Retail Hell Underground

Hero Teacher's Video of the Moore Tornado - During and After

This video is frightening and heart-wrenching. It is not for everyone. If you are even slightly disturbed by disaster footage DO NOT WATCH THIS.

A Snippet Of Dear Abby, And An Invitation To Fellow RHUers

I love reading Dear Abby but this is right up the RHU alley:

--Little Slave from the Big Northwoods

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Dear Abby: I have been in the workplace for 20 years. During that time I have witnessed lying, cheating, lechery, betrayal, vicious gossip, arrogance, entitlement, stealing and bullying, etc.

Last week, a co-worker whom I liked and respected confided to me that she hopes a 102-year-old relative will die soon because she needs to inherit some money. I was floored and had a hard time keeping the shock off my face.

Does work bring out the worst in people? Is it because we all must be here every day? Is it too many people competing for too few resources? Is my hide too thin? Am I in the wrong job?

— THE DAILY GRIND

DEAR DAILY GRIND: When you spend eight hours a day with people, they usually reveal their core values at some point. In your case, you appear to work with someone who “over-shares.” I don’t think your hide is too thin, and I’m not in a position to tell you if you’re in the wrong job. You may, however, be overdue for a vacation.

P.S. Let’s cross our fingers and hope that relative makes it to 110.

via www.suntimes.com

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So RHU, let's hear from you. Have you ever been horrified, stunned or shocked senseless by a co-worker who overshares something incredibly cruel, inappropriate or immoral about themselves? Please share, I'm sure many of us can be reminded of instances just by reading one another's stories.

--Ilia

Custy Sues McDonalds Claiming a Chicken Sandwich with Glass Ruined Her Voice

Huff Po: A gospel singer has sued McDonald's, claiming her voice was ruined after she bit into a piece of glass while eating a chicken sandwich from the fast food chain, according to the New York Post.

A lawsuit filed Friday by Jacqueline Simpson, a 52-year-old clerk from Brooklyn, N.Y., says the sandwich with the glass inside came from a McDonald’s near the World Trade Center in May 2010. The Post writes that Simpson alleges in the documents her voice has since been "hoarse" and "rattly," and she can no longer sing soprano. She also claims people have mistaken her for a man on the phone, per the Post.

Paul Goodman, owner and operator of multiple McDonald's restaurants in Manhattan, told The Huffington Post in an emailed statement on Tuesday that he plans to look into the incident.

“Rest assured I take these matters very seriously," he said. "Providing safe food and beverages is a top priority at my restaurant. Upon learning about this claim, I took immediate action to gather the facts and began an investigation into the matter. As this is a pending legal matter, it would [be] inappropriate to comment further.”

McDonald's has faced other troubling incidents recently.

In March, Anishi Spencer sued the hamburger chain after she claimed her two sons -- ages 3 and 2 -- found a used condom on the PlayPlace area's floor at a Chicago McDonald's. Later, one of her sons reportedly coughed up a piece of the condom and both needed medical treatment, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. Spencer accused the franchise of failing to clean hazardous debris from an area used by children.

Oklahoma native Katherine Ashowo claims she bit into a razor-sharp piece of plastic baked into a McDonald's chocolate chip cookie. The plastic cut her tongue and drew blood before she could spit it out, Oklahoma's News 9 reported. She asked for an apology from McDonald's but had no plans to file a lawsuit at the time of the incident.

via www.huffingtonpost.com

Amazing Zoetrope at Australian Chocolate Factory

From a display at The Phillip Island Chocolate Factory in Melbourne, Australia. 

 

 

 

Albertsons Employees Honored For Rescuing Boy From Rape Attempt

Back in September, I reported that some grocery store slaves in Burien WA saved an 11 year boy from an attempted rape when he went to the store bathroom.

This past Monday the Burien Police Department recognized the bravery of the employees that came to the boys aid.

--Heidi

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BURIEN, Wash. -- Citizen heroes were honored Monday for saving a little boy last September from an attempted rape suspect at a grocery store in Burien.

Police say the child did the right thing by screaming and yelling, and what the Albertsons store employees did next earned them high honors.

Teasha Ward and Terry Carlson rushed into a bathroom when they heard a boy screaming, then ran to get help.

Police say Andrew Dempsey had the 11-year-old boy in a headlock and tried to rape him in the bathroom.

In all, seven employees jumped into action that day -- they didn't hesitate to confront Dempsey and tackled him when he tried to flee, police said.

"They got this guy, they tackled this guy, and they held him until police arrived a short later and he's still in jail," said Burien Police Chief Steve Kimerer.

Employees did everything right from comforting the boy to communicating with police and holding down the suspect. And for their selfless actions, Kimerer recognized the employees-- represented by the store manager -- with the King County Sheriff's Meritorious Service award.

"I am honored and humbled by the actions these people took," Kimerer said. "And behalf of Burien, we want to thank you very much."

Teasha's mom still can't believe what her daughter did to earn the honors.

"She told me she was grabbing at him and chasing him and stuff," said Tonya Ward. "But it's hard to imagine her being so tiny, so to see video it was wow, it was amazing what she did to save a little boy."

How an ordinary day turned on a dime, and good people stepped in and saved it.

"This could've happened anywhere," Kimerer said.

Dempsey remains behind bars on $1 million bail. His trial is scheduled to begin next month in Kent.

via www.komonews.com

Blaze Consumes Eddie's Northside in Aberdeen

Normally, I don't share stuff about local businesses, but this just happened Monday morning. Yes, the employees got out safely and no one was hurt. The future of the business is unknown at this point.

I never worked there, but have been to the business over the years. I got a glimpse at the front of the building, the windows were missing and the place was charred. Its scary to look at it now and it was raining during the entire fire.

So it does make you wonder which you value more: your life or your job?

--The Dukenator

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An Aberdeen service station and garage that had been filling fuel tanks for more than four decades was destroyed by fire Monday.

Three employees working at Eddie's Northside Sinclair tried to put the flames out with fire extinguishers, but the blaze spread too quickly, said Matthew Tutor, a mechanic who was working when the fire started about 10:30 a.m. He said all three workers escaped quickly.

No one was injured.

By day's end, the garage was gone, either destroyed by flames or firefighters who knocked down walls to put out the fire. The portion of the business connected to the garage's north side remained, but was badly damaged and had been boarded up as of 7:30 p.m.

The well-known station had, through the years, added towing and vehicle repair services. Eddie's, 208 N. Second St., was opened in 1969 by Eddie Weber. It's now owned by his son, Randy Weber, of Aberdeen.

Kevin VanMeter, Aberdeen fire chief, said he remembered Eddie's from his childhood. Everyone knew where the station was without needing an address, he said.

Chris Lund, a mechanic at Eddie's, said Monday evening that Randy Weber's initial thoughts were to rebuild the station.

Tutor said he was installing a new fuel pump in a truck when the fire started. He said that as he was working, an air jack lost pressure and the truck's fuel tank fell. As it did, it hit a shop light and ignited the fire, he said.

The truck's two fuel tanks and oil barrels in the garage exploded after the fire started, Tutor said.

He said the fire did not spread to fuel pumps in front of Eddie's.

VanMeter said the fire gained intensity quickly because there was so much combustible material — tires, fuel, oil and chemicals — in the garage. And, VanMeter said, the fuel in the truck acted as an accelerant.

By the time firefighters arrived, many of the tires in the garage were burning, he said.

Eventually, the roof of the garage caved in, making it difficult for firefighters to put out the flames, VanMeter said. They used a backhoe to knock down the east, west and south walls of the garage to get the flames out, he said.

He said no firefighters were injured while battling the blaze.

Firefighters were on the scene until 5:30 p.m. or so, said Randy Meister, battalion commander. Flames within the business burned well into the afternoon, he said.

While there was initial concern that the fire would spread to the pumps, it waned as the bulk of the flames were knocked down quickly, Meister said.

He said firefighters used foam that helped extinguish the fire, combatting the combustible materials.

NorthWestern Energy was called to the scene twice, first to shut off the power and gas and the second time to disconnect a gas line meter in the alley east of Eddie's, Meister said. He said that had to be done because the back wall of the building was going to fall over.

About 6 p.m., firefighters turned the scene over to Weber and his employees, Meister said.

The fire gave off so much smoke that North Second Street, including the overpass, had to be closed for about four hours. At times, the building couldn't be seen because of smoke that rolled out of Eddie's. The overpass and street were opened about 2:30 p.m. With the overpass closed during the lunch hour, some motorists encountered heavy traffic as they sought other routes.

Sometimes, motorists would slow down to look at the site or take pictures, Meister said. That was dangerous for drivers, he said, but not fire officials on the scene.

via www.aberdeennews.com

Unique Coca-Cola Vending Machines Bring The People of India and Pakistan Together

 

Heroic Moore Teachers: Trenda Purcell and Jancie Brim Save Childrens Lives During Tornado

Many of the teachers were heroes during the Moore tornado. Trenda Purcell and her teacher's aide created a music came to help calm the children calm their nerves as the storm approached. You can feel the woman's passion, strength, and bravery.

Jancie Brim directed her kids into a closet and bathrooms, most definitely saving all of their lives. Our thoughts and prayers are with everyone in Moore, Okalahoma.

The Top 20 Companies With The Most Low-Wage Workers

From Business Insider: During the State of the Union address President Barack Obama indicated that he hoped to raise the federal minimum wage to $9.00 from its current stance of $7.25.

As it stands, the only state in the U.S. with a minimum wage higher than $9.00 is Washington.

Were the increase to go through, every other state in the nation will have to adapt. 

Already people have come out to label the program a job killer, and the companies that will be impacted most should the policy become law will be the companies that employ a large quantity of low-income workers making at or slightly above the federal minimum wage. 

The National Employment Law Project studies industries and identifies companies where employees have low wages. In July 2012 the group released a study listing the largest U.S. companies that primarily have low-wage employees. 

Note that there's no hard numbers on how many of these companies workers are making the exact minimum wage. And the column of the US Workforce refers to all of these companies' US workers, not just their workers making a low wage.

 

via www.businessinsider.com

Beard Advertising?

Ke$ha and I share the same affinity for beards, but beard advertising? WTF?! Car ads are bad enough but now we have people walking around with shitty little billboards in their hair? Ridiculous.

From Failblog:

Beardvertising.

Welcome to this brave new world. Cornett-IMS, an ad agency based in Lexington, Kentucky came up with a novel idea for distributing ads around town: pay men $5 to walk around with a small advertisement card in their beards. Sounds like a joke, right? A&W doesn't think so; they've signed up as the campaign's first major business partner.

Hey, at least it's not permanent like a tattoo, right?

via failblog.cheezburger.com

Random Act of Retail Kindness: Custy Leaves $1000 Tip For Small Town Waitress So She Can Go On Dream Vacation To Italy

From Casualcynic on Tumblr:

So my mom and I have been working the same waitress job for 5-6 years now. She had been waitressing years before, but this is recently. Anyway, about… 15 minutes ago this guy she waited on left and told her to take care. Just that. Prior to this she had talked to him about Italy. Her people are from Florence, this and that, and she said she’s never been. She’s got 8 years of art education and she’s working a waitress job. It’s pretty… Sad and disappointing, I guess. Her and my father divorced 6 years ago and she hasn’t had a real job ever. Just been stuck in a small town she’s not from.

This man who we have never seen before tipped her 1000 dollars for a trip to Italy. Walked out, not another word.

…you know. Just when I start to lose faith in humanity….Hm.

via casualcynic.tumblr.com

Clever Business Card For Brazilian Cheese Shop

 

Huff Po: Business cards -- so often they're exchanged, slipped inside a wallet and promptly forgotten. We imagine that's not so with the cards for Brazilian cheese shop Bon Vivant, which hired ad agency JWT to come up with a card that cuts through the competition. And they did, literally, with a business card that doubles as a cheese grater.

According to JWT's web site, Bon Vivant customers quickly snatched up the 1,000 total cards that were made. Bon Vivant owner, Beto Rogoski, said that the store had to establish a rule that customers receiving a card had to wait two or three days before coming back and snagging another one.

Don't worry about it ruining your back pocket -- the card comes in a protective sleeve.

via www.huffingtonpost.com

 

 

Everything Has a Price, We Just Need To Bankrupt You To Find it

Well, I guess now whenever we have something nice, and a Fortune 500, Western & Southern, company wants it, prepare to be sued until you finally sell it. The Anna Louise Inn has been helping women get out of addiction and bad situations since 1909. A Fortune 500 company wanted the building for a boutique hotel, but the nonprofit would not sell.

So they waited until the building had to renovate, and raised a zoning stink and dragged the nonprofit through court until they could no longer afford the fight, and sold. By the way, THE PROPERTY NEVER WAS FOR SALE. And then the company CEO had the gall to state:

"Company CEO John Barrett has long said it was time for the women at the Anna Louise to leave the neighborhood to make way for economic development. He plans to turn the building into a boutique hotel and envisions transforming the neighborhood into a hub of activity with restaurants and bars.

"This truly is a win for everyone and will make Lytle Park a destination like no other," Barrett said in a Monday news release announcing the Anna Louise sale.

Barrett, who has repeatedly declined requests for an interview, has become a loathed figure at the Anna Louise, not only for his tireless efforts to acquire the property but also for the way he has talked about the women living there, repeatedly referring to them as recovering prostitutes and saying they just don't belong in the neighborhood."

One more way money > people's lives.

By the way, eminent domain can be used for 'economic development', as in, building a Walmart over a prized Asian market.

--ShelterDoll

Fast-Food Workers Decry Widespread Wage Theft In New York

Huff Po: Vicente de Jesus Garcia says he had a bad feeling when he arrived at a Harlem housing project three years ago to deliver a pizza. He didn't like the looks of the place, so he told the customers to meet him outside. As he waited, a group of men pulled him into the lobby, threw him to the ground, kicked him until he was black and blue, and stole $400.

On Thursday, Garcia, a Mexican immigrant and a father of seven, appeared at a rally outside a fast-food outlet in New York City to denounce the people he views as the real thieves -– not the men who took his cash in the lobby but the multinational corporation that employs him.

According to Garcia, the owner of the Papa John's franchise where Garcia worked held him accountable for the stolen money.

"I had to use my rent money to pay him back," he said through an interpreter. "It’s bad enough that it’s dangerous and I get robbed doing this job. To make me pay back the money if I want to keep my job, is an insult on top of it."

Garcia's story is just one of the more dramatic episodes highlighted in a new report from the labor campaign Fast Food Forward on the prevalence of wage theft in New York's fast-food industry. In a survey commissioned by the campaign, which advocates for higher pay for fast-food workers, 84 percent of those surveyed said that their employers engaged in practices that amount to what the group has identified as theft. Respondents described performing duties before and after clocking in, working during scheduled meal breaks, working overtime without getting paid extra for it, and, in the case of delivery workers, receiving no reimbursement for money spent on gas, bicycle helmets and other job-related necessities.

On Thursday, the New York state attorney general's office acknowledged that its investigators are looking into these practices. In an email, spokesman Damien LaVera called the report's findings "deeply troubling" and said they "shed light on potentially broad labor violations by the fast food industry."

Representatives for Papa John's and the National Restaurant Association did not immediately reply to requests for comment.

Melissa Mark-Viverito, a Democratic New York City councilwoman who represents parts of Harlem and the Bronx, was among several local leaders at the rally who framed the report as evidence of a "hidden crime wave."

"This is a crime wave that is not being engaged in by petty thieves, but by a multimillion dollar industry," she said.

The demonstration, which took place outside of a KFC on the Brooklyn-Queens border, came on the heels of a series of strikes and protests by fast-food and retail workers around the country. In November, about 200 workers affiliated with the Fast Food Forward campaign walked out of their restaurants in New York City, demanding better pay and the right to form a union.

In April, more than 400 workers participated in a second New York strike, inspiring a wave of similar actions in Chicago, St. Louis, Detroit and Milwaukee.

By law, fast-food workers must be paid at least the federal minimum wage, which is now $7.25 an hour. In recent years, these jobs have become much more common; since the official end of the economic downturn, jobs in the fast-food sector and other low-paying industries have grown nearly three times as fast as jobs with better pay.

One of the workers who spoke at the rally was Joseph Barrera, a 22-year-old employee of the KFC that loomed in the background. Barrera was the subject of a recent Huffington Post story exploring the prevalence of poverty among people who work for a living.

Although some employees at the franchise where he works end up contributing more than 40 hours a week to the company, Barrera said, the boss divides their hours among different franchises, so that he doesn't have to pay them overtime.

"They want to play games with us," Barrera said. "We're not playing games no more."

via www.huffingtonpost.com

Deer Takes a Bus Ride

 

I'm glad she was okay! Must have been very scary for her.