My recent retail experience

[HAB911]

We always shopped at Pep Boys for auto parts, but they were bought by Carl Icahn and now only provide service, the parts stores were bought by Auto Zone. Went to Auto Zone yesterday and here is the feedback I sent to Corporate:

"My third and last visit to your new store #XXXX, found two behind the counter employees LOUDLY expressing blatant QAnon conspiracy theories about high gas prices including how the President, on day one, closed a pipeline and is now blaming V. Putin, and on and on and on. I did not bother to correct these two on the subject, I walked out of your store. Everyone is entitled to their opinion. I do not have to suffer listening to them. I have worked retail. One thing no one wants is personal opinions injected into their shopping experience. If these employees are not intelligent enough to know better than do this in front of customers, AutoZone has a personnel problem. I completed my purchase at the nearby Advance Auto Parts. Take this in the spirit offered, to correct things."

Reply received in two days:

Good afternoon
My name is Renee I am the district manager for the store XXXX.
I have received your issue you had at my store. I apologize about your experience and have already had a discussion with the employees at that store. Again, I am sorry for the inconvenience!
Thank you,
Renee
District Manager



I wonder if she actually talked to them and did anything about it?

[Novara]

1. Good for you for complaining

Too many people (myself included) just get pissed off and walk out. I'm glad you took the extra step of telling them.

[Tetrachloride]

2. Send a friend in to check if you like.

Whatever you do, do not enter for the remainder of the year.

[HAB911]

3. I have no intention of ever going back

[KarenS]

4. I think it is nice of you to let them know,,,,

When I noted some of the higher prices in a local Safeway the checkout person started adamantly saying that we should all get out to vote because 'that man' has caused all the prices to rise and inflation and and and,,,
I cut in and said I agree but I am sure that 'that man' you're talking about is the polar opposite of 'that man' I'm thinking about,,,, and I left, I will not do Safeway the favor of telling them,,,, but I will not go back to that particular store,,,, as loud and rude as that employee was, if management didn't know then they aren't paying attention or they condone outbursts like that.

[SoCalDavidS]

27. You Should Let That Store Know They Lost You As A Customer

Just my opinion.

[3Hotdogs]

5. I suspect the issue was addressed. A couple of years ago, I went into a White Castle.

Jesus was on the TeeVee, telling me how to live my life and that he needs money. (I don't know why Jesus just doesn't listen to Dave Ramsey and his money problems will be solved. Or maybe Jesus bought too many BitCoins --- Nah, his money problems go way back before BitCoin.)

Anyway, I called the regional office and Jesus hasn't been back to the store.



I know, I shouldn't be eating too much of that stuff, anyway.

[JonAndKatePlusABird]

6. Jesus set up shop at the Chic Fil A down the road

[3Hotdogs]

7. I have no interest in going to one of those.

There was a protest to the N.J. Highway Authority when they allowed a Chik Fit have the location on a G.S. Parkway rest stop.

[DownriverDem]

16. Holly Lobby & Walmart too

I will not spend my money at stores that openly express opinions I totally disagree with.

[kimbutgar]

29. +1

Refuse to set foot in either store.

[PJMcK]

13. Can't Jesus just create his own money?

Isn't god all-powerful?

In fact, what does Jesus need with money, anyway? Didn't he say that the meek and the poor shall inherit the earth?

The hypocrisy of Christianity is staggering.

[Hortensis]

39. A bunch of DUers are Christian. Surely not all staggering hypocrites?

Actually, the people I hope you really mean are not primarily motivated or directed by religion but rather claiming it as a cover for their sins while rejecting the tenets of Christianity -- including Jesus's teachings. This is a huge phenomenon tearing Christian congregations apart and is being studied and discussed by many in great breadth and depth.

But in any case, we need to win this and we need to be as big and principled as we can be. The very antithesis of what's happening on the right.

[PJMcK]

40. Okay

People who seriously and faithfully hold a Christian faith were not the target of my post and I sincerely apologize if that wasn't clear.

I've read the Bible and studied Christianity. I held a strong faith for most of my life and actively participated in the congregations I belonged to. It's only in the last decade or so that I've evolved my thinking and moved to a more scientific understanding of the universe. Regardless of my knowledge, I really don't care what others believe. It's their business, not mine.

Except when they are blatant hypocrites!

In the world of Christian faith, those hypocrites can be seen in the entire spectrum of Christianity from the Catholic Church to Evangelicals. Nearly none of these institutions and their followers seem to believe in Jesus' teachings. I have neither the interest nor the time to enumerate these failures to live the lives Jesus demanded except to point out that, in general, their rank hypocrisy is blatant and self-righteous.

Jesus taught people to care for the elderly, the sick, the poor and the children. Far too many self-described Christians don't even come close to those ideals. Jesus taught that prayer and one's faith should be a private relationship between the individual and their god. Far too many of those religious leaders are more concerned with their lives on Earth than with their eternal souls, (whatever that actually is).

I'm disgusted by religious types who force their beliefs on the rest of us.

[Farmer-Rick]

14. Jesus is a regular visitor at

Our local Waffle House. You got to believe in a god to eat in that restaurant.

But yeah, why is Jesus and all his TV preachers so bad with money? They are always begging for more. They don't seem to know how to budget.

[Thtwudbeme]

15. I do believe Jesus visits Waffle Houses. Where the hell else would he get

triple scrambled with cheese, and hash browns scattered, covered and smothered?

I love me some Waffle House late at night- haven't been to a good one since about '93 or so when I drove through Gaffney, SC. Now, if you are really curious- the Most Holy of Waffle Houses was at the Hwy 11 exit off of 85. There you could get a nice WH experience, hit the bathroom and then drive north through beautiful peach orchards until you hit 26 and had to turn right to go up to Asheville.

Yes indeed- 30 years ago, it was the best.

[Farmer-Rick]

17. Don't eat in the one on 11E in East TN

They were good for awhile then they started adding hair to their eggs.....every time I ate there, I found human hair in my eggs.

So, I stopped ordering the eggs and got the waffles but then they started getting skimpy. The Waffles were very thin and floppy. The hash browns may have been about 1/4 cup and the toppings were so skimpy I couldn't find them. Just smaller and smaller portions with poorly cooked breakfast carbs.

Maybe due to new management? But the guy who stole my credit card tried to eat there, so there must be something good about it.

Sigh......I miss the older Waffle Houses that gave you a ton of breakfast carbs, cooked decently with no human hair.

[Thtwudbeme]

30. It's been a long time for me- I might leave the Waffle House

as a nice memory of my youth-

Especially after reading what you wrote.

There would not have been hair in the food at the WH in Gaffney back then though. Everyone that worked there had on so much hairspray (men AND women and at one point even my "oh my god I wasted part of my youth on this clown" boyfriend)

[Rebl2]

24. Okay I

have to say it’s been a really long time since I have been in a fast food place. Had no idea they have tv in these places. The eye dr. office I go to has tv, but they only channels they show are hgtv or food network.

[sarcasmo]

25. Dave Ramsey runs his company like a "religious cult."

https://relevantmagazine.com/current/nation/a-former-employee-is-suing-dave-ramsey-saying-he-runs-his-company-like-a-religious-cult/

[Freddie]

8. My husband manages an auto parts store

Most of their business is to garages but they do some walk-in retail. He has a strict rule - we do not discuss politics at work. Violate once, you’re “counseled”; violate twice, you’re out. No one has violated it more than once.
You were right to complain to Corporate. The vast majority of businesses will back you up because everyone’s $$ is the same color of green.

[Emile]

10. I drove an 18 wheeler for Autozone for 6 years. Terrible

anti union company and they treat employees like shit! I doubt the DM said a word to that store. Tennessee head office may have called the DM and they all had a good laugh.

[jimfields33]

12. I think they did. Politics of any kind is frowned upon in majority of businesses.

[samnsara]

11. 'a discussion'.....

[AllaN01Bear]

18. u r there to work. your opinions dont matter.

[MichMan]

19. Would you have reported them if you agreed with their views?

For expressing political views in front of customers ? Or encourage them for being right while shopping at the store more often?

[HAB911]

22. Damn good question

Let me think............................

I probably would have let it slide.

It took me years to be able to watch MSNBC because of the obvious bias. I much preferred the OLD Headline News with Mistress Lynn Russell, Fulton or DeKalb county deputy talking head. Now I don't give a fuck because they don't give a fuck and I watch MSNBC more than CNN, LOL.

I'm all over it.

[Random Boomer]

26. Someone from the right would have complained

That's the problem with expressing any political views in a retail business setting: you're going to piss off some of your customers. It's inappropriate conversation regardless of which side is aggravated.

[MichMan]

28. My question wasn't regarding whether it was appropriate or not.

Would you report someone for expressing political views in a retail environment only if you disagree with their viewpoint?

Suppose the previous customer agreed with them and encouraged their comments making them think it was OK?

Let me put it another way. You walk in and your overhear employees discussing between themselves Jan 6 and how Trump should be in jail. You like what you hear and tell them how right they are, you appreciate their views, and will shop there more often. The next person coming in hears it, makes a complaint, and they get fired.

Of course, you wouldn't know they got fired, but rhetorically speaking, should you feel at all responsible ?

[Random Boomer]

33. Because both sides are equivalent, right?

There's no substantive difference between thinking the most corrupt president in the history of this country should be in jail versus someone fully in favor of overthrowing democracy. Your thought experiment paints this as if it's only a "difference of opinion" and honestly, I'm pretty tired of treating Trumpism as a valid perspective on which we should all just agree to disagree.

But then, I live in a deeply red state, and there's no point in complaining to management around here because management would more likely give them a raise than fire them. Like the Walgreen's employee who parked his jeep with the Proud Boys sticker in front of the main entrance so everyone could see it walking in and out of the store. Yes, we complained and that was a useless gesture (as we figured it would be). We would not have complained about a BLM sticker, but you don't see many of those around here.

More germane to your point, I don't complain about anti-abortion stickers or Republican party stickers, because much as I loathe those positions, they ARE differences of opinion and not outright calls to insurrectionism.

[HAB911]

35. ditto

I'm over any equivalence of the two positions

[HAB911]

34. Continuing to think about this and to your point

I would have felt uncomfortable had I agreed with them, but would probably have let it slide.

I just don't want to hear it in that setting

[MichMan]

37. Thanks for understanding my point

It had zero to do with any equivalence in any way.

[Meowmee]

36. Q anon conspiracy theories and fascist lies are not political views/ opinions

They are bat shit crazy and a threat to everyone in this country and to democracy. They need to be shut down however possible.

[Joinfortmill]

20. Sounds like she did. Check it out (take a browse around the store) and let us know.

[HAB911]

23. No intention of ever visiting again

they might spit in my battery acid, LOL

[StarryNite]

21. Thank you for speaking up.

[Skittles]

31. sometimes complaints work

I called the number of a real-estate company telling them I thought the tattered American flag on their billboard was a disgrace.....there was a brand new flag up the very next day.

[Demovictory9]

32. Kudos for speaking out

[Hortensis]

38. Thanks for speaking up. Bet she did act as she said she did.

30% liberals in a district may never win an election, but repelling them as customers? These days it's extremely easy to shop elsewhere, AND the internet can provide people with influential local voices too.