Kai-fu Lee backs Virgin stewardess fired after criticising airline food
And this time they face accusations from the famous Kai-fu Lee, founder of technology incubator Innovation Works.
Li, a high-profile opinion leader on China’s micro-blogging service Sina Weibo, has 23 million followers online.
“I support the stewardess,” he wrote.
Wine will be served in elegant champagne glasses and traditional English afternoon tea will be available, said the post.
The stewardess, identified as Yvonne by the media, allegedly wrote on her personal Weibo, “The portions are small and the food tastes aweful, so what’s the point of upgrading?”
This obviously angered Virgin Atlantic’s management who decided to let her go.
Yvonne then wrote a letter to Virgin, in which she argued that her post’s impact was minimal since she only had 219 followers, said a media report.
This failed to change the minds of Virgin's bosses.
Here are Kai-fu Lee’s own tips for companies who need to deal with disgruntled employees voicing complaints on social media:
1. Check out the facts. If the allegations made by the employee are true, encourage the employee to communicate directly with management first, instead of criticising the company publicly.
2. If the allegations are false, the management should ask the employee to delete the post.
3. If the employee is found to have broken laws or breached any non-disclosure agreements, the management should consider severe punishment including terminating the employee's employment contract.