A Norwegian Cruise Line employee is alleging the business was so desperate to counteract the devastating effects of the coronavirus to its bottom line that some managers asked sales staff members to lie to customers. "These discussions take place every day. And even during our department meetings, managers tell us that it isn't a big deal, that more people die from other things," the employee told Miami News Times after asking to remain anonymous in fear of retaliation. "[They're] constantly underestimating it." It’s unclear if sales managers were acting under the orders of other employees or company policy.
In one part of an email the newspaper obtained the cruise line alleged: "The coronavirus can only survive in cold temperatures, so the Caribbean is a fantastic choice for your next cruise. Scientists and medical professionals have confirmed that the warm weather of the spring will be the end of the Coronavirus." In another part of the email, the cruise line allegedly explained the coronavirus "cannot live in the amazingly warm and tropical temperatures that your cruise will be sailing to."
The World Health Organization identified the coronavirus as a pandemic with more than 118,000 cases in 114 countries Wednesday. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the World Health Organization's director-general, said in opening remarks to the press that the pandemic has claimed 4,291 lives, with more deaths expected. “In the past two weeks, the number of cases of COVID-19 outside China has increased 13-fold, and the number of affected countries has tripled,” he said. The virus has infected thousands who are still hospitalized, and the World Health Organization expects "to see the number of cases, the number of deaths, and the number of affected countries climb even higher," Adhanom Ghebreyesus said.
Interesting, that the expert made no mention of the weather in his briefing. The Norwegian Cruise Line didn't respond to the New Times' requests for comment, but the newspaper later learned through another leaked email that a manager had informed employees of the publication "working on a nasty story" to which the company "won't be responding as agreed." The newspaper also reported that it learned cruise line managers are working to find out which worker "ratted and lied" to the media.
Although the worker who spoke to the New Times denied using any of the recommended lies, the employee told the newspaper: "We are hardly selling anything. Sales are at serious lows." Sales staff members are required to make about 150 calls a day to sell tickets, spend five hours making calls and three to five making bookings. "If you don't hit quota, you will absolutely be fired," the employee told the New Times. "No exceptions for [the] current virus situation. You may be put on a personal improvement plan for 30 days, but [that] basically means you're done."
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