I just witnessed a Wendy's employee refuse a homeless person a refill

[judaspriestess]

on their chili. Damn, it pissed me off. I know there are no refills but for god sakes its late in the evening and the crap is going to get thrown away anyway. I stepped in and said I would pay for it.

Here is the kicker, and please forgive me in advance if I offend anyone as I am Hispanic.

The Wendy's worker was an immigrant, (very thick accent gave that away) why does this dissapoint me? because she left her home land to come to this country to better herself and bless her for that but she refuses to give a homeless guy some food? She would not be here if she were not HUNGRY in her home land. Feed the Hungry

Here is what I would have done: Ok guy here is a refill but no more ok? that way he eats and he knows he can't get anymore. The manager was ok with giving him a refill but the cashier still charged me for it. I didn't say anything as I said I would pay for it.

I was just disappointed that someone would do that especially overcoming obstacles herself. I don't know, maybe its just me but that really just did not sit well with me. Not giving a homeless person money is someone's perogative but to REFUSE food to a hungry person is just wrong.

[Floogeldy]

1. You said it.

"I know there are no refills . . ."

Are you trying to get the employee fired or arrested? Free food?

I don't think so.

You did the correct thing by paying for it. That is better than employee theft. Good move. ;)

Although, I must say, the homeless person would not have been that hungry after having already eaten a serving of chili.

[judaspriestess]

3. the manager ok'd the refill to give to the guy

I guess you had to be there. It was pretty lame. None of the patrons were all to impressed with how that was handled. I'm not buying the employee theft thing on this one. maybe next time.

[judaspriestess]

6. don't I get points for using "for god's sake"

and stick to the subject for god's sake :)

[HarukaTheTrophyWife]

2. When I worked for Starbucks, we used to hook a few homeless/very poor

people up with coffee when they came in. I once gave a customer who was homeless and obviously autistic, a free cup from a pot that was going to be thrown out. I was reprimanded by the GM for it, even though it was coffee that I was literally in the processing of pouring down the drain when the man came in. I paid for a coffee for the guy out of pocket, but christ, if we're throwing it out, it doesn't affect profits. Let the poor guy have some coffee on the house.

[Floogeldy]

4. Did you type "christ?"

?

[HarukaTheTrophyWife]

5. Yes, I take the Lord's name in vain frequently. nt

[LostinVA]

20. I do, too -- it's the only thing about me that drives my mom bonkers

[bicentennial_baby]

7. bless you, in my atheistic way

seriously :hug:

[HarukaTheTrophyWife]

11. Thanks.

I get really pissed off by people that are sicklers for the "rules" in lieu of being a human. I mean, the Starbucks I worked at did a lot for the community. We held parties for the local orphanage and we did regular cleanups at the river. It's just fucked up that we're told to do that (and we donate food/coffee to these events) but we're not supposed to help out the lone guy that comes in and needs help. That's just bullshit. I don't work for Starbucks anymore, but I try to still go to the Rockaway River cleanups and I still volunteer at the St. Peter's Orphanage parties. Most of the kids there are so cool, but just stuck in such a shitty situation with very little future. :/

[bicentennial_baby]

13. You're my hero...

Seriously...You're awesome, in the true sense of the word. And I agree with you 100%. :loveya:

[HarukaTheTrophyWife]

14. Aw...geez...

:blush:

[Oeditpus Rex]

16. Welcome to Corp'rit Mer'ka

where being a glacier-hearted, penny-licking assbag will get you promoted to management.

[HarukaTheTrophyWife]

18. Yeah, she ended up getting promoted from retail management to corp.

management.

[Javaman]

31. When I was younger and a buddy of mine worked at mcd's...

I know I know, mcd's bad bad me. Whatever, I don't eat it anymore and at the time, I wasn't aware of how bad it was.

Anyway, I digress. At the end of each evening, the mcd's employees have to inventory the food, then THROW IT AWAY. God that would piss me off to no end.

So I asked my friend to see if the manager would sell it to me for half price?

They agreed, so for a long while until I moved, I would go in weekly, buy the left over food then distribute it to the homeless.

I think the manager used to pocket the money, but who cares. Half price was better than full. Realistically, he could have been a decent human being and just gave it to me, but alas, there aren't many of those types of people around.

We as a nation waste so much food, it's a crime. Yet oddly we have the highest level of obesity in the world. Go figure.

[elocs]

8. Good for you. Guess what? You gave Jesus a refill.

One more reason to avoid Wendys. One more example of the Republican motto: "You're on your own". Yes, they believe that if you are poor or homeless, then it is your own fault. This would be a good time for the right wing evangelicals to ask themselves, "What would Jesus do?" In the Bible, Jesus says that what you have done to the least of them, you have done unto him. If only more Christians were actual believers and followers of Jesus and would strive to be Christ-like in their daily lives. The real sin in life is to be able to do good and then choose not to.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

9. Thank you for your kindness...

:hug:

[JI7]

10. the worker was probably just following rules

they may be very strict about these things.

and Wendy's is known to be right wing .

it was nice that you paid for the refill though.

[Shakespeare]

15. NO. That's not it. OP said the manager ok'd the free refill.

Y'all need to read a little closer...

[Omphaloskepsis]

17. I doubt the worker would go against the manager.

Something doesn't mesh. A misunderstanding is in the air. Can you feel it?

[LostinVA]

21. I worked at a KFC before college

And we would have been fired for even giving a refill of coke, let alone free chicken or mashed potatoes. I don't fault the worker at all... she's probably afraid of losing her job.

[ContraBass Black]

23. At my job, we throw away enough bread every day to feed forty.

And if we were to get caught giving any away, we would be fired on the spot and possibly arrested for theft.

[Omphaloskepsis]

12. We used to let the homeless into movies for free.

Usually about 40 or 50 per day. It's the PNW. 10 months out of the year it is cold and wet. We would let them come in and watch movies/sleep all day. Nobody else was there. The manager was cool with it. We also had deals with the people in the food court at the mall, they always got free movies and we got free food. I could bring back a couple of pizzas and bags of sandwiches from Arby's and McDonald's. We would go hand them out to people. I guess we ran a homeless shelter with Dolby Digital, SDDS, and DTS.

[driver8]

19. That is awesome...

Sounds like you had a cool manager, too. I'll bet the people you helped really appreciated your kindness. Spending days and nights outside in the PNW can't be that much fun.

[begin_within]

22. Remind her the Bible says, "Whatsoever you do to the least of my brothers,

...that you do unto me."
If she's non-Christian, of course, that quote won't apply, but you will have to guess what country she is from and if that country is predominantly Christian or not.

[noonwitch]

24. If I had been in line behind him, I would have just paid for his refill

It wouldn't be the first time I've paid for someone at a restaurant, and it wouldn't be the last. It's no skin off my back to pay a buck or two extra for a hungry person to eat.

[NewWaveChick1981]

25. Same here.

I've done that numerous times. :) Once, there was an elderly man in line in front of me at Arby's who ordered a roast beef and small coffee. He ended up being about a dollar short, and he told the cashier to cancel his order. It was obvious that he was hungry, and the cashier rolled her eyes when he told her to cancel. I said, "This is on me." I paid for his order, and he looked stunned. He started crying and thanking me, and he said he had not had anything to eat since breakfast the day before. I smiled and said, "No problem." He sat down and ate his meal, and my order was to go. I ordered two extra sandwiches and had the cashier put them in a separate bag, and I gave them to the guy on the way out. He was incredibly appreciative. :)

I didn't do any of that for praise---I saw a hungry person who needed help. :)

[datasuspect]

26. how do you determine immigration status by someone's accent?

and why is this important?

what if she was black? white? pink? martian? aleut? eskimo?

something is stinky about this post.

[La Lioness Priyanka]

27. ok not to stereotype immigrants but if we just take

socio-economics into account...she is probably scared to death of losing her job...she is probably fairly unaware of how close we all are to being homeless (the myth that only drug addiction and laziness lead to homelessness)...she probably thinks this is all his fault anyway...

i think it takes some education (it doesnt have to come from formal education but atleast from reading about sociopolitics) that makes people liberal ...and often poor immigrants lack this sort of education...

[calico1]

28. I am also Hispanic

I know for a fact that many Hispanic/Latinos who are born here have accents. I am not sure why but they do and have lived here all their lives. I went to school with several of them and have worked with several over the years. So having an accent does not necessarily mean you are an immigrant.

[datasuspect]

29. i second that emotion

and rank and file service industry workers are not "empowered" to make decisions about "donating" company "product" to "anyone." a company like wendy's consider that "pilferage" or "theft."

[calico1]

30. So true!

I worked in retail for a number of years. I had zilch power to make any decisions. I remember having a friend who worked in the Food Court at Mrs. Field's. She told me once that the managers had a way to measure how much dough was used and compared it to sales and they could tell if it wasn't matching up. This was to let them know if the sales people were either stealing them or giving any away. Unless you own your own business you do not have the power to give stuff away. Or make any managment decisions for that matter.

[Deja Q]

32. She was playing by the rules.

And one doesn't need to be an immigrant to do that. (indeed, why can't people go to other countries to improve those countries? Why can't people improve their own countries? Indeed, who doesn't know of JFK's famous speech?)

[Haole Girl]

33. That is disappointing, indeed

I didn't read the other posts yet, but I would write corporate about it...they need to know. People never cease to amaze, and unfortunately, disappoint me.

[datasuspect]

34. i am completely anti-corporate

but are you suggesting complaining to a corporation for one of their employees refusing to give away free salable product?

it doesn't matter who asks for it, there is NOT one single service industry type company that would permit its employees to GIVE AWAY product for free.

people get fired for this.

i'm not condoning maltreatment of poor hungry people and i have done fast food hustling in the past when i had no money, but these are businesses, they would more than likely send your letter to their PR dept. and they would send you a glossy brochure entitled "how wendy's partners with the community" or something like that.

[youthere]

35. You did a nice thing.

I'm glad you paid for his refill. I get the "rules" and that people can lose their jobs for giving the stuff away. It sucks that we live in a society that would throw resources away rather than use them for people's benefit.
When I was in college I worked at a convenience store at night. I usually worked with this lady who was supporting herself and her kids from that job. At closing time if there was any pizza or hot dogs or anything left in the warmers she would mark it on the sheets for garbage and then take it home to her kids. Mind you, this was AFTER closing-the stuff was NOT going to sell, it was just going in the dumpster. The manager found out and she was reprimanded and told she had to pay for it-for half price. I understand that if they just turned a blind eye that the situation could be taken advantage of-but she was a decent lady, a good honest employee who was struggling. I don't think her kids were starving by any means, but I think the little bit she was able to bring home helped a bit.
It's just silly.
It almost reminds you of the whole stem-cell debacle, doesn't it?

[KamaAina]

36. Remember, if you give someone a cup of chili, the terraists win

:sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm:

[SOteric]

37. I'm glad you stepped in to pay for the chili and thank you for that.

But you are quite mistaken to believe that any fast food restaurant would throw out their chili at the end of the night. Most of them reheat it to the required 165ºF and build the next days batch over the top. All franchise operations are responsible to a corporation for sales and food losses. If the losses are too high, the corporation will lay off people or close the franchise. I know you're warming up an argument about how a cup of chili isn't going to close a restaurant, - but I'm probably better acquainted with the real financial impact of overportioning, waste and loss in a restaurant than are you and I assure you it's not out of the question. Usually there is a pattern of loss and the 'free food' becomes an issue.

What about the potential that the homeless person would come back to that franchise again every night looking for a handout rather than stopping into a soup kitchen or community program? What if they bring friends? At what point does it become too great a burden on a small business just trying to turn a profit?

Our community has a program that takes leftover, discard and wasted product from local restaurants determined donations and uses it to feed the hungry from the back of a truck at prominent downtown locations. It is entirely donation-based and volunteer staffed. I've worked with them off an on. Many other communities have similar programs. It shouldn't be necessary to ask a small businessman whose struggling franchise is going to have to pay for his kid's orthodontia and Christmas presents to underwrite the homeless no matter how worthy a cause they are. And god bless them if they do so anyway voluntarily.

[Patiod]

38. God's Love We Deliver

It's the name of an organization in NY that feeds AIDS patients, but it also sums up my religious philosophy. There are not "angels" or "devils" and God doesn't swing his long grey beard and point his finger and miracles happen. WE are responsible for delivering God's goodness (or Satan's evil). Works no matter if you call God Yahweh, Jesus, Allah, Buddha, Mother Earth, Goddess, whatever.

It's up to us to buy that chili.