THE boss of a chain store that dismissed a member of staff by text message has said that the method was fair because texting is “part of youth culture”.

Katy Tanner, 21, learnt that she had lost her job as a sales assistant at the Blue Banana store in Cardiff only when she received the text message. She had been working at the shop for eight weeks.

The text message, sent by Alex Bartlett, the shop manager, said: “We’ve reviewed your sales figures and they’re not up to the level we need. As a result we will not require your services any more. Thank you for your time with us.”

Miss Tanner was at home because of a migraine when she received the message. She said: “I don’t think it’s right to just text someone. At least they should have talked to me face to face. It’s very impersonal and not at all professional.

“You don’t expect that — it was quite a surprise. You’re not allowed to text in sick, you have to phone. The fact that they texted me is a bit of double standards.”

Miss Tanner, from Grangetown, Cardiff, earned £4.50 an hour at Blue Banana, which has eight other branches across Wales and the South West and describes itself as “the UK’s biggest body piercer and street fashion retailer”.

Ian Besbie, the director of Blue Banana, justifed the decision to dismiss Miss Tanner by text message. He said: “We are a youth business and our staff are all part of the youth culture that uses SMS messaging as a major means of communication.

“As we wished to spare Miss Tanner the embarrassment and expense of coming to the store only to be sent home again, we thought it was the best course of action. We would rather have spoken in person to Miss Tanner but her phone was switched off.”

Blue Banana describes itself as the Britain’s biggest chain of “alternative streetwear for Emos, Goths, Punks and Rockers”.

Their shops specialise in body piercing and jewellery. The stores are in Cardiff, Coventry, Doncaster, Exeter, Lincoln, Newport, Swansea, Plymouth and Swindon.

Miss Tanner had been working for 27½ hours a week, and said that the store was known for having a high turnover of staff.

A recruitment message posted on Blue Banana’s website says: “For ambitious individuals we offer the chance to build management abilities, with a particular focus on monitoring and coaching sales staff to generate exceptional financial figures.

“Within that framework we still have time to enjoy ourselves in a raucous, music-based fashion environment.”

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