LivingSocial is wearing an apologetic mask this Halloween as it tries to recoup what little grace it has left after allegedly hosting a "7 Deadly Sins" party that many in attendance found racially insensitive. With seven thematic rooms, each featuring a deadly sin like lust or gluttony, guests raised questions in the room for greed, which was decorated with gold coins.
Oh yeah, and dreidels.
The party, held this past Saturday night in seven rooms in LivingSocial’s six floor 918 F Street space, was open to the public for $59 a pop. According to the party's ad on LivingSocial, each room had its own "themed cocktails, snacks, and unique entertainment," as well as "a silent disco, movie screening, and so much more." In the lust room, there was a burlesque show; in the gluttony room, sweets.
Somehow, though, it made sense to some LivingSocial employee for dreidels to be in the greed room. The room was described on the deal's website: "In this shimmering room full of silver and gold, we'll get greedy challenging friends to a plethora of games, all while sipping on a Midas Touch cocktail." Surely, the 643 people who purchased tickets to the party would've felt different if they'd have known that "a plethora of games" involved spinning a dreidel.
One anonymous partier who witnessed the room told Washington Jewish Weekly, "I was very offended. I just thought it was completely inappropriate,” about the room's “clearly anti-Semitic” gold-coin-surrounded dreidels. Though the woman had previously enjoyed her past experiences with cooking classes and wine tastings at LivingSocial's space, she told Washington Jewish Weekly that LivingSocial would no longer have her business. She did, however, get a refund for the party.
Kevin Nolan from LivingSocial's publicity chalked this blunder up to a bad choice for the company. “We have looked into it and determined that the inclusion of dreidels with the other games in the gaming room was not a smart choice, and we are very sorry to have upset anyone. What happened at the event does not reflect who we are as a company and we are deeply apologetic."
Perhaps what happened doesn't reflect the company's values, but it does reflect what LivingSocial has become. Frankly, they're blowing it – they have been for a while and continue to keep making mistakes, although not always this offensive. LivingSocial is falling apart and it seems that as they continue to cut employees and lose money, they can't manage to be a responsibly managed company. For instance, just a few weeks ago they advertised a deal for a trip to Estes Park, Colorado. Somehow it got past the company that at the same time they published that deal, Estes Park was considered a flood-ridden disaster zone.
"We do not condone prejudice, nor do we tolerate inappropriate or hurtful behavior of any sort," LivingSocial spokeswoman Sarah Parker wrote Wednesday. "What happened at the event does not reflect who we are as a company and we are deeply apologetic."
Sure, LivingSocial. You don't condone prejudice. But what about blatant stupidity?
