‘Without Malicious Intent or Even Knowledge’
In September a same-sex couple traveled to the U.S. from Australia to marry were sent Satan pamphlets instead of the wedding brochures they designed and ordered from Vistaprint.
Understandably upset, last month they sued, charging they had been sent “literature with hateful, discriminatory and anti-gay messages equating their relationship to Satan’s temptation.”
“Understanding Temptation: Fight the good fight of the faith,” the pamphlets are titled. “Satan knows our flesh is weak. He preys upon our weaknesses to tempt us to sin. Satan can only influence us to want to sin. He cannot make us sin,” they say.
Vistaprint responded immediately, promising a full investigation. In a statement the company said they “share in this couple’s outrage,” and they “have never been more disappointed to let a customer down.”
Having completed their investigation, Vistaprint reports the Satan brochures were sent by mistake, in a shipping label mixup.
“Our findings determined that this incident was due to human error, and was without malicious intent or even knowledge that it had occurred,” Vistaprint CEO Trynka Shineman and founder Robert Keane said in a statement.
“Two separate orders were printed simultaneously, placed in separate boxes, sealed, and then after sealing were unfortunately mislabeled,” the company says.
“While a fulfillment error like this happens in a minute fraction of customer orders, there is room for improvement and we are working with our partner to make changes. Ultimately, we are responsible for this error and feel strongly that we should be the ones to take accountability for the mistake, and for creating a better experience for our customers.”
The company says they have told the couple “how sorry we are about this event and discussed what we, in partnership, can do to help use this incident as an opportunity to make a positive impact on important LGBTQ issues.”
Andrew and Stephen join us in expressing a desire to move forward and turn this into a positive opportunity for the LGBTQ community and shared the following comments:Â
“This has been an incredibly difficult experience for both of us. After we filed our case, Vistaprint engaged us in a dialogue and invited us to their offices to apologize and share the results of their investigation. We have always wanted to use this as an opportunity to create greater understanding and acceptance of the LGBTQ community. We’ve accepted Vistaprint’s apology, and will work with them to select U.S. and Australian-based organizations that they will be making donations to in order to further achieve this mission.â€
Vistaprint says they are working with the couple to identify LGBT organizations in the U.S. and Australia and will make donations to them.
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