Posted on 03/19/2014 4:13:46 PM PDT by rickmichaels
A 7-Eleven clerk in Salem, Mass., says she was fired for giving a homeless man a free $1 cup of coffee last Thursday.
"He was freezing," Ava Lins, 19, told NewsCenter 5. "You could tell. It was one of the coldest nights of the month."
So she said she offered him a small cup of coffee, which would normally cost about a dollar.
Then, she said, her boss came in.
"My boss...grabbed his jacket and began screaming and yelling, 'Did you pay for this? Did you pay for this?' And I lied for him, I said, 'Yes,'" she said.
But when the boss pressed the issue, Lins confessed.
Then she was taken off the work schedule.
When first contacted for comment, Lins' boss Romany Youseff told NewsCenter 5 he couldn't let employees get away with stealing.
But after facing a public backlash, he said he's had a change of heart and Lins can come back to work this week.
"I told her it's OK. Everyone forget it. It's OK."
She should have paid for it but the article says the boss walked in in the middle of it.
For me, if I was the owner I’d have said nothing. I’ve had things like that happen. If it isn’t abused, her reaction was human, and I’d have been proud of her. Obviously it can’t happen all the time or you’ve got a problem. But there is no indication here that it happens all the time.
I don’t care whether she paid for it or not. Doing things to attract unwelcome attention from the non-payers puts her employer at risk of being looted.
1) Be generous with your own money/property, not others’
2) Giving away free things to people attracts more people looking for free things - a business owner has a legitimate interest in keeping those type of people away from the business
3) Have some compassion...
Lying and stealing from the boss is going to get you fired every time. Lesson learned.
The difference here is the young lady gave away something that was not hers to give in the first place.
There's no comparison to the scripture you cited.
Having said that, this young lady's heart was in the right place, her own wallet/money should've been also. She should've paid, the coffee wasn't hers to give absent payment.
2) Giving away free things to people attracts more people looking for free things - a business owner has a legitimate interest in keeping those type of people away from the business
This is my point. Whether she paid for it with her own money or not, she needed to be disciplined. She, in giving away free stuff, was creating a hazard for the business.
Zackley!
This is precisely the point that was made in the classic statement and analysis given by Dinesh D'Souza in this clip -
D'Souza illustrates the moral aspect brilliantly.
The implications are true on the macro economic level all the way down to the free cup of coffee.
Whatever. Granted, it was not her property to freely give away. And, she lied about it, initially. Fired, by the standing policy.
Yet, I sense a lack of experience here.
“...where he got it and that 7-11 would be swamped with hobos within hours.”
It is a simple procedure to make the food-drink for the indigent and clearly instruct them to not disturb customers during such process and to go on down the road and not come back. As long as these companies have been doing business, they should have known this event would happen.
Thus, I said that “she should have bore the consequences”. For that, she violated a...what...a rule. That was not expressed by the management with clarity. And, the manager should be fired as well...for incompetence and the regional manger should be called in for questioning.
You turn away the hungry and destitute at your own expense...from experience.
“But after facing a public backlash, he said he’s had a change of heart and Lins can come back to work this week.”...now how much business was lost due to this backlash? ANSWER THIS!
Not a lot of Christian charity on this site tonight.
“Looked like the man was freezing”. I think he needed something warm to drink.
Boss shouldn’t have grabbed the man. That’s assault and battery.
He should have allowed the clerk to pay for it and then said, it was nice but please don’t do it that way again.
Come on folks. We’ve had some pretty damned cold and wet weather these last few weeks. Time to cut everyone a little slack.
She sounds like the perfect Democrat......being “generous” with other people’s money.
“Granted, it was not her property to freely give away. “
End of story.
I agree with everyone that she should have paid for it.
It’s also been my experience that when you bring a hobo into a 7-11 (the only convenience store in my area), and buy him a cup of coffee and a sandwich you will get the evil eye from the manager/cashier the whole time you walk through the store with said hobo.
You down with OPP?
Well, you know what is coming: It is not generous to give away something that is not yours to give. It is theft.
She should have just bought the coffee if she felt sorry for the guy.
That's what unmarked cups are for. When buddypal walks up with a cup that has "7-11" proudly written all over it, they know where the free stuff is. I hate that this is where we are, because we can't even be charitable without living in fear of being ripped off.
Take a look at this link. There are descriptions of various "hobo signs." These are posted to help hobos figure out who to hit up for free stuff, and who to stay away from. It's very enlightening.
...Over a dollar. Tens and maybe a hundred dollars were thrown away...of profit. There is always a practical reason for Christian values when doing business.
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