Just when you thought your customers demanded too much...

[Bumbershoot]

The shooting at the Walmart in CO was terrible and evil. My prayers are going up for the victims' families, the wounded, and everyone else in the store.

What blew my mind were comments made on a news site in which Walmart employees were disparaged for cowardice, running to safety. It seems that part of their customer service should have been stop the shooter, risking their lives so customers could get away.

[bainsidhe]

I wish I could say I was surprised, but I'm not. A local restaurant was robbed at gunpoint, and many comments were about how that particular commenter would have grabbed the gun, or punched the robber in the face, etc etc etc. Even sadder were the comments from people claiming to be fellow employees. It's easy to be an armchair hero.

So sad.

[Pixelated]

Yep. There's people out there who've watched WAY too may Tough Guy movies, in which the hero overcomes impossible odds to save the day.

They don't seem to comprehend the idea of a SCRIPT.

[RootedPhoenix]

I'd do what I could to save others, but...that's not always what someone can do. It's easy to be upset; it's hard to remember that fear doesn't help you be logical.

Also... that's quite a customer service demand. If I save someone, I'm not doing it for the company's sake!

[ReverendBSB]

Yeah a buddy of mine actually did that at work. A guy with a gun came in the back door and had the manager in the office opening the safe. He came off the line with a big chefs knife and put it to the guys throat. Luckily the guy just got away and no one was hurt. Still a dumb move on his part. Guy was not hurting anyone, just after money.

[Trixie]

We just had a video about this to watch at work and they basically told us to run away from the situation and hide. I guess we should herd the customers as we escape but I didn't really pay attention to that part. They also said to just give them the money or whatever to get them out of the store. Sorry but I'm protecting myself before anybody else.

[Rosco the Iroc]

It seems that part of their customer service should have been stop the shooter, risking their lives so customers could get away.

A-Z autoparts had a don't do shit policy, guy could walk in and pick up anything and walk out and you would be in trouble if you did anything more when get a description like a lot of stores

Plus I don't know a chain store that allows employees to carry a gun IAW local laws.
I'm not bringing a box cutter to a gunfight.

BTW The dealership I'm at now does not forbid Concealed Carry

From here I'd think I'd be jumping deep into fracking so...

[Bumbershoot]

I'd do what I could to save others, but...that's not always what someone can do. It's easy to be upset; it's hard to remember that fear doesn't help you be logical.

Also... that's quite a customer service demand. If I save someone, I'm not doing it for the company's sake!

My response to the original complaint was that
1.) Walmart doesn't pay their employees enough to risk their lives for customers
2.) There are few customers you'd want to risk your life for. Especially the demanding ones who seem to believe employees are their slaves.

It occurred to me as I read responses here that some stores have fired employees for standing up to attackers. That gives the phrase "your money or your life" a new layer of meaning.

[protege]

My response to the original complaint was that
1.) Walmart doesn't pay their employees enough to risk their lives for customers
2.) There are few customers you'd want to risk your life for.

Sadly, this is very true. No business on the planet pays their employees enough to risk their lives. Oh, and it's not the customers you'd want to risk your life for. My boss has made comments that if someone was to storm the business, we'd have to deal with it. Pardon my French, but fuck that. I'm not a wimp by any means, but if someone has a firearm in my face, I'm not going to get myself killed while defending a business that doesn't give a shit about its employees. If they want our computers, guess what? I'll actually help them load their truck. With that said, if someone is trying to hurt me, or my coworkers, I will defend myself with whatever means necessary. My life is always worth more than some crackhead's.

It occurred to me as I read responses here that some stores have fired employees for standing up to attackers. That gives the phrase "your money or your life" a new layer of meaning.

Unfortunately, there are many stories where companies have done just that. They scream about customers stealing (or worse!) and then fire the affected employee(s) who tries to deal with the problem. Either way, you get the shaft.

[csquared]

You see the stories all the time of employees being fired for confronting a shoplifter/armed robber, etc. A number of them involved Walmart. Most place have policies like Rosco mentioned. I doubt that it is out of concern for your safety. More likely, it keeps insurance costs down.

[notalwaysright]

Most place have policies like Rosco mentioned. I doubt that it is out of concern for your safety.

Yeah, employee is killed by robber, employee's family sues the store, now store cares because it's losing money. (but scammers costing them money is fine, since they consider the scammer a customer?) I hadn't heard of this particular event, but it doesn't surprise me the the denizens of the internet decided to blame employees. I looked it up and see that they don't know the motive for the shooting, and that it's random at this point. People need someone to blame, and people already blame employees for everything else, why not this?

[WishfulSpirit]

I live in Denver (though not the part of Denver the store was in) and had to call my MIL to tell her we're not dead. As for the rest: screw you princess. I have a sick husband to take care of I'm not risking my life for some trailer park queen who was yelling at me about the price of tortilla chips 10 minutes ago.

[KuariKaydrith]

In my line of business we are trained in how to handle active shooter situations - if you're not in the directly line of fire, the first thing you do is get the hell out of the area! Somebody told me once that to run away is to be a chicken shit, and that we should confront the active shooter first thing. Perhaps if I wore a bulletproof vest on a daily basis I'd be tempted (NOT!), but entirely too many people have no clue and have never been in a situation like this.

[Nunavut Pants]

I think you'd need more than a vest. More like a complete bullet-proof BODY!!! If you had a magical ring of Immunity to Bullets, confronting the shooter might make sense. But only if you have the training to make sure said shooter doesn't shoot at anyone but you!

Way too many people think they're Chuck Norris in a poorly-scripted TV show. (Hint: Not even Chuck Norris is Chuck Norris...)

[workerbee222]

We've been in our current location for six years. It wasn't until last summer when a similar incident made the news that I began to wonder, "Is there a back door out of here?" It turns out, there is. I know where it is, and so do my colleagues. NOW the path to the back door is unobstructed.