Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
WICHITA, Kan. - Heather Ravenstein tried to save Walmart some money Friday by foiling a shoplifter's plan to steal a $600 computer, but it cost her her job.
"I'm a single mom, and I don't know what I'm going to do," says Ravenstein, who is 30.
Location: The Chatterdome in La La Land, CaliFUNia
39,031 posts, read 23,025,682 times
Reputation: 36027
That's plain awful. This employee stuck her neck out to protect the company against theft and she is fired? Guess employees should just look the other way when they observe theft then.
Rules like this usually come from past experience. I'm guessing either employees getting very injured or killed or the employee suing Walmart for not "protecting" them.
She violated company policy in a very serious way. She put herself at risk of being injured--in fact she was injured--doing something that was a direct violation of company policy. She deserved to be fired. This was not a minor offense. Had the thief had a gun and shot her, the workers comp bills could have been in the millions over a lousy $400 computer. I'm not a Wal-Mart fan by any means, but this time I've got to agree with them.
Yeah, why does she care if Walmart loses out on a computer. They'll likely have insurance for the product anyways. If I caught somebody stealing something, I'd just leave it to the authorities to handle it. I don't get "danger" pay, so why put myself in a dangerous situation? Who knows, maybe it crossed her mind that if she came out as a heroine, she'd get a promotion of some sort.
Wal-mart is not the only company with this policy. Banks, and MOST retail stores clearly state that employees are NOT to interfere with shoplifters or make any attempt to foil robberies. There's an emphasis on 'loss prevention'- not intervention. That's what the cops are for. In fact, I worked at a Wal-mart years ago and I remember our loss prevention person actually tackled a guy in the parking lot over stealing fishing gear. He was fired the next day.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
