The Firing Line Forums - View Single Post - Decided to stay put in case of escalation...

KingEdward · June 24, 2009, 03:02 PM

This happened about 30 min ago on a lunch errand. Please tell me what I did wrong or what I could have done better.....I was not CCW as they have signs posted. I always carry a 3.5" blade Gerber.

Went into a Walmart neighborhood grocery. Not as big as a walmart, more like a food lion. Got a few things (carry basket) and proceeded to check out.
In line in front of me was a 5'5" slender gentleman. He was asian and appeared to be 40-50 years of age. He was checking out and the last item was a 12 pack of beer. The young female clerk said, "Sir my I please see your ID". He replied, WHAT! you don't think my son is over 18 years!

She remained calm and pulled the beer aside and said again, Sir I need to see your ID. He took a step forward putting both hands down firmly on the conveyor belt and said, my son is over 18 and I don't have to prove anything to anyone. This is crazy, you're crazy, etc. He kept rocking back and forth and I was just wondering when he was going to grab her. He also made a move like he was going to wrestle the beer away.

At this point, there was no one behind me but other 2 lines were full so I backed up about 4 feet and relaxed. In my mind, I was going to restrain or at least get between him and her if he got physical with the clerk. He left and went to his vehicle and I could see him the whole time. He came back with a green card id and threw it down on the counter. She stated that she would have to check with her manager to see if that was acceptable.

He started to go off again so I moved forward, put my basket next to the beer rather forcefully and said, "some jobs are tougher than others". He lost all expression then got quiet. She came back and rang up the beer. He mumbled crazy policy and left.

Sometimes situations like this one might cause me to question the business security tactics. Where is a manager? Who is paying attention?

There was no manager that seemed to notice but all the customers did.

In the end, no physical aggression (other than he grabbed at the beer) and no crime committed.

I'm glad he did not touch the clerk. She was a little rattled and said to me, I'm just doing my job and don't want any trouble. I replied you did fine and
did nothing wrong.

I sure thought the guy was gonna blow. I'm glad I hung around and there was another guy who was at the self checkout and he was about to come over and I believe help us out if beer man started getting physical.

As I was leaving, finally a male manager came up to her and they were chatting as I left. The beer man had already got in his honda and left.

June 24, 2009, 03:02 PM	#1
KingEdward Senior Member Join Date: April 22, 2009 Location: The Volunteer State Posts: 439	Decided to stay put in case of escalation... This happened about 30 min ago on a lunch errand. Please tell me what I did wrong or what I could have done better.....I was not CCW as they have signs posted. I always carry a 3.5" blade Gerber. Went into a Walmart neighborhood grocery. Not as big as a walmart, more like a food lion. Got a few things (carry basket) and proceeded to check out. In line in front of me was a 5'5" slender gentleman. He was asian and appeared to be 40-50 years of age. He was checking out and the last item was a 12 pack of beer. The young female clerk said, "Sir my I please see your ID". He replied, WHAT! you don't think my son is over 18 years! She remained calm and pulled the beer aside and said again, Sir I need to see your ID. He took a step forward putting both hands down firmly on the conveyor belt and said, my son is over 18 and I don't have to prove anything to anyone. This is crazy, you're crazy, etc. He kept rocking back and forth and I was just wondering when he was going to grab her. He also made a move like he was going to wrestle the beer away. At this point, there was no one behind me but other 2 lines were full so I backed up about 4 feet and relaxed. In my mind, I was going to restrain or at least get between him and her if he got physical with the clerk. He left and went to his vehicle and I could see him the whole time. He came back with a green card id and threw it down on the counter. She stated that she would have to check with her manager to see if that was acceptable. He started to go off again so I moved forward, put my basket next to the beer rather forcefully and said, "some jobs are tougher than others". He lost all expression then got quiet. She came back and rang up the beer. He mumbled crazy policy and left. Sometimes situations like this one might cause me to question the business security tactics. Where is a manager? Who is paying attention? There was no manager that seemed to notice but all the customers did. In the end, no physical aggression (other than he grabbed at the beer) and no crime committed. I'm glad he did not touch the clerk. She was a little rattled and said to me, I'm just doing my job and don't want any trouble. I replied you did fine and did nothing wrong. I sure thought the guy was gonna blow. I'm glad I hung around and there was another guy who was at the self checkout and he was about to come over and I believe help us out if beer man started getting physical. As I was leaving, finally a male manager came up to her and they were chatting as I left. The beer man had already got in his honda and left.