Fired cause of coffee at the register!

[Bright_Star]

Today I heard that a friend of mine got fired cause he had a cup of coffee at the register! He was having lunch at McDonalds so when he clocked back in he took his almost finished cup of coffee with him to the register. So as soon as one of the assistant managers saw him with it, he was fired on the spot.
Makes me wonder if there's more to this story than what I've heard. But it doesn't suprise me. You can be fired at Wal-Mart if you look at an assistant manager the wrong way.

[crazylegs]

You can be fired at Wal-Mart if you look at an assistant manager the wrong way.

That kind of wrong way?

I think there is quite a lot more to this story than has been told, it'll be interesting to here all eventually.

[ShinyGreenApple]

Um . . . wow. I know that WM has a policy that cashiers can have only water at their registers, I think firing was really harsh. If it was the first time, I'd say a verbal warning would have more than sufficed.

But then again, this IS Wal-Mart we're talking about.

[Javarod]

Wal*Mart's policy is nothing at the register except water, discipline is up to firing, at manager's (or HR if he/she/it chooses ), and considering the quality of some that make it into management....

[edible_hat]

That's one of the benefits of working for a small, family-owned business. I sometimes get coffee brought to me at the register. Sometimes even without me asking - the boss goes "here Ed, I got myself a coffee so I thought I'd get you one too".

(my real name isn't Ed but I like to use it as a pseudonym. Speaking of which I've got a book by Sue D. Nymm, which is "as honest as you can get while using a fake name".)

[powerboy]

You can be fired at Wal-Mart if you look at an assistant manager the wrong way.

That is true. It seems as if a Fly, just happens to fly by a manager, that you can get fired.

[AKWalMartCartGuy]

had the person already had a couple coachings, or did the AM just not like them?

I'm lucky though, as a courtesy clerk I can put candy in my pockets and leave a mountain dew at the door, and my store and co manager both like me, so the one AM who doesn't can't really do anything

[Bright_Star]

had the person already had a couple coachings, or did the AM just not like them?

I'm lucky though, as a courtesy clerk I can put candy in my pockets and leave a mountain dew at the door, and my store and co manager both like me, so the one AM who doesn't can't really do anything

I have no idea but it's possible.

[Sableonblonde]

Why can you have water but no other kind of beverage? That's really stupid. When I was a cashier we were allowed to have drinks that we got from the drink fountains, although we weren't allowed to have any of the frozen fruity drinks, but those were damn good and everyone imbibed anyway. We'd get the occassional warning about it, but those fruity drinks were my reason for living. Although I did spill one all over the register (and a co-workers foot) one day. LOL I learned the hard way that on top of the register itself is NOT a good place to set your drink.

It just seems really stupid that you can have water but nothing else. Who wants to drink water all day?

[Bright_Star]

Doctor's note for water

Why can you have water but no other kind of beverage? That's really stupid. When I was a cashier we were allowed to have drinks that we got from the drink fountains, although we weren't allowed to have any of the frozen fruity drinks, but those were damn good and everyone imbibed anyway. We'd get the occassional warning about it, but those fruity drinks were my reason for living. Although I did spill one all over the register (and a co-workers foot) one day. LOL I learned the hard way that on top of the register itself is NOT a good place to set your drink.

It just seems really stupid that you can have water but nothing else. Who wants to drink water all day?

When I was a cashier at Wal-Mart the only way we were allowed to have water at the register was if you got a doctor's note saying it was for medical reasons. So if you ever been to Wal-Mart & stayed in there for any length of time then you know how dry the air can be. It doesn't take long for a cashier to get thirsty.
One of many stupid rules at Wally World.

[Boozy]

My manager and I habitually order pizza and eat it behind the counter. Coffee is just a given. I am never seen awake without coffee.

Of course, corporate would have a bird if they found out.

[CaroPhoenix]

I work at a non-chain Gaming Store. On Saturdays, one of the assistant managers (and sometimes I) order breakfast at Bob Evans and eat at the counter. It's the only place we can eat. It's great.

[Ree]

Hmmm...wondering how I have survived almost 30 years of retail and NEVER had a drink of any kind at my side.

I get 2 breaks and a lunch, and I drink then.

If I happen to be really thirsty, there is a water cooler where we can grab a quick drink.

Sometimes, I will buy a bottle of water and bring it into the warehouse, but I'm usually too darned busy to drink it, and I end up taking it home at the end of my shift...or I forget it and it ends up getting dumped.

I'm not at a social club...I am at my job and I am being paid to work.

Unfortunately, in retail, we have to consider appearances, and a customer sees a clerk standing, drinking a coffee or a pop, and it just looks bad.

I can understand not allowing coffee at the register or any other type of drink except water.

Water is for hydrating, if needed.
Anything else is not really necessary.

I do let my guys have bottles of water, but they have to put their names on the bottles and remove the empties at the end of the shift, because we had a real problem with them leaving the empties lying around. This way, I know who isn't cleaning up after themselves.

Firing over the coffee seems harsh, unless the person has been warned before, or there were other issues, possibly with work ethic.
Was it possible he was late getting back from lunch, and that was the real reason?

[Terry]

Today I heard that a friend of mine got fired cause he had a cup of coffee at the register! He was having lunch at McDonalds so when he clocked back in he took his almost finished cup of coffee with him to the register. So as soon as one of the assistant managers saw him with it, he was fired on the spot.
Makes me wonder if there's more to this story than what I've heard. But it doesn't suprise me. You can be fired at Wal-Mart if you look at an assistant manager the wrong way.

This was at McDonald's? Is this a franchised McDonald's? I work at a corporate owned McDonald's and we are allowed to get a quick child's drink. We can't set it down anywhere though. We have to drink it right then. Customers don't mind this. Even when I walk out to the dining room to get a drink during break, customers don't mind then either. I wonder what AM's problem was.

[anyanka2]

There's more to this story than being fired for drinking coffee at the register. I'm with whoever suggested that this had happened before and he had been reprimanded and warned that if it continued he would be fired. It sucks, but there's not much you can do.

I'm in the camp of be grateful you can drink anything when you're on the clock. I can't have anything to drink at the register even in the early mornings or the closing shifts when you really need some caffeine to stay awake.