Dinged, Decked, And On The Docket
CONTENT WARNING: Assault (No permanent damage)
I just got home after dealing with a major issue at one of my stores. On Sunday afternoon, one of my store managers was attacked by a customer. I had to fly out from Mississippi to Bowling Green, Kentucky. I arrived, got statements, and reviewed the video.
Our company policy requires incidents of assault to be investigated immediately. As the store manager was involved I had to do this investigation. Had it been a non-management employee, the store manager would have handled it and reported to me. None of those involved in this incident were given any reprimands or marks on their employee file for this.
This is what the camera showed. [Customer] parked her SUV in front of a fire exit. Our store managers are required to do a safety walk-through weekly, and this includes opening the fire exit to ensure that the door is operating properly and will open with no effort. Unbeknownst to this poor manager, [Customer] was parked on the other side of the door. When he opened the door, it dinged the SUV.
[Customer] immediately jumped out of the car and began verbally abusing [Manager]. [Manager] was apologizing and explaining that we could get the damage repaired. (Yes, I know that it was totally her fault, but our default to vehicle damage is to make it right.) Well, she would not listen to reason and the offer to repair it; she was too busy screaming, cussing, and continuing to verbally abuse [Manager].
A couple of guys from the shop who heard this began to head that way. The whole time, [Customer] was screaming louder and more aggressively. Then, as two of the employees came around the corner, [Customer] grabbed a brick from her purse and swung it at [Manager], hitting him in the left side of his face. The guys from the shop immediately separated [Customer] from [Manager], and the police were called.
The police arrived and arrested [Customer], and her vehicle was towed.
After that, the assistant manager called me immediately. Of course, [Manager] was taken to the emergency room, which is where I first visited to check on him. Thankfully, no permanent damage was done, but [Manager] had a nasty bruise and a black eye. I let him know that he had the next few days off with pay, as per our company policy.
He understood, and he knew his job was not in danger because I received information about the situation inbound from the assistant manager. If the video matched their story, it would be a very cut-and-dry case. The other employees involved were given the next day off, and we called in help from other stores.
[Manager] and the shop employees were released from the investigation as no rules or policies were violated, and there would be no punishment or mark on their records.
Now, let’s discuss this piece of trash [Customer]. Of course, we had her served and pressed charges on behalf of [Manager]. Our legal team plays no games, and I have suggested that we sue her for every penny we lost plus damages to our manager. They told me they would get back with me next week.
I am not sure what exactly she was charged with as the police said they would let us know once all charges are filed.