A shoe store employee was fired for cursing out a 14-year-old who walked into the store with a ‘Make America Great Again’ hat.
A video clip obtained by Red Nation Rising shows the mother approach the store employee with her son after the initial incident to ask the employee what happened. The store employee appears dismissive and says “I don’t have to explain anything.” He then appears to admit he said “[expletive] you” to the teen. He also tells the mother “I’m sure he’s heard it before.”
Employee of @VANS_66 in @OakParkMall told a 14 year old child “F*** You” for wearing a #MAGA hat.
Rt Make them famous
h/t @ENRGpic.twitter.com/8R4CQbeZwD
— Red Nation Rising (@RedNationRising) February 17, 2019
The employee then approaches another family member who was filming the conversation, telling him to delete the video. The mother warns him not to touch the family member as the family walks further into the store.
The mother then approaches either a manager or another employee who was working behind the register to explain what had happened.
“My son walked into the store. That gentleman first told him ‘take off your hat.’ [My son] said nothing to him. 14-year-old child. Then he said ‘F you’ to my son. My son said nothing to him and did nothing.”
The manager also appears to be somewhat dismissive, at least at first. He tells the mother, “I’m sorry guys. Just go about your business.” But the mother doesn’t relent.
“Absolutely not. I want corporate office, I want everything right now.”
The manager then provides the corporate office information along with the employee’s name. The mother continues to express her displeasure at the interaction she just had with the offending employee.
The incident happened at a Vans Off the Wall shoe store in Overland Park, Kansas. Vans has since confirmed that the employee no longer works for them.
“Our primary focus is to provide the best customer service experience. The actions and comments from one employee in our Oak Park location are in contrast with our company’s values and belief in personal expression,” Vans told The Kansas City Star in a statement.
In July, News4SA reported that a man took a ‘Make America Great Again’ hat off of a teen at a hamburger restaurant in Texas and threw a drink at him, as seen in a widely circulated video. The man left the restaurant with the 16-year-old’s hat as he verbally taunted him.
Whataburger’s corporate office later released a statement regarding the incident, which was obtained by News4SA.
“We were shocked to see this video and certainly don’t condone this type of customer behavior in our restaurants. To be clear, no Whataburger employees were involved or witnessed the incident, and we ask that questions be directed to San Antonio PD as we continue supporting their efforts.”
Police later arrested 30-year-old Kino Jimenez in connection with the crime, and charged him with Theft of Person, according to USA Today.
In May, a man wearing a MAGA hat was harassed by employees at a Miami Cheesecake Factory when he, his girlfriend, and his girlfriend’s family were seated in the restaurant. The incident took place on Mother’s Day.
Twenty-two-year-old Eugenior Joseph told Fox News that a mob of employees started to harass him and intimidate his group.
“They all started getting behind us, and one of the [workers] was saying, ‘I’ll knock the hat off his head, I’ll hit him so hard that I’ll knock his hat off,’” Joseph told Fox News. “They were clenching their fists and standing behind me, trying to scare us and stuff. I wasn’t really intimidated by anything, but … it was just sad.”
All guests should always feel welcome in our restaurants. The recent incident in one of our Miami restaurants fell short of our standards, and we apologize to the guest and his family. Two individuals are no longer employed by the company, and we are continuing to investigate. pic.twitter.com/gbrh1Ok8iC
— Cheesecake Factory (@Cheesecake) May 16, 2018
Cheesecake Factory has said that two of the employees involved were fired, although Joseph told Fox that many more than two employees were involved. He said that a whole group of employees came out of the kitchen to harass him at one point.
“I could tell my girlfriend was really uncomfortable. It was just really wrong,” he told Fox.
