FRIDAY FUNNY: No Laughing Matter for Fountain Lady

Many of you may have already heard about this story; some of you may have even seen the video as well. But as Lisa Mason, Yahoo! Contributor Network reports, Cathy Cruz Marrero had an embarrassing mishap while “walking and texting in the mall where she works in Reading, PA. Mall security caught the whole thing on tape and apparently decided to release the video on YouTube without Marrero’s consent.”

She has a point there. Here’s the offending video, if you haven’t seen it:

Members of the facility management profession may see mishaps like this on a regular basis. But the fact that the security team posted the video on YouTube, where it went viral (more than 2.5 million views between YouTube and Facebook) in a matter of hours, has added insult to injury. Consequently, Marreno is preparing to take legal action.

Mason writes:

In an interview with the Reading Eagle, Marrero claims security did not even come to check on her for 20 minutes, after which she had already left. In the video, you can hear people laughing as they watch the fall. Marrero claims these voices were mall security and that they were not “professional”.

Comments to an article on Mother Nature Network bring up good points regarding the case. In the video, you cannot actually see the woman’s face. No one would really know the identity of the Fountain Girl if she had not come forward herself and admitted it was her.

So what do you do, facility managers? Can you train your staff to respond to situations like this so they react “professionally” rather than instinctively? Is it possible to stifle the natural inclination to laugh when you see something like this unfold in front of your eyes?


5 COMMENTS

  1. Saw this on the news last night. Turns out she’s a ex-con with a history. In fact, she was arrested shortly after taking the dunk for shoplifting or something. She’s suing due to the embarrassment of being laughed at by the security people. The news said one of the security persons has been fired. How sad is that? Anyway, she “came out” on the news because she feels she’s been wronged…….and wanted her 15 minutes of fame.

  2. What bothers me is they/we let this person drive and vote. She got everything she deserves. She’s lucky it wasn’t out on the street in front of a bus or in a factory and fell into the trash compactor. Only a scumbag lawyer would try to sue the security guards. She got up – she’s fine!

  3. come on! Look closer at the video. She didn’t bump and then fall into the fountain. She lifted her leg INTO the fountain. Scam!

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