Jun 12, 2011

The Walgreen Compromise

Jeremy Hoven is the on-duty pharmacist at Walgreen's in Benton Township, Michigan.  It's the middle of the graveyard shift, 4:30 a.m. Two armed guys walk in.  One of them jumps over the counter and throws down on Jeremy.

Jeremy first tries to call 911, then decides this is one of those cases where the cops might not get there before the excited miscreant decides to shoot. He is legally carrying his own pistol. He pulls and shoots. The robbers run away. A handful  of customers and other employees are likely saved from unpleasantness. So is Jeremy, except for the unpleasantness of being fired for his quick thinking and, yeah, dammit, I'll use the word, courage.

The cops praised him. Benton citizens praised him. Walgreens canned him.

Walgreen's won't say whether it forbids  employees to be armed. Their flack tells reporters it's a secret but that they "discourage" it.

"Store employees receive comprehensive training on our robbery procedures and how to react and respond," (the flack) wrote. Walgreens' approach is "endorsed by law enforcement, which strongly advises against confrontation of crime suspects. Compromise is safer."

There you go, Mr. and Mrs.Thug. Official company policy says it's safe to rob your neighborhood Walgreen's.They do ask you to rob nicely, however, in a spirit of compromise.
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4 comments:

Matt said...

I believe Hoven has filed a lawsuit in this case. Let's wish him well.

Having previously worked for Walgreen's, it's all about them getting sued in the aftermath by the crooks or the crooks family. I've worked in both the retail side and the dept. that maintains the computer equipment. I've been threatened, asked to step outside to fight, ( by both customers and employees ) and have had to back up others in a show of force to prevent an attack. I've had to be out at all hours of the night repairing equipment. Walgreens refuses to allow anyone to carry a weapon and compromise has absolutely nothing to do with it.

It's allow about protecting their $$ bottom line. Employee safety be damned.

Old NFO said...

Fikkin pathetic... Deserves a raise, instead gets fired!

JohnW said...

Annnd that's why CVS is getting all my business lately.

Matt said...

Moving your business somewhere is just that, your business, and I respect that, but CVS isn't going to be any different.