If after reading this story you don't think that Tarbutt is run by a bunch of assholes then you are nuts:
by Samantha Maziarz Christmann
NEWS BUSINESS REPORTER
Updated: December 19, 2009, 10:26 AM
David Lawrinowicz of Lancaster had worked at Target for nearly eight years before the company fired him Wednesday — for buying two Zhu Zhu Pets.
Not stealing them, buying them. Lawrinowicz, who worked the overnight at the Cheektowaga location on Walden Avenue, helped unload a shipment of the hot holiday toy at the start of his shift around 11 p.m. Before leaving for the day at 5 a.m. the next morning, he and six other employees lined up to buy a few of the plush hamsters each. Overnight employees are allowed to make purchases during the company’s off hours.
None of the workers bought more than the limit of four Zhu Zhu Pets per customer. In fact, Lawrinowicz bought just two of them for his daughter Jessica. There were more hanging on the store’s racks when the employees cashed out.
A few days later, Lawrinowicz said he was called into the human resources office and told employees were not allowed to purchase “popular items” until the store opens at 8 a.m. There was no write-up, and he went back to finish his work.
Two weeks later, he and the other co-workers including his team leader were called in and fired by a choked-up, apologetic store manager. They were told the company’s policy about buying “two-day ad items” had been clearly posted in a sign over the employee time clock.
“There was no such thing. I look in that spot every day when I punch out and there was nothing there,” said Lawrinowicz.
He can’t help feeling his termination and that of his colleagues is overly harsh, especially right before the holidays. “I told them I would bring the things back. It’s not worth losing my job over. It’s an $8 toy,” he said. “But they said there was nothing they could do.”
This Target store is located at: Walden Galleria
1750 Walden Ave, Cheektowaga, NY 14225 (716) 896-0493, drop them a line and tell the HR Manager he is an asshole!
David Lawrinowicz is on Facebook, drop him a line and tell him you think Target Sucks.
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Dec 22 Update: Target Rehires Zhu Zhu-Buying Employees
Target has rehired all seven employees who were fired for buying the season's hottest toy -- Zhu Zhu Pets -- during off-hours, according to a statement released this weekend.
After a review (we're guessing of both the store's actions and the public's very vocal response), Target released a statement saying they had "carefully reviewed the situation at the Walden Galleria Target store, and we have determined that the team member terminations were the unintended consequence of a good policy rigidly applied. Therefore, Target intends to reinstate all seven of the team members, effective immediately.
NOTE: If it had not been for massive bad publicity these folks would still be unemployeed!