Whole Foods employee fired for stopping shoplifter

[Guest guest]

I live 4 hours from the nearest Whole Foods, so have only been in this store

once, but loved it.

Now, this is insane, but quite interesting. So, next, does a WH employee

get fired if he dates a customer and touches his date when he's off the clock?

How about shaking hand with an acquaintance that comes in the store - do you

be rude and refuse to shake a hand, or risk getting fired for " touching " a

customer. I guess if an employee sees somebody trip and fall, or a child

toppling over in a cart that they just let them break their heads open, instead

of

offering a hand. Far too many lawyers in this country, I think! Jan

Patenaude

Grocery worker fired for stopping shoplifter

by Dave Gershman | The Ann Arbor News

Thursday December 27, 2007, 8:15 AM

____________________________________

" The fact that I worked at the store at (the time of the robbery) is

coincidental. If I had went over to the book store on my break and they were

being

ripped off, I would have helped them. " - fired worker Schultz • •

• " The

fact that he touched him, period, is means for termination, " - Kate Klotz,

Whole Foods spokeswoman.

____________________________________

BY DAVE GERSHMAN

The Ann Arbor News

Schultz says he lost his job at _Whole Foods Market_

(http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/) in Ann Arbor after he tried to stop a

shoplifter from making

a getaway. But the company says he went too far and violated a policy that

prohibits employees from physically touching a customer - even if that person

is carrying a bag of stolen goods.

Schultz says he had just punched out for a break at 7 p.m. on Sunday when he

heard a commotion at the front door of the store, 3135 Washtenaw Ave. He said

he came to the aid of the manager who yelled for help in stopping a

shoplifter. Schultz, the manager and another employee cornered the shoplifter

between

two cars in the parking lot.

Schultz said he told the shoplifter he was making a citizens arrest and to

wait for the police to arrive, but the shoplifter broke away from the group and

ran across Washtenaw Avenue and toward a gas station at the corner of Huron

Parkway.

Before the man could cross Huron Parkway, Schultz caught up and grabbed the

man's jacket and put his leg behind the man's legs. When the manager arrived

at the intersection, Schultz said, the manager told him to release the

shoplifter, and he complied, and the shoplifter got away.

Schultz said he was called to the store's office the next day, on Christmas

Eve, and was fired because he violated a company policy prohibiting employees

from having any physical contact with a customer.

Kate Klotz, a company spokesperson, said the policy is clear and listed in a

booklet that all employees have to acknowledge that they received before they

can start work.

" The fact that he touched him, period, is means for termination, " said

Klotz.

Schultz said he acted as a private citizen on property that isn't owned by

Whole Foods, but Klotz said where the incident happened doesn't change the

policy.

" He is still considered an employee of Whole Foods Market regardless of where

he was and what was happening, " she said.

The police report of the incident doesn't mention Schultz's involvement. It

says police responded to the call of retail fraud at 7:09 p.m. and could not

locate the shoplifter.

The thief was described as a thin white male, 5-foot-10, in his mid-20s,

wearing a black jacket, tan pants and carrying a backpack.

The report says store employees were suspicious when the man walked into the

store and they watched as he filled up a basket and then took it into a

bathroom. When he came out, his basket was empty, but his backpack looked full.

Then he filled up a canvas store tote bag with groceries, and walked out the

door.

The manager and the other employee told police they caught up to the

shoplifter at the corner of Washtenaw and Huron Parkway. It says one of them

grabbed

the tote bag away from the shoplifter, and the suspect walked away. The bag

contained $346 worth of food and other products.

Schultz, 35, of Ypsilanti Township, had worked at the store for five years,

most recently as a fishmonger. He wants his job back.

" The fact that I worked at the store at (the time of the robbery) is

coincidental, " he said. " If I had went over to the book store on my break and

they

were being ripped off, I would have helped them. "

Reporter Dave Gershman can be reached at or

_dgershman@..._ (mailto:dgershman@...) .

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Consultant, Writer, Speaker

Director of Medical Nutrition

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