'We Don't Serve Cops Here' Employee Tells Officer

[left-of-center2012]

'We Don't Serve Cops Here,' West Hartford (CT) Dunkin' Donuts Employee Tells Officer

A West Hartford (CT) police officer was waiting at the back of the line in the Dunkin' Donuts at 1234 Farmington Ave. to buy a cup of coffee at the coffee franchise when one of the employees said loudly before a room of several customers,
"He didn't get the message. We don't serve cops here,"

The officer immediately left ...
... the franchise manager brought the employee outside to apologize to the officer
The employee told the policeman the statement was a joke, according to the police report.
The officer told the employee to apologize to the customers ... so the employee went inside with him and did so.
The worker offered the officer a free cup of coffee to make up for it, but he declined and said he would get one elsewhere ...

The manager apologized for her employee's behavior and notified the regional manager,
telling the officer she would handle the situation.
Dunkin' Donuts corporate office was also notified.
http://www.nbcconnecticut.com/news/local/We-Dont-Serve-Cops-Here-West-Hartford-Dunkin-Donuts-Employee-Tells-Officer-330530741.html
...................................

We live in a country where police shootings and violence are almost a daily event;
but God forbid anyone joke about refusing coffee to a cop.

[philosslayer]

1. Sounds like the cop can't take a little joking

And left in a huff. I'm not surprised.

[left-of-center2012]

4. There was a similar case a short while back

It was in another state, but the police union there organized a boycott of the business
asking all officers, families, friends and supporters to boycott the business until the employee was fired
and the business issued an official apology.

[ProudToBeBlueInRhody]

10. Sounds like he a rudely treated customer n/m

[liberal N proud]

2. Depriving a cop doughnuts

Yes there is a lot that could be said but seriously, why do people refuse to take anyone else's money on principal? You could just principal yourself out of business.

How is this different than a county clerk denying couples a marriage license?

[tularetom]

6. "How is this different than a county clerk denying couples a marriage license?"

That's a good point!

It's probably even more like the baker who refused to make a wedding cake for a same sex couple. It's not only illegal, it's very poor business.

[Cal Carpenter]

9. It is different because it is a private business, not a government office

and cops are not a protected class the way race, age, gender and, in some states, sexuality are.

[Generic Other]

11. And the business can fire the person

which seems likely.

[Cal Carpenter]

12. Yes, I never implied otherwise.

Just pointing out the very real, legal differences between the situations.

[Generic Other]

14. Sorry I didn't mean to sound like I didn't agree

That is the only real difference though, isn't it? She has to be fired by vote. I am sure that employee is much more likely to get canned. Corporate can't have that kind of rogue employee. I wish the good citizens of Kentucky would run Davis out. Recall her. Hound her into resigning for accepting pay without doing work. The oath of office thing.

Sadly, she has more power than a lowly Dunkin Donut counterperson, even though that is pretty much what she is. A county counterperson getting paid 80K. Bleck!!

[meow2u3]

18. Isn't denying donuts to a cop grounds for arrest?

Even in jest?

[liberal N proud]

23. I took doughnuts from a cop once

In Alabama.

I drove all night to make a football game and arrived at 5:30 in the morning. I pulled into an empty parking lot across from the stadium and went to sleep. The officer woke me up about 7 and offered me doughnuts. My daughter who was 15 at the time found the irony of taking doughnuts from a cop.

[Hortensis]

3. Bad "joke." Proper response from all.

[cherokeeprogressive]

5. Asshole has surely killed a few, and has undoubtedly assaulted dozens more...

Give that employee/comedian a raise for his/her fight for social justice!

Fuck the sarcasm thing. If you don't know...

[catnhatnh]

7. The employee was an asshole...

...but the cop was worse. "According to the police report"??? You see, Hartford is an actual city with real problems and limited resources. So pissyboy gets his knickers in a knot and instead of accepting an apology and a free coffee proceeds to waste valuable time he was supposed to spend protecting and serving by investigating and filing a report about how a minimum wage employee made fun of him. But you know the old saying "Blue feelings matter"...

[Generic Other]

15. Do not get in the way of a cop and his donut!!

That is NOT friendly fire you hear!!

[Lizzie Poppet]

8. "We don't serve cops here."

"That's okay...I can never finish a whole one. I'll just have the burger."

[branford]

13. Businesses generally are not rude and refuse to serve customers.

It's basic economics. The fact that this was a national franchise that often stays open very late and encourages police to frequent their stores as an additional security measure made the employee's conduct all the more egregious.

In any event, employees do not get to set store policies, as was evident by the manager's reaction.

To anyone who thinks this conduct was acceptable, change "police officer" in this story to someone else not in a protected category (e.g., race, religion, genders, etc.), such as "Democrat," "community activist," "BLM member," people with low rise, baggy pants, etc.

[sudenlyseymour]

16. I find this incident not believable

Most businesses love to have police officers as regular customers. They are, generally, very wonderful people and great to deal with.

Yes, there are far too many assholes in law enforcment. Power and ego are a bad combination.

But on the whole, the people I know in law enforcement are great people.

Yes, that is anecdotal and not statistical.

[Mariana]

17. Oh, yes, most of them exhibit exemplary behavior

toward whomever they perceive to be "good guys". Their idea of "good guys" generally includes the people behind the counters at the donut shops, the waitresses at the diners, etc. It's when they come across someone they perceive to be a "bad guy" or even a "questionable guy", that their behavior is often very, very different.

[Sam_Fields]

19. Your bias against cops is duly noted.

I had cops save my family by stopping an estranged family member from wiping out our whole family with a shotgun. So you can paint all cops as bad just like some racists try to paint other races as all bad. But that isn't true and it is not fair to cops. Yes, some cops do bad things but that doesn't mean that all cops are bad. When a cop breaks the law they should be punished for it just like all of us are.

[Maeve]

20. Had I been the manager, I would probably have sent the worker home right then

Cops as customers mean a safer business, which is part of why they used to get free coffee (Hubby used to work for a Dunkin' Donuts).
I doubt I would have fired the guy, but he would have lost the rest of the shift and learned not to make jokes at a customer's expense in front of other people. At the same time, the cop reacted badly (Dad was a cop and never would have wanted a partner with a thin skin like that).

[U4ikLefty]

21. "Donut withdrawal is not a joking matter young man!"

He stared back with a glazed look in his eyes.

[Generic Brad]

22. Some things should not be joked about

Food is one of them. Yeah. I'm going to go with that.