Paul Christoforo - PR/Marketing Specialist

In the past week, Paul Christoforo has reached internet stardom. In the course of a single negative email exchange between himself and a customer asking about a particular controller his company markets, Paul gets himself into a shouting match that hits the inbox of Mike Krahulik, one of the heads of Penny Arcade. From there, things get even worse as Paul then attempts a retraction, and then proceeds to insult Mike and then the email exchange terminates. After that, the emails are posted online, and then all hell breaks loose.

Paul’s life was turned upside in a matter of less than 24 hours. He loses his job; he receives constant death threats; he is at his wits end w/ the world that suddenly rose up against him for being the unbelievably ignorant and rude jerk that he was to a man named Dave. About a video game controller and a $10 coupon. Still, his saga is a cautionary tale worth heeding: don’t get up in a customer’s face. Sometimes, it really can come back to bite you in ways you never knew, and Paul was the sacrificial lamb of the week to prove that lesson to be true.

Here’s some links documenting the entire saga w/ some juicier details:

• Controller Company Berates Customer, Then Penny Arcade. Bring Popcorn. via Kotaku
• Chastened Gaming Rep responds to Internet Infamy via MSNBC
• Ocean Marketing Jackass Earns $10 Discount for All Pre-Orders via Kotaku

“…I could have nipped this all in the bud by being a little nicer. You never know who knows who, and lesson learned. We all have bad days and they caught me on one.” – Paul Christoforo (via MSNBC)

Mr. Christoforo, I salute you.