By George Anderson
In his Cubicle Culture column earlier in the week, Jared Sandberg of The Wall Street Journal looked at the problems that can arise in the homes and workplaces of people who work for a consumer brand company when they or someone else uses a competitive product.
Tom Muccio, a retired executive who worked at Procter & Gamble, said his father worked for Del Monte and would "go through the roof" if his mother bought a private label product to try and save money.
As an adult, Mr. Muccio made sure his family understood the benefits of products sold by P&G. When he discovered his mother-in-law was using a competitor's soap, he gave her an alternative manufactured by his employer.
P&G and most other companies do not have an official policy that employees must use their products but most understand that, ultimately, it benefits them when they do.
There have been instances at other companies, however, where employees have lost their jobs for using "the enemy's" brand while on the job.
Back in 2003, a driver for a bottler of Coca-Cola was dismissed from his job for buying a Diet Pepsi from a store where he just made a delivery. Management at the plant said he was being terminated for "violating a policy prohibiting slander of Coke products."
Moderator's Comment: Should employers be allowed to require employees to buy their company's products? What effect does this have on an employee's loyalty to his or her employer?
Generally speaking, we side with employers on this question. We do think it can be taken too far, however. Particular problems have arisen with clothing retailers who want their employees to buy expensive clothes from their stores while paying the workers very little. - George Anderson - Moderator