Earlier this month, an employee of a Florida Golden Corral named Brandon Huber posted a video in which he contends that his restaurant was improperly storing food. (The restaurant owner, Eric Holm, has disputed many of the contentions against his establishment, and derided Huber’s motivation as a mercenary one.)
Huber’s video (one of several he recorded) appears below. Setting aside the veracity of his claims, one is still left with a question about these means: one can use YouTube to take a complaint, literally, to millions of viewers.
Whistleblower tactics have this advantage: more people learn of a contention, arguably more quickly, without the need to trust that a health inspector will act or act quickly on the public’s behalf.
Disappointment over public officials’ laziness, indifference, or coziness toward the vendors to whom they should be impartial matters less when one can bypass those unworthy officials and take one’s case directly to a community.
Foul establishments cannot assume that simply hiding misconduct from patrons, or greasing a health inspector’s palm, will conceal their misconduct when any of the employees on whom the business depends may become a whistleblower.