Wal-Mart needs to “check” itself!
JC
Pun intended. ;) So shoot me — I’m corny and I couldn’t resist. Listen to this doozy…. BET reports on a Minnesota black woman’s claim against Wal-Mart. Gayle Bryant used a personal check to pay for her $93.00 bill. The staff hemmed and hawed about how they couldn’t accept it. The manager finally takes it even after saying he couldn’t get verification. She walks out and is approached by three cops. Hard to really pin down the racial discrimination here, but what other reason would they have for giving her such a hard time? And honestly, they don’t have a great track record. I noticed while on BET’s site, that this same thing happened to a black executive several months ago. Not to mention their Planet of the Apes mishap.
“According to (Wal-Mart’s) policy and procedures, her check should have been accepted as valid payment for her purchases, but she was instead given sham ‘approval’ in order to create justification for having her apprehended by the police on suspicion of theft,” Human Rights Commissioner Velma Korbel wrote in her findings recently.
This isn’t the first time Wal-Mart has been accused of targeting Black professionals who use checks. On Nov. 23, 2005, Reginald Pitts, a Black executive for GAF, the nation’s biggest manufacturer of roofing materials, told BET.com that he was accused of using a forged company check to buy $13,600 in gift cards for employees at his firm at a store in Brandon, Fla., which is near Tampa. In that incident, Pitts said he was grabbed by sheriff’s deputies.
Wal-Mart officials later apologized for the incident and the manager of the store was fired.
Bryant isn’t saying how much money she is seeking but did say she wants Wal-Mart to reaffirm its commitment to diversity and make its policies on checks clear.
Wait, did Wal-Mart ever make a commitment to diversity in the first place?! :| Wow. How many times will Wal-Mart make these same mistakes before it actually learns??? I guess they’re not called Wal-SMART for a reason. :) I say, boycott, people. Either don’t shop there, or bring cash. :|
CJK wrote:
I’ve shopped in the Brandon, FL Wal-Mart before. I stopped going there a long time ago. It [B][I] may [/B][/I] be a coincidence, but my bags were never searched when I shopped by myself while I was usually stopped on my way out the door if I was with my husband (who is black).
Posted 17 Aug 2006 at 8:28 am ¶
Ajax wrote:
I’ve never really had a problem with the wall-mart here in California; a few times they checked my receipt for items that weren’t bagged (box of diapers, box of toilet and tissue paper), I’ve seen them do this to all people. Strangely enough the last three or four times I’ve been there they didn’t check my receipt. And as for checks, I’ve written checks there for over $1000.00, all they did was get verification from the supervisor because the check was for such a large amount.
Posted 17 Aug 2006 at 10:44 am ¶
site admin wrote:
“Wal-SMART”? Groooooannnnnn… ;) –CVK
Posted 17 Aug 2006 at 11:00 am ¶
site admin wrote:
you’re lucky i only mentioned Wal-SMART in passing. i was going to make a bigger joke of it. but thanks for your support of my comedic genius, CVK. lol. ;) ~JC
Posted 17 Aug 2006 at 12:57 pm ¶
tmk wrote:
I’m afraid I’ve given up on WALMART a long time ago… but given its status as a nation-wide (and international?) corporate, these incidents should be handled more professionally. Plus, walmart smells like floor cleaner…
Posted 17 Aug 2006 at 1:34 pm ¶
mtevc wrote:
i refuse to shop at wal-mart, in addition to shotty goods, brought in from countries where people are exploited, which then undermine the american worker, the store has employed illegal immigrants (and used the relationship to mistreat and overwork the immigrants, in addition to their american citizen employees)…take your pick guys…and there are many legitimate studies that show how wal-mart jobs actually undermine our economy by underemploying people and then the state has to pay for medicaid for these same working people!
additionally, wal-mart has misused its position as the biggest retailer in the world, strong-arming small suppliers and basically making them accept their terms on the cost of goods and more…this in turn undermines all retailers…
Posted 17 Aug 2006 at 3:22 pm ¶
Marsha wrote:
A Minnesota woman? I need to look this up! But, I’ve talked to several black professional who have been “shadowed” and “followed” around stores in the Twin Cities area. I’ve never heard of Wal-Mart doing it but I wouldn’t be surprised. I wonder what store this happened to: in the cities or the suburbs? However, some people have made it clear that they don’t want to live in the cities because they are afraid of all the crime, the immigrants, and the minorities.
I’ve been boycotting Wal-Mart for years (before all their labor troubles, problems of running ma and pa out of business, etc.) just for the simple fact that their merchandise is crappy, the employees are mean, and they ALWAYS overcharge people (Nothing that is on sale ever rings up at the sale price or it is the incorrect sale price. I wonder how many people they overcharge and get aways with it?).
I mean crappy business practices alone are good reason not to shop there but this is just one more reason to avoid it. I don’t think many people will stop shopping there despite their bad track record with black professional because people are always looking for a “deal”.
Posted 17 Aug 2006 at 3:28 pm ¶
Marsha wrote:
Update: Yes, it happened at a suburban Wal-Mart (gee big surprise there).
Here’s the story from the Star Tribune:
http://www.startribune.com/535/story/614368.html
Posted 17 Aug 2006 at 3:38 pm ¶
rk wrote:
Actually, Wal-Mart has done a lot for diversity in the legal profession. I’m definitely not a big fan of how they handle employment issues, etc. internally, but being a minority female attorney, I give them a lot of credit for what they’ve done with distributing their legal work:
http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1120579809481
http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/07/21/business/web.0721legal.php
Posted 17 Aug 2006 at 8:07 pm ¶
Sabrina wrote:
Can’t stand walmart anyway. they exploit their workers and their clothes are just crap! I’d rather go to goodwill than shop at wally world
Posted 18 Aug 2006 at 12:33 am ¶
Elizabeth wrote:
You dont have to be black just be old or have a child with you and they treat you as if you are stealing.
I have taken to telling them call the police is you have probable cause that i am a thief otherwise i refuse to show you my reciept and just leave they have yet to call the police but I have seen them shadowing me. Here there is no other stores for an hours drive so we have no choice.
Posted 10 Sep 2006 at 10:56 pm ¶