Worker alleges fired for alerting customer to dog in hot car

[midjd]

shine.yahoo.com/pets/walmart-employee-warns-customer-dog-locked-car-loses-194900460.html

On Wednesday, shortly before beginning her shift, Cheney saw the customer put his Newfoundland—a large breed with a heavy black coat—in his truck and roll up the windows, reports the Ottawa Citizen. Cheney, who worked in the Walmart pharmacy, called the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) and later confronted the dog owner after he left the store, telling him that "he should not be leaving his dog in the car." He responded that it was none of her business.
 
Later that day, Cheney was called into her the office of her manager to whom, she told CBC News, she had mentioned another dog being left in a car the previous week. "I was pretty upset and I said to [him], 'What do I do?' He said it was none of our business and went into the store." In this case, her manager said she should come to him directly with any problems in the future. Cheney said she didn't agree with that policy. "So I [told him] if I did see something unsafe, that I would just go to the police if I thought it was necessary." The manager then told her she was fired and she should gather her things and leave the building. According to reports, another employee, Sean Dhaliwal, was also fired in late June from the same Walmart for warning a customer against leaving a dog in his van.

On Thursday afternoon, Walmart Canada posted a release on its Facebook page denying that Cheney was fired for "trying to help a dog in a locked car." It continues, "The decision to dismiss an associate is one that we take extremely seriously and must follow a comprehensive process. However, out of respect for the associate and for privacy reasons we cannot provide specifics about why this associate was let go." The release also claims that the manager did speak to the customer about the dog and adds, "Walmart is a major supporter and advocate for animal rights. Over the past year alone we have made donations to local SPCAs, the Humane Society and Animal Shelters. In addition, signs will be added to the front of all our stores across the country to advise customers of the dangers of leaving kids and pets in a hot car."

This is upsetting, but doesn't surprise me (assuming this is why she was fired). A few summers ago I saw a poodle locked in an SUV at Target. I went inside to see if I could have the owner notified over the PA, and the employee told me she wasn't authorized to page anyone or call the police, but that I could use their telephone book to look up the number to dispatch. Luckily the owner came out a few minutes later (without being paged) since it seemed obvious at that point I wasn't going to get any help.

I think it's sad that there is still ANYONE who thinks it's OK to leave a pet or child in a vehicle during the summer months, but it's really sad that these employees can't help without fear of losing their jobs. I get that these corporations don't want to offend their customers, but at what cost?

[zibazinski]

That'd be one Walmart I'd be picketing and boycotting. I sure don't eat at Applebee's anymore and although my aunt and uncle love that place, I won't go there with them and I won't give them gift cards to it anymore because they fired that server over tipping.

[973beachbum]

This is one of those things that as a person I want people to call the police and stop the harm being done.  Walmart can't have it's employees getting into fights with it's customers.  In these cases these employees should have called the police anomously and let the police handle it.  It would have had the same outcome except without them getting fired.

I know this will get me flamed, but I would probably take my chances of getting fired if it was a baby, but not for a dog.

[movingforward]

I will put that one my list as # 105 as another reason to dislike Walmart.  I get that perhaps she shouldn't have confronted the customer herself and simply called the police to handle it; however, I have problem with the manager's "it is none of our business" attitude.  When you see cruelty happening to an animal or child it IS your business IMHO to help those that are unable to help themselves. 

[alabamagal]

Jul 12, 2013 9:24:45 GMT -5 973beachbum said:

This is one of those things that as a person I want people to call the police and stop the harm being done.  Walmart can't have it's employees getting into fights with it's customers.  In these cases these employees should have called the police anomously and let the police handle it.  It would have had the same outcome except without them getting fired.

I know this will get me flamed, but I would probably take my chances of getting fired if it was a baby, but not for a dog.

[milee]

First, I'm zipping up my flame retardant suit...

There are some pretty big clues here that this employee wasn't fired because she called the police about the dog, she was fired because she's a PITA and doesn't interact appropriately with either customers or management.

If she's already called police and the customer is done shopping and heading towards his car, there is nothing to be gained by scolding or lecturing the customer, which is what the employee admits she did.  That goes beyond addressing the situation and moves into the territory of overstepping her bounds.  Also, there was mention of a prior incident where the manager specifically told her to tell him about dogs in cars rather than talk to customers or any other action.  She admits she was "pretty upset" and didn't agree with this policy.... so that's why she didn't follow his policy when she saw this dog.

Employees that don't follow a reasonable policy (and I see nothing to indicate that the policy wasn't reasonable, unless the manager was saying he wouldn't call the police if he was notified of a dog in a car) and instead choose to argue with managers and get in fights with customers should be fired.

And I love dogs.  This isn't about dogs, it's about how you handle the situation.  It's not an unreasonable policy to not have employees fight with customers and instead to just have a manager call the police. 

[NomoreDramaQ1015]

I will put that one my list as # 105 as another reason to dislike Walmart

It's not limited to wal-mart.  Most employers have the same rules.  I'm not supposed to call the police or get involved on my own, I'm supposed to call campus security.  I don't know if it's a fireable offense if I skip that step but we do have similar policies in place as Wal-mart.

[chiver78]

I've been known to break a car window in my time.

people just don't think.

[whoami]

I have the non emergency number for our local police dept in my contacts list in my phone...mainly for my nutcase neighbor who fights with the family behind her over a tree.  I've never called but the cops have been here 3 times in the last year over the fighting.  Anyhoo....I would have called the cops without question.  

Walmart sucks.  Both of my kids did stints there and I know the kind of bullshit they pull with their employees with schedules etc.  I refuse to shop there.

[Tiny]

Jul 12, 2013 9:57:17 GMT -5 milee said:

First, I'm zipping up my flame retardant suit...

There are some pretty big clues here that this employee wasn't fired because she called the police about the dog, she was fired because she's a PITA and doesn't interact appropriately with either customers or management.

If she's already called police and the customer is done shopping and heading towards his car, there is nothing to be gained by scolding or lecturing the customer, which is what the employee admits she did.  That goes beyond addressing the situation and moves into the territory of overstepping her bounds.  Also, there was mention of a prior incident where the manager specifically told her to tell him about dogs in cars rather than talk to customers or any other action.  She admits she was "pretty upset" and didn't agree with this policy.... so that's why she didn't follow his policy when she saw this dog.

Employees that don't follow a reasonable policy (and I see nothing to indicate that the policy wasn't reasonable, unless the manager was saying he wouldn't call the police if he was notified of a dog in a car) and instead choose to argue with managers and get in fights with customers should be fired.

And I love dogs.  This isn't about dogs, it's about how you handle the situation.  It's not an unreasonable policy to not have employees fight with customers and instead to just have a manager call the police. 

I'm kinda with milee on this one... I suspect there's more to this story than we're getting. But from the article:  the employee confronted the guy outside at his vehicle!  I'm ok with the calling police...  it's the 'followed them outside' that bothers me.   If a store employee followed me out of the store and then confronted me and started lecturing me about something I did - I'd be creeped out AND be calling the police at the first available moment.     

There's a fine line between protecting innocents and becoming creepy/harrassing.    

Of course, there's the example of the employee who questioned/looked into a vehicle and saw a couple of kids 'tied up' in the back of the vehicle and called police... (Was that also Wal Mart)... but I think the employee didn't confront the guy and his wife who owned the vehicle.     So, I don't want employees to totally look the other way when they see something 'not right' - I just don't think it's their responsibility to go after the people who appear to be doing something 'not right'.

 

[midjd]

I agree that it's not the employee's place to confront a customer.

But my problem when I ran into the situation at Target was that even the manager refused to page the car owner. I don't know about the non-emergency dispatch times in other areas, but around here it can take a while (the police had not yet arrived by the time this woman emerged from the store, suffered a 5 minute tirade from me, and drove off). In a situation like this, those extra few minutes can be crucial.

It would not surprise me in the least if this Wal-Mart manager DID say "It's none of our business, don't worry about it." That was the attitude I got at Target (which I've found to generally be better-run than WM).

I think the store policies in situations like this could use an overhaul.

[Deleted]

Later that day, Cheney was called into her the office of her manager to whom, she told CBC News, she had mentioned another dog being left in a car the previous week. "I was pretty upset and I said to [him], 'What do I do?' He said it was none of our business and went into the store." In this case, her manager said she should come to him directly with any problems in the future. Cheney said she didn't agree with that policy. "So I [told him] if I did see something unsafe, that I would just go to the police if I thought it was necessary." The manager then told her she was fired and she should gather her things and leave the building. According to reports, another employee, Sean Dhaliwal, was also fired in late June from the same Walmart for warning a customer against leaving a dog in his van.

It seems to me that there's 3 different things as issue here. 1. The dog in the car thing. Totally wrong & I see no problem with making a phone call to someone about it. 2. Why did she even tell her manager? I don't get that. The manager works for a company & the company might have a problem with pissing off customers. 3. Why did she talk back to her manager? You just say ok & then in the future do what you want to. Sounds to me like there was a confrontation that there didn't need to be.

[hoops902]

::In this case, her manager said she should come to him directly with any problems in the future. Cheney said she didn't agree with that policy. ::

I would guess this is the crux of the firing.  Something happened, the manager told her that in the future she needed to escalate it through her manager rather than just calling the police, and she basically told him she wasn't going to do that. 

She wasn't fired when she called the police, she wasn't fired when she confronted a customer, she was fired because management told her how she needed to handle future instances and she basically told them she didn't care what their policy was and she was going to do what she wanted.  That's pretty much a fast-track to getting terminated.

[973beachbum]

Jul 12, 2013 10:16:50 GMT -5 midjd said:

I agree that it's not the employee's place to confront a customer.

But my problem when I ran into the situation at Target was that even the manager refused to page the car owner. I don't know about the non-emergency dispatch times in other areas, but around here it can take a while (the police had not yet arrived by the time this woman emerged from the store, suffered a 5 minute tirade from me, and drove off). In a situation like this, those extra few minutes can be crucial.

In NJ you can call the actual emergency number for the police if the dog is in actual danger.  So I would have called 911 and told them that the dog was in a locked hot car and they would have sent out a police officer to break into the car and proably write them a ticket for animal cruelty.

I agree that the store probably woudn't have called in this case.  I would hope they would at least do it for a child but I don't actually know I would bet on it.   but in this case she didn't have to confront the people.  Call anomonously and let the police handle it.  If she wants to work for the ASPCA then apply to them and get that job, but stop trying to do their job while you work for Walmart.  All it seems to accomplish is pissing everyone off.

[justme]

Since the manager said it's none of our business to her and then said in the future come to him with these problems - I think it's pretty reasonable for her to assume that if she did come to him he'd say "it's none of our business" again and ignore it.

Still out of line for her to follow/berate/lecture the customer and I could see firing her for that. If she had just called and left it alone, under the assumption her boss wouldn't act then firing her would seem out of line.

[Tiny]

Jul 12, 2013 10:21:09 GMT -5 hoops902 said:

She wasn't fired when she called the police, she wasn't fired when she confronted a customer, she was fired because management told her how she needed to handle future instances and she basically told them she didn't care what their policy was and she was going to do what she wanted.  That's pretty much a fast-track to getting terminated.

Yep.  And that part about 'doing what she wanted' - which is a euphamism for "doing what she felt she was justified in doing' is what totally terrifies me when I think about 'armed' citizens....

[Deleted]

Jul 12, 2013 10:23:16 GMT -5 973beachbum said:

Jul 12, 2013 10:16:50 GMT -5 midjd said:

I agree that it's not the employee's place to confront a customer.

But my problem when I ran into the situation at Target was that even the manager refused to page the car owner. I don't know about the non-emergency dispatch times in other areas, but around here it can take a while (the police had not yet arrived by the time this woman emerged from the store, suffered a 5 minute tirade from me, and drove off). In a situation like this, those extra few minutes can be crucial.

In NJ you can call the actual emergency number for the police if the dog is in actual danger.  So I would have called 911 and told them that the dog was in a locked hot car and they would have sent out a police officer to break into the car and proably write them a ticket for animal cruelty.

I agree that the store probably woudn't have called in this case.  I would hope they would at least do it for a child but I don't actually know I would bet on it.   but in this case she didn't have to confront the people.  Call anomonously and let the police handle it.  If she wants to work for the ASPCA then apply to them and get that job, but stop trying to do their job while you work for Walmart.  All it seems to accomplish is pissing everyone off.

I assume that we have such a law in Tx. I did see the police respond here once to a dog in car thing. They got the dog out & then started to tow away the car (which was in a handicap spot & no sign). Just as they were connected to the car an old guy came up in one of those Walmart scooters & they gave him a break & let him off with a warning. I should add that when this happened it wasn't one of our 100 degree days, but of course if the windows are rolled up it can still get to hot in a car for anything living.

[formerroomate99]

If she's already called police and the customer is done shopping and heading towards his car, there is nothing to be gained by scolding or lecturing the customer, which is what the employee admits she did. That goes beyond addressing the situation and moves into the territory of overstepping her bounds. Also, there was mention of a prior incident where the manager specifically told her to tell him about dogs in cars rather than talk to customers or any other action. She admits she was "pretty upset" and didn't agree with this policy.... so that's why she didn't follow his policy when she saw this dog.

That's pretty much what I thought.  In the service industry, you can do something that saves someone's life, but if, in the heat of the moment, you say anything that hurts their delicate little feelings, you're going to get canned for it.  As an individual citizen, I wouldn't have any problem calling someone out on this behavior in a busy parking lot in broad daylight, but I sure as heck wouldn't confront a customer if I were working there.   

[formerroomate99]

Last summer, a friend of mine started carrying a small crowbar in her purse so she'd be prepared to deal with the dog/baby in car thing. 

[midjd]

I really struggled with whether or not to break the window. I didn't want to lose MY job (being arrested for vandalism will usually do that) but would've spent the rest of my life carrying around that "what if?" guilt if something had happened to the dog. When I told the story at work, my boss and his boss both said "Oh you should've broken the window!" so at least I know what to do next time.

I still think it's ridiculous that the store apparently can't (or chooses not to) page a customer who has left an animal in a hot car. I spoke to a couple of Target employees or ex-employees who said that this was store policy. And it makes me wonder what procedures are in place if the same thing happens with a baby...

One would think the potential backlash if something bad DID happen would outweigh the risk that a customer would be pissed off enough to not shop there again, but maybe not.

[formerroomate99]

I still think it's ridiculous that the store apparently can't (or chooses not to) page a customer who has left an animal in a hot car. I spoke to a couple of Target employees or ex-employees who said that this was store policy. And it makes me wonder what procedures are in place if the same thing happens with a baby...

One would think the potential backlash if something bad DID happen would outweigh the risk that a customer would be pissed off enough to not shop there again, but maybe not.

I imagine if it was a baby, they would call the police, who would arrive just in time to see a customer breaking the window. 

As for the backlash, irresponsible and evil people tend to give more severe backlashes than decent people, and no decent person would leave a living thing in a hot car.  I could honestly see a store firing employees for confronting this type of person for the same reason that convenience store clerks get fired if they fight a robber. 

[movingforward]

Luckily, it is rare to see an animal left in a hot car where I live (knock on wood).  We seem to be an animal loving city and I could honestly see about 30 people just waiting around for the person who owns the car to come back.  Kind of like the mass that confronted George Costanza when he parked in the handicap parking spot on Seinfeld

[hoops902]

Jul 12, 2013 14:18:38 GMT -5 formerroomate99 said:

If she's already called police and the customer is done shopping and heading towards his car, there is nothing to be gained by scolding or lecturing the customer, which is what the employee admits she did. That goes beyond addressing the situation and moves into the territory of overstepping her bounds. Also, there was mention of a prior incident where the manager specifically told her to tell him about dogs in cars rather than talk to customers or any other action. She admits she was "pretty upset" and didn't agree with this policy.... so that's why she didn't follow his policy when she saw this dog.

That's pretty much what I thought.  In the service industry, you can do something that saves someone's life, but if, in the heat of the moment, you say anything that hurts their delicate little feelings, you're going to get canned for it.  As an individual citizen, I wouldn't have any problem calling someone out on this behavior in a busy parking lot in broad daylight, but I sure as heck wouldn't confront a customer if I were working there.   

The thing is, she didn't even get canned for possibly losing her cool and confronting the customer.  She got fired when her manager told her next time she should come to them to deal with that situation, and she basically told the manager she would not do that. 

Management seems more than reasonable to me here.  They didn't fire her when she called the cops, they didn't fire her for confronting a customer when it was pointless to do so.  You can't keep an employee around though who says "I don't care what you tell me, I'm going to do whatever I want to".  Also keeping in mind, this is HER side of the story, which means it's probably the most in her favor that any version is going to be, and it STILL has her telling her boss she's going to do what she wants regardless of how he's instructed her to handle it next time.