Popeyes manager fired for refusing to pay back $400 taken in armed robbery

[saintmichaeldefendthem]

Pregnant restaurant manager fired after armed robbery

"By the back of my shirt, he pulled me up and he pushed me to the front," she said. "He told me to give him everything out of my safe."
“I told them I'm not paying nothing. I just had a gun to me. I'm not paying the money.”
But the only thing Holcomb could open were the registers. The gunman got away with nearly $400.
After the robbery, Holcomb claimed that one of her managers gave her a choice: Pay the money back or be fired. Less than 36 hours later, she was fired.
"I don't think it's right because now I'm struggling for my family," she said. "What I had to do (was) keep my life."

However, a spokesman in the company's human resources department said Holcomb was fired because she didn't follow company policy, leaving too much money in the cash register. And this wasn't her first offense.

To be fair she was fired for having too much money in the register, against store policy. Its a stupid policy to fire someone over, but she isn't being fired for being robbed and giving up the cash, its not putting it into the safe quick enough.

If the story is true, she's fired for not paying back the money taken by a robber, which is just over the top scuzzy. Since when do retail workers have to compensate their employer when they get robbed?

 

[Vandalshandle]

What we need to do is to rewrite the story from a perspective of the Right:

Houston. "A shift manager was hailed as a heroine today by the owner of a Popeye's franchise. An armed thug jumped the counter during the busiest time of the day and demanded the money in the register. The shift manager drew a gun, and commenced firing at the robber, as customers jumped under tables and ran for their lives. The robber fled the scene with $400 that he was able to scoop up.. The shift manager, recognizing her failure to follow company policy regarding shifting money to the safe, reimbursed the owner for the $400. The owner of Popeye's reimbursed the shift manager for the cost of her bullets, promoted to to "Senior" shift manager, and gave her a free Popeye's special 2 piece dinner, with two sides and a biscuit.". She also had her picture put on the wall as "Employee of the month"

 

[Pogo]

​

As word of this gets out I will be shocked if corporate doesn't buy the franchise back and get rid of that owner. And the reason you've never heard of it is because it's illegal as hell. I would hazard a guess that the Labor Relations Board is going to be inspecting this asshats business practices as well.

It's not illegal, dumbass....most all employees are "at will" hires who can be fired or quit without notice......as long as she's not a contract employee they can fire her for any reason. Further, it's not unusual for an employee to team up with a robber....he seemed to pick an opportune time to rob the place didn't he?

Yeah, an "opportune time" being during a special promotion that had packed the place, advertised on full color posters to the outside world. Wonder what gave him the clue there might be money in there.

And if it turns out the perp is her boyfriend?

She's married, AND pregnant.

 

[Gracie]

And then she should be given the decision on whether to fire the manager.

She was a manager. She had a responsibility. She failed to fulfill her duties. It wasn't the first time. She was fired for failing to perform her managerial duties.

How the fuck to you fullfill your managerial duties during a robbery?
What the fuck is that?
She already went way above and beyond the call of duty by not give out the code to the safe.
When a bank is robbed, does the manager have to replace the millions?

Now, put on your thinking cap...

I agree with you on this. Further it is highly illegal for the owner of the restaurant to require her to pay for the loss. It's not the corporation that's fucked, it's the asshole franchisee who, if I were her, would be suing to the moon. Whoever they are, they are pricks.

I've just never heard of this happening before, ever. Usually, when a business is robbed, the management first checks to make sure that the employee is ok. She was just in a major stress situation and could have lost her life. When word gets out about that company, it may find itself having a hard time getting people to want to work with it.

As word of this gets out I will be shocked if corporate doesn't buy the franchise back and get rid of that owner. And the reason you've never heard of it is because it's illegal as hell. I would hazard a guess that the Labor Relations Board is going to be inspecting this asshats business practices as well.

Yes...that too. Some owners of business rely on ignorance of employees. Manager of the burger kind I worked at said my till was short and it would be taken out of my check. I said try it and I will see him in court. I called his bluff. He was surprised that I knew it was illegal to do that.
They fired that woman not because of a short till or bring robbed. They fired her for leaving money in the till that is not supposed to be in there. NOTHING over a certain amount. She wasn't doing that. That is grounds for firing. Telling her to pay up or be fired is bordering blackmail tactics. She might win the battle just because the manager over her was an idiot and worded it wrong. All he had to say was "sorry, but you broke policy. You are fired". Bringing in the threat of pay up or be fired is where he fucked up.

 

[Pogo]

Rules are rules. Not that much money in the till. Ever. Manager. Didn't follow the rules. Manager gets fired. That's the topic. Not who committed the crime or why. Fact is, she did not act according to the policies of the store when being manager KNEW she was not following policy. She got robbed and got busted for not following store policy. End of story.

NO, she got robbed because A ROBBER ROBBED. It's what robbers do. Again Gracie -- if there had been only $40 in there and everything else went down the same, it's still a robbery.

The only difference between the two scenaria is how much money the company lost. That's it. Doesn't change the robbery or the gun to the head of a pregnant woman.

We will have to agree to disagree. Being a store owner...twice...MY rules were the same. I didn't have a drop box because I was at work most of the time and would run across the street to the bank if the till got over 200 bucks.

I also got fired from a job for tackling an asshole that was trying to steal a case of beer. The owner told me to let them take it..that my life was worth more than the beer. I said if someone tries to steal again, I WILL tackle them again because its the principle of the matter. Woman working, some schmuck thinking easy target. Um. No. Not this woman. Owner said try it and be fired. It happened again, I did it, (both times the guy lost the case of beer) and I did get fired. No problem. I knew the rules.

I would fire her if she had 10 kids and lived in a tent. Follow my rules or find a different job. Period.

So you don't disagree with the second half of the post?

And no, it isn't the topic. The robbery is the entire central point here. If she fails to follow policy and no robbery happens --- we don't have a story. And as somebody else noted, if it actually was a history of doing that -- then why did they wait until now to address it?

Further, why would they apologize and offer her the job back, with two thousand bucks hush money?

Think about it.

 

[Vandalshandle]

"I would fire her if she had 10 kids and lived in a tent. Follow my rules or find a different job. Period."

No problem, Gracie. I wouldn't do business with your company either. That would be a win/win situation!

 

[Esmeralda]

The bottom line for this thread--it's really simple: if this thread had been posted by a RWr, the RWrs would be going on and on about how the robbery was a result of liberal policies and essentially, somehow, inevitably Obama's fault, how there should be more guns around so citizens could fight crime like this, etc.

Zackly.

I suspect many would also have, instead of blaming the victim, focused much more on the thug thief -- the guy who's actually responsible for the robbery -- with some choice adjectives on his genetics --- until they watched the video and found out he was white.

Absolutely, exactly. They would be focusing on the robber, not the store clerk. Absolutely. And they'd be going on and on about how this was all the fault of liberals and Obama's policies somehow. They'd be going on and on about how the store clerk should have had a gun. Etc. and so on. The position they are taking instead is ludicrous in the extreme, and the only reason they are taking it is to argue against anything the left says.

The really hilarious irony here, for me, is the post I read a day or so ago by a RWr saying how Hillary Clinton is an elitist and if she were president, she would not be on the side of the 'common man.' Like, these RWrs in this thread are on the side of the common man? Hilarious.

 

[Gracie]

Update from KHOU-TV:

Marissa Holcomb, who is a mother of three with a fourth child on the way, had a meeting with Z & H Foods owner Amin Dhanani on Wednesday, a day after our original story aired of her firing.

"He just apologized and pretty much offered me if I wanted to go back to his business and work there again," she said.
...
Dhanani refused to talk on camera Wednesday, but his company released a statement that reads:

"We deeply regret the way this matter was handled. We are committed to continuing to work with Ms. Holcomb, and we apologize to her, our employees, the public and other franchise operators of the Popeyes system. We have let them down and are committed to do better."

We also contacted the Popeyes corporate office in Georgia.

They initially referred us back to the local franchisee, but the CEO Cheryl Bachelder released the following statement Wednesday evening.

"We recently became aware of a story in Houston involving a Popeyes restaurant and employee. The restaurant is operated by an independent franchisee of the Popeyes brand. We have spoken to the local franchise owner of the restaurant, and he has taken immediate action to reach out to the employee to apologize and rectify the situation. While the facts are gathered, we will closely monitor this until it is appropriately resolved. We deeply regret the distress this situation has caused."

Holcomb is not only being offered her old position, but $2,000 in back pay. For the pregnant mother of three, the decision is tough.

"I do need a way to support my kids," she says. "I don't want to go back to a business where I'm treated the same and I just get pushed back out if something else happened."
--- KHOU.com​

Yup. They fucked up on how they fired her, not why they fired her. Sigh. So if she goes back to work, she will again not do her job and dump the extra cash..which is an open invitation for another asshole to go rob them again.

 

[Gracie]

"I would fire her if she had 10 kids and lived in a tent. Follow my rules or find a different job. Period."

No problem, Gracie. I wouldn't do business with your company either. That would be a win/win situation!

Good. For me, the customer is never always right, so toodles.

 

[BullKurtz]

Yeah, an "opportune time" being during a special promotion that had packed the place, advertised on full color posters to the outside world. Wonder what gave him the clue there might be money in there.

And if it turns out the perp is her boyfriend?

She's married, AND pregnant.

You kleptocrats always get it wrong.....so what if she's married...married women don't have affairs? What if the perp is her brother or cousin....does that help? Fast food managers basically watch others work and keep an eye on the registers....that's her job and she didn't or didn't want to keep the money going into the back room...she had a choice...make restitution for her mistake or get lost...I don't see anything heroic about not opening the safe....she couldn't if she wanted to.

 

[danielpalos]

Pregnant restaurant manager fired after armed robbery

"By the back of my shirt, he pulled me up and he pushed me to the front," she said. "He told me to give him everything out of my safe."
“I told them I'm not paying nothing. I just had a gun to me. I'm not paying the money.”
But the only thing Holcomb could open were the registers. The gunman got away with nearly $400.
After the robbery, Holcomb claimed that one of her managers gave her a choice: Pay the money back or be fired. Less than 36 hours later, she was fired.
"I don't think it's right because now I'm struggling for my family," she said. "What I had to do (was) keep my life."

However, a spokesman in the company's human resources department said Holcomb was fired because she didn't follow company policy, leaving too much money in the cash register. And this wasn't her first offense.

To be fair she was fired for having too much money in the register, against store policy. Its a stupid policy to fire someone over, but she isn't being fired for being robbed and giving up the cash, its not putting it into the safe quick enough.

If the story is true, she's fired for not paying back the money taken by a robber, which is just over the top scuzzy. Since when do retail workers have to compensate their employer when they get robbed?

why did the owner/management not have insurance for this type of event? if the owner/management really believes that person in that office of private trust was being deficient; it should come from that portion of the wage that may correspond to that level of authority. Why wasn't management more responsible than labor.

 

[Pogo]

Update from KHOU-TV:

Marissa Holcomb, who is a mother of three with a fourth child on the way, had a meeting with Z & H Foods owner Amin Dhanani on Wednesday, a day after our original story aired of her firing.

"He just apologized and pretty much offered me if I wanted to go back to his business and work there again," she said.
...
Dhanani refused to talk on camera Wednesday, but his company released a statement that reads:

"We deeply regret the way this matter was handled. We are committed to continuing to work with Ms. Holcomb, and we apologize to her, our employees, the public and other franchise operators of the Popeyes system. We have let them down and are committed to do better."

We also contacted the Popeyes corporate office in Georgia.

They initially referred us back to the local franchisee, but the CEO Cheryl Bachelder released the following statement Wednesday evening.

"We recently became aware of a story in Houston involving a Popeyes restaurant and employee. The restaurant is operated by an independent franchisee of the Popeyes brand. We have spoken to the local franchise owner of the restaurant, and he has taken immediate action to reach out to the employee to apologize and rectify the situation. While the facts are gathered, we will closely monitor this until it is appropriately resolved. We deeply regret the distress this situation has caused."

Holcomb is not only being offered her old position, but $2,000 in back pay. For the pregnant mother of three, the decision is tough.

"I do need a way to support my kids," she says. "I don't want to go back to a business where I'm treated the same and I just get pushed back out if something else happened."
--- KHOU.com​

Yup. They fucked up on how they fired her, not why they fired her. Sigh. So if she goes back to work, she will again not do her job and dump the extra cash..which is an open invitation for another asshole to go rob them again.

How would a potential robber --- or anybody at all outside the working area of the store --- know how much cash is in the drawer, Gracie?

 

[Anathema]

This is the reason I would never work retail w/o being armed. If she failed to follow proper "drop" policy then she should be liable for the excess cash lost. Her mistake should come with consequences.

 

[Gracie]

Update from KHOU-TV:

Marissa Holcomb, who is a mother of three with a fourth child on the way, had a meeting with Z & H Foods owner Amin Dhanani on Wednesday, a day after our original story aired of her firing.

"He just apologized and pretty much offered me if I wanted to go back to his business and work there again," she said.
...
Dhanani refused to talk on camera Wednesday, but his company released a statement that reads:

"We deeply regret the way this matter was handled. We are committed to continuing to work with Ms. Holcomb, and we apologize to her, our employees, the public and other franchise operators of the Popeyes system. We have let them down and are committed to do better."

We also contacted the Popeyes corporate office in Georgia.

They initially referred us back to the local franchisee, but the CEO Cheryl Bachelder released the following statement Wednesday evening.

"We recently became aware of a story in Houston involving a Popeyes restaurant and employee. The restaurant is operated by an independent franchisee of the Popeyes brand. We have spoken to the local franchise owner of the restaurant, and he has taken immediate action to reach out to the employee to apologize and rectify the situation. While the facts are gathered, we will closely monitor this until it is appropriately resolved. We deeply regret the distress this situation has caused."

Holcomb is not only being offered her old position, but $2,000 in back pay. For the pregnant mother of three, the decision is tough.

"I do need a way to support my kids," she says. "I don't want to go back to a business where I'm treated the same and I just get pushed back out if something else happened."
--- KHOU.com​

Yup. They fucked up on how they fired her, not why they fired her. Sigh. So if she goes back to work, she will again not do her job and dump the extra cash..which is an open invitation for another asshole to go rob them again.

How would a potential robber --- or anybody at all outside the working area of the store --- know how much cash is in the drawer, Gracie?

Other employees telling their friends how busy the day is or how they worry cuz so much is in the drawer it is scarey or even joking around that it would be so easy to rob the place cuz the manager doesn't dump the til? I dunno. Point is, she was not doing her job. She is manager. In a trusted position. NOT DOING HER JOB.

 

[Gracie]

This is the reason I would never work retail w/o being armed. If she failed to follow proper "drop" policy then she should be liable for the excess cash lost. Her mistake should come with consequences.

Nope. She is not liable financially. But she is open for firing for not performing her duty.

 

[Pogo]

Yeah, an "opportune time" being during a special promotion that had packed the place, advertised on full color posters to the outside world. Wonder what gave him the clue there might be money in there.

And if it turns out the perp is her boyfriend?

She's married, AND pregnant.

You kleptocrats always get it wrong.....so what if she's married...married women don't have affairs? What if the perp is her brother or cousin....does that help? Fast food managers basically watch others work and keep an eye on the registers....that's her job and she didn't or didn't want to keep the money going into the back room...she had a choice...make restitution for her mistake or get lost...I don't see anything heroic about not opening the safe....she couldn't if she wanted to.

No it doesn't "help" --- what I find hilarious is the lengths to which you'll bend over backward to imagine some scenario that allows you to blame the victim. You completely pulled that one out of your ass and I might add, WAY further up the intestinal tract than colonoscopes ever venture.

 

[Vandalshandle]

Pogo, isn't is clear? The robber was psychic, and knew that the shift manager had not put the money in the safe....

 

[Gracie]

I don't see anything heroic about not opening the safe....she couldn't if she wanted to.

Yup. Correct.

 

[saintmichaeldefendthem]

Pregnant restaurant manager fired after armed robbery

"By the back of my shirt, he pulled me up and he pushed me to the front," she said. "He told me to give him everything out of my safe."
“I told them I'm not paying nothing. I just had a gun to me. I'm not paying the money.”
But the only thing Holcomb could open were the registers. The gunman got away with nearly $400.
After the robbery, Holcomb claimed that one of her managers gave her a choice: Pay the money back or be fired. Less than 36 hours later, she was fired.
"I don't think it's right because now I'm struggling for my family," she said. "What I had to do (was) keep my life."

However, a spokesman in the company's human resources department said Holcomb was fired because she didn't follow company policy, leaving too much money in the cash register. And this wasn't her first offense.

To be fair she was fired for having too much money in the register, against store policy. Its a stupid policy to fire someone over, but she isn't being fired for being robbed and giving up the cash, its not putting it into the safe quick enough.

If the story is true, she's fired for not paying back the money taken by a robber, which is just over the top scuzzy. Since when do retail workers have to compensate their employer when they get robbed?

why did the owner/management not have insurance for this type of event? if the owner/management really believes that person in that office of private trust was being deficient; it should come from that portion of the wage that may correspond to that level of authority. Why wasn't management more responsible than labor.

It may be that insurance didn't pay out the claim because procedure wasn't followed. Usually policies such as limiting cash till amounts are in compliance with insurance contracts. The point is, while she may have been wrong in not following the policy, the company should still be gracious enough to absorb the loss instead of billing somebody who lives paycheck to paycheck. They can overcome a $400 loss much easier than a poor worker. It's just scuzzy.

 

[Pogo]

Update from KHOU-TV:

Marissa Holcomb, who is a mother of three with a fourth child on the way, had a meeting with Z & H Foods owner Amin Dhanani on Wednesday, a day after our original story aired of her firing.

"He just apologized and pretty much offered me if I wanted to go back to his business and work there again," she said.
...
Dhanani refused to talk on camera Wednesday, but his company released a statement that reads:

"We deeply regret the way this matter was handled. We are committed to continuing to work with Ms. Holcomb, and we apologize to her, our employees, the public and other franchise operators of the Popeyes system. We have let them down and are committed to do better."

We also contacted the Popeyes corporate office in Georgia.

They initially referred us back to the local franchisee, but the CEO Cheryl Bachelder released the following statement Wednesday evening.

"We recently became aware of a story in Houston involving a Popeyes restaurant and employee. The restaurant is operated by an independent franchisee of the Popeyes brand. We have spoken to the local franchise owner of the restaurant, and he has taken immediate action to reach out to the employee to apologize and rectify the situation. While the facts are gathered, we will closely monitor this until it is appropriately resolved. We deeply regret the distress this situation has caused."

Holcomb is not only being offered her old position, but $2,000 in back pay. For the pregnant mother of three, the decision is tough.

"I do need a way to support my kids," she says. "I don't want to go back to a business where I'm treated the same and I just get pushed back out if something else happened."
--- KHOU.com​

Yup. They fucked up on how they fired her, not why they fired her. Sigh. So if she goes back to work, she will again not do her job and dump the extra cash..which is an open invitation for another asshole to go rob them again.

How would a potential robber --- or anybody at all outside the working area of the store --- know how much cash is in the drawer, Gracie?

Other employees telling their friends how busy the day is or how they worry cuz so much is in the drawer it is scarey or even joking around that it would be so easy to rob the place cuz the manager doesn't dump the til? I dunno. Point is, she was not doing her job. She is manager. In a trusted position. NOT DOING HER JOB.

Nope, that argument-dog don't hunt. You said too much money in the drawer is an "open invitation". It isn't. Not only does nobody on the outside know how much is in there, but it's not the only source of plunder.

If this robber (who once again is the perpetrator of this crime, lest some of us forget) came in there with the idea that there was money in the drawer then ----- why did he ask first for her to open the safe? The drawer was a last resort.

Doesn't work. A robber "invites" himself because he smells money and packs a gun. How he gets to that money is planned ad hoc on the spot. There could have been ZERO in the drawer -- he still comes in to rob. Makes no difference.