Accused of "Abandoning" Someone

[Ezio]

Last week during the storms, I helped out a middle aged lady . She appeared to be a bit "off" (tired/sick/drugged/mental, who knows) and could not even remember where she parked her car. We walk out the door and she is not even sure this is the door she came in. She tells me to got back inside (dark clouds, no rain) and that she will find her car, she appeared to be embarrassed. Later on, a coworker who had just finished a carryout, offered to help the woman and she found her car for her (it took over 30 minutes and the girl was soaked).

Today, my manager tells me the woman filled out a comment form, and accused me of "abandoning her". Wait, she tells me she will find her own car and I tell her if she needs help, she can ask one of the many people around her, and somehow that equals "abandonment"!?

Manager told me to just follow the woman (or any customer around that refuses) until they say yes. That sounds like harassment to me.

[Seshat]

This is a difficult case. Honestly, if someone is sufficiently out of it that they require assistance, they should have a carer - and 'abandonment' is then on the carer.

Your boss - and the woman - are expecting things of you that you're not qualified for. You're not a health professional, so should not be making judgements about whether or not leaving someone is abandonment. You're right in that if the person is healthy, following them around is stalker-ish no matter what the motivation.

In the case of the original woman, think about whether or not you want to report her to the elder care professionals in your area, so they can assess her for carer support.

Just as 'it takes a village to raise a child', it also 'takes a village to support the elders'. But that doesn't mean the care of the child - or the elders - falls on random members of the village. There's always people who are more (or less) suited to such tasks.

[HawaiianShirts]

Today, my manager tells me the woman filled out a comment form, and accused me of "abandoning her"

Manager told me to just follow the woman (or any customer around that refuses) until they say yes.

So you start following customers like that, and the very next comment card will be from a customer who felt like he or she was being stalked by the employees. I always hated when managers told me to do something to make one customer happy that I knew would just make all the other customers mad.

(This customer was probably a unique case. I think I would have done the same thing you did.)

[NateTheChops]

I respect the pressure managers face to get the bottom line, but you really have to thank the powers that be that not all of them make such short sighted decisions.