Who is Randy Good? Indiana candy shop owner slammed for saying 'splitting is a behavior taught by mothers'
A week ago, an Indiana candy shop was at the receiving end of an intense social media backlash for a Facebook job advertisement that excluded 'toxic' girls from applying. In recent updates, the owner of the business has announced that he is planning to sell the shop for good. Identified as Randy Good of Anderson, the owner of Good's Candy Shop made the announcement on Friday, May 28, a week after the Facebook ad went viral and drew immense backlash.
Good has reportedly considered selling the shop ever since the post led to their Yelp page's comments section getting disabled over abusive comments. He deactivated the shop's Facebook page first in the aftermath of the abuse, but is now seriously considering selling it to someone who can hadle things better.
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Located in Anderson, northeast of Indianapolis, Good’s Candy Shop's ad posted on Thursday, May 20, was in the form of a long rant about “every kind of human being” that's worked at the establishment. The advertisement in question listed three positions paying $11 an hour that included Customer Greeting and Service, Ice Cream Cake Decorating and other Ice Cream Duties, and Packaging. The job listing also mentioned “Work Hard, Be Nice,” as their motto since 1992 - when Good opened the store, reports the Indianapolis Star.
"We've had the know it all, the complainer, whiner, lazy, manipulative, roamers, hiders, absent or late, liars, haters, clock watchers, willful, controller, passive aggressor, puker (I’ll explain in a moment) and worst of all combined, the splitters,” Good detailed in the since-deleted Facebook ad, continuing, "Splitting is a behaviour of girls, young mostly but not always. Usually taught by their mothers”. He further explained "This is the person who talks about others in an attempt to split people apart and feel better about themselves. You know, ‘so and so said this about you and I couldn’t believe it! So and so is so stuck up that she thinks she’s better than us.’ And so it goes."
Good then remarked, “This my friends, is poison in action. These misguided gals have no end game. It’s just spreading and stirring all the while believing they are innocent.” He added. “It’s such a common thing among girls. This is where toxicity and drama find their roots. Boys seldom practice this. They just duke it out! ha!”
'Never seen misogyny on this level'
Understandably, the post drew flak in the form of abuse littered all over some 50,000 comments. The post was shared 14,000 times before being removed from Facebook, with many people asking the author, "Who hurt you?”, reports The Independent.
Others commented, “Wow. I have no idea whatsoever why you’re having difficulties finding help,” while some asked “Why would anyone work for this woman-hating troll?” Amidst several claiming the owner "went full sexist" with his "very unprofessional" ad, many also agreed, "I have never seen misogyny on this level." Another wrote, “Thank you for letting me know to steer clear of anything with your name on it/"
Although in the wake of the backlash, the shop still managed to earn “one of the busiest Mondays in a long time” with new people hired this past week, Good ended up issuing a Facebook apology. “I wish to begin with an apology,” he wrote on May 25 in another post, adding: “As you may know there have been things typed onto this page that is difficult to read. But not from me!! ha!! I’m sorry for the language folks have placed in their comments. It’s just awful."
He however added, “The energy in the shop is thrilling... Our Good’s Girls and Guy are operating at optimum level. We all have benefited from the attacks and slander. They’ve provided even more resolve to be the best.”
At the time, Good had written of the social media backlash, noting, “This is a gift to me... To those who visited yesterday for the first time, thank you! It was a blast laughing with you!” He mentioned, "I admit, I poorly communicated my experiences. I am not perfect. I make mistakes. I’ve made one here. But only out of ignorance, not malice." But less than a week later, news of the store being up for sale has hit their Facebook page.
What happened to the shop?
As reported by the Indianapolis Star on Friday, May 29, Good published a Facebook video addressing the whole situation where he claimed, "When I woke up this morning, I thought, well, all this stuff has been running around in my head. You know, some of it is true, I think that maybe ... maybe I am out of touch."
He further told the outlet, "I thought, 'Maybe it's time.' Maybe it's just time for someone to take over and continue with our success." Good however sticks by his comments on 'toxic' female employees and maintains he apologized for the way he worded it, but not for the comments per se.
The family business can be traced back all the way to the 1940s, reports the publication. The negative attention hasn't hurt business, he claimed.
"This hasn't hurt the brand at all," Good said. "It's probably aged me 10 years. And I'm old enough." Though he's considering inviting new owners, Good assured, "If no one is interested in owning us, we will just carry on. I can sure do it. 'Cause I still love it."