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Gas station cashier- right to refuse service? (USA resident)
So I've been a cashier at a certain major chain of gas stations for about 3-4 months now, and at our particular location, there has been non-stop drama, resulting in 3 people quitting and 2 people getting fired. Needless to say, it's been a stressful few months. I had been doing a great job not being involved in all the drama for a while, until I got dragged into this particular scenario.
A couple months after I was hired in, my coworker Sam (or so we'll call him) joined us at our station. He was a hard worker, and we got along great. We joked around with our similarly sarcastic humor. But it started to all go downhill. You see, I started to take notice of his shifting moods. One moment we'd be laughing, and 20 minutes later he'd be short with me. He seemed to have a hard time leaving his personal life out of his work life. For instance, he informed us one night that his brother was missing "again", and from there he was, to put it bluntly, a dick all night.
We had a heart-to-heart one night, and discovered we had a lot of the same issues in life, and we bonded. But of course the next day, he came in scowling. When he's in a bad mood, he pulls stuff like punching out for breaks and not telling us, going off to work on the cooler for an hour and a half straight, snapping at us, just being generally rude. He got into a lot of drama with our coworkers, he kept calling managers and tattling when it wasn't necessary. It got hard for me to keep up with his mood swings, so I began distancing myself a little. Just because we're friends, doesn't mean you get to disrespect me.
One day his mood was particularly foul, and I'd had enough. So I remained professional, but short in our encounters. Then I was with a customer, when I heard him punching-out. He headed for the door, and I asked "... Are you taking your lunch?" "Yup," he responded. "You know Sam, it'd be nice to know that." He then snapped "ASHLEY. I'M TAKING MY LUNCH."
Obviously I was peeved, but I calmed down by the time he came back. He then was back to relying on me with questions about how to do our job (which he did A LOT).
There then was a bit of a sketchy situation going on. A DRUGGED UP lady was ditched by her drug dealer boyfriend and was using our phone. Sam informed me (this time!) that he was taking his break. I asked if he could stay here, and not leave (go to his car, etc.), that I didn't feel comfortable being by myself in this situation. He shot me this overly-perplexed look and said "I'm just taking my break Ashley, I'm not going anywhere," in a harsh tone. I couldn't take it anymore. "Sam, I'm not yelling at you, I'm just asking. No need to raise your voice."
"Raise my voice? RAISE MY VOICE? YOU WANT RAISE MY VOICE?!!?" He then gets a foot away from my face and screams, so loud that my ears were vibrating and hurting, about how he's sick of my shit, how he's sick of everyone and sick of this whole station. I said please stop, and that I'd call a manager if he didn't. "GO AHEAD AND DO THAT ASHLEY. GOD I NEED A NEW JOB." He called his girlfriend, starting yelling at her about it and he punched out. Luckily it was 8:30p and another coworker was punching in, because I needed to go in the back room and sob. I felt like I was going to get decked in the face. Mind you I've never gotten in any fights or screaming matches. I'm a nice person, not to mention I'm a woman, and he's a man. I couldn't stop crying. My coworker got worried and called for a manager to come and talk to me. The guy wrote down my story, Sam's story, and left. I had to leave early because Sam refused.
I was going to quit for fear they wouldn't do anything about it (it's happened with previous drama mentioned), but I heard he'd been fired, so I came back. Last week he sent his girlfriend in to buy stuff for him (I recognized her and his car), but last night he came in. As soon as I saw him I went to the back room and asked my coworker washing dishes to handle him for me. As I left he yelled "Good bye Ashley!" and he told my coworker "Tell Ashley Sam says hi," and left.
He was obviously doing it maliciously. I'm afraid of what he'll do next. He doesn't have a job yet, so he can just come in anytime he wants a power trip. And I really don't give a shit how he gets his entertainment, I just can't put up with feeling like I'm going to get screamed at, hit, or like I can't go out to my car every time he comes in.
My question is, do I have the right to say "The other cashier will service you, otherwise please leave," or something along those lines? I feel small and unsafe when he comes in. I'm afraid he'd going to catch me when my coworker is on break so I have to confront him. I want to talk to my manager about it, but I'm afraid she'll say "Tough." I guess I just want to know what my rights are? I can't service him, I just can't. I'm prepared to quit over it.
Pleeeaase help, this whole thing is so unfair and unwarranted, it just hurts.
Thanks, and sorry for my lengthy question.
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You need to speak to your boss. Even if she does say "Tough". An important part of protecting yourself is informing her that this problem is ongoing.
Honestly, if your boss is smart, she wont say "Tough" because if she does, she is just contributed to an unsafe workplace for you. She might be smart enough to know that forcing someone to offer service to a fired employee who threatened them leaves her in a legally risky position.
Here's the important thing tho: You can refuse service. You don't need a sign up. You can just do it. It wont be criminal - if you had to call the police (just as an example) they would back you up - but you could also be fired for doing so.
Which is why it's so important to talk your boss.
No public business can deny service to someone because of his or her race, color, religion, national origin or disability (and in some states, sexual orientation). That is discrimination.
A business can refuse service if their reason is based on customer behavior or the health and safety of patrons and employees.
But because you are employee, if you personally deny service, your employer doesn't necessarily to back you. They have the right to make the decision, but you don't necessarily have a personal right to make that call. They could fire you for it.
You do have the right to a safe workplace, free from harassment from both customers and staff, but if they fired you, you'd have to fight them on that in court, and that is almost certainly not worth it.
So, what you really need to do, if you don't want to up and quit, is talk to your boss about what happens the next time he comes in, and tell her clearly that you feel unsafe having to serve him. Together, you need a plan to address your legitimate concerns about his behavior and possible harassment, and you need to know what your situation is.
If you don't like your bosses answers or her plan, then you should definitely quit.
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I have worked at & even managed such a place. You can refuse to serve him If there is a sign on the store or inside the store where all can see it. It should say something like, We have the right to refuse service to anyone. No going to court necessary unless you feel he might cause you harm.
The thing is that you need to go to the manager. Tell him/her the situation. The main reason being he needs to be kept out of the store on all shifts, not just yours. Nobody in the store should be helping him. Chain gas stations are everywhere & he can easily go elsewhere.
If there is not a sign in the store ask the manager why. There should be one.
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Your manager needs to know whats going on...its her responsibility for the store, the owner probably too.
When the actions of a person make employees or other customers feel unsafe, it becomes more than just a clash of personalities and becomes a serious matter....serious enough for a manager to tell the person that they are not welcome there any longer. I work in a fast food place in an area known for lots of lower income elderly, homeless people and drug addicts. We have rules in the fast food place that customers must comply with and if they don't, the manager can refuse service, but no, that doesn't fall to the employee to be able to do. If you feel threatened enough by his behavior, you might just go the route already suggested by contacting police and asking them what you can do if you haven't been assaulted or battered but fear it happening and mention where you work and how theres only one other person on staff and you are very vulnerable in that position. Getting a court order to keep him far away from you where ever you may be, might be possible but I would ask a lawyer, or the police.
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Short answer is; No I do not think you can refuse him service unless he is doing something, at that time, to warrant that refusal
What you can do is go to the district court and ask for an order of protection from him. If your fear of him is justified. The court will issue an order of protection ordering him to stay a certain distance from you at all times. This would mean he would have to stay away from your place of business, your home and anyplace else you might be or risk being arrested and going to jail. These orders of protection usually last for a period of one year.
The best chance of getting an order of protection is to have a lawyer draw up the order and accompany you to court. If you cannot afford one you can have one appointed for you. Speak to the Clerk of the Court at the District Court House.
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