Viral clip: Grocer manager entraps special needs deli worker into stealing $100 worth of chicken tenders & fruit cups

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is really awful. Why not have his manager sit him down and give him a warning. If it happens again a write up. Third time a firing. He's obviously hungry.

If I were his manager I would have sat him down for a talk. Im sure I would have learned the he didn't have enough money to buy food and that he wa²s waiting for his paycheck to arrive. I would have added up how much it cost to buy the chicken and fruit cup each day until his paycheck and gave him the money to pay for it.

Bastards! May they rot in Hell! When he was hired he should have been told the store did not provide a free lunch.

Why would someone expect free lunch?

He had the money but they wouldn't allow him the time to buy it since having to wait in line took longer than the allowed 15 min break. Why can't they can't make an exception for their own employees to skip the line? Other supermarkets do.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The manager set him up and lay in wait. Petty and not the message a family owned grocery store wants to present.
SN young adult walks to work, eats a few chicken nuggets and a fruit cup. Could it get more wholesome than that. Does malintent apply to the worker or the manager.?

This isn't a little mom and pop corner market. Meijer is very similar to Walmart.

That doesn’t matter. Stealing isn’t ok because it’s a bigger corporation. Stealing is never ok. BUT, the kid was special needs no probably didn’t understand. The manager should have explained this to him when he first became aware of it. I don’t even think a formal warning was in order, rather just some education and guidance after the first time it happened.

Exactly. There is a borderline hysterical poster on here who cannot deal with the fact that stealing is illegal, even if it's being done by a "poor little teenage boy". So absurd.

So give an official warning and then terminate on the next offense. The fact that she deliberately waited for the food to exceed $100 to get him arrested shows not only terrible management but cruelty.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is really awful. Why not have his manager sit him down and give him a warning. If it happens again a write up. Third time a firing. He's obviously hungry.

If I were his manager I would have sat him down for a talk. Im sure I would have learned the he didn't have enough money to buy food and that he wa²s waiting for his paycheck to arrive. I would have added up how much it cost to buy the chicken and fruit cup each day until his paycheck and gave him the money to pay for it.

Bastards! May they rot in Hell! When he was hired he should have been told the store did not provide a free lunch.

Why would someone expect free lunch?

He had the money but they wouldn't allow him the time to buy it since having to wait in line took longer than the allowed 15 min break. Why can't they can't make an exception for their own employees to skip the line? Other supermarkets do.

I am the pp you quoted, and I’ve also posted prior that I used to work in a grocery store. We sure didn’t get to skip the line—customers would have been (rightfully!) angry! And we only had ten minutes, not 15.

[Anonymous]

Deadline Detroit

Michigan-Based Meijer Achieves New Low In Corporate Inhumanity With Arrest Of Teen Worker

https://www.deadlinedetroit.com/articles/33083/starkman_michigan-based_meijer_achieves_new_low_in_corporate_inhumanity_with_arrest_of_teen_worker

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The manager set him up and lay in wait. Petty and not the message a family owned grocery store wants to present.
SN young adult walks to work, eats a few chicken nuggets and a fruit cup. Could it get more wholesome than that. Does malintent apply to the worker or the manager.?

This isn't a little mom and pop corner market. Meijer is very similar to Walmart.

That doesn’t matter. Stealing isn’t ok because it’s a bigger corporation. Stealing is never ok. BUT, the kid was special needs no probably didn’t understand. The manager should have explained this to him when he first became aware of it. I don’t even think a formal warning was in order, rather just some education and guidance after the first time it happened.

Exactly. There is a borderline hysterical poster on here who cannot deal with the fact that stealing is illegal, even if it's being done by a "poor little teenage boy". So absurd.

So give an official warning and then terminate on the next offense. The fact that she deliberately waited for the food to exceed $100 to get him arrested shows not only terrible management but cruelty.

It’s even lower, their corporate response says they stalked him for “months”!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The manager set him up and lay in wait. Petty and not the message a family owned grocery store wants to present.
SN young adult walks to work, eats a few chicken nuggets and a fruit cup. Could it get more wholesome than that. Does malintent apply to the worker or the manager.?

This isn't a little mom and pop corner market. Meijer is very similar to Walmart.

That doesn’t matter. Stealing isn’t ok because it’s a bigger corporation. Stealing is never ok. BUT, the kid was special needs no probably didn’t understand. The manager should have explained this to him when he first became aware of it. I don’t even think a formal warning was in order, rather just some education and guidance after the first time it happened.

Exactly. There is a borderline hysterical poster on here who cannot deal with the fact that stealing is illegal, even if it's being done by a "poor little teenage boy". So absurd.

So give an official warning and then terminate on the next offense. The fact that she deliberately waited for the food to exceed $100 to get him arrested shows not only terrible management but cruelty.

Or arrest him as they did. Just because youre melting down over this does not mean they have to change the rules for you

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Heh, I'd say the Meijer chain had it coming (arrest of kid went viral on the internet). That was really petty of the manager, and he/she deserves all the internet condemnation they get.

It’s not a rogue store, it’s the corporate ergo the family’s policy to clock the petty thefts until it’s just over $100.

[Anonymous]

This is just poor management. Anyone who has worked at grocery stores, fast food, restaurants, the local golf club etc. - all the places that employ teens at their first jobs - knows that managing teens and setting the behavior expectations is part of the job. This all could have been easily handled internally. A warning, a write up, and then let go, in that order.

Now when people complain that “these jobs are for teens, not adults trying to raise a family,” you can point them to this case. What teens are going to want to work there now? Also if the teen in this case had special needs, chances are he’s with a school or other training program that contacts with Meijer- are they going to send their students to work at Meijer now? Hopefully not.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is beyond cruel and evil. The planning and setting up a hungry kid is disgusting. I hope that managers gets everything he deserves in life.

It honestly makes me assume the managers get bonuses for this? A six-figure salary manager stalking cameras all day, for weeks (?), waiting for a poor special needs deli kid to take another chicken tender and 99¢ fruit cup. This comes from the top. This is how evil these austere Republicans are. These companies also get massive tax incentives to hire SN and disabled persons and donate millions in food for more tax write offs.

I bet this became like entertainment for the manager and maybe other coworkers to catch this kid. I would also bet that the manager and others wanted him gone and this honeybees it. A lot of people don’t like or want to work with disabled people.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What happened to employers giving free lunch to teens? My first job was on a golf course in the late 80s and we got a free hot dog or egg salad sandwich, chips, soda and candy bar every afternoon. My teen brothers bagged groceries and got a free deli sandwich with any fixings, sides, and a drink every shift.

Hold on to your hat, because a lot of restaurants don't even give their workers free meals anymore.

My teen has worked at 2 restaurants and did not receive a free shift meal at either. He currently busses tables at Texas Roadhouse and only gets 15% off menu price.

I worked at several fine dining restaurants while in college and we always had family meal an hour or so before the dinner seatings began and that was free for us. We were also clocked in for the meal. I was shocked to learn that several fine dining places no longer do family meals for the employees, and others that do still do it make it optional and don't allow the employees to clock in and eat.

I remember getting uniforms for free years ago, but not anymore these days. Most places give 1 free shirt and make the kids buy any additional they want. My DD is a lifeguard and she only gets 2 items for free. She has a big list she can pick from, but if she wants a tee & shorts coverup, that's 2 items not 1. A bikini is 1 item, but a bikini and a one-piece suit are 2 items. Want a hat? That's an item. She's also not allowed to wear any other red or red lifeguard swim gear not bought through their supplier.

There’s way more turnover when we were growing up. Why would employers pay for and provide multiple uniforms for new hires when most will be gone within a few months?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is just poor management. Anyone who has worked at grocery stores, fast food, restaurants, the local golf club etc. - all the places that employ teens at their first jobs - knows that managing teens and setting the behavior expectations is part of the job. This all could have been easily handled internally. A warning, a write up, and then let go, in that order.

Now when people complain that “these jobs are for teens, not adults trying to raise a family,” you can point them to this case. What teens are going to want to work there now? Also if the teen in this case had special needs, chances are he’s with a school or other training program that contacts with Meijer- are they going to send their students to work at Meijer now? Hopefully not.

Teens who don’t steal?

[Anonymous]

This country is really sh*tty. I don't know how any of you (who worked in a fast food place or other corporate chain link), can justify not getting at least a free meal and drink on your scheduled shift.

I worked at Giant Food in college and a hand full of bakeries, patisseries and coffee shops. We were at least entitled to a free meal and drink during your scheduled break.

To justify working all day for multi-million dollar and billionaire dollar corporations without a free $10 meal is stupidity at its finest. This is why so many people are losing their government jobs, jobs that depend on government grants, and farming allocations because people don't understand the principle of caring for thy neighbor.

People like to delusionally view themselves as upwardly mobile, middle class or upper middle class. They argue that they "pulled themselves by their bootstraps" yet they forget their savings can be wiped out in a second after a major life crisis.

America will fall like the Greeks and Romans because people find ways to justify enriching the wealthy and ignoring the very same class that they are actually in or in which they were raised.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This country is really sh*tty. I don't know how any of you (who worked in a fast food place or other corporate chain link), can justify not getting at least a free meal and drink on your scheduled shift.

I worked at Giant Food in college and a hand full of bakeries, patisseries and coffee shops. We were at least entitled to a free meal and drink during your scheduled break.

To justify working all day for multi-million dollar and billionaire dollar corporations without a free $10 meal is stupidity at its finest. This is why so many people are losing their government jobs, jobs that depend on government grants, and farming allocations because people don't understand the principle of caring for thy neighbor.

People like to delusionally view themselves as upwardly mobile, middle class or upper middle class. They argue that they "pulled themselves by their bootstraps" yet they forget their savings can be wiped out in a second after a major life crisis.

America will fall like the Greeks and Romans because people find ways to justify enriching the wealthy and ignoring the very same class that they are actually in or in which they were raised.

Some of us “justified” it because we needed a job. We weren’t privileged enough to say we were too good to take a job that didn’t give us a free meal. We took a job that paid us wages, and we needed it to make sure we have a roof over our head and food in our bellies.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is beyond cruel and evil. The planning and setting up a hungry kid is disgusting. I hope that managers gets everything he deserves in life.

It honestly makes me assume the managers get bonuses for this? A six-figure salary manager stalking cameras all day, for weeks (?), waiting for a poor special needs deli kid to take another chicken tender and 99¢ fruit cup. This comes from the top. This is how evil these austere Republicans are. These companies also get massive tax incentives to hire SN and disabled persons and donate millions in food for more tax write offs.

I bet this became like entertainment for the manager and maybe other coworkers to catch this kid. I would also bet that the manager and others wanted him gone and this honeybees it. A lot of people don’t like or want to work with disabled people.

The Meijer spokesperson confessed the store management stalked this kid for “months” to hit the $110 worth of chicken and fruit cups. Diabolical.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is really awful. Why not have his manager sit him down and give him a warning. If it happens again a write up. Third time a firing. He's obviously hungry.

If I were his manager I would have sat him down for a talk. Im sure I would have learned the he didn't have enough money to buy food and that he wa²s waiting for his paycheck to arrive. I would have added up how much it cost to buy the chicken and fruit cup each day until his paycheck and gave him the money to pay for it.

Bastards! May they rot in Hell! When he was hired he should have been told the store did not provide a free lunch.

Why would someone expect free lunch?

He had the money but they wouldn't allow him the time to buy it since having to wait in line took longer than the allowed 15 min break. Why can't they can't make an exception for their own employees to skip the line? Other supermarkets do.

I am the pp you quoted, and I’ve also posted prior that I used to work in a grocery store. We sure didn’t get to skip the line—customers would have been (rightfully!) angry! And we only had ten minutes, not 15.

I guess not all stores operate the same.