- A Comcast store manager allegedly forced salespeople to assault low performers with pies
- The assaults were videotaped and ordered by manager Sully Fuentes Peterson in Plainville
- Top salespeople were required to tie up and pie the lowest-ranked staff monthly
A lawsuit filed against Comcast's cable division has alleged that a US store manager humiliated the month's lowest-performing salesperson by tying them to a chair in the back office and smashing a cream pie into their face. The assaults were videotaped and, in some cases, carried out by co-workers on the manager's orders.
The complaint, filed July 9 in Connecticut Superior Court, focuses on the Comcast store in Plainville, Connecticut, run by manager Sully Fuentes Peterson. According to the suit filed by David Figueroa, who was hired as a retail sales consultant in February this year, Peterson required each month's top-ranked sales consultant to tie up and assault the lowest-ranked consultant with a pie in the store's back office.
Figueroa said he was never informed about the policy and the humiliating 'pie-in-face' ritual was supposedly designed to boost sales figures and customer survey scores, according to a report in ArsTechnica.
“Defendant did not inform the Plaintiff prior to his acceptance of Defendant's offer of employment that the Comcast Store has a policy of subjecting Retail Sales Consultants to public assaults by co-workers at the direction of Ms Peterson, the store manager for the purpose of increasing Defendant's sales and profitability,” the lawsuit said.
Peterson filmed the assaults herself and ordered staff to participate and record their own videos. In one case, Figueroa recalled that he witnessed and filmed a co-worker known as Ty being tied up and struck with a pie by another employee with better sales numbers.
In another case, an assistant sales manager named Jania was allegedly assaulted after receiving a "poor customer survey score". Figueroa said he saw video of the incident on a co-worker's phone.
The complaint accuses Comcast of negligence, arguing the company "reasonably should have known" about the ritual and failed to properly supervise store management. Figueroa is seeking compensatory damages for economic losses and emotional distress.
Comcast disputes the claims. In a statement, the company said it has "zero tolerance for harassment, humiliation, or any behaviour that compromises a respectful and safe workplace," but refused to comment on the ongoing case.
