I posted a few weeks ago about the Crazy About You Bear — you know, the Vermont Teddy Bear’s straitjacketed stuffed bear that drew protests from mental health advocacy groups, Vermont’s Governor and the state’s Human Rights Commission.
Well, the company decided to continue to market the bear and it quickly sold out — in fact some folks are selling the bear on places like eBay for hundreds more than its purchase price. The company’s CEO, Elisabeth Robert, ticked off a few people when she stated publicly that folks in Vermont "really don’t like to be told what to do."
Now it turns out that Robert (pronounced "ro-BEAR") has been kicked off the board of Vermont’s largest hospital. Seems she was accused of being less than sensitive.
A local representative in Vermont says that no one is telling the company what to do; rather, they’re "pleading." In addition, Howard Rubenstein, a NY public relations executive, calls the decision to continue marketing this bear "thoughtless" and says that in today’s world lots of people can tell you what to do and businesses should listen.
"People will forgive a mistake," he says "but they won’t forgive arrogance."
I have a couple of thoughts about this controversy. My first is that the Vermont Teddy Bear Co. has every right to market this product. Folks who think it’s cute will buy it — people who are offended will not. End of story.
I also don’t like the idea of advocacy groups trying to tell a company what to sell. The distinction of not "telling" a company what to do but instead "pleading" for them to do something is too fine a point in my eyes. Let the company sell what they want — if the market doesn’t buy the product, it will quickly be shelved.
Finally, for all you lawyers out there wondering how this relates to legal practice, I’m curious about the quote about arrogance. Many lawyers I know are extremely arrogant — and clients often seem to seek out lawyers that believe they can do it all. My experience with clients is just the opposite — they will forgive arrogance before they’ll forgive a mistake.
What do you think?
Al,
I live in Myrtle Beach, so maybe we're a bit laid back here. Most of the lawyers, regardless of the side they're on are pretty nice.
It's my experience that the few lawyers that are very arrogant tend to attract clients that like those qualities. Those lawyers clients tend to be sumbitches as well.
It's been my personal experience that clients will forgive a mistake, if you take steps to fix the mistake so that they are not hurt by it. In fact, some of the most loyal clients are those who I've gone the extra step to fix things up after a mistake.
Of course it depends on the area of law and the area of the country, but I think clients mainly want someone to work hard for them and be nice to them. I think a lawyer with those traits and modest skills will do better than a lawyer with extraordinary legal skills, but a horrible bedside manner. Go figure.
Posted by: Dave | February 15, 2020 at 04:37 PM
Dave, I'd hope that most clients are the way you describe but I've certainly seen some who weren't. Your comments are comforting ….
Al
Posted by: Al Nye | February 15, 2020 at 04:49 PM
Hi Al,
Rubenstein is wrong. If a business listened and actually did everything that was demanded of them they would quickly go bankrupt.
There are many special interest groups on both sides of almost every issue. You can't please them all.
The mental health folks need to be spending their time on more important issues.
I was delighted to see Robert stand her ground. And even happier to see her sell out the line. m
Posted by: Mike Smock | February 15, 2020 at 06:50 PM
Mike:
Thanks for your comments. I appreciate hearing from a marketing expert.
I'm also glad that the CEO decided to continue selling the bear. I just wonder if she could have been a tad bit more sensitive to the mental health groups. Dave wrote to me in an email with the idea of donating a portion of the proceeds to mental health issues. Do you agree or would you simply ignore the protests?
Al
Posted by: Al Nye | February 15, 2020 at 07:23 PM