June 30th, 2022
0
Got canned from Lowe's for trying to save a life (lives?)
It's been a really fucking confusing twenty four hours. Right now, I'm melting into the couch, drinking my third beer, and questioning how it came to this.
Two days ago, a customer approached me and asked if we had any more rustoleum spray paint in a specific shade of blue. He had checked in the proper aisle, but there was none left on the shelf. I checked the system which said we had 4 units left in that color so I told him I would check in the topstock.
Before I even got a chance to go check, he started thanking me and explaining how he was planning to throw a gender reveal party and wanted to paint some silverware blue. After he said that, I guess he could see my confused frown because he gave me this weird look and asked "is something wrong sir?"
I told him he definitely could not do that because rustoleum is very toxic and definitely not food safe. He dismissed this and told me he would "obviously wait for the paint to dry." I told him that didn't matter, but he wasn't having it and kept insisting it was okay. I was angry that he was continuing to demand it, and eventually I got so fed up I said: "Sir, there is no way in hell I'm allowing you to use rustoleum on silverware for your gender whatever." Immature and unprofessional, yes. But as someone whose grandfather was an Air Force officer who died from cancer after being told to shovel radioactive debris after the Palomares disaster, I took the matter pretty seriously.
I had assumed the gender reveal party was for a baby, but the man informed me that he was coming out as a male and reacted very aggressively to my words, calling me a "bigot" and a "TERF." I tried to explain that I was neither of those things and that I was simply looking out for his and his guests' safety, but at this point he was not listening to me and demanded to see my manager.
I wasn't privy to his and my manager's conversation, but afterwards my manager told me everything was okay and it was a simple misunderstanding. It wasn't the weirdest customer interaction I had had, so I shook it off and finished my shift.
Next day, I come in and my manager asks to see me immediately. He informs me that the customer had complained to corporate that I had refused to help him because of his gender orientation and that they ordered that I be terminated. I asked if I could speak to corporate and explain the situation, but he simply apologized and said there was nothing he could do.
So there you have it. Apparently Lowe's cares more about corporate image than customer safety. I don't know what to do from here.
June 30th, 2022
0
Comments:
ParsnipJunkie
74
BubblyAd2159
Dude. You'd be surprised what customers think or come up with. I'm flabbergasted at least 2-3 times a day.
54
LeadershipOwn
This was my first thought to literally every shade of color you want in plastic silverware why spray paint it everyone knows you should not eat paint
22
[deleted]
People with a mental illness
18
LovestoRead211
U can even get metallic plastic utensils on Amazon. I got some oil slick miltichrome purple color for a birthday party a few years back.
3
LuciusDickusMaximus
Lol this is far from the craziest idea I’ve heard from a customer. One guy a few months back wanted my opinion on which wood would be able to support more weight for his “squirrel catapult.”
Good_Entry6790
Seems vaguely reminiscent of a Mark Rober video...
5
Solember
That's because that's where OP got the idea. Another untrue story.
8
[deleted]
41
PlantBasedEgg
*Kevin
9
Marshin99
*Terry
1
read110
33
PlantBasedEgg
Yeah that’s what lead me to believe this is a made up story for karma. We don’t keep paint in the back l, it’s all top stock or on the freight pallets
26
Saltaired
Haha exactly, he gave himself away with that
12
LuciusDickusMaximus
Lol what?
Connee14
You've obviously never worked at Lowe's. There is no back to check in for paint. It's all in topstock above the home location.
Also spray paint comes in 6 count boxes (i think, haven't helped in paint in a while) . 4 on hand likely means you don't have any if the home is empty.
If you're concern was toxicity, suggest buying the cheaper plastic in the color of choice, or simply tell the customer that you looked, and on hand is incorrect.
This is a troll post.
16
rapturestar
There is a "Back" if the topstock doesn't have the item. It is called "unchecked" incoming freight.
read110
Ummmmm... no.
4
LuciusDickusMaximus
Yeah, I don’t work at lowes anymore, you’re right. Did you even read the post?
famicum
Yeah we all read the post. Bro why are you lying on a Lowes subreddit? This is just sad.
We don't keep spray paint in the "back". Say even there was a pallet with the blue spray cans in the back it wouldn't just have four cans, a case comes with 6. I've only worked paint for 4 months and I know this.
This is a pathetic story for karma and a weird jab at transgendered people. Reading this gave me secondhand embarrassment. Yeesh.
13
Connee14
I said you never worked at Lowe's. Didn you even read my comment?
6
TheMaltesefalco
Insert Emotional Damage Meme
7
PlantBasedEgg
16
eros10016
I tend to agree with you. Can we say, #TROLL 😜
5
Yourecoolforagayguy
15
[deleted]
[deleted]
Yourecoolforagayguy
It’s a stupid gist that deserves no more than a mere reference of a once great show know has Drake and Josh
1
[deleted]
14
LovestoRead211
Be careful on indeed (or anywhere online job hunting) at least in my area it seems like it's almost all fake job scams.
6
kp_centi
6
nlcarp
12
[deleted]
[removed]
mouserats91
Ah, but this can be considered an unjust firing! And CAN make the news if OP rocks the boat. I would. I would rock it so hard.
4
nlcarp
Yep I agree
3
[deleted]
Op could get unemployment, that's it. Possibly a servece
0
Pickle-Rick-C-137
Do you mean people? What is a "these"? We are all humans and people, you know.
5
[deleted]
13
[deleted]
People are fucking stupid.. and they seem to be getting dumber..
Which is kind of amazing considering we walk around with a device where we can look those things up
8
PlantBasedEgg
Because it isn’t a real story. If you go through OPs post history he has dozens of made up stories and situations. He’s just a really shitty karma farmer
7
[deleted]
[removed]
PlantBasedEgg
Broski what the fuck is a Pakistani Commune Account? Is that not a violation of Reddit’s TOS to give an accounts access to multiple people to circumvent bans and allow anonymous posting?
Also, i don’t think I’ve ever said anything about underage actors. You’re just a compulsive liar
7
read110
A Pakistani community account is one where people post horseshit and claim multiple people have access to the account so thats why their horseshit is obvious.
It is absolutely NOT a cover for a POS making up bullshit for the edification of other POS's
3
LuciusDickusMaximus
Not gonna explain when the information is readily available everywhere. Also what’s your issue dude? Calling me a compulsive liar and stalking this thread? If anyone has issues it’s you.
PlantBasedEgg
Even if you’re using the account for it’s intended purpose, there are zero Lowe’s in Pakistan. This account is obviously being used by Redditors wanting to avoid account termination or bans on their personal accounts
7
[deleted]
Awww man
1
[deleted]
25
[deleted]
I ran the paint desk for 3 years. I have seen and heard worse. lol
4
vsirl005
We also know that there is no stock in the back during business hours... its all up top.
8
[deleted]
Yep. This is true. The only stock I had in back was appliances, carpet rolls, and orders.
1
Solember
Check the back? What? Guy, this is Lowe's. It comes off of the truck to top stock. All my time at Lowe's, I've been told that the only things you would need to go to the back for are grills, appliances and specialty order pickups.
The airforce bit seems to make it more of a troll post than anything else. Best case scenario? You're telling a story for karma. Worst case scenario? You're negging on trans people.
3
El-ChuPugcabra
I'm calling bs on this story, or you're embellishing what actually took place. Lowes doesn't fire people unless they have absolutely concrete reasoning, because they have this thing where they REALLY hate paying unemployment. So much so, that my store was willing to overlook an employee caught red handed defacing company property on multiple occasions by carving inappropriate messages in the restroom, to spray painting things on the sales floor. So I find it really hard to believe that they cut you loose after one supposed altercation in a "he said, she said" scenario.
Also, while some spray paints certainly can be toxic, once they dry, they are substantially less so, if at all. And even if this person intended to spray paint their silverware, the likelihood of them ingesting near enough to be toxic is remote at best. Having said that, regardless of whether you agreed with what the customer planned to do, you should've handled the situation way better than you did, if it in fact happened as you say it did. Be it either you expressing your concerns for safety, or you could've referred them to an MOD and let them handle it.
12
PlantBasedEgg
Looking at the dudes post history he has quite a few odd and implausible stories in other subs as well. I’m not calling him a liar but he certainly has a lot going on
5
[deleted]
Companies are terrified of being next on the public slander hit list. These fringe groups create a problem them cry oppression on the news to hurt the business
read110
Horseshit.
2
LuciusDickusMaximus
You can say I handled it poorly, but when I put forth my initial objection I was envisioning a gender reveal party for a baby, presumably with lots of family and potentially children present. People ITT keep saying “you should have let him do it fuck him” but how could I stand by and let this idiot put those people at risk?
[deleted]
Easily. The people in the story aren't real so there would be no harm done.
5
jacobn923
You aren’t real
1
Dave12360
3
Libertyprime8397
4
npf1221
2
codespace
"[...] so I told him I would check in the back."
😂😂😂
2
butcheredalivev4
2
Additional-Strain-58
If it was only him at risk, I'd agree, but that moron was putting guests at risk as well.
6
butcheredalivev4
And it’s gonna come back on his stupid ass legally unless he took the name on the name tag with him to defend himself
1
waremi
Okay, I am currently reeling over the fact that a random join click on the r/Lowes sub-reddit has led me to discover that there was a fisherman in Palomares Spain that had the nick-name Paco el de la bomba.
This is truly a very weird world we live in.
To OP all I can say is don't worry about it. You are a good nut, you will land on your feet and do just fine. Write everything down in a resignation letter and just as you are doing make it as public as possible. Then move on. There are better places than Lowe's for people of your standards.
3
[deleted]
2
[deleted]
Wtf
8
[deleted]
[removed]
5
fuggen_wut
Who's scared? I thought is was pretty funny...
PlantBasedEgg
Its a dog whistle. It’s referencing the attempted suicide rate of trans youth
2
eros10016
1
Revolutionary-Ad1902
0
LuciusDickusMaximus
Ok but if someone told you they wanted to buy a car and crash it into a preschool and insisted it was safe, would you sell them the car?
0
HolySpitball
The spray paint may be toxic and someone may get sick, but I don't think this is an apples to apples comparison lol
1
ohitsmark
In all my years of retail, I've learned to just warn people and let them do as they please. The majority of them won't learn from you, only from their mistakes.
Ive had a lady say she wanted to paint over mold on her ceiling after she continously has a leak up there, another wanted to glue click and lock flooring together, another who wanted to put peel and stick tile over her flooded floor before she repairs the leak, and so so so much more.
0
AggravatingAd6444
famicum
I see a "fake news" screamer is falling for fake news and wanting to spread it.
5
soundwave145
1
Saint_Stephen420
That’s the right attitude!
1
Nohcri
1
plumballa
1
SCOG4866
1
HoneyedBunnytarts
Transgender Exclusionary Radical Feminist. They exclude trans females from their women's rights advocacy.
1
SCOG4866
Ah. I learn something new everyday.
1
SithLawdy
1
waltff
1