There for a little while it seemed like you couldn’t turn on the news without hearing about a fast food worker refusing to serve a police officer. For a while, the problem seemed to have quietened down, rude signs went away, and no one was refused service. But, that ugly old snake seems to be raising its head again, albeit we hope for a much shorter time.
Dateline Sumiton, Alabama
It seems like two employees at a Little Caesars Pizza restaurant refused to serve one of the local police officers. Officer Ronnie Phillips of the Dora PD with 20 years in law enforcement and a Navy veteran posted his unpleasant experience on Facebook. It seems that Phillips was on his way home from work wearing his uniform and driving his official vehicle when he pulled up to the drive through window. At this point two female employees refused to take his order or his money.
Phillips posted this comment on Facebook, “My family and I have been coming here since they opened several years ago!!!! I have NEVER in my entire life done anything, don’t know that I’ve ever even seen these females before. I can assure u I will never come back to this store!!!! People tell police that we are supposed to be thick skinned and not let stuff get to us!!!! It just…… well honestly PISSES ME OFF!!!”
An Immediate Investigation
An immediate investigation was launched by Little Caesars Corporate offices resulting in the immediate termination of the two female employees in question. Jill Proctor, Little Caesars Corporate Communications Manager, told Fox News, ” Two employees did refuse service to the police officer. We don’t tolerate this. We are proud to serve those who tirelessly serve us, and we always strive to do our best.”
Little Caesars then treated the entire Dora PD to free pizza as a way to show their appreciation and support. Then they went a step further by offering free pizza to every LEO current and retired in the Birmingham metro area. The response was overwhelming, Proctor stated, ” We enjoyed serving hundreds of law enforcement officers and their families that day!”
Sadly, Not the Only One
The trend is back and definitely seems to be on the rise as those we are sworn to serve and protect continue to turn their anger on us. Consider these three recent examples, in Florida a McDonald’s employee “feigned disgust” and refused to serve a police officer, a second McDonalds employee in Virginia was fired after refusing to serve a police officer, and a few months ago a Dunkin Donuts employee in NYC told two NYPD officers that he “doesn’t serve cops.”
Is this trend going to continue? It seems that the more strained the overall mental status of the country becomes; the more people are looking for ways to vent their anger. Unfortunately, as most of you are only too aware, these same people expect you to come to their aid when they are robbed or assaulted. What can you do, respond just as if they were any other citizen in town. There is a an old adage that goes, “You can attract more flies with honey than you can with vinegar”, it’s a little like the old smother them with kindness idea. Perhaps one day people will no longer behave in this manner and will once again appreciate those who put themselves in harm’s way every time they go to work. Until then, there are plenty of other places to grab a cup of coffee or a burger.