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

[Agit8r]

Perhaps if people boycott all Popeyes restaurants, they'll yank the franchise from under the pathetic fascists.

I went to one 3 years ago...eh, over priced...

I haven't seen any around these parts. Not enough room with all the Starbucks, I guess.

I've never been in a Starbucks, I don't drink coffee...

I've been to one a few times. Only for socializing with friends. Haven't wanted to go back since I had a gig deep cleaning them. Behind the counter looks like a 25-cent movie booth

 

[Moonglow]

Perhaps if people boycott all Popeyes restaurants, they'll yank the franchise from under the pathetic fascists.

I went to one 3 years ago...eh, over priced...

I haven't seen any around these parts. Not enough room with all the Starbucks, I guess.

I've never been in a Starbucks, I don't drink coffee...

I've been to one a few times. Only for socializing with friends. Haven't wanted to go back since I had a gig deep cleaning them. Behind the counter looks like a 25-cent movie booth

I can imagine, when I did commercial floor care, I would only do tile or linoleum...

 

[bucs90]

Well....she says it was such a busy rush hour that she didnt have a chance to move the cash. And thats a fair argument.

But...shes a repeat violator of this policy. What about all the other times? If she says all the other times are for the same reason....then she must be a highly profitable restaurant.

And companies usually dont fire managers who produce big time profits.

My guess....she has violated rules often. This was the last straw.

 

[Moonglow]

Those jobs are a dime a dozen, what with the turnover rate...

 

[Delta4Embassy]

That she's pregnant is immaterial to the story. It's actually much worse.

 

[Mr Natural]

She's pregnant and will probably be needing to take time off in the near future so what better excuse could they find to fire her now before she becomes "unreliable"?

 

[g5000]

The Popeye's franchise owner, Z&H Foods Inc., wouldn't talk to us on camera. However, a spokesperson in their human resources department explained that Marissa was fired because she broke policy by leaving too much money in the register and this wasn't her first offense.

Many convenience stores and fast food chains have very strict rules about how much money is allowed in the register and how much cash a delivery driver is allowed to carry. The very point of this is to discourage robbers who know they won't get more than $20 if they hold up a delivery driver or fast food joint. This policy protects the employees.

She violated the policy several times by keeping too much money in the register. Any thief casing the place would have noticed this, and so she put everyone in the place in danger.

 

[Disir]

Perhaps if people boycott all Popeyes restaurants, they'll yank the franchise from under the pathetic fascists.

That's a boycott I can do easily.

 

[Soggy in NOLA]

She was fired for violating company policy.... it's on her.

Next....

 

[Edgetho]

She was fired for violating company policy.... it's on her.

Next....

I agree.

I fired a secretary on the spot one time for not depositing money in a timely fashion.

Don't mess with company money.

Ever

 

[hipeter924]

Went there once and will never go back, as I could barely stand the smell let alone the food they serve there.

 

[FA_Q2]

False outrage is… false.
I guess firing pregnant women should be impossible I guess. Who cares if they don’t actually bother to follow company rules.

 

[Uncensored2008]

Pregnant Popeye s worker fired after armed robbery
Fucking sick.

{However, a spokesperson in their human resources department explained that Marissa was fired because she broke policy by leaving too much money in the register and this wasn't her first offense.}

Ooops.

Even so, she has a ripe lawsuit.

 

[EverCurious]

It's a pretty clear cut case of her neglecting duties that are put in place specifically to mitigate the robbery that occurred. Her neglect bit the company in the ass. The harsh reality is that if one of your duties is to take cash to the vault when it hits X amount and you fail to do so, and especially if it's not your first offence, then you shouldn't be in that shift manager position. This would be an example of improper decision making on the part of the shift manager pure and simple.

When you bleeding hearts out there get over your rage at how unfair real life is, I would direct you to the security footage from the store. Specifically at time stamps 0:24, 0:40, 0:56, 1:32, and 1:59. (OR, I found less segmented clips of the security camera footage at the beginning of the video posted here http://www.khou.com/story/news/investigations/2015/04/21/pregnant-fast-food-worker-fired-after-being-robbed-at-gunpoint/26162183/ and here http://www.khou.com/story/news/investigations/2015/04/21/pregnant-fast-food-worker-fired-after-being-robbed-at-gunpoint/26162183/ so you can see the robbery as it actually unfolded.)

Do you know what I noticed in that camera footage besides the obvious gunman coming in through the door and jumping over the counter?

A lack of customers in line that could back up the reporter’s claim that shift manager just hadn't had time to move the cash because they were “too busy.” In fact, in the non-segmented versions of the security camera, you can even see the robber briefly checking out the place before he actually commits to the robbery, and I bet you anything he counted the number of customers inside though the massive glass windows before even entering the joint. Notice how he pauses with his somewhat gun concealed as he /walks/ through the door, it is only after eyeing up the situation that he starts running in and reveal his gun. *(Seen in my second link, immediately at the start.) Also of note, there are two people behind the counter at this time; one lays on the floor, the other one goes to the right (bottom) and out of the camera’s view *(more on this in a second)

I also noticed (0:41 of the original or 0:03 in my first link) a bunch of bins covering almost the entire left side of the counter. Admittedly, I don’t personally know this store's exact layout but judging the establishments size based on outside video from the reporter coverage, and the fact that the second employee at the front (mentioned above) throws open a door which is caught in the security camera view (at 0:02 in the second link above); it appears to me that they have 2 registers right next to each other on the left side of the counter, and the counter area on the right that is covered with condiment bins would be the spot where customers are supposed to pick up their food. Regardless of if that happens to be a pickup area or not though, logic still tells me that you don't cover the entire counter with multiple huge condiment bins like that when the store is “too busy” to uphold all your managerial responsibilities.

In fact, it actually appears to me that the counter people were in the process of restocking the condiment bins from the entire store (aka the ones over by the soda machine or under the counter, for example) cause there’s what 3 or 4 of them, and stacked on the counter like that - this is not something you do in that way when you are slammed with customers, its something you do when you have a lull in customers.

I also noted that the shift manager had stated that she was “in the back.” I’m trying to think what a /shift manager/ is doing in the back of the store that was /more/ important than her duty to move the cash from the registers to the vault and I really can’t come up with anything /pressing/ enough. The reporter's claim she was "helping customers," but there’s no customers in line so that leaves what? The drive through maybe? So was she running the drive through, instead of the two cashiers up front [I believe stocking]? A bit of an aside, though it ties into my final opinion.

Another thing I noticed is that there are no time-stamps on the security cameras, and suspiciously, I can’t find one single mention of what time this robbery took place anywhere, every report has for some reason omitted the time of the robbery and say only “that night.” I couldn’t find any police reports or 911 calls from the Harris County Sherriff’s Department though, so I’m unable to confirm my gut suspicion that this robbery actually happened near, at, or after closing, and not during some rush that might have /actually/ prevented the shift manager from moving the cash from the registers to the vault like she’s supposed to.

Finally, and perhaps more importantly in regards to the reason for her firing, in listening to this shift manager speak with the reporter I am willing to bet that she flippantly took it upon herself to "alter" the company policy to fit /her/ convenience:

The spokesman for the company states that she was fired for leaving too much cash in the register [again], but in her interview with the reporter, the shift manager argues (very specifically) that "they got what they got because that's just how much we'd made within one hour."

I have a very strong suspicion from this shift manager’s overall attitude that she decided that /she/ was only going to empty (or check on) the register's every hour, and to hell with the /actual/ policy of moving the cash to the vault when there is x amount in the register.

That might sound like a fine line distinction on the surface, but it is also a pretty clear indication of this shift manager’s overall opinion and reliability when it comes to following company policies, and thus a very valid reason to fire her from that position. That kind of "laziness" about following "inconvenient" company policies can not only very easily get a business shut down entirely (for failing to follow a silly law for example,) but can also be a threat to other employee’s /and/ customers safety, as well as a financial liability for the company itself. (For example, blowing off putting down a “wet floor” cone and a customer or employee slips and gets hurt and sues the company, or much, much worse - I’m reminded of the Exxon Valdez’s captain "blowing off" company policies, laws and regulations, costing Exxon BILLIONS for related oil spill cleanup, lawsuits, and fines.)

This would be even more case in point if the shift manager /had/ signed any kind of agreement stating that she was liable to reimburse some amount to the company for register shortages and then after the fact refusing to do so – though again the spokesman stated they had not heard anything about her being asked to pay the $400 back (so she could be lying about that, who knows)

Grain of salt though, the media isn’t exactly reliable in reporting anything, and I’ve not been able to find any non-media evidence of actual policy for moving money from the cash register to the vault, nor anything regarding an employee’s liability to reimburse the store.


Either way I think the franchise made a mistake in firing this shift manager when they did, not because it necessarily was or was not a good character call about her specifically, but because of the media backlash they are now feeling. If they were too stupid to realize this could become a PR disaster, they’re total morons.

Personally I would have demoted her, basically put her on maternity leave, then fired her after she had her kid on the premise that I had filled her position while she was gone. 99% of the negative PR fallout could have been avoided, no one would likely link the two incidents (other than the arbitrary, “Wah, I dodged a bullet for you six months ago and this is how you treat me” whining, which isn’t enough to garner too much media support) and, of course, my new/replacement shift manager would be following the policy, thus mitigating any possible future losses to robberies; which are now more likely to occur on Tuesday’s… Yeah... I’d also immediately end that $1.19 deal.

 

[Mertex]

These are the type of corporations that we're supposed to trust to regulate themselves, be fair to employees, pay them a decent wage and do the right thing? Now the company is claiming that she wasn't supposed to leave that much money in the registers, but she explains why....unbelievable.

Thank goodness she couldn't open the safe.

Is this fair?



A former Popeye’s Louisiana Kitchen employee said she was fired after a store robbery because she refused to reimburse the franchise for the stolen cash. Marissa Holcomb (who is pregnant with her fourth child) was at work on 31 March 2015 at a Popeye’s in Channelview, Texas when the incident in question occurred.

CCTV footage of the robbery shows that Holcomb was forced to the floor and ordered to open the safe. She refused to do so, but the thief managed to steal around $400 from the register at Popeye’s before he fled. Holcomb said that her employment was quickly terminated by Popeye’s after she refused to reimburse the franchise for the stolen cash:

Marissa claimed that after the robbery, one of her managers gave her a choice to either pay the money back or get fired.



“I don’t think it’s right because now I’m struggling for my family because what I had to do to keep my life[.]”



Less than 36 hours after the robbery, Marissa was fired.


Pregnant Popeye s Worker Fired After Robbery

 

[rightwinger]

It's a pretty clear cut case of her neglecting duties that are put in place specifically to mitigate the robbery that occurred. Her neglect bit the company in the ass. The harsh reality is that if one of your duties is to take cash to the vault when it hits X amount and you fail to do so, and especially if it's not your first offence, then you shouldn't be in that shift manager position. This would be an example of improper decision making on the part of the shift manager pure and simple.

When you bleeding hearts out there get over your rage at how unfair real life is, I would direct you to the security footage from the store. Specifically at time stamps 0:24, 0:40, 0:56, 1:32, and 1:59. (OR, I found less segmented clips of the security camera footage at the beginning of the video posted here http://www.khou.com/story/news/investigations/2015/04/21/pregnant-fast-food-worker-fired-after-being-robbed-at-gunpoint/26162183/ and here http://www.khou.com/story/news/investigations/2015/04/21/pregnant-fast-food-worker-fired-after-being-robbed-at-gunpoint/26162183/ so you can see the robbery as it actually unfolded.)

Do you know what I noticed in that camera footage besides the obvious gunman coming in through the door and jumping over the counter?

A lack of customers in line that could back up the reporter’s claim that shift manager just hadn't had time to move the cash because they were “too busy.” In fact, in the non-segmented versions of the security camera, you can even see the robber briefly checking out the place before he actually commits to the robbery, and I bet you anything he counted the number of customers inside though the massive glass windows before even entering the joint. Notice how he pauses with his somewhat gun concealed as he /walks/ through the door, it is only after eyeing up the situation that he starts running in and reveal his gun. *(Seen in my second link, immediately at the start.) Also of note, there are two people behind the counter at this time; one lays on the floor, the other one goes to the right (bottom) and out of the camera’s view *(more on this in a second)

I also noticed (0:41 of the original or 0:03 in my first link) a bunch of bins covering almost the entire left side of the counter. Admittedly, I don’t personally know this store's exact layout but judging the establishments size based on outside video from the reporter coverage, and the fact that the second employee at the front (mentioned above) throws open a door which is caught in the security camera view (at 0:02 in the second link above); it appears to me that they have 2 registers right next to each other on the left side of the counter, and the counter area on the right that is covered with condiment bins would be the spot where customers are supposed to pick up their food. Regardless of if that happens to be a pickup area or not though, logic still tells me that you don't cover the entire counter with multiple huge condiment bins like that when the store is “too busy” to uphold all your managerial responsibilities.

In fact, it actually appears to me that the counter people were in the process of restocking the condiment bins from the entire store (aka the ones over by the soda machine or under the counter, for example) cause there’s what 3 or 4 of them, and stacked on the counter like that - this is not something you do in that way when you are slammed with customers, its something you do when you have a lull in customers.

I also noted that the shift manager had stated that she was “in the back.” I’m trying to think what a /shift manager/ is doing in the back of the store that was /more/ important than her duty to move the cash from the registers to the vault and I really can’t come up with anything /pressing/ enough. The reporter's claim she was "helping customers," but there’s no customers in line so that leaves what? The drive through maybe? So was she running the drive through, instead of the two cashiers up front [I believe stocking]? A bit of an aside, though it ties into my final opinion.

Another thing I noticed is that there are no time-stamps on the security cameras, and suspiciously, I can’t find one single mention of what time this robbery took place anywhere, every report has for some reason omitted the time of the robbery and say only “that night.” I couldn’t find any police reports or 911 calls from the Harris County Sherriff’s Department though, so I’m unable to confirm my gut suspicion that this robbery actually happened near, at, or after closing, and not during some rush that might have /actually/ prevented the shift manager from moving the cash from the registers to the vault like she’s supposed to.

Finally, and perhaps more importantly in regards to the reason for her firing, in listening to this shift manager speak with the reporter I am willing to bet that she flippantly took it upon herself to "alter" the company policy to fit /her/ convenience:

The spokesman for the company states that she was fired for leaving too much cash in the register [again], but in her interview with the reporter, the shift manager argues (very specifically) that "they got what they got because that's just how much we'd made within one hour."

I have a very strong suspicion from this shift manager’s overall attitude that she decided that /she/ was only going to empty (or check on) the register's every hour, and to hell with the /actual/ policy of moving the cash to the vault when there is x amount in the register.

That might sound like a fine line distinction on the surface, but it is also a pretty clear indication of this shift manager’s overall opinion and reliability when it comes to following company policies, and thus a very valid reason to fire her from that position. That kind of "laziness" about following "inconvenient" company policies can not only very easily get a business shut down entirely (for failing to follow a silly law for example,) but can also be a threat to other employee’s /and/ customers safety, as well as a financial liability for the company itself. (For example, blowing off putting down a “wet floor” cone and a customer or employee slips and gets hurt and sues the company, or much, much worse - I’m reminded of the Exxon Valdez’s captain "blowing off" company policies, laws and regulations, costing Exxon BILLIONS for related oil spill cleanup, lawsuits, and fines.)

This would be even more case in point if the shift manager /had/ signed any kind of agreement stating that she was liable to reimburse some amount to the company for register shortages and then after the fact refusing to do so – though again the spokesman stated they had not heard anything about her being asked to pay the $400 back (so she could be lying about that, who knows)

Grain of salt though, the media isn’t exactly reliable in reporting anything, and I’ve not been able to find any non-media evidence of actual policy for moving money from the cash register to the vault, nor anything regarding an employee’s liability to reimburse the store.


Either way I think the franchise made a mistake in firing this shift manager when they did, not because it necessarily was or was not a good character call about her specifically, but because of the media backlash they are now feeling. If they were too stupid to realize this could become a PR disaster, they’re total morons.

Personally I would have demoted her, basically put her on maternity leave, then fired her after she had her kid on the premise that I had filled her position while she was gone. 99% of the negative PR fallout could have been avoided, no one would likely link the two incidents (other than the arbitrary, “Wah, I dodged a bullet for you six months ago and this is how you treat me” whining, which isn’t enough to garner too much media support) and, of course, my new/replacement shift manager would be following the policy, thus mitigating any possible future losses to robberies; which are now more likely to occur on Tuesday’s… Yeah... I’d also immediately end that $1.19 deal.

A low paid employee risked her life over $400 of stinking company money

In times like that a billion dollar corporation needs to show more concern over the welfare of their employees than a stinking $400

 

[Toddsterpatriot]

These are the type of corporations that we're supposed to trust to regulate themselves, be fair to employees, pay them a decent wage and do the right thing? Now the company is claiming that she wasn't supposed to leave that much money in the registers, but she explains why....unbelievable.

Thank goodness she couldn't open the safe.

Is this fair?



A former Popeye’s Louisiana Kitchen employee said she was fired after a store robbery because she refused to reimburse the franchise for the stolen cash. Marissa Holcomb (who is pregnant with her fourth child) was at work on 31 March 2015 at a Popeye’s in Channelview, Texas when the incident in question occurred.

CCTV footage of the robbery shows that Holcomb was forced to the floor and ordered to open the safe. She refused to do so, but the thief managed to steal around $400 from the register at Popeye’s before he fled. Holcomb said that her employment was quickly terminated by Popeye’s after she refused to reimburse the franchise for the stolen cash:

Marissa claimed that after the robbery, one of her managers gave her a choice to either pay the money back or get fired.



“I don’t think it’s right because now I’m struggling for my family because what I had to do to keep my life[.]”



Less than 36 hours after the robbery, Marissa was fired.


Pregnant Popeye s Worker Fired After Robbery

One dumbass for a manager means we must immediately give the government more control over the economy! LOL!

Idjit.

 

[Pogo]

These are the type of corporations that we're supposed to trust to regulate themselves, be fair to employees, pay them a decent wage and do the right thing? Now the company is claiming that she wasn't supposed to leave that much money in the registers, but she explains why....unbelievable.

Thank goodness she couldn't open the safe.

Is this fair?



A former Popeye’s Louisiana Kitchen employee said she was fired after a store robbery because she refused to reimburse the franchise for the stolen cash. Marissa Holcomb (who is pregnant with her fourth child) was at work on 31 March 2015 at a Popeye’s in Channelview, Texas when the incident in question occurred.

CCTV footage of the robbery shows that Holcomb was forced to the floor and ordered to open the safe. She refused to do so, but the thief managed to steal around $400 from the register at Popeye’s before he fled. Holcomb said that her employment was quickly terminated by Popeye’s after she refused to reimburse the franchise for the stolen cash:

Marissa claimed that after the robbery, one of her managers gave her a choice to either pay the money back or get fired.



“I don’t think it’s right because now I’m struggling for my family because what I had to do to keep my life[.]”



Less than 36 hours after the robbery, Marissa was fired.


Pregnant Popeye s Worker Fired After Robbery

One dumbass for a manager means we must immediately give the government more control over the economy! LOL!

Idjit.

So, what, this is Mertex' fault?

What the fuck dood...

 

[Toddsterpatriot]

These are the type of corporations that we're supposed to trust to regulate themselves, be fair to employees, pay them a decent wage and do the right thing? Now the company is claiming that she wasn't supposed to leave that much money in the registers, but she explains why....unbelievable.

Thank goodness she couldn't open the safe.

Is this fair?



A former Popeye’s Louisiana Kitchen employee said she was fired after a store robbery because she refused to reimburse the franchise for the stolen cash. Marissa Holcomb (who is pregnant with her fourth child) was at work on 31 March 2015 at a Popeye’s in Channelview, Texas when the incident in question occurred.

CCTV footage of the robbery shows that Holcomb was forced to the floor and ordered to open the safe. She refused to do so, but the thief managed to steal around $400 from the register at Popeye’s before he fled. Holcomb said that her employment was quickly terminated by Popeye’s after she refused to reimburse the franchise for the stolen cash:

Marissa claimed that after the robbery, one of her managers gave her a choice to either pay the money back or get fired.



“I don’t think it’s right because now I’m struggling for my family because what I had to do to keep my life[.]”



Less than 36 hours after the robbery, Marissa was fired.


Pregnant Popeye s Worker Fired After Robbery

One dumbass for a manager means we must immediately give the government more control over the economy! LOL!

Idjit.

So, what, this is Mertex' fault?

What the fuck dood...

Yes, Mertex's idiocy is his own fault.

 

[rightwinger]

A poorly paid, pregnant shift manager risked her life over $400

She deserves a bonus