demos. One such example would be a fixture that runs hidden cable to a TV or audio receiver, yet claiming the broadcast is coming from a wireless transmitter, or through a USB hub."

As I said yesterday, Belkin is still on my list of "will never buy again" products. The only reason why we got this half-assed letter from the Belkin Pres is because one of his underlings got caught using his real name.

Sorry, linkage: [i.gizmodo.com]

@Corporate_guy: "Because if they didn't axe him, that means he wasn't rouge."

But I his face is red anyway...

@mythago: The problem with this explanation is, it would not be defamation if they did not use his name in their statement, nor would the termination be wrongful if he truly was acting on his own.

"We're sorry we got caught."

Posted to Belkin Customer Support:

Over the past few years, I've purchased several Belkin products--out of convenience rather than any form of brand loyalty. About half of them--a PCI USB card, a wireless router, a KVM switch, a NIC card, a USB hub, a CardBus wireless adapter, and even a simple network cable--had to be replaced shortly after their purchase because they no longer worked, or no longer worked reliably.

In this same time period, I noticed a trend at Belkin to make more stylized devices. The premium you charge for "high design," coupled with my repeated losses to the poor quality of your products, (and your careless technical support,) had led me to put Belkin in a sort of a "time out."

If I get fed up with a company, as I have become with you, I refuse to buy your label for a year or two, no matter how inconvenient it is for me. After that time, I will provisionally try your products in the hopes that you have adopted values that I appreciate.

And now, we know that that Belkin cares more for good press than good products.

Fire or don't fire Michael Bayard. I don't really care. Do not, however, act as if Belkin is not culpable for this fiasco. Even if Mr. Bayard is a rogue employee, (coincidentally bent on hyping Belkin's image,) it speaks no better for your management team that they were oblivious to his tactics than if they were endorsing it. It does mesh well, though, with your belief that "Belkin has always held itself to the highest standards of corporate ethics and its employees to the highest standards of personal integrity." Did you forget that you were responding to unassailable evidence to the contrary! It astounds me that you think that a flat contradiction has any credibility.

If you want to serve the interests of someone like me, someone who wants quality products at a reasonable price, I can tell you what it will take:

1. Own up to your misdealings. Don't bother trying to separate Belkin from the actions of your employees. Even if that's a significant distinction, it's just not believable. Be brief, but candid, and I know you will be respected for coming clean.

2. Stop trading quality for style. I do like the look of some of your premium products, but I'm not that interested in paying twice as much for the aesthetic-especially if it does not work well. Make it work first, then make it pretty.

3. Fix your technical support. The few experiences I've had with your support group has been bad. Right from the start, the tech is searching for an excuse as to why the problem is not within your product. I refuse to reinstall my operating system because the range on your wireless NIC is about 20 feet. I just gave up on your support, and ultimately your products. And, from the single encounter I had with an experienced and thoughtful tech at Belkin, so has he.

If you don't care about my business, and there's no evidence that you do, then by all means disregard these considerations. If you do care, get to work.

@snowburnt:

Further we don't even know if
A) This is a real person

It is quite possible. Now imagine that: Belkin making a big announcement that they've fired someone, who in fact does not exist. The people calling for disciplinary action would be satisfied, right? Hahaha!

Until the supervisors directly above the fake-recommendation writers feel threaten, nothing will happen.

@CyrusOpeth:

My sign says No Soliciting.

Violate my rules and I will make your life a living hell. More importantly I have nothing better to do with my time and actually enjoy the process.

Just a hint. I rent air compressors. Cash only of course.

You might need the air compressor. The video tape of my parking lot shows nobody approaching your car while you were in our building, but while you were wasting your time with my cute receptionist, my security guard is letting the air out of two of your tires.

Go ahead, prove I did it. Remember my video tape shows otherwise.

By the way, the parking lot is locked promptly at 5:30. Don't like my rental fees for an air compressor, you got until 5:30 to arrange for your tow truck and remove the vehicle.

I got a cousin that owns a towing company. You want me to call him for ya? His fees seemingly just triple whenever he visits my business. So do the fees of everybody else. For some reason a lot of small businesses don't like your kind and they just love putting you through a little extra discomfort.

Vehicle still here after 5:30? No problem. My security guard, yes the same one that leaked the air from your tires, will physically remove you from our property if need be. At 5:31 I will go ahead and release your car to my favorite towing company for towing and storage. I guess the security guard forgot to tell me you planned to return tomorrow for your car.

Prove otherwise.

Maybe the cute receptionist will actually like you. So after an appropriate wait in the outer office she directs you to enter room 211 and wait for Ms So-and-So. Room 211 is a real room. Only The door locks behind you and does not allow you to reenter the hallway. There is another door in room 211. You can leave through there when you finally figure out room 211 is a waste of time. That exit door (which just so happens to be painted to look like a regular office door) leads directly to the rear of the building and is fenced off for security. It is good 1000' walk around the building and warehouse fencing back to your car.

Of course if it is after 5:30 you might not have a car remaining in the parking lot.

IF you still have a car, drive carefully. The road was clearly marked as a one way street when you entered the road to visit me. It may look like a two way road, but it is most certainly a oneway road. It might be only 50' to the main road, but driving the wrong way on a one way road is a serious offense. Of course I have a video camera mounted conveniently to snap pictures of offenders.

@Ubermunch:

Hermes : What do we do when we break somebody's window?
Dwight : Pay for it?
Hermes : Heavens, no! We apologize! With nice, cheap words.

@Corporate-Shill: Wow, that's not exactly fun and games, is it. Don't imagine for a second that your employees don't talk about your dirty tricks and wonder what you're doing to them behind their backs. Social engineering is one thing; I didn't actually force the reps to do anything they didn't choose to do. But stooping to vandalism and legal shenanigans... dude. That's isn't punishing the company for bothering you with a rep, or even encouraging a slacker... that's going out of your way to hurt a working stiff.

Room 211, though... that's funny.

@TechnoDestructo:

Thanks for the morning laugh!

@lemur: And then it comes out that the person never existed and the same people that were salivating for him to be fired will completely forget their blood lust from before and demand someone else's head. this is the same as the credit problems we're having: instantaneous satisfaction.

@Corporate-Shill: we've gone from a-hole salesmen to what amounts to organized crime.

Nice