Wal-Mart Apologizes To Black Man For Bad Check Accusation

Tis the season!!!

On the bright side, at least they didn't strap him to a gurney.

TAMPA (AP)--Wal-Mart has apologized to a black man who was accused of trying to pass a bad check as he was buying thousands of dollars in holiday gift cards to distribute to his company's employees.

Employees of a Wal-Mart Supercenter called deputies last week to apprehend Reginald Pitts after he handed over a $13,600 check to pay for 520 gift cards that were to be given to employees at GAF Materials Corp., a roofing materials manufacturer where Pitts is a human resources manager.

The company, which had $1.6 billion in revenue last year, had been spending about $50,000 a year on Wal-Mart gift cards and never had a problem when it sent a white employee to pick them up.

"I keep going over and over the incident in my mind," Pitts told the St. Petersburg Times. "I cannot come up with any possible reason why I was treated like this except that I am black."

http://aolsvc.news.aol.com/business/article.adp?id=20051202174009990043&cid=1223

:wtf:

Just a guess. I mean $25 seems like a nice round number for a gift card.

What are these cards made out of? Gold?

Doh!

:rofl:

I can see why you were confused :P

That would be a hell of a lot for "Have a Merry Christmas" :spray:

With gift cards, you make your money on the float--deposit the money in an interest-bearing bank account and wait till the recipient uses it. As far as I know, no one charges a fee for them.

The best part is that Wal-Mart actually believes GAF would pass a bad check. GAF is a well-managed company.

I live in Tampa and someone I know got a $20 gift card for Christmas.GAF makes shingles so they are doing well with all the hurricanes.They should have given a Home Depot gift card so they could all go and buy a bundle of GAF shingles.

As a kid I would go to the Gasparilla Day parade,back then only white people could be pirates.The pirates shot blanks with their handguns and I saw them put their barrels near the ears of black kids,even as a kid I could see the treatment black people received.

I worked at a used car lot during college and we had a black salesman for black customers,a hispanic salesman for hispanics,they would profile the customer and send out the matching salesman,the customer base was diverse but the policy did not vary.

At Disney World I see more Japanese nationals than black people,one guy had an ice cream melting down his arm as he waited for some white people to get their napkins,I grabbed a handful and gave him some which made him smile.On a side note I see few kids now at the toy gun racks,you could hear the constant clicking,now it is mostly silent.

penny at Wal-Mart.

:)

Wal-Mart should do a lot more than apologize for this.

"After the incident, Pitts' company decided to buy its gift cards from Target ( TGT) instead."

Good idea. I think that GAF has made a permanent switch.

And, this kind of crap certainly cements it further. I certainly hope this firm cancelled the order, and that this guy sues.

http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/sptimes/936210591.html?MAC=fc5b8342c4c3c4d29339098dd8764c39&did=936210591&FMT=FT&FMTS=FT&date=Dec+2%2C+2005&author=MARK+ALBRIGHT&pub=St.+Petersburg+Times&printformat=&desc=Racial+profiling+feared+at+Wal-Mart



GAF Materials Corp. is handing out gift cards from Target as a reward to select employees this holiday season. That's because Wal- Mart, the discount store that held the business for years, last week called sheriff's deputies to apprehend a GAF manager on a bogus bad check rap while he was trying to buy this year's gift card supply.

"I keep going over and over the incident in my mind," said Reginald Pitts, the 34-year-old human resources manager for the roof material manufacturer's Tampa distribution center. "I cannot come up with any possible reason why I was treated like this except that I am black."

Wal-Mart has launched its own internal investigation of the incident, which store officials concede upfront "was handled very poorly."

"We've apologized to Mr. Pitts and are trying to find out exactly what happened so it does not happen again," said Sharon Weber, spokeswoman for the chain, based in Bentonville, Ark. "We do not tolerate racial discrimination or racial profiling at Wal-Mart."

"Hey, dont think were racists because we attempted to falsely imprison a black man for buying something here! Really! We're sorry, we never even realized you guys still existed!"
"yeah, well, next time do a little research."
"i'll have the roast duck with mango salsa"
"I'm not very hungry right now".

:)

LOVE that commercial.

Seriously, I'd bet these idiots would have gotten the DEA involved had he brought cash to pay for it!

:rofl:

"Shopping while black" has been an issue as long as "DWB' has been...

have family and friends to tell the story to as well. Walmart shot themselves in the foot in that community for sure. Glad they did but I feel regret for their actions for Mr. Pitts. I would sue if I were him. That is clearly a case of discrimination and a violation of his civil rights.

most people go into a store with a gift card spend more than the face value of the gift card. Target did well.

that mentions there was never a problem when a white employee was sent - I would have assumed that the employees at Walmart had not been able to grasp the idea of an employer doing anything extra for employess.

I just can't believe this is still happening. Fuck Wal Mart! :mad:

Stupid redneck buffoons.

Something similar happened to a friend of mine; she was hispanic and at an Albertson's in Oregon. They actually called her a "wetback." Her anglo husband stormed the store after she left shaken and humiliated....they never apologized.

"We probably could have handled it better, but I won't know until we complete the investigation," Wal-Mart spokeswoman Sharon Weber said Friday.

<snip>

Later, two Hillsborough County sheriff's deputies appeared. One grabbed Pitts by the arm. He objected to the rough handling and asked if he was being arrested.

"We need to talk with you about this forged check that you brought in here," Pitts recalled one deputy saying. The deputy said later Wal-Mart had called and reported that Pitts had committed a felony.

but i was wondering why GAF didn't arrange this over the phone. seems weird to have someone go into a walmart with a check and buy that many cards. seems like an arrangement better handled by the purchasing dept. or accounts payable.

arrange to have the cards ready when he got there.

that's even more laughable.

...when he objected to the rough handling.

of Wal-Mart to apologize for sicking the cops on some one for no good reason.

Store manager fired amid firestorm
Wal-Mart cites "poor judgment" after deputies were called on a black customer trying to buy gift cards.
By MARK ALBRIGHT, Times Staff Writer
Published December 13, 2005

BRANDON - Wal-Mart Stores Inc. has fired the manager of a supercenter here for "poor judgment" after he called sheriff's deputies to apprehend a black manager of a business whose $13,600 company check could not be verified.

The decision came after a two-week internal investigation concluded the store manager violated Wal-Mart's procedures but found no evidence of racial discrimination.

The store manager, Mark Cornett, could not be reached for comment at his home. Company officials said another, unnamed member of the management team at the 11110 Causeway Blvd. store also will be disciplined, but declined to say more.

And all Wal-Mart store managers in the Tampa area will get racial sensitivity training next month, although it had been previously scheduled.

MORE>>> http://www.sptimes.com/2005/12/13/Business/Store_manager_fired_a.shtml

Oh, please -- if it looks like a duck, walks like a duck, etc., etc. If there was no evidence of racial discrimination, then howcome Mall-Wart is sending their managers to sensitivity training?

I'm :mad: and it didn't even happen to me!

Several years ago, against my better instincts, a black friend and I decided to chance to local mega-mall during the holiday season. This mall is in an upscale, predominately white suburb. I knew we were in for an interesting afternoon the moment I parked the car and the stares almost started immediately. It was like most of these people had never seen a black man before...or if they did, it was with some kind of fear or suspicion. As we walked through the mall, the stares and looks were constant and very telling. Most were of a suspicious/curious nature...like he was some kind of side show attraction...however others were definitely of the "don't come near" variety...especially when we went past security guards. I felt strange...not saying anything to my friend until we got back to the car.

I asked him if he felt strange with all those stares and glances. He said it happens all the time...and this was pretty sedate compared to things he's experienced. He still encounters areas where he is sure to get pulled over by a local cop since he drive a nice car (and "those people don't drive those kind of cars") or being singled out for bag or other searches. He calls it "a black man in a white man's world"...the silent racism that replaced the covert variety.

ND has a big problem with racism towards Native Americans - very similar to what you're describing.

thing, it happens all the time, it's the computer age. There's always problems.
He probably had no chance of getting and explanation give his looks though.