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Post by Prince Hal on Jun 20, 2018 12:04:58 GMT -5
My sister woke up yesterday. Went and saw her after work. They moved her from ICU to a regular room and say she should be there another 3-4 days. She's still very weak and not eating and they hadn't had her up yet. But she was talking and responding and laughing appropriately. And she was able to flip me off. So that's a good thing. Nothin' says lovin' like flippin' the bird at your sibling Good news!
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Post by Slam_Bradley on Jun 20, 2018 12:22:58 GMT -5
My sister woke up yesterday. Went and saw her after work. They moved her from ICU to a regular room and say she should be there another 3-4 days. She's still very weak and not eating and they hadn't had her up yet. But she was talking and responding and laughing appropriately. And she was able to flip me off. So that's a good thing. Nothin' says lovin' like flippin' the bird at your sibling Good news! Bingo! I had a number of people look at me funny when I'd tell her to wake her lazy ass up while she was in her coma. I pointed out that I'm her little brother and if I wasn't mean to her she'd know that something was actually wrong.
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Post by The Captain on Jun 20, 2018 12:57:07 GMT -5
Nothin' says lovin' like flippin' the bird at your sibling Good news! Bingo! I had a number of people look at me funny when I'd tell her to wake her lazy ass up while she was in her coma. I pointed out that I'm her little brother and if I wasn't mean to her she'd know that something was actually wrong. Love it! Two years ago, when my younger sister turned 40, I told her I was going to get her a box of kittens for her birthday. When she asked why, I told her that since she was still unmarried and had no kids, it was a "crazy cat lady starter kit". My wife was horrified I would say something like that, but my sister just threw a pillow at me and flipped me the bird with a smile, although she did tell me later that if I got her a kitten, she would remove my kidneys while I slept (she's a ob/gyn surgeon, so she could probably pull that threat off).
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Post by Icctrombone on Jun 22, 2018 6:08:20 GMT -5
This is for when the baby poops are Hulk sized
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Post by chadwilliam on Jun 22, 2018 14:16:07 GMT -5
Well, this is a big one. I don't think I've posted here before, In fact, I've never really strayed beyond the regular Comic forums and knew this section existed until fairly recently, but I would really appreciate whatever input/advice anyone might have to share.
Just over a week ago, I was at my place of employment (a craft store here in Winnipeg) when I was assaulted by a shoplifter I had been told to keep an eye on. As a Manager on Duty, I had always been told to not let suspected shoplifters out of my sight and to stay close to them. Our store doesn't have security, nor has Crisis Intervention training ever been offered or supplied. Their one piece of advice was "don't ever follow them out of the store". Their "stay close" policy never sat well with me - although it's a craft store we do get a large amount of shoplifters - yet when I asked my previous manager "What do we do if they ask why we're following them", I was told "Tell them we're just here to offer them excellent customer service and stay with them". With that in mind, I was advised of a potential shoplifter towards the end of my shift last Thursday and was asked to keep an eye on him. I stayed close to him as he moved throughout the store (in fact, he walked a full circle around it) and he knew I was following him. As we approached the front, he reached into my pocket (I don't know why - I guess because I had a scanner and a radio in it and he wanted to grab something to intimidate me) I grabbed his hand, took a step back, he hit me with his cart, and punched me in the jaw/lip. I hit him back and he left.
I'm a hemophiliac and began bleeding from the lip. After waiting about seven hours at Emergency, I got a stitch put in and my jaw swelled up pretty bad. The stitch will come out on Tuesday when I see my family doctor.
This isn't the first time I've raised my concerns at work about having to follow shoplifters around. About six months back, my then assistant manager asked one of the sales staff (a young girl in her early 20s) to wait by the women's washroom where a known shoplifter was headed to likely hide stuff in her bag. When she did, the shoplifter accused her of being a sexual pervert trying to spy on her in the washroom, that she was going to call the police on her, and just reduced the employee to tears. As Manager on Duty that night, I was asked by my assistant manager to tell the customer to leave. I do so, the shoplifter got angry, left, came back in, and took my picture shouting at me "Now they'll know who to come for" (which I took as a threat). I called my District Manager, told him I wasn't happy that a young girl was placed in this situation, that I was placed in this situation, and that we have no security available to us. The store supplied us with security guards for the next two weeks, after which things went back to business as usual.
So... I'm really pissed off. I'm angry that my employers never provided us with security, never supplied us with training, and yet expected us to follow shoplifters around without knowing what they might do in return and I'm really angry about that "Just tell them you're here to give them excellent customer service" response to my "what happens if they question us?" question. Because of this, I'll seeing a lawyer on Tuesday to discuss my options. Today however, I called my District Manager to advice him of this as I had told him earlier I'd give him a call to let him know how I was doing. It didn't go well. No raised voices, no cursing, nothing like that, but when I told him that I would be speaking with a lawyer he asked "For what? What'd we do?" "Well, you guys put me in a position where I was assaulted by a shoplifter". "No we didn't, that was your choice. You made that choice." "But I was doing what I've always been told to do" "We didn't tell you to confront him" "I've always been told 'Stay Close'" "Yeah, keep him in sight. You could have used the cameras in the office to follow him". "Our cameras don't cover most of the store". "Well, your safety has always been our number one concern and I'll tell anybody that". He did mention that about four or five days prior, I had followed a shoplifter out of the store as an employee informed me that he was leaving with a cart full of stuff without paying. Now, leaving the store is against their policy (though even here, I've had managers do it themselves telling me "Technically, we're not supposed to, but...") and I did it anyway that time, but I reminded him that that never happened with the guy who punched me.
Anyway, I'll be seeing a lawyer as I said, but I really don't know what to expect.
I've never sued anyone, never spoken to a lawyer, and it seems as if what happened at my store might be a case of My word against theirs. I do have a photo of me right after the assault and their is blood, as well as pictures of the stitch on my lip and some swelling the next day (though the pictures don't show the swelling to be as big as it was) but beyond that, I don't know what I can do. I mentioned to my District Mgr about my previous manager's "Just tell them you're here to give them excellent customer service" rule and he responded "I know him, he never said that" so it sounds like whatever I say I've been told, will be denied as a lie.
So, I'm out of a job, I've got a swollen lip, I'm talking to a lawyer about a law suit that might go on forever and I don't see how I can afford, and I'll be up against the high paid lawyers of a rich company. I also have to find another job without knowing whether I should mention that I worked for this company (it sounds like a bad idea, but there may be someone who will act as a personal reference) or just have a five and half year gap on my resume.
So, any thoughts? Advice? Experience with this sort of thing? I'd appreciate any of that.
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Post by Prince Hal on Jun 22, 2018 14:47:34 GMT -5
chadwilliam, first of all I'm glad you are doing better physically. I know how challenging everyday occurrences can be to a hemophiliac and how flat-out dangerous this could have been to you. I haven't had a similar experience, but especially in this day and age, it seems that a company should be more aware of the potential for bodily harm in cases like this. Given that your "employers never provided [you] with security, never supplied [you] with training, and yet expected [you] to follow shoplifters around without knowing what they might do in return, I'd think you have a case against them. Any proof that your manager said those words to you? Is there an employee handbook with any kind of mention of what to do in this kind of emergency? You say that shoplifting seems to be a frequent clear and present danger at your store. Another alarm bell. Has there been an increase in shoplifting? Are the employers being pro-active? Why no security guard? What exactly are they stealing from a craft store? Glue for sniffing? Spray paint cans for huffing? Other substances you can use to get high? If there are particular items like these they nab, why aren't the employers keeping those under lock and key? Are they paying any of you enough to be stalking potentially volatile customers into restrooms and down the aisles? They forbid you from following shoplifters out, which sounds like the only part of their policy that makes sense, but I have to say, if that's the case, I'd say the hell with the stalking and instead watch from a wary distance with cellphone in hand and the cops on speed-dial. Let the crooks leave the store. You'll have a good description and a good idea of the items they're copping and with any luck even a license plate. (Maybe the other person on duty goes outside to see where the shoplifter takes his non-purchases when you even suspect it's happening. Good reason to have at least three persons on at a time. But remember, I only play a lawyer around here. I hope slam sees this. He is quite knowledgeable.
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Post by hondobrode on Jun 22, 2018 17:28:17 GMT -5
Excellent point about "was this in the handbook."
That's going to be your biggest point.
They can say what they want but A. there's no formal security training or procedure, and B. there's nothing formal to go to in the handbook.
Don't just see an attorney; see an employment attorney. They specialize in this kind of thing.
Ask for a free consultation and from there they'll probably offer a contingency, especially if they think you have a strong case. I did this with a previous employer and won both my cases I presented concurrently.
Good luck Chad. Looking forward to hearing more about this.
Glad your injuries didn't turn worse than they were too.
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Post by DE Sinclair on Jun 22, 2018 18:30:58 GMT -5
Excellent point about "was this in the handbook." That's going to be your biggest point. They can say what they want but A. there's no formal security training or procedure, and B. there's nothing formal to go to in the handbook. Don't just see an attorney; see an employment attorney. They specialize in this kind of thing. Ask for a free consultation and from there they'll probably offer a contingency, especially if they think you have a strong case. I did this with a previous employer and won both my cases I presented concurrently. Good luck Chad. Looking forward to hearing more about this. Glad your injuries didn't turn worse than they were too. Regarding "handbooks", I learned from a previous job that they are virtually useless when it comes to what the company can or can't do. I was fired on trumped up claims of a series of mistakes on my part. The handbook had clear and detailed processes for any type of employee discipline, which was never followed. There was supposed to be levels of counseling, warnings, etc, but they said absolutely nothing until they called me into an office and said I had made all these mistakes that no one ever mentioned and I was fired on the spot. I took the handbook to a lawyer who said since it wasn't an employment contract, it didn't mean a thing. Long story short, in a "right-to-work" state, the power is almost all in the hands of the employer.
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Post by Icctrombone on Jun 23, 2018 6:41:08 GMT -5
10 days ago I ordered some books from Milehigh comics and still haven't received them. I looked at the feedback and it seems to be a problem with late shipping or even people never getting their orders. I'm surprised that they have slipped to being that type of business.
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Post by hondobrode on Jun 23, 2018 7:12:03 GMT -5
They did the same thing to me 35 years ago.
Finally I got the package a few months later in much lower grades than I ordered : assorted issues of Uncanny X-Men 102-123.
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Post by Icctrombone on Jun 23, 2018 10:50:42 GMT -5
I must have ordered from them around 5 times and never had a problem. I notice quite a few negative and neutral comments in their score outlining the same things.
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Post by EdoBosnar on Jun 23, 2018 18:53:26 GMT -5
I ordered a few things directly from Mile High over 10 years ago and had them mailed here to Croatia - did not have any problems with those orders. More recently, like a few weeks ago, I ordered one book from them via eBay it took them 2 weeks to ship it, and they also did not respond to any e-mail queries. However, once mailed (to an address in the US), it only took it about 2 days to arrive, and the book was in the (rather good) condition described and well-packaged. So all in all, I can't say it was a completely negative experience, but I don't think I'll be ordering anything from them again.
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Post by Icctrombone on Jun 23, 2018 19:25:46 GMT -5
I ordered from them on the 13th and it's the 23rd today and haven't received anything. In the meanwhile, I ordered from 2 other sellers and got it in 3 days. This might be it for Mile high for me.
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Post by chadwilliam on Jun 24, 2018 7:28:36 GMT -5
Had trouble posting on here the other day, but I wanted to try again today and thank you guys for your thoughts and well wishes. It means a lot and I'll let you know how things go. My thanks again.
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Post by Icctrombone on Jun 24, 2018 8:37:41 GMT -5
Good luck chadwilliam, it looks like you got a raw deal. Maybe it's better you don't work a job that puts you in danger.
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