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| who's guilty? |
| 03.19.06 (7:54 am) [edit] |
My local Jewel tends to employ somewhat mentally disabled people to do things like bag groceries and bring carts in. I'm accustomed to occasionally getting a bag that contains both canned goods and bananas, and I'm pretty much resigned to it. For the most part, these employees are cheerful and pleasant.Yesterday, Danny wanted to find a "car cart," so we walked to the far doorway to get one. Once he was settled in, I started to push him into the store, but a cart wrangler beat me to the doorway with a short stack of carts, and stopped there. An older man came out of the store with two bags of groceries, and she stopped him. I didn't hear much other than "change?" but I did hear his response: "Sorry, I used it all inside." The man walked towards the parking lot, and the woman stood there, sort of frozen. I started to go around her and she said "use the other door," then pushed her carts inside and went to stand by the pay phones. I felt odd about it, but went to the Customer Service desk anyway, where I was greeted by a tired-eyed clerk. "I feel weird about this, but as I was coming in, I think I saw someone who works for Jewel asking for money," I said. I explained what I saw to the woman, and she put her head in her hands. "Not again," she said. "She doesn't even work here!" Apparently, the woman I saw works at a different Jewel, and then comes to this one to hang out on her days off. I told her I felt really sheepish reporting the woman, because she was obviously disadvantaged. "That doesn't matter," she replied. "We have to treat her like we would any other employee, and she knows better." When I walked away, I felt awful. I felt even worse when the clerk hunted me down in frozen foods, and asked me for my name and phone number because the manager wanted to write up the woman asking for change. Apparently, my impression was correct -- earlier in the day, that woman had asked to make a phone call, and was told she could use the pay phones. She said she didn't have change, and the clerk said she'd break a dollar bill for her, but the woman said she didn't have any money. I still feel really bad, and I hope the woman doesn't lose her job over this. Is the clerk right -- do we have to treat mentally disabled people as harshly as we would treat abled people (for small infractions)? Dunno. It seems somewhat cruel, but correct, too. |
posted by: Ginjoint (reply)
post date: 03.19.06 (6:30 am)
Yeesh. I think Jewel could've let her use their phone for a quick local call, but that's a different point. Jewel does have a problem on its hands - this is an employee (even if not of that particular store) panhandling, and that is NOT O.K. As a customer, I would've been really irked. I live in Chicago and am always being asked for money; that's life in the big city. But getting that from an employee of a store I'm patronizing is over the line. Maybe Jewel needs to reiterate their policies to this woman, or ask her guardians/job placement center to do the same. I do think we should have more patience with mentally challenged folks, and give them extra chances, but if this is an ONGOING (read: not a one- or two-shot)behavior maybe another job would suit her better. Yuck. I can understand how you feel, but there's also what's fair to the customers as well.
posted by: BronwynJ (reply)
post date: 05.03.06 (1:23 am)
Goodness, you'd think someone could have given the poor woman change to make a call, what if she had to call her carer for a lift home? Of course, her carer should have made sure she had change in her pocket or purse.
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