Witnesses and an elderly Wal-Mart greeter say that Skyler Lowery, 23, attacked Ed Bauman, 69, while he was watching the front door of a Wal-Mart in Palm Bay, Florida. The video below seems to confirm their story and the police charged Lowery. However, that did not stop Wal-Mart from firing Bauman.
On the video, you can clearly see Bauman try to stop Lowery after the alarm went off. He went into the parking lot to get his license number and that is when the confrontation began. Ultimately, Lowery grabbed Bauman’s clipboard. A fight then ensued as Bauman tried to get his clip board back. It turns out that Lowery had receipts for his purchases.
Lowery apparently told Wal-Mart that Bauman used a racial epithet and that was enough for the corporation which has a reputation for firing employees with little hesitation or, it appears, investigation. It does not matter that witnesses came forward to say that Bauman did not use any epithets or call the man any names. It does not matter that Lowery is now facing a battery on an elderly person.
Wal-Mart seems to constantly invite poor press and public criticism with its policies. Then there is the criticism that Wal-Mart’s policies actually helped spread flu, here. Then there is all that good press over Walmart succeeding in its plan to destroy a historical area from the Civil War, here.
Customers have complained of a similar attitude toward them, here and here and here.
I don’t even know how I ended up here, but I thought this post
was good. I do not know who you are but certainly you’re going to a
famous blogger if you are not already 😉 Cheers!
I have to agree with Thirty Percenter. It’s clear that Bauman pushed Lowery into the sign after his clipboard was snatched away. While I don’t necessarily condone Lowery grabbing the clipboard to begin with, it’s not like he assaulted Bauman in order to get it.
And, I agree with many others here where I find it offensive that one must submit to a receipt inspection after just walking away from the register.
This confirms my belief that my continuing to pay a little more at Mom & Pop stores is the right thing to do.
I have to say I think everybody acted badly in this situation. I work for wal-mart & they aren’t always the bad guys they are made out to be. but even i know *as a cashier* that you don’t confront a shoplifter ever. that’s #1 rule. 2 kids got fired at my store for running out the door after a shoplifter at the behest of the security and that’s why they were fired because you are not supposed to chase. once they get out of the store, there’s not much you can do. however, i don’t think people should b***h about having to show their receipt. yes, the guy should not have used force or chased him when he refused, but if we ask nicely “can i please see your receipt” i see no problem with it. It’s our job. I don’t see the pleasure people get w/ aggravating the people greeter. it may not be the most glamorous job, but it’s their job nonetheless. please show some respect. most wal-mart employees *i said MOST* show respect to the customer & still get boned in the end. so just think of that when you’re shopping. And wal-mart is not responsible for the success or failure of any business. They offer lower prices. I don’t know how they do it, and I’m sure the people posting on here don’t either. So make up stories if it makes you feel better. But don’t try to prove their validity with your stupidity. Thank you.
you have to show your receipt at a costco or a sam’s club per the terms of your membership agreement. anywhere else, like a fry’s or a best-buy or a walmart, they have no legal grounds to detain you at the door. there is such thing as shopkeepers’ privilege but they have to have some kind of reasonable suspicion, i.e., they can’t use it to justify inspecting EVERY customer’s receipt
Swarthmore mom:
“Also many of the small towns they serve have become poorer over the last twenty years.”
that aint because of Wal-Mart. It is because of our economic structure. If people were able to keep more of the money they made do you think they would shop at Wal-Mart for other than soap, toilet paper and toothpaste?
More capitalism will put Wal-Mart out of business.
Support capitalism and starve Wal-Mart, that’s what I say.
Swarthmore mom:
“They are able to cut prices because of unfair labor practices and cheap imports.”
When I was in college there was a preppy clothes store that sold khakis, Polo’s, topsiders that type of thing. They sold for a pretty penny to, a pair of pants might cost 50 bucks and this was in 1984. I saw a packing slip one time, the pants were purchased for around $7. I imagine the same is true for a good many mom and pop stores.
The reason people left is they were tired of paying high prices and getting poor service. I will pay a little more if the service is good and the people friendly but I refuse to pay $50 bucks for a pair of pants that cost the owner $7. Overhead isn’t that much. Personally I should think they could have made money if the pants cost $25 or $30.
If you are a mom and pop shop you can compete with Wal-Mart, reduce your price a little bit and offer better service or have superior knowledge of your products and help people make choices that are in their best interest.
With that being said, there are some people who shop only for price and you wont win in any event.
But if you have a solid middle class customer base you can compete with Wal-Mart and win. You might have to make 150k per year instead of 200k and you might have to work harder.
“Everyone acted badly here. So let’s point that out clearly.”
Without a doubt. The kid had no business snatching the guys clipboard. But he snatched a clipboard not a wallet. It looks like that greeter wanted to hurt that kid when he stepped in and slammed him into that arch thing. I think the kid went into defense mode at that point as many people would when its clear someone intends to inflict potentially serious physical harm.
Now I don’t know what the law says about it but I don’t think that a store clerk is allowed to physically hold you (isn’t that like kidnapping or something?) unless its a felony, right? Is that right? So I don’t think they’re allowed to put their hands on you except in their own defense and I don’t think a kid snatching your clipboard and playing keep away with it classifies as self defense. The clerk seems to have overreacted and from the video by using excessive force.
In keepimg with the troll tradition I’m surprised the professor didn’t catch this. Stewart welcomes John Yoo
http://www.thedailyshow.com/full-episodes/mon-january-11-2010-john-yoo
Bdaman,
I guess you are the old white guy.
uh huh
I was just scanning the blog and my neighbor just walked in and said, Hey, they got your picture on the internet. If anybody is wondering, my neighbor says this guy could be my brother.
It’s a combination of factors.
Bad policy, poorly used by Wal-Mart. And I do mean the stupid receipt checking nonsense. Loss control is their problem, but them holding customers hostage is a problem too. You paid, you have your paperwork, if they think you stole, call the cops and clear it up – after awhile Wal-Mart will stop doing that I guarantee. If The Evil Empire thinks their employees are stealing from them? That’s simply their problem too. Taking it out on customers does ZERO to control your losses. It creates situations of unneeded frustration in a world gone mad with nonsense “requirements”. Like this one.
Add some dipstick with a short temper?
Boom.
Ineffective corporatist “rules” that create tension applied to people under pressure already as a course of their daily lives. Hmmm. Genius customer service. Psychology learned off the backs of matchbooks, perhaps? Ya’ll come back now! Ya hear!?!
Everyone acted badly here. So let’s point that out clearly.
Wal-Mart
Warning: Monkeys May Fling Poo
Not just disclaimer signage either.
A major ad campaign! Heavy rotation! T-shirts! Branded miscellaneous crap! A Toby Keith score!
Available exclusively at Wal-Mart!
Put an American flag right over it all. We can buy ’em made in China for nothing! ha ha HA! Hot damn! I missed my calling. Madison Ave.! You know how to get in touch, baby!
😉 (adjusts tie, makes “cool double pistol” hand gesture)(insert the smell of gears burning)
DISCLAIMER: Should I ever go to work for an ad agency, any of the regulars has permission to simply kick my ass. I will not resist. For I would truly and justly deserve it for directly contributing to the end of civilization.
I watched the video and the greeter looked to me like he was the first to use any serious force. It looks like the kid is messing with him, probably because he was tired of old white guys calling him a thief. That tends to happen a lot with people of Mr Lowery’s skin color and general appearance. So it looks like Lowery snatches his clipboard and runs out in the parking lot with it.
Then he runs back in apparently messing with the old white dude and that’s when Bauman effectively body slams the kid into the arch thing there. Watch it again. Watch that big step Bauman takes as he shoulder slams Lowery into the display.
At that point everything Lowery does is pretty much self defense. I mean what would you do if some dude (Bauman might be older but he’s pretty good sized and bigger than Lowery and he’s obviously pretty strong and agile) slams you into something? I’d have smacked him upside the head too. There was no call for that. It was a clear overreaction from what I can see on that video and if I worked for Walmart I’d fire Bauman too.
And if I were Lowery I’d be suing Walmart. He might have got out of line by snatching his clipboard but Bauman looks to be the one who clearly escalated it by becoming over violent.
Hans:
“Second, you don’t have to show receipts when you leave Walmart.”
***********
You’d better tell that to my Walmart and the website set up to counter this madness. Typically, I just blow past the octagenarian they post to delay my exit — politley of course.