But you’re still comfortable with misrepresenting what happened yourself, right?
I conceded quite awhile ago that there’s more to the story then the headlines initially stated. The use of the EBT started the incident. It was a key factor in the dispute with the cashier. Exactly how has not been reported and I’m not getting dragged into speculating about it again. Nobody seems to know for sure what else occurred before the guard attacked the victim. Whole Foods said there’s no video of the incident. (that statement is in the article I just linked minutes ago)
I’m not sure what else I can say. yes, I was initially mislead by the sensational headlines. I’ve said so several times now. I even pulled up this thread to acknowledge what Whole Foods is doing to fix the problem.
Whole Foods seems to be making the right changes. I’m very glad they are stepping up.
All because the guy wanted to use his EBT card. Beaten by a thug.
Did I overlook the part where the guard used his gun? If not, how will banning guns fix the problem?
Nope, we don’t even know that much. It may not have had anything to do with the dispute whatsoever. And in fact Whole Foods already seemed to suggest that the use of EBT had nothing to do with the incident. From cochrane’s cite:
I already explained why the “star” witness might have brought it up to further her pre-established political agenda, by painting the victim in a certain light. I don’t understand why you are still clinging to this unsupported theory that it had anything to do with the incident.
Whole Foods accepts EBT. I confirmed that in my OP. They also enforce the required purchase restrictions that come with that government program. They’ve been discussed at length in this thread. That puts the cashier in the terrible position of telling customers, “no you may not have that”. Understandably, that pisses off some customers and disputes arise. The cashier is just doing his/her job, but the frustrated customer still wants to vent at somebody.
It all comes down to whether someone wants to believe an eyewitness standing in line, observing the altercation. I conceded that she may have exaggerated some things. Filtered through her own political perceptions. But I’m not willing to flat out dismiss what she said as all lies. Not when there are pictures of the guy lying in a pool of blood. That’s pretty conclusive that she was there and did witness the incident.
Don’t you get tired of posting things in haste, without knowing the details, and then having to stubbornly defend your initial assessment even though it’s often well off the mark?
Dude, that’s aceplace57’s thang. He’s like, a pro or something at it.
No, you get food and TANF (Welfare cash) on the EBT card.
Full disclosure: I use EBT since my husband’s wreck/disability, but I don’t shop at Whole Foods (not one in my town, and I probably couldn’t afford to shop there even if they were convenient.) However, I’ve never once had a cashier ring me up and then, when I swipe my EBT, say “no, you may not have that.” The food stamp card pays for everything in my order that’s allowed under that program’s rules. After I swipe that card, a secondary total comes up for non-food items, and I pay for my dish detergent and bathroom tissue separately. At one store (a little six-chain grocer,) I have to tell the cashier that it will be a two-part transaction, so she can push the right button on the register. At the larger regional grocery chain store, their computer system parses it automatically, as does WalMart. I just can’t fathom a chain as large as WF having a computer system that doesn’t do something similar, with cashiers trained to say something like “your remaining balance is $18.43.” (At which point, if one had no cash or other resources, one might say “crap, forgot my debit card! I’m so sorry, can I remove those other items from my order?”)
Witness or no, I’m calling foul on “being assaulted for using EBT card.” Yes, I think the guard likely overreacted, but it sounds like the assault began with the customer made physical contact with the employee.
No, it does not come down to that. You’re really not understanding this issue at all, are you? She merely mentioned that he had used an EBT card (likely to emphasize that he was poor), which is not what’s in dispute. The dispute is that the EBT probably didn’t have anything to do with whatever the argument/fight was. The eyewitness never said it did, and the follow-up article I quoted explicitly said that it did not. For all we know the customer called the security guard a nigger, and then he clocked him (and yes, I know the customer was black but that just makes it more plausible that he might refer to another black person that way, but the guard didn’t like it). We just don’t know, and there is no reason to believe the EBT had anything to do with it. It’s an irrelevant detail.
There is no mention if he was armed. Being armed had nothing to do with the incident. There is nothing saying the guard was intimidating anyone before the incident. But they implemented PR measures to make people feel better. It looks like it’s working since Ace is happy now. Long term they will have to see if the reasons why they needed guards in the first place will be more important than the good internet PR they are getting. If it means I cashier can get accosted physically with no one stepping in I wouldn’t want to work there.
I certainly don’t. Not if he put his hands on an employee first.
Its been a week and no further witnesses have come forward. You’d think it would be in Whole Foods best interest to get the cashier’s side of the story (and other employees working at the time) out there. So far the entire story is based on one eyewitness. But strangely enough Whole Foods has chosen not to do so. YYMV but that suggests to me that the cashier can’t or won’t refute the basic facts supplied by the only eyewitness that came forward. just my observation and imho. Whole Foods can handle their PR however they choose.
I reported the thread and asked the mods to change the title to " Security beats man at Whole Foods." Since no further witnesses have come forward its pointless to belabor the use of the EBT card and its alleged role in the incident.
Everything I’ve read suggests that the investigation is still ongoing. From that I’d say that WFG’s lawyers have asked (or required) the cashier to keep quiet about it. Could be any number of reasons for that. Maybe part of her contract says that she can’t speak to the media. Maybe she just doesn’t want to be part of the shitstorm. My guess is that WFG is trying to keep everything as contained as they possible can until they have all the facts and can get all their ducks in a row. There’s not much use in doing out each little piece of info as they get it just so that it can be torn to shreds, twisted around and used against them. IMO, they’d rather just say ‘here’s our side…’ and deal with it all at once.
It’s also possible we’ll never hear anything and they’re just going to let it blow over.
And hey, for all we know so far, maybe he was drunk and this was the third time in two days he’d been asked to leave.
No matter what the case, to assume that the cashier not seeking media attention or putting ‘her side’ of the story out on social media means she agrees with what’s being said is a very odd thing to state.
I wouldn’t expect the cashier to come out on her own. A Whole Foods press conference featuring the cashier and other witnesses would be more likely. But only if they could soften the negative account that’s already circulating. That’s basic PR 101.
They have done a good job directing attention towards their changes in security. Firing the old contractor, emphasizing a zero tolerance for any violence by their employees. Even forbidding guards from carrying guns. They’ve done a lot of damage control in the past few days. It’s obvious Whole Foods can afford the best PR firms out there and they earned their money this past week.
These changes are a good step. Guards should be there to reassure customers and not intimidate them. (I’m paraphrasing an earlier quote from a Whole Foods rep) Everybody wants to feel safe and secure regardless of what time they shop.
Further, a lot of PR has the “the allegations are so absurd, it isn’t worth our time responding” approach. Never in a million years would I assume that silence necessarily equals guilt.
Now THAT sounds interesting.