oh the poor poor sheeple...

[Armed-Texan]

i work at a wal-mart a town over. i work out in the automotive department. one of the techs declined to do tire work on a car who had a ".45 and a huntin' rifle" in the trunk. i didn't get to see the guns myself. a few minutes later a couple came in and needed some tire work done and i said well that car just got declined so you're next. took care of them and wrote it up and just before they walked in to wal mart i thought about it and said "hey sir you don't have any firearms in your car do you?" he said he did in fact and i informed him that the tech would not do it because there was a gun in there. he asked if it was ok for him to put it on his person and go in the store. i said that's your business if that is what you want to do. so while he was getting his gun out of the trunk i pretended to move some tires and gave him some privacy to put his gun on. so i assumed he has a CHL, not my place to ask or enforce. the tire guy overheard a bit and asked what was going on with the gun. i told him he was wearing it and it was ok. wow, i thought monkeys were going to fly out his posterior. he went and called a manager and basically tattle-telled on the customer. i was like, dude it is perfectly legal for him to have a concealed handgun in wally world. he said i don't want anybody to get shot. i told him i don't think he would admit to having a gun if he was going to rob and shoot some people. they said well looky right here there is a sign that says he can't have it. the sign is a little decal that says guns are prohibited, not the official SIGN. i explained that sign was not lawful and had no bearing. even the sign on the front door only says the UNlicensed possession. the managers did say however that it is policy if it is brought to the attention of management that they will ask the customer to leave. i argued that they would never know the difference if the tech hadn't ratted him out. so basically this tech thought he was doing the right thing but being uninformed on law and the statistics of good, law abiding CHL holders in texas, he fronted this dude out for no reason other than he is a sheeple. period. the guy left and came back and i must have apologized a hundred times, if that tech hadn't overheard us, he would have been a-ok cause i wouldn't have told a soul, had i not been confronted about it.

[WildBill]

IMO it wasn't your place to ask the customer about guns in his car. If you "wanted to give him some privacy" you wouldn't have asked him the question in the first place. Arguing with management about gun laws and signage is a quick ticket to the unemployment line.

[Armed-Texan]

the thing about it was it was trying to help him avoid the same problem the other guy had. i am in no fix, i spoke to the manager and was told i did the right thing, they are going to get on the other guy because he violated policy. if i had not asked the tech would have opened the trunk and told anyway.

edit: i wasn't arguing with mngmt. i was explaining the laws to the tech who wanted/did tell. i was doing my darnedest to convince him it was ok. i simply asked mngmt the policy, never argued. the mngr i talked to was from seattle and said he didn't see a problem with it he said there guns and hippies go together . i don't see what i could have done differently, the tech pretty much knew what was going on before i said anything, guess i should have shut it and let them decline his tire work, being he had to drive back to houston today with a screw in two different tires....i fail.

[stevie_d_64]

Question...

Why do you suppose in this day and age of petty theft and other annoying criminal acts is anyone in their right mind leaving an unsecured firearm of any type in their vehicles while they go "shopping" at the worlds largest retailer???

Edit --

Let me clarify before too many believe that I have lost it...

I try to not leave anything in any of my vehicles that I am not willing to lose forever...That include expansive gadgets and other neat stuff...Firearms on the other hand are a personal booger boo that I would just assume never have to fall into the hands of petty criminals who happen to score on any vehicle I own...So therefore, I do not leave them in there unless I have to, and even then it is secured in a safe, and the ammo (mags) come with me if possible...

I understand that some people travel, and that sometimes these vehicles do break down or need work on them in an out of town situation...Therefore, if that is the case I am all over, watching every move anyone makes on my vehicle...I'm sorry, thats just the way I am...And if I am in my local area, I surely do not have a firearm just being carried in a vehicle, just because...

If WalMart has a service department policy regarding their technicians working on a vehicle and they discover a firearm at some point in the vehicle...I would assume some cooler heads would prevail and look at the situation with a little more understanding than what occured in this situation...But then again that is relying on individuals who do not act reasonably in some cases...And that does not include the originator of this discussion...

I believe this is an interesting situation, that is deserving of a variety of positions and solutions to minimize the risks in allowing property that could be used in an illegal manner from falling into hands that would do such things...And I am not saying all WalMart employees are of that ilk at all...

[Armed-Texan]

that is a good question. that is the only thing i would be worried about leaving it locked in the trunk. i dunno. i am kind of down on myself today about this, i wish i would have just shut my mouth, but then it would have come to light anyway, i dunno.

[locknload]

the thing about it was it was trying to help him avoid the same problem the other guy had. i am in no fix, i spoke to the manager and was told i did the right thing, they are going to get on the other guy because he violated policy. if i had not asked the tech would have opened the trunk and told anyway.

edit: i wasn't arguing with mngmt. i was explaining the laws to the tech who wanted/did tell. i was doing my darnedest to convince him it was ok. i simply asked mngmt the policy, never argued. the mngr i talked to was from seattle and said he didn't see a problem with it he said there guns and hippies go together . i don't see what i could have done differently, the tech pretty much knew what was going on before i said anything, guess i should have shut it and let them decline his tire work, being he had to drive back to houston today with a screw in two different tires....i fail.

I think you did just fine. You were a service to your customers. That's good in my book, and that is what counts most. It's your co-worker that concerns me. What a piece of work! Next time, I hope he minds his own business and just does his job. I'd much rather you wait on me than the other guy. He just seems like he was lazy and wanted an excuse not to do his job. Mgmt. will catch on to that quickly, and he'll be out of your hair. Just be a good worker and keep your mouth shut. He'll hang himself. They always do.

You done good.

[stevie_d_64]

that is a good question. that is the only thing i would be worried about leaving it locked in the trunk. i dunno. i am kind of down on myself today about this, i wish i would have just shut my mouth, but then it would have come to light anyway, i dunno.

Right! Your situation was very tenuous...I believe you did the right thing in relating your expertise in this to some people who may not understand the law...

I also understand that it is difficult not to be able to service a vehicle and not have to open the trunk (in some cases) to get the vehicles' special items to provide excellent and total service to the customer...You're not going to put the "spare" in the back seat, so why should the discovery of something in the trunk cause such a problem...

Thats the continued falicy of inatimate objects springing up and somehow hurting you that continues to boggle mine and many others intelligence in this forum...

I would have made sure that the customer was made aware that you discovered this property, and that you took personal responsibility in making absolutely sure that that property remained so (theirs)...

So sometimes in my harsh positions, I have to wonder why so many successful companies and corporations base their success more on common sense, than political correctness...I have my doubts...Thats why I do not give very many others a chance to prove it...I take personal responsibility and accept accountability for my actions...

[MrsFosforos]

Makes you wonder what they'd think of the Wally Walk tradition at that store!!

[WildBill]

I don't want to jump on the Armed-Texan again - the sheeple thing gets my dander up. It's over so don't worry about it and move on.

What if you were the second customer and you posted the following:

Today I went to my local WallyWorld to fix a leaking tire. While I was waiting I saw a ghostbuster sign, but no legal 30.06 posting. I had a gun in the truck, but since they were only fixing a leaking tire there was no reason to open the truck. The service tech wrote up the work order and when I was leaving to go in the store he said "Hey sir you don't have any firearms in your car do you?" What would you have said/done?

[Keith B]

I question someone who would leave a loaded gun unsecured in the vehicle and out of your sight. I can tell you there are probably Wal-Marts and/or other auto service businesses that have individuals working there with felony records. You have now put them in a position where they are breaking the law by being around a firearm that is not in anyones control. Is it possible that might have been the case with this tech. Maybe not, but who knows about others.

As for the incident, don't beat yourself up for it. Live and learn and next time you will handle it differently.

[Armed-Texan]

edited for hissy fit LoL

[WildBill]

sorry about the sheeple comment, won't happen again.

Don't worry about it. It's my problem, not yours.

[Armed-Texan]

eh maybe i am too cynical about society and see people that way.

i think if something like that happened to me and it turned out the way it did i would be thankful a gun-friendly person gave me the heads up on what was about to happen. maybe i overstepped my bounds but in retrospect i feel i did the right thing, though the results were not what i had intended. now if someone told me that and didn't just seem right i would have stood at the window like a hawk. in this case he had no opportunity to take the gun home as home was over a hundred miles away, so i don't know what to say. but as i said i tried to do what i felt was right in a matter of seconds, just goes to show how the best intentions can backfire. what i really wish for is that the stigma surrounding guns would go away and people understand them for what they are, but that is gonna happen .

respectfully sir, what would you do in that situation if you knew an anti-gun person was about to stumble on a gun, reject to work on a car that needed tires, there is no other place in town open on sundays, the couple needs to get home for work tomorrow? not picking at you, just soliciting your opinion.

if the world were not so afraid of what the gun has been portrayed as, a situation like this would never have occurred in the first place, but that is another thread.

[Charles L. Cotton]

I see absolutely nothing wrong with the way you handled the matter. A tech. had just told you he wouldn't work on a car and you tried to keep that from happening again to another customer. Under those circumstances, I think it was just fine for you to ask the customer if he had a gun in the car. It was then up to the customer to answer, not answer, or inquire why you were asking. I'd be much more upset if I'd dropped my car off for service, then came back later to learn that the work wasn't done because someone found a gun. If that's going to be the policy, there should be a sign advising people, or the person writing up the work ticket should tell them, so they don't waste their time.

You did just fine.

Chas.

[WildBill]

eh maybe i am too cynical about society and see people that way.
respectfully sir, what would you do in that situation if you knew an anti-gun person was about to stumble on a gun, reject to work on a car that needed tires, there is no other place in town open on sundays, the couple needs to get home for work tomorrow? not picking at you, just soliciting your opinion.

I don't think you can be any more cynical than me. Honestly, I don't know what I would have done. If I were at work like you, I would have probably taken the easy way out and done nothing.