Wal-Mart Fires Manager Who Called Police On Black Customer

The Ksbwchannel ^ | 12/14/2005 | cawats

[processing please hold]

Ih I went to wal mart and wrote a nearly $14,000 check, I bet they'd call the cops on me too.

[Vn_survivor_67-68]

with all of the gift-card fraud these days, I'd think a purchase such as this would trigger some alarms in a prudent mind.

Tuffshiite is the guy "happens" to be black!

[martin_fierro]

Sarah Clark, a spokeswoman for the Bentonville, Ark.-based company, said Cornett followed proper procedures in trying to verify Pitts' check, which he could not because a privacy block prohibited access to GAF's bank account.

Sounds fishy enough to me. I'd've done the same as the manager.

[Pukin Dog]

He deserved firing.

He could have just refused the check.

[GrandEagle]

he called the law on Reginald Pitts who presented a $13,600 check to pay for holiday gift cards
There has GOT to be more to this.
I was under the impression that is is customary to actually PAY for stuff when you make the purchase.

[AmishDude]

Oh, yeah, he gets a $13,600 check that doesn't clear and he called the cops just because the HR manager of the company is black. Sure.

Cornett followed proper procedures in trying to verify Pitts' check, which he could not because a privacy block prohibited access to GAF's bank account.

There had never been a problem previously when Pitts had sent a white employee to pick up the cards.

Was there a privacy block previously?

[Puppage]

He could have just refused the check

There by getting sued for NOT selling to a black man and getting fired for that, too?

[atomicpossum]

If you got doubts about the check, you don't accept it. Calling the cops is a bit much without outright evidence of criminality.

[LibWhacker]

Cornett has a better case than Pitts.

'Course, I'd never pass the bar in a million years.

[randog]

He deserved firing.

He could have just refused the check.

After reading the article, I'm with you. The least Wal*Mart could have done was call the company to verify that the guy worked for them, or let the company know that they couldn't verify their check with their bank.

[Rebelbase]

How else was the guy supposed to pay for $13,600 worth of merchandise?

[AmishDude]

Agreed. It seems that the HR manager wasn't going anywhere, so the check could be returned, unlike with a usual consumer purchase. It's the whole race angle that gets me.

[IntheHillsGolden]

The Manager should have simply refused the check. He didn't need to call the Police. (unless the customer became beligerent, or something).

The Manager messed-up............unless there's more to the story.

[AmishDude]

How else was the guy supposed to pay for $13,600 worth of merchandise?

Wire transfer. Pre-pay.

[InsureAmerica]

stolen artwork?

[RouxStir]

"After the incident, GAF bought its employees Target gift cards."

And they probably said "Merry Christmas" on them to boot.

[Lancey Howard]

Sounds fishy to me, too, but where the manager went wrong was calling the cops. He should simply have told the guy "Sorry, but I cannot accept this check because I cannot confirm the funds in your account. Have a nice day."

[Eric in the Ozarks]

The GAF plant called the store and told them this guy was coming with a large check for gifts.

[SoftballMominVA]

3 years ago, hubby and I went into Best Buy to purchase several kitchen appliances. The check was over 4k. There was something the manager needed to do to verify the check since it was a large amount. The phone lines were down and they were unable to verify the check through the bank. (We don't use credit cards.) Guess what? no appliances.

I'm white, was that some sort of discrimination?