Mar 29, 2012

Three Emotions (A follow-Up/Resolution post)

This is an update to my "Open Letter To Jack" post.
If you missed all the drama, you might want to read it first to get caught up.  HERE

The "Resolution" to this very emotion-filled incident has left me with three very distinct emotions.

Pride - Disappointment - Disgust

Let's start with the 
Pride -

I had a meeting today with the Area Franchise Owner/Group that operate this particular Jack in the Box location.
  • I was prepared for excuses.
  • I was prepared for stuffiness.
  • I was prepared for intimidation.
I was NOT prepared for the three men I met.

Now... keep in mind I do a lot of work in Public Relations...
I know what I would tell a client who was dealing with this type of situation.
I know how I would want them to handle it to make it "right".

These men could NOT have handled things any better if I coached them myself!

Instead of meeting men full of resentment and anger because I was the one who started what turned out to be a very uncomfortable situation for their business, They were genuinely concerned about my son and his feelings, as well as my own.
They listened to my story, They even shared some of their own.
They were humble, they were apologetic, they were genuine and sincere.
these are not things you can fake.  It was real.

But.. what made it even better?
They had a plan of action to make things right!

Here is what they are going to do.
  1. They talked with the employee who we had our contact with, There is no confusion on what is and is not OK to say to future customers.
  2. They are having a managers meeting next week and will address "sensitivity training" for all current and future employees.
  3. After giving me their heartfelt apologies, They asked for My son's address so they can send him one as well.
  4. After talking at length about my son and his unit and hearing about the kids that mob these soldiers every time they  go outside "the wire" they asked what the children wanted from them.  I explained that Chris told me the one thing the children wanted, even more than candy, toys and stickers was... Writing Pens. Yes, seriously! They want any and every pen the soldiers have! Upon hearing that, the area manager ran to his car and returned with a product catalog and ,together, we chose a really "cool" pen.  After our meeting, these men went straight back to the store and ordered a BUNCH to send to Chris and his unit to give to the Afgan children.  
I am Proud of my Local Jack in the Box owners & Managers!
I was pleasantly surprised by their swift and sincere actions to fix things!
I am completely satisfied by their actions to rectify the situation.
I couldn't and wouldn't ask for more!

--------------------------------------------------------
Disappointment
--------------------------------------------------------
I am disappointed in the Corporate Jack in the Box for offering little more than a sanitized impersonal form letter of "apology" that was pasted and re-pasted as a reply to any negative comment anywhere online.

Yes, they did call me today...
But there has been no mention of what actually happened,

No plan to change anything.
Nothing....
I am disappointed in the corporate Jack in the Box folks!

-------------------------------------------------------
Ashamed
-------------------------------------------------------
I learned that there have been many calls to this store with threats of violence and profanity.
The employee we dealt with has received personal threats, so much so that she is frightened to go to work!


Look!
She DID say something insensitive, She DID say something offensive to myself and my son, She should have  answered our simple question differently...


But.... Is that really reason to terrorize her?
I don't even think she should be fired.
Yes...  she needed reprimanded and counseled on how to handle these things in the future (and she was),  
 NO ONE should be threatened because of something they say or something they believe!


Apparently, the people threatening her are doing so because they believe she doesn't respect the military and is rude...
Well guess what.....
 THAT kind of behavior is EVERYTHING America and the Military are fighting against!!


Our troops have fought and died to make sure NO AMERICAN, no matter what they say or believe be terrorized for those words and/or beliefs!!  


I am, ashamed that I have been a part of something that some people took that far and turned into something that I am so totally against!!


--------------------------------------------------------------


There ya have it!
in a nutshell...

  • My local Jack in the box guys ROCK!
  • The corporate Jack in the box, doesn't seem to care.
  • And there will always be someone who has to turn something that could be used for a positive change, and make it so you are ashamed that you are even associated with it.
Aside from my Local Jack in the box Franchise Team...  We still have a LOT of work to do if we EVER can even come close to being worthy of ONE american soldier giving their life for!

Lets think on that one for a while.

-------------------------------------------------------------

My Closing thoughts in response to some nasty e-mails and comments...

This has NOTHING to do with the discount. 
Yes, we asked if that location had one, because  other Jack in the Box locations told us to ask! 
We are/were not upset in the least about not getting a discount. It was the nasty comment said directly to my son who was in full uniform that was upsetting. 
Yes.. another day, or a time other than when I was already emotional because we were literally driving to the airport, and I might not have said a word and brushed it off. 

My question is... why should we brush it off when someone is uneducated about what "they have done"? If we don't say something... who will? There are SO many other examples of much much worse treatment and/or neglect for our veterans and soldiers, maybe.. just maybe, if someone stood up and said something when those things first started, it might be different now. 
I would rather be known as someone who stood up and fought when she saw something happen she disproves of than just another apathetic American who is afraid or too speak up for what they believe. 

Have a great day!

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13 amazing comments. Talk To Me!!:

Bobbie said...

That is one of my local Jack In The Box's too. I'm so happy to hear about the men that are trying to make it right. Hopefully that employee has learned that it's not always about her, it's much much more than that. Thanks to your son for serving, Thank you so much.

Janet said...

Still no Jack for this Army mom. And no McDonald's and no Burger King and no anywhere else that disrespects our military or their families. I don't support terrorizing someone too ignorant to know better, under any circumstances.

I thank your son for his service and I thank you for standing up for what is so obviously right!

Much love,

Janet

katlupe said...

Dana, YOU Rock too! You are a class act! Standing up for what you believe in is the right thing to do. Like you said, if you don't who will? Now if every American did that, every single time someone showed disrespect to our military or our country, I think everyone would have more pride in being an American.

Keeping your son's safety in my prayers.

Melissa said...

Dana... thank you for standing up for what was right. You have handled the entire situation with class and grace and we are all proud of you!

American said...

This comment is in response to the Jack In The Box incident. While I understand and agree that this employee was out of line with their ignorant comment, I do have a different opinion on your thought process. I do not know if it is proper to hold a corporation responsible for what 1 of its 1000's of employees "said" which was their opinion whether you agree with it or not. This is the equivalent to me holding your son and the entire military responsible for the soldier who recently murdered 16 unarmed civilians in Afghanistan which included women and babies.
Yes what that employee said was ignorant and irresponsible, but so was your decision to list the address of the store in your blog post which lead to the threats against this employee. What if someone went to that store and hurt her because of your decision to blog the address? Was that not an uneducated and uninformed decision on your part? from an integrity point of view ,should you go back to that store and apologize to that employee for that threats they received because of your post? Should you son refrain from asking for military discounts and realize that there are many hero's in this country and you don't have to wear a uniform to be one? Only you can answer these questions. Again, I have all the respect in the world for people in the military but I challenge you to do what most people cannot which is point the finger inward and ask yourself if you handled this incident appropriately.

Anonymous said...

I agree with the other posters about not condoning the threats and terrorizing of that employee. But i do agree with the complaint you had about that employee's completely ignorant and rude comment. Which, in my eyes being a veteran myself, making that comment especially in front of a member of the armed services that was in uniform at the time, was simply reprehensible.

As for holding the corporate office responsible i believe you are in the right because evewry one of those fast food joints states in their hiring packets somewhere that you represent the face of that resturant to the public and should act accordingly, or some form of that statement.

Haveing been a Security guard that has worked on military housing properties as a supervisor i will tell you right now the company that i worked for has suspended and fired officers for comments even mistakenly said in the heat of a moment if they were in anyway derogetory (sheesh cant spell) to any individual group or organization. We considered it to be unproffessional and unacceptable at all times. And i'll bet that most fast food resturants have similar policies. As well the CEO of any corporation is always directly responsible for the actions of their employees and/or contractors so the corporate office is in fact responsible and should be held accountable especially for their inaction and indifference. And the "Form Letter" apology should be seen for what it is a PR ploy to make themselves look good instead of actually addressing the real problem of their incompetence.

Sandie said...

Maybe I am wrong, but the only thing I heard corporate Jack in the Box being held responsible for was their lack of response to a customer with a legitimate, valid complaint about how an employee, insulted and disrespected the military. I did not hear them being held accountable for what was said, only their lack of action in response.

Proud Mom Of A Soldier! said...

As a fellow Army Mom who also has a son deployed, I am proud of how you handled this situation. I'm not so sure I would have been so calm. You were right to stand up and speak out. You are not resposible for the ignorant people who made threats to the employee thats on them. Thanks for standing up for all of the military. God Bless your son and all those who serve.

Anonymous said...

Dana,
I've been following your blog for about two years now and this is probably my favorite. Thank you for addressing the issue and I agree shame on the individuals that wrote or said hateful things. My father, husband served for a combined forty-five years. My son is presently serving and they would be ashamed that any american would terrorize an individual that just needed to be educated on what are military stands for and what they do for every american.Please tell your son Thank you for all that he does.

Jennifer Bowyer

Anonymous said...

I recently visited your website to originally obtain a recipe via Pinterest. I hopped on the info from this posting you had on your webpage.

My son just finished 4 years in the Army and had 2 deployments to Iraq. Thankfully he made it home safe.

I agree with many posters (don't want to keep regurgitating the info). I DO think that the employee should have been terminated. It is a shame that so many people are making others pay for what is happening in FL. It has nothing to do with what happened at your local JITB. Most disturbing is that she is not giving the police the discount they should be offered because of the FL issue. For Pete's sake, it's not their fault!! She is obviously a very angry young lady and needs counseling.

Thanks for your awesome website! I will visit often. Also, kudos for standing up for what you believe in. I like to think I would do the same. Best of luck, praying for a safe tour and return and Godspeed to your son!

Sincerely,
Another Army mom. :)

Anonymous said...

I'm glad you stood your ground! Although I would not want any harm to come to the employee from idiots who threatened her, I whole heartily agree at the very least she should have apologized to you and your son. For someone to have that much gall to even say that to a paying customer, regardless if they were in the military or not, she should have been terminated. At least now the management is aware of her insensitive behavior towards "heroes". Unfortunately, those in the corporate offices are too far separated from reality to care. It's not just Jack in the Box.

Anonymous said...

I work @ one of the jack in the boxes in california and I come from a family who has had uncle's and grandparents, etc. In the military. It appalled and angered me she said that on several different levels , even if she had the right. However she shouldn't have been threatened. Sorry that that had happened to your son and if ever you or your son come to chico CA., we give military discounts. Just tell us and show us your military id and its given.

Unknown said...

Yes, terrorizing morons is HOW THEY LEARN. Clearly they're not going to learn it on their own, they have no incentive and those people are lazy and ignorant to begin with. So we're just doing our part as good citizens to bring her up to speed. In the military we'd have given her a blanket party.

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