The Beacon Journal sought comment from InfoCision for this story. Representatives from InfoCision declined to comment. Here is the complete email exchange between the Beacon Journal and InfoCision.
April 2: From reporter Bob Dyer to InfoCision Senior Public Relations Manager Gretchen Fri.
Ms. Fri:
Bob Dyer here, writer for the Beacon Journal. I am contacting you in hopes of scheduling an interview with Steve Brubaker for a story I’m considering regarding InfoCision.
After the Bloomberg Markets articles appeared last year, and again after I wrote a column in which I expressed disappointment with some of InfoCision’s policies (and those of national charity organizations), I received calls and emails from people who identified themselves as either former or current InfoCision employees.
Many of those folks raised additional concerns about company policies and operations. Because many different people made some of the same assertions, I concluded that looking into those issues would be appropriate. I very much want InfoCision to hear the concerns that were raised and have an opportunity to discuss them, and would like to do that in a face-to-face interview with [InfoCision Chief of Staff Steve] Mr. Brubaker.
I and another Beacon Journal staffer would prefer to meet at your offices, but if you’d prefer another venue, such as a conference room at the Beacon Journal, that would be fine, too. I would like to tape-record the conversation to make sure anything I might quote in a story is absolutely accurate.
Please let me know what days/times would work best for you.
Thank you,
Bob Dyer
April 4: From Fri to Dyer:
Bob — As with any large company, unfortunately there will be a couple disgruntled employees along the way. We are always working to create an environment where our 4,000+ employees can be proud of their workplace, and the services we provide our clients. Our environment and corporate culture have been recognized with many awards, and we have thousands of current and past staff members who have glowing reports of their experience with InfoCision. As I’m sure you know, we just celebrated our 30th anniversary, and recognized 65 dedicated employees who have been with the company for 20+ years. We’re pretty proud of this, and I think most companies would be as well.
Unfortunately, Steve Brubaker is out of the country on vacation until April 15. If you would please forward to me a list of any questions you have, I will review those with him when he returns.
Gretchen
April 4: From Dyer to Fri:
Gretchen,
Thanks for your note.
As I said in my first email, I am requesting a face-to-face meeting with Mr. Brubaker in which we can have a free-flowing conversation. I will certainly need to ask follow-up questions, and he will likely want to ask questions about my questions to make sure we’re on exactly the same page.
Introducing an extra, unnecessary layer between Mr. Brubaker and myself is not conducive to full communication, which is my goal.
If I ask questions he can’t answer without doing some research or talking to others at the company, he can certainly do that after our session is over.
Bob
April 11: From Dyer to Fri:
Gretchen,
You have not responded to the email I sent you nearly a week ago, so I’m resending it and copying Mr. Brubaker this time to make sure he is aware of my desire to connect with him when he returns from his vacation.
Thank you,
Bob Dyer
April 15: From Brubaker to Dyer:
Bob,
Thanks for your patience while I have been out of the country. Gretchen has kept me updated on your requests.
I am not inclined to sit for a formal interview, however if you would share a few written questions with me, I will do my best to provide feedback to you …
Steve
April 15: From Dyer to Brubaker:
Steve,
Thanks for your response.
Doing this by email simply isn’t practical. I have dozens of questions to ask, and it’s important that we interact directly so you understand exactly what I’m asking and I understand exactly what you’re saying. I will likely have a number of follow-up questions, and you may need further explanations of my questions.
As I mentioned before, I would not limit you to one sit-down session. If there are questions you can’t answer during the session because you need to research them further, you can provide those later.
I initially asked for an interview 14 days ago. Going back and forth repeatedly via email would not only be incredibly cumbersome but would needlessly prolong this process.
What is your objection to talking in person?
Bob
April 17: From Brubaker to Dyer:
Bob,
We have already spent significant time interviewing with members of the Akron Beacon Journal staff [for other stories]. Our website www.infocision.com shares helpful information on our team members and client services. I am continuing to focus on developing our award winning employee programs. InfoCision has received local and national recognition for our outstanding work environment, employee satisfaction and industry high retention rates, such as from NorthCoast 99 and The Top 150 Workplaces in the USA. We will continue to do more good work in the community creating career opportunities, providing economic impact and giving back to the great organizations that make a difference here locally.
Steve