Kroger manager mocks woman for using food stamps

[obamanut2012]

"One Georgia woman is on the front lines of the battle for the 47 percent.

Kroger, America's largest grocery chain, has transferred one of its store managers after customer Cindy Nerger accused the manager of mocking her for using food stamps, local news outlet 13WMAZ reports. Last week, she says, the manager told Nerger that her purchases weren’t covered by food stamps. The manager later acknowledged that food stamps covered all the items in Nergers’ cart, but reportedly went on to say, "Well excuse me that I work for a living and don't rely on food stamps like you.''

Nerger spends 12 hours a day on dialysis and has been waiting for a kidney transplant for years, according to an earlier 13WMAZ article. Her family relies on the income of her husband, who only works part time so he can care for her."

<snip>


http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/24/cindy-nerger-kroger-food-stamps_n_1911069.html?utm_hp_ref=tw


************************************************

Wonder who the Kroger Manager is voting for?

I personally think he should have been either demoted or fired, for personally and publicly mocking a customer. He also should feel lucky I didn't witness his abuse.

[skeewee08]

1. "He also should feel lucky I didn't witness his abuse"

same here....

[DCKit]

56. Me makes three. I'd have... well, use your imagination.

I detest bullies.

[treestar]

2. They are so pompous and hateful

It's enough to wish dialysis on this guy. OK maybe not that, but unemployment of the kind where he can't find a job.

[Eleanors38]

3. He should be demoted, not fired. Lest he fall victim to poverty. And foodstamps. nt

[Skidmore]

7. Perhaps it would be just the lesson in life he needs if he were to have a brush with poverty.

[Eleanors38]

20. Frankly the regional manager (if that is the organization) should make him apologize. nt

[obamanut2012]

24. Yup, and take some kind of sensitivity training

Although it probably wouldn't take.

[calimary]

52. Welcome to DU, Eleanors38! It's amazing - the cruelty! Is that really what we've become?

It's just astonishing. And DEEPLY embarrassing. THERE'S your "apology tour," mittski! Sometimes I feel the need to apologize for these jackasses once per hour!

Glad you're here. We need you.




Now get to work.

[Drale]

53. He should be demoted so far

that his family is forced to rely on foodstamps to survive.

[justice1]

57. Good idea, He would probably penalized by unemployment, if he quit after being made bag boy.

[unblock]

4. merchant mocks customer for paying for product.

terrible business sense, nevermind the politics or the social aspect.

while this manager is, excuse me, working for a living, he should be seeing customers' food stamps as MONEY THAT PAYS HIS SALARY.

[Cha]

15. Yeah, sounds like the manager is

really tired of his job. And, doesn't appreciate it. Time for a change.

[alp227]

47. Fox Boobs is NOW HIRING!

[Mopar151]

64. Exactly.

This yutz must have pull somewhere, or he'd have been transferred to the unemployment office.

[Oilwellian]

5. Dear asshole Kroger manager...

I would bet your grocery clerks qualify for food stamps. Idiot.

[cr8tvlde]

6. California now has EBT cards that look like a Visa with "swipe and pay"

Do other states still have those ugly coupon-looking Monopoly-type things? And yes, I know how it felt for a while...suddenly single, stay-at-home mom in an upscale neighborhood. I'd drive across town where people didn't know us.

[Erose999]

10. The stamps have been gone for at least a decade. Its like a debit card now that can only be used for

food purchases.

[jeff47]

29. Most states do, but the design on the card is often very distintive. (nt)

[obamanut2012]

30. It is here

It's a Visa check card with the outline of NC on it. I don't have SNAP, but I know people who do, so I know what the card looks like.

[AAO]

38. Here is one

?w=650

[awoke_in_2003]

32. In Texas they are white...

with a Texas flag on them. They are very visible.

[AAO]

39. Like this?

[awoke_in_2003]

45. Yep, that's it. nt

[TroglodyteScholar]

55. I think they're pretty unmistakable anywhere

[kooljerk666]

36. In PA it is green and sez ACCESS real big on it...........

Anyone in line can see it easy.

[Erose999]

8. I hope they don't transfer that rat basterd to Athens. I shop at Kroger. They have always treated me

well on the times I've had to use EBT.

[Walk away]

9. Soon he'll be laughing at himself on the unemployment line!

What goes around.....

[Jeff In Milwaukee]

75. Be hilarious if he was reduced to using food stamps (nt)

[deutsey]

11. "So either way we're doomed" Nerger says about Obama and Romney

Food stamps and other state assistance programs have become a hot button in the upcoming presidential election. Interestingly, Nerger states that she doesn’t have cable, and doesn’t follow politics. “They’re all gonna kill us,” she said, voicing disapproval of both candidates. “Most of the people that we have to choose from — Obama with his spending and his health care reform, and then Mitt Romney, he just wants to let poor people die, so either way we’re doomed. So I don’t see any point in voting.”


Read more at http://www.inquisitr.com/343036/woman-ridiculed-for-using-food-stamps-at-supermarket/#CfkdSL0T3PTA1kUX.99

[yardwork]

13. So she's on state-funded dialysis but she's opposed to government spending and hc reform?

Who does she think pays for her dialysis and food stamps? I don't begrudge her one dime, but it's sad to hear her criticize government spending. Faux news strikes again.

At least she's not planning to vote for Romney.

[deutsey]

18. It's like that Craig Nelson quote:

"I've been on food stamps and welfare, did anybody help me out? No."

Or those Teabaggers carrying signs demanding that the guvment stays outta their Medicare.

[Eleanors38]

22. "Keep your government hands off my Medicaire!" nt

[obamanut2012]

25. Yup

[Bandit]

23. "So I don’t see any point in voting.”

God I hope a million more Republicans feel as she does... It certainly would help our down ticket candidates....

[JI7]

50. People are fucking stupid, this is why it's so tough to pass things like single payer

and other common sense things which would make the world better for everyone.

[Enrique]

12. did he also say...

"It is not my job to worry about people who use food stamps"

[Erose999]

17. Thats exactly what he said, if you read the article, lol.

[ProfessionalLeftist]

14. WT F*cking Hell?

I shop at Kroger and I AM going to email them about this. Maybe one of us should start a petition to get his ass FIRED.

[etherealtruth]

48. I have a 16 year old son (eats twice his weight in food/day)

I probably spend 6-800 dollars a month at Kroger .... you have a good idea.

I would hope this prompts (at minimum) some sensitivity and respect training for their employees!

[sammytko]

16. She must be doing the at home dialysis - where you are hooked up while you sleep

Sad, but poor woman might not have long on this earth.

[LynneSin]

19. Dear Kroger manager - welcome to the world of Food Stamps

You're gonna need them after you're laid off of your job for stupidity and insensitivity

[47of74]

21. He's lucky I'm not manager

I would have thrown his worthless fucking ASS so far and so hard out the door he would have left skid marks when he finally hit the ground.

[patrice]

26. Apparently only the expensive JUNK covered by corporate coupons is worthy of Kroger's approval. nt

[lpbk2713]

27. Seems to me like a COMPETENT grocery store manager WOULD know what is covered.

Kroger evidently puts people in positions they are not qualified for.

Maybe he could handle cleaning their carts. Seems like every time I
go grocery shopping the carts are dirty and grimy.

[blogslut]

44. The grocery store scanners know

EBT approved purchases aren't subject to the discretion of cashiers or store managers. The system is set up so that the scanner reads the barcodes and determines what items are or are not eligible for payment by food stamps. Those items that are not covered by EBT require separate payment.

That manager had no business saying what he said to that woman.

[Honeycombe8]

60. That's exactly what happened. After the items were rung up, it showed she owed $10 for

non-covered items. The customer said she didn't owe that, that those items were covered. The mgr was called over & insisted if they rung up that way, they weren't covered. They got into an argument that no doubt progressed over one-half hour. Finally, it was determined that those items were covered (doesn't say how). After which the customer says "told you so" to the mgr, implying he was less than intelligent for not knowing and not taking her word for it, to which he retorted (no doubt in anger) "well, excuse me for workin' for a livin' and not relying on food stamps." Meaning it's automated, and since he doesn't use food stamps (and is not a deadbeat), he isn't intimately familiar with the items covered.

Horrible thing the mgr said. But I don't think it's a big deal. It was an argument. He said something bad. It happens to all of us. We haven't heard the mgr's version, but it's possible she said something she shouldn't have.

Sounds like just an argument that should be forgotten, and everyone move on.

[gateley]

28. I think Anonymous should publish his phone number and personal posts from FB

[Care Acutely]

31. Is there a phone number or numbers we should be calling?

Heartless shitbird needs to be fired and publicly humiliated.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

33. It's the arrogance from the assumptions that people of limited imagination & intelligence make

Unfortunately, too many Republicans exhibit that unimaginative, unintelligent, unempathic arrogance.

"While it's not necessarily true that all conservatives are stupid people, it is the case that most stupid people are conservative." John Stuart Mill, seen on the net.

[AlbertCat]

34. Well excuse me that I work for a living and don't rely on food stamps

Sounds like.... ENVY.

He can get fired and some horrible lingering disease, and he can take a relaxing break on food stamps too. Sounds like he wants a handout.... but he's got to qualify!

Idiot!

[Jumping John]

35. Krogers offered her a $15 gift card for the humiliation and ridicule & personal attack. n/t

[lpbk2713]

37. Kroger Mgrs are allowed to humiliate customers for $15.

That must be the going rate at Kroger's

[obamanut2012]

41. If that was $150, it might be okay

I shop at Trader Joe's and, a little, Harris Teeter, but I know folks who do shop at Kroger, and will be telling them about this.

[Care Acutely]

71. Try adding a couple 0's to that and add a pink slip for the manager

and I'd call it fair.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

40. What gets me is he feels this attitude will get him ahead in life....

....like the rich are going to admire him and ask him to join them for cigars at the club.

[img][/img]

[Starry Messenger]

43. What a brownshirt.

R/R have been fomenting hatred and resentment of the oppressed. This is going to be a scary few months.

[TroglodyteScholar]

46. I used to live within walking distance of that store and shop there regularly

Not because I wanted to, really. It's not a nice store. But Publix was too expensive, Wal-Mart was...well...Wal-Mart.

For those who don't know, Warner Robins is a right wing dystopia where if you don't work on the air Force Base (or for a defense contractor off base), your options are shitty service industry jobs (it's a right-to-work state) or unemployment.

Warner Robins is what made me happy to leave GA. Coincidentally, WR, being a rightwing haven, always had more than enough voting machines..so many that you'd never wait more than 10 minutes. Contrast that with the nearby blue Bibb county (Macon) where I would routinely wait in line for two and three hours to vote.

[alp227]

49. If voting machines are evil and rigged,

why don't cons install more in the liberal districts?

[TroglodyteScholar]

54. In places where they can't completely rig the vote...

...they can just rig the allocation of the machines.

GA was a pretty reliable state for Democrats (well, Dixiecrats, anyway) until 2002 (remember Saxby Shameless going after Max Cleland's patriotism, and juxtaposing him with Bin Laden in a campaign ad?). It's always been pretty conservative, but it wasn't always Republican conservative.

[Warpy]

51. The sack of crap manager is one job away from needing food stamps, himself

and the Kroger company needs to fire his ass right away so he finds it out sooner rather than after he's cost them too many customers.

[mick063]

58. Just let them know how I felt

In a diplomatic way. I'm not going to let the action of one man dictate my e-mail to Kroger, but i did let them know it gives me a rather dim view of his actions.

https://customer.kroger.com/comments/comments.aspx/

[Honeycombe8]

59. No no no no no. The mgr shouldn't be demoted or fired. They got into argument....

heated words were exchanged. He said something he shouldn't have in response to something she said. It happens. It was a terrible thing to say, but we've all said some bad things in a heated exchange. Besides, there are two sides to every story, and this is only one side.

I could tell you why I got divorced years ago...but I'd bet my ex has a different version. (Mine is the right one, of course.

[GReedDiamond]

61. WTF are you talking about?...

...the "argument" was that the Kroger Manager tried to deny her from using her "food stamps" for false reasons.

The asshole oughta be fired or demoted - something, anything, to discipline him into being NOT an asshole.

BTW, not being an asshole is a normal mindset and behavior pattern for most people who are not actively assholes.

[Brewinblue]

62. Wrong.

Read the article. What he said was ugly and deserves reprimand, but he did NOT try to stop her from using food stamps for false reasons. It seems it was a computer glitch that originally caused the error, and once proven as such, she was allowed to finish the purchase.

[GReedDiamond]

67. I read the article, as linked from the OP...

...this link - http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/24/cindy-nerger-kroger-food-stamps_n_1911069.html?utm_hp_ref=tw

"Read the article. What he said was ugly and deserves reprimand, but he did NOT try to stop her from using food stamps for false reasons. It seems it was a computer glitch that originally caused the error, and once proven as such, she was allowed to finish the purchase."

Nowhere in that article does it say anything about a "computer glitch."

The article says this:

Last week, she says, the manager told Nerger that her purchases weren’t covered by food stamps. The manager later acknowledged that food stamps covered all the items in Nergers’ cart, but reportedly went on to say, "Well excuse me that I work for a living and don't rely on food stamps like you.''

The article does not say what led the asshole Kroger Manager to acknowledging he was wrong, and nothing in the article justifies his demeaning, rude and insulting behavior to the customer using "food stamps."

Nowhere in the article is there any reference to a "computer glitch."

The content of the video at the link also does not mention a "computer glitch."

[obamanut2012]

73. Zero excuse for managers in an industry like this

ZERO.

And, negative zero for his saying what he did. The only people who say things like that in the heat of the moment are people who are bigots, period. Any manager who mocks and taunts their customers, and who does not know how to work around a so-called glitch, shouldn't be manager of a big-box store.

[Honeycombe8]

74. You have an opinion. I have an opinion. The food AUTOMATICALLY rings up for food stamps...

When the cashier told her she owed $10 (the scanner says), she started arguing that she didn't owe $10, that the items were covered by food stamps. She was correct, of course, being an experienced food stamp user. The manager was called, who just re-stated the obvious...that the SCANNER says the items weren't covered. Ultimately the mgr found out the items WERE covered (the articles about this don't say how they found out). That was after about a one-half hour ARGUMENT between the customer and the mgr. At the end customer says something like, "told you so...." implying the mgr didn't know about what food stamps cover, to which the mgr responded the awful comment WHY he didn't know what food stamps cover......something akin to him being a worker and not relying on food stamps.

Just an argument. Her version only. All facts not in. Mgr said something he shouldn't have after a 1/2 hour heated argument (I regard the argument as more important than the statement, actually....a mgr should never get into a one-half hour argument with a customer).

Everyone needs to move on. No big deal. Makes me wonder WHY the customer would go public and make a small incident like this public and try to get a working person in trouble. It's like my sister, a difficult person, to be sure. She once worked as a cashier at a convenience store. She was rude to a customer, according to the customer. That was probably true. But he (a suited up, good income man) takes the time to write a formal letter to the corporate office and CEO of my sister's company, complaining about her. Needless to say, she was fired. Now...WHO would go to the trouble to cost a working person his or her job because of one incident?

I repeat...what kind of person would go to the trouble of trying to cost someone his or her job over one incident? It happens. People have bad days. Sometimes things are said. Sometimes CUSTOMERS are difficult and the worker doesn't handle it well.

I stand firm in my opinion. This is no big deal.

[obamanut2012]

77. If I was his employer, I would have fired him if possible

Demoted him if not possible.

No manager in a customer service-oriented business has ANY argument with a customer, especially one that lasts 30 minutes and is filled with mocking and snideness. You don't do that. EBT is the same as someone paying cash. She was a cash customer. Period.

[GReedDiamond]

78. I read the article (not articles) which was linked to from the OP...

...nowhere in that article does it say anything you say, such as:

When the cashier told her she owed $10 (the scanner says), she started arguing that she didn't owe $10, that the items were covered by food stamps. She was correct, of course, being an experienced food stamp user. The manager was called, who just re-stated the obvious...that the SCANNER says the items weren't covered. Ultimately the mgr found out the items WERE covered (the articles about this don't say how they found out). That was after about a one-half hour ARGUMENT between the customer and the mgr. At the end customer says something like, "told you so...." implying the mgr didn't know about what food stamps cover, to which the mgr responded the awful comment WHY he didn't know what food stamps cover......something akin to him being a worker and not relying on food stamps.

You make reference to "articles" (in the plural), which you supposedly read, but you do not provide a link or links to any of them.

So, I too stand by my opinion, the manager is an asshole. Nothing you put forth in defense of the manager is in the article I read, only in your posts here.

And if such explanations were offered in these articles I haven't read, but which you have, apparently, it still does not validate the manger acting like an asshole.

I will take your advice, and move on, goodbye to you.

[Gormy Cuss]

63. Part of being a manager is dealing effectively with difficult customers.

Assuming the events are as presented, the manager losing his cool IS worthy of serious disciplinary action. If I as a manager ever said something like that to a customer I'd expect a severe penalty --at a minimum I'd expect to be knocked back down a rung on the corporate ladder. It also wouldn't surprise me if I was fired.

[Skittles]

65. bullshit

I'd be fired for saying something offensive and demeaning to a customer

[obamanut2012]

72. If that version was true, which it isn't, it would be even worse

Managers in a customer-service industry are not allowed to get into an argument and exchange heated words with a customer. Period. You get fired for that. Non-management staff do, too. Many of us at one time or another have worked in retail, food service, grocery, etc. You don't do argue with a customer. EVER.

Your version makes the manager look even WORSE.

[Raine]

66. DISGRACEFUL, if I had heard that he would gotten such a tongue lashing his ears would bleed! nt

[Incitatus]

68. That manager is an idiot

Food retail stores like Kroger make millions/billions of revenue from EBT.

[agentS]

69. Poor lady's got enough problems

Kicking people while they're down for things not their own fault (like Kidney failure) is low. Bush-league low.
This manager better shape up- I doubt Kroger's will be as forgiving if it happens again.

[ck4829]

70. "Well excuse me for needing to eat!"

[Turbineguy]

76. Oddly enough

a lot of jobs in supermarkets exist because people have food-stamps to buy groceries with. Somebody who is too stupid to realize that should not be in management.

[DonRedwood]

79. Kroger took over here and fired all the union peeps... now the stores suck

long lines, nobody knows where things arei n the store, checkers MISSING TEETH and looking sickly...

[lebkuchen]

80. The US is SO divided that even employees/employers are taking stands in their own workplace

That is truly sad for the country.