I dont care what the woman's financial history is. Know how to phrase your questions or you create a liability. I work in HR and what I hate are stupid employees that create problems like this saying more than they need to.
While I feel the cashier shouldn't have asked the question to begin with (had it been me, I would have just patiently waited in silence), I do think it's an overreaction on the customer's part. The reality is, there are people out there that will jump on any potential opportunity to file a lawsuit with the goal of monetary compensation in mind. There are very real acts of racism and injustice committed every day against people... people of all races, gender, religion and so on. To make a big deal of something like this demeans the real struggles people face and actually works against her and the cause that she may (or may not) believe in.
When working in retail, or just any job in general, being tactful is very important because you never know when a customer or person you are dealing with will latch on to something you say and try to use it against you for personal gain.
I had to think about this before responding. Although your title was eye catching, it is a bit inappropriate since you work in retail. As an employee in retail we are not allowed to judge people for their appearance or personality. There are people who get'link' that work. There are people who get 'link' that have debit cards as well. I personally don't get the 'link' card, but I do have friends and family members who rely on it. If it were me standing in line behind that person I would've have probably went to management for them, and would've told the cashier I'm taking my business else where. If I were that person, I probably would've stopped reaching in my wallet for my card, looked at the cashier and said "You know what, I would like to speak to your manager, and you can take the time to remove all these items and put them back. I'm taking my business else where and will not return.
I guess I don't see how it's racist, because i see plenty of white people using food stamps all the time. In fact, my own family has had to use food stamps. Asking if someone is going to use their EBT card is not racist. Maybe she could have worded it better, but i'm sure she was just asking if the card was debit or ebt. it's really not a big deal at all. Especially when the stores have signs advertising, buy cold deli food with your EBT. They're obviously pushing for those EBT sales already.
Personally I feel like this lady is just looking for a quick buck, and I wouldn't be surprised at all if her outrage is fake and she really HAS been on EBT in the past. Not because of her race but because of her attitude.
Go to the post about Safeway/Albertson posted yesterday. This woman has filed for bankruptcy, and filed a racial claim against her landlord who evicted her last year for failure to pay rent. She is a POS
Read the Safeway post posted earlier. She has filed for Bankruptcy, sued her landlord for race discrimination after being evicted for not paying rent. Google her name
The landlord issue was not known to the cashier though...so how is it relevant? She lives in orange county which is a beachy, surfer white rich county. The question would have been odd and shocking to her to hear. Besides that, my dad had an accounting business go belly up when i was a kid. He filed bankruptcy to protect what he had and bounced back. So what.
