PR sex scandal shows why you should always keep your desk clean

(Sex scandal might be a bit much, but let’s be honest the gossip scene has been a tad quiet recently. The recession’s got everywhere!)

Anyway, word – and evidence – reaches me of the following scenario involving a junior PR person. The man had been taken on for a three-month trial period, it hadn’t worked out, so he was let go. Now unfortunately the guy was a tad egomaniacal so the non-renewal of contract didn’t end well and he was told that his desk items would be sent out to him.

So the MD of the company decides to get his hands a little dirty by clearing the desk and send the stuff away in a box. At first it’s all the usual stuff – letters from home, pictures of wife and kids, bank statements, notepads, business cards and so on – until he finds (in the second drawer) a page ripped from a popular, evening mass-market Scottish newspaper.

He’s in PR, a newspaper cutting isn’t unusual right?

Except for one fact: this was the page from said newspaper that advertised saunas (or rather “saunas”) and other services that some know to be fronts for sexual services and prostitution.

Now, hang on, you might say, it was the other side of the page he was interested in. And I might agree if it wasn’t for one thing: each of the “services” had been circled, some had comments next to them and most had handwritten notes on how much they charged for an hour and a half-hour of services.

A quick check of the company’s phone logs revealed that, yup, the member of staff had called each of these establishments, leading to cries of “dirty git” (and some word that sounded like banker) from the MD. Said MD was also more than a tad peeved that his ex-member of staff hadn’t got any of the sex companies signed up for PR services (what? There’s a recession going on.). A further check also revealed said member of staff had been calling premium rate phone number services.

Now said MD is peeved as this guy had been given latitude to be a PR superstar and this was how he was rewarded. But he’s not going to take it any further. All he’s done is post all his items back to the guy, newspaper page at the top of the box. What the MD can’t remember is if he addressed the box just to the ex-employee or to the ex-employee and his wife…

So the motto of the tale is this kiddies: keep your desk tidy , keep on the good side of your MD and try to never leave an employer under a bad cloud.

And for those wondering: yes I’ve seen the page in question (I doubted this tale until a scan was sent over to me) and no I’m not naming the bloke (but he lives and works in Edinburgh) (in Scotland) (or used to work there) but if anyone hires me to help with social media/digital media recruitment and this guy’s name comes up. Well…