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I Shall Not Be Moved....From Facebook
I just heard from a friend that his former employer is trying to
prohibit him using his Facebook account, by claiming that his clients are on
here and that the clients are proprietary.
I would point out that just like I do, this man has friends, relatives,
his preacher, and a host of other personal connections on his page as
well. I do have a fan page for my business, and the majority of people
on my "personal" Facebook page are other massage therapists. I have
chosen not to have a separate FB account for my clients--and there are
very few of my clients on my page. I haven't encouraged that at all,
and the few who are on it are those special folks I've taken care of
since back in my student days. They're not apt to be shocked or
dismayed by anything I say. If I thought they were, I wouldn't have
accepted their friend request. I would have sent them a note stating
that I keep that part of my life separate, and they would understand.
This is a big profession with a lot of overlapping interests. There is
overlap among what the associations do, overlap among what the
publications report, overlap in modalities. We're all different, and
yet we're all the same. And yet, as big as it is, it's also
small...massage therapists, and the schools, associations, support
industries, product manufacturers of massage products and distributors,
CE providers, authors and publishers, all make up this microcosm in the
universe, and it's pretty tightly packed. A lot of us know each other,
sometimes in person, sometimes just on Facebook, from across town,
across the country, and around the world.
I advised my friend to tell the old boss to stuff it. I don't think
that company has a leg to stand on, and I also think it would make an
interesting test case. I suppose this falls under the category of
"non-compete". In the massage world, which my friend is a part of, a
client has the right to throw me over in favor of you, or to patronize
both of us if they choose to, a practice I believe is referred to as
free enterprise.
This man did not steal company files on his way out the door. He has
not attempted to steal clients. He has not said a bad word about his
former employer, on here nor anywhere else, nor does he intend to. I
personally think this attempted "Facebook ban" is a pathethic attempt
at censorship on one level and trying to thwart free enterprise on
another.
And on a final note, what about YOU? If you're someone else's employee,
could you see them trying to close down your Facebook account if you
left their company to start your own business, or to work for someone
else? I hope not.
Peace & Prosperity,
Laura Allen
prohibit him using his Facebook account, by claiming that his clients are on
here and that the clients are proprietary.
I would point out that just like I do, this man has friends, relatives,
his preacher, and a host of other personal connections on his page as
well. I do have a fan page for my business, and the majority of people
on my "personal" Facebook page are other massage therapists. I have
chosen not to have a separate FB account for my clients--and there are
very few of my clients on my page. I haven't encouraged that at all,
and the few who are on it are those special folks I've taken care of
since back in my student days. They're not apt to be shocked or
dismayed by anything I say. If I thought they were, I wouldn't have
accepted their friend request. I would have sent them a note stating
that I keep that part of my life separate, and they would understand.
This is a big profession with a lot of overlapping interests. There is
overlap among what the associations do, overlap among what the
publications report, overlap in modalities. We're all different, and
yet we're all the same. And yet, as big as it is, it's also
small...massage therapists, and the schools, associations, support
industries, product manufacturers of massage products and distributors,
CE providers, authors and publishers, all make up this microcosm in the
universe, and it's pretty tightly packed. A lot of us know each other,
sometimes in person, sometimes just on Facebook, from across town,
across the country, and around the world.
I advised my friend to tell the old boss to stuff it. I don't think
that company has a leg to stand on, and I also think it would make an
interesting test case. I suppose this falls under the category of
"non-compete". In the massage world, which my friend is a part of, a
client has the right to throw me over in favor of you, or to patronize
both of us if they choose to, a practice I believe is referred to as
free enterprise.
This man did not steal company files on his way out the door. He has
not attempted to steal clients. He has not said a bad word about his
former employer, on here nor anywhere else, nor does he intend to. I
personally think this attempted "Facebook ban" is a pathethic attempt
at censorship on one level and trying to thwart free enterprise on
another.
And on a final note, what about YOU? If you're someone else's employee,
could you see them trying to close down your Facebook account if you
left their company to start your own business, or to work for someone
else? I hope not.
Peace & Prosperity,
Laura Allen
Views: 168
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Emma Torsey on
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I am so happy I work for myself!!
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Permalink Reply by Darcy Neibaur on
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I love facebook and so far my employeer has said nothing to me about using it. I live outside of the millage range of our facility so I am not worried about it anyway. Like has been stated many times on here Non-competes are illegal and do not stand up in a court of law. So go for it. Use that facebook page.
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Permalink Reply by Julie Onofrio on
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Where is the info that non-competes are illegal? I think they are legal. They are just hard to enforce. A friend of mine was caught in one and she of course left and clients left too. How can you control where clients go or not go? You can't. I think the difference is in whether or not you solicit them to follow you and how you word it. You can say you are leaving and give them your new card but you can't say do you want to make an appointment at my new office??? Or can you?
I would be really mad if they messed with my facebook account! What is facebook saying? Do you know?
I do think it is better to have a separate fan page for business relationships. I do the same and don't let clients become my friends unless I think they can handle what I say but I also don't really post many personal things on FB. I call my real friends! Facebook is this interesting phenomenon that in my opinion really also gets too voyeuristic and combining friends and business on there creates many more dual relationship things!
Julie
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Permalink Reply by Las Vegas Massage In Summerlin on
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Julie Onofrio said:I do the same and don't let clients become my friends unless I think they can handle what I say but I also don't really post many personal things on FB. I call my real friends! Facebook is this interesting phenomenon that in my opinion really also gets too voyeuristic and combining friends and business on there creates many more dual relationship things!
Julie
I'll agree with this.
Unless one is good at building and developing relationships one should keep the 'friends' and clients apart. Dual relationships are fine if created properly.
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Permalink Reply by Relax & Rejuvenate on
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The issue here seems to be more about non-solicit than non-compete. Our technicians are not permitted to share their personal contact information with clients. Non-solicitation is legal and enforceable in all 50 states, for contractors as well.
For instance, the contractor DirecTV sent to my home to install my system can only give out the DTV business card. He can't call me the next day or mail me offering his non DTV related services, because he encountered me as a customer through his relationship with DTV. He can advertise his non-DTV services to the general public all he wants, but he can't target me or anyone else he met while representing DTV.
Same standard can be held for MTs.
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Permalink Reply by Emmanuel Bistas on
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I totally agree with Relax & Rejuvenate on the non-solicitation part. Soliciting clients away from your employer, or even soliciting other employees to leave your employer and to go work somewhere else can cause great harm to your employer. Soliciting is like stealing.
Non-competes are different because everybody should have the right to make a living and to set-up a free enterprise. As I recall from my business law class, courts will typically throw out a case that would prevent someone from earning a living but there are exceptions for certain cases that meet certain standards. I don't know if it will be worthwhile for any employer to sue a former employee for a breach of non-compete in massage therapy unless there are significant damages to recover.
In this particular case, I think it's silly for the employer to try to stop the former employee from having a facebook account. There is also LinkedIn, massage professionals, myspace, and other similar professional forums. Unless the former employee goes into hiding, former clients will find him sooner or later.
Relax & Rejuvenate said:The issue here seems to be more about non-solicit than non-compete. Our technicians are not permitted to share their personal contact information with clients. Non-solicitation is legal and enforceable in all 50 states, for contractors as well.
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