Posted on 12/15/2007 1:02:52 PM PST by RDTF
Dillards did apologize, but still, it reflects badly on that store’s management.
I’m slapping my own face in disbelief. The cheek of these nasty people.
Why would an employee be "militant" to begin with? Because they genuinely care about the business at which they work? Because they have a personal interest in the business? Because they have a fetish for following the rules?
Doubtful.
Because they are young and intimidated by lower management who probably bites their head off ten times a day over stupidity?
Likely.
don't blame the employee. Managers create the atmosphere in which they work.
I sent this story to 3 friends who each has a service dog.
The store should be made an example of, in my opinion.
These are not pets, they are service dogs. There is a world of difference.
Folks and Businesses need to learn that apologies don’t erase an act — they simply are a polite and usually meaningless response to an offensive act....
Folks who perpetually commit offensive acts are too quick to apologize and too slow on taking painful corrective action..
The employee who refused entry to the story, for the wounded veteran and his service dog should be FIRED..
Now that - is a meaningful “apology”...
To REALLY get my attention - the manager who hired and failed to properly train that employee should also be fired - since they set up the scenario by their own negligence...
I worked in retail. All Service Dogs wear a vest and usually have a special leash. Sometimes an employee is assigned to the disabled person to help them find what they need. Where was security when he walked into the store with the dog?
Since this veteran is young and may not appear disabled at first glance, the manager probably thought he was BS-ing him.
I can see why he was trying to use the escalator. The elevators are usually at the far end corner of the store and if you have a disability, it feels like the journey of a thousand miles to get there. Elevators should be at the front or side front of a store.
Brother ... you got one BIG shoppin’ day comin’ ... compliments of Dillards ... wipe their automotive, gun and mens clothing departments clean OUT ... and get every concievable dog accoutre’ment and food they posess .... THEN go across the street.
‘Tis the Season ...
The store violated ADA and will face a rather hefty fine and will lose in any civil litigation.
the link at post 24 provides a lot more info. The puppy isn’t a service dog yet, and was being trained so it probably didn’t look right to them. (But he did have the vest on. The buffoon manager should have given the Vet the benefit of the doubt.
“This is a case of either a naive idiot or someone with an agenda. Maliciously disrupting business in a different store and causing inconvenience to other shoppers will make you the villain.”
Oh no, we can’t have an inconvenience to the shoppers, now can we.
That is exactly what is needed. Disrupt the normal flow of the idiot shoppers and you MIGHT influence an opinion.
Naa, come to think of it most shoppers are oblivious to the worldly events that occur around them.
They would just think another idiot was off their zoloft or other happy medications.......
Perhaps they train dogs differently in Texas, but here in PA, the dogs are provided by organizations that hand pick and train dogs to be placed.
When a dog is placed, the handler accompanies the disabled person and dog for public training sessions.
Also, 7 months is younger than normal here for placing a dog.
As for taking the pup on an escalator, that seems to me to be something I wouldn’t recommend doing so early in training.
Like I said, the article at post # 24 raises several questions in my mind.
Dillards sued for racial discrimination
Google search for how many times...
http://www.coopamerica.org/programs/rs/profile.cfm?
id=212
In May 2001, Dillard's was ordered by a jury to pay $800,000 in a wrongful death trial in a Houston state court. During a confrontation with store policeman, the man was hogtied and hit, which resulted in his death soon after.
-- Associated Press, 10/24/2005
Source URL: www.securityinfowatch.com/online/Retail/Lawsuit-Claims-Dillards-Used-R...
In February 2002, the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission on behalf of a former Dillard's employee filed a lawsuit against the company claiming religious discrimination. The lawsuit alleged the company refused "to honor the religious beliefs of one of its employees." The part-time employee, who is also an ordained Baptist minister, claimed the company scheduled her to work on days and times that conflicted with her religious obligations, even though she told management that she could not work then.
-- KSDK TV, 02/27/2002 Source URL: www.ksdk.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=23148
In May 2001, Dillard's was ordered to pay more than $56,000 in damages for pain and suffering, $1.1 million in punitive damages, and more than $146,000 in attorney's fees to two Arkansas women who had filed a racial discrimination lawsuit against the department store. The lawsuit alleged that the women were wrongfully detained at a Dillard's store in 1996 and accused of shoplifting. No evidence of theft was found. In April 2001, a federal appeals court upheld the $1.2 million verdict against Dillard's in a discrimination lawsuit. The suit was filed by a black woman who said she was denied a free cologne sample because of her race.
-- Seattle Post-Intelligencer, 02/20/2002 Source URL: seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/58972_netlibraries20.shtml
Ethics and Governance
Dillard's received an "F" grade on the 2006 NAACP Economic Reciprocity Initiative report. The grade reflects a measurement of corporate America's commitment to the African American citizenry and other people of color. Companies were surveyed for their activity in employment, vendor development and contracting, advertising and marketing, dealerships and philanthropy.
-- NAACP, 07/18/2006 Source URL: www.naacp.org/advocacy/economic/reportcard/2006/generalmerchandising/
In 2006, CEO William Dillard II made $4,381,516 from Dillard Inc. This total compensation translates to Dillard earning $84,259 per week.
-- AFL-CIO, 04/05/2006 Source URL: www.aflcio.org/corporatewatch/paywatch/ceou/database.cfm?tkr=DDS&pg=6
Dillard's shareholders have urged the company to disclose its code of conduct and vendor standards. While competitors like Kohl's, JC Penney, and Macy's, Inc. have taken steps to disclose their codes of conduct in publicly available reports, Dillard's has not. In addition to disclosing the company code of conduct, shareholders are asking for updates on implementation of independent monitoring in supply chain factories.
-- Interfaith Center for Corporate Responsibility, 01/20/2006 Source URL: www.iccr.org/news/press_releases/pdf%20files/dillardsletter012706.PDF
Dillard's has a policy of hiring armed, off-duty police officers to provide security. Since 1994, at least six people have died after confrontations with Dillard's security officers. In all cases but one, the victims were minorities. None of the victims had weapons.
-- Houston Chronicle, 11/27/2005 Source URL: none available
In 2005, Dillard's paid $15 million to settle a lawsuit brought on behalf of a 5 year old girl whose fingers were amputated in a defective escalator at the company's St. Petersburg, Florida store. At the time another lawsuit against Dillard's was under consideration in Iowa. In that case another child also lost fingers. Dillard's used unlicensed workers on escalator repairs to save money, set up a fake service company to avoid state inspections, and failed to report dozens of accidents to state regulators.
-- St. Petersburg Times, 02/02/2005 Source URL: www.sptimes.com/2005/02/02/Southpinellas/Escalator_suit_ends_i.shtml
Dillard's was sued by more than 80 African American shoppers in Texas claiming racial profiling. The company has also been sued by customers in Mississippi, Kentucky and Georgia on similar allegations.
-- St. Petersburg Times, 06/04/2004 Source URL: none available
In January 2003, a Texas district judge ordered Dillard's not to destroy security personnel notebooks and logs that plaintiffs in lawsuits against the retailer claim may show systematic targeting of minority and low-income shoppers for surveillance and intimidation. According to documents given to an attorney for a plaintiff in a discrimination suit against the store, a Dillards official in May 2000 ordered that all security officer notebooks, logs and other documents be sent to corporate headquarters and that no copies be retained by local stores. An internal e-mail dated July 2001 stated that "all unauthorized forms or notebooks containing narrative information of non-arrest activity must be destroyed."
-- New Pittsburgh Courier, 01/01/2003 Source URL: none available
In 2002, BusinessWeek named Dillard as having one of the worst corporate boards. The company was listed because CEO Willaim Dillard, before his death in February 2002, presided over a board that included four of his children. There was no nominating committee for board members and two-thirds of the board was elected by holders of privately held Class B shares.
-- Business Week, 10/07/2002 Source URL: www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/02_40/b3802001.htm
Dillard's pulled advertising from some CBS affiliates after the network's "60 Minutes" featured a story about Dillard's alleged discrimination against minorities. The show described a lawsuit against Dillard's and some security guards who allegedly harassed and beat black customers, leaving one person dead. The company did not pull ads from ABC or NBC affiliates.
-- Associated Press, 04/13/2001 Source URL: findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4196/is_20010413/ai_n10688733
As far as I know, it is illegal. He’s got a federal lawsuit there.
I hadn’t shopped there in years but bought a dress for my son’s wedding a few months ago. They had to get it in the right size from one of the other stores and I was very pleased with the service. However, it will be years and years before I shop there again.
I hope our local talk show guy, Mark Davis, gets ahold of this story for Monday.
yes. same thing I thought. Not an official service dog.
I'd gladly boycott them but I've never shopped there before nor have I ever stepped foot inside one but I support any boycott in spirit at least.
Thank's for the link and especially a thank you for your service to your country.
I’m with you. I feel a boycott of Dillard’s coming on; we need to make sure more people know about this. Dillard’s is Disgusting.
I agree. If it had been just a floor level retail-sales seasonal employee that would be one thing and somewhat understandable for such a gross mistake but a manager, now that is totally inexcusable and the person (maybe) should face termination with prejudice and the store should have to answer for its serious lack of proper training of its management employees in matters pertaining to the ADA rules and guideline.
Dillard's has acted shamefully for poorly training of this dumb-arse manager and foisting him/her on its customers and more importantly, on our disabled military veterans, IMHO.
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