So, I was fired today...

[Blue Tile Spook]

Doh! You mean I was supposed to read the entire article?

Just pointing it out in case he didn't know. Yote was writing like the guy just got fired for carrying, not for carrying and shooting a robber.

I tried to call Pizza Hut corporate. They don't open till 1:00 P.M.

 

[MinuteMan47]

...

I tried to call Pizza Hut corporate. They don't open till 1:00 P.M.

Dang! Too bad the OP didn't get a chance to move up the corporate ladder. It would be nice to sleep in until noon everyday!!!!

 

[E5RANGER375]

I do completely understand your thoughts and I feel the same and carrying. But in today's Obama economy, I could not have afforded to jeopardize my family income over this. I would have left it in the car.
As people's free spendable income diminishes, so does our visit to restaurants. I understand about not giving any raises out. I've owned some of there stock. Not doing the best, but doing ok.

REALY??? then why do you even carry a gun if you probly wont have it when you need it? ALSO, id sell your pizza hut stock cause i got a feeling its gonna decline rapidly

to the OP. i hope you can get a lawyer and drain them for as much as possible. i will NEVER eat pizza hut again out of respect for you.
You did the right thing for sure. You probly saved a life. deffinatly call the local paper and the indy star and the local news tv channels. im sure they will follow up with your story, plus like others have said, you will probly get a job offer out of it. good luck man.

MODS: i think we should set up some kind of donation fund to help this guy and his family out. Can we do that?? i will give some money myself to get it started, and im sure other members would too. at least it will be something to help a fellow gun owner out who DID THE RIGHT THING. please let us know.

 

[r.o.b.o.]

I would drop it and move on. Fighting a large corporation is a very expensive and long battle and will undoubtedly hurt you in the end. If it is in their policy you have no case to sue whether it saved no lives of millions of lives.

If nothing else, maybe this is an opportunity for you to get a better job with more possibilities of moving up the ladder over time.

 

[kboom524]

Ok PROTEST,....Looks like a good opportunity for an INGO OC event...

If I was you I would try and sue for eveything you can get. And ill never eat pizza hut again if they are that anti gun.

I can't believe you were fired for defending yourself. What ever happened to LIfe, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness. You were basically given two choices. Defend yourself get fired and lose the ability to take care of your family, or let them kill you and your family loses not only a loved one but their provider. I will not eat at Pizza Hut again.
My hats off to you for defending yourself like you did. If more peaple fought back these scumbags wouldn't have the balls to crawl out from under their rocks and try this crap. I hope for the best for you.

 

[mcshaker]

You have a unique situation that is relevant to this board. This gun board has many members, a percentage of whom can make hires. If I were you, I'd PM Fenway and ask if he can issue a prominent post in some of the forums for some of the members here who might be interested in hiring a guy in your situation. I'd think some of the gun shop owners might be interested.

I may do this. I'm still not at the acceptance stage of the loss cycle(More still around angry). So, I've got no clear plan yet. Thanks for that super duper lead though. I very much would like to work for a small bussiness rather than a corp.

I do completely understand your thoughts and I feel the same and carrying. But in today's Obama economy, I could not have afforded to jeopardize my family income over this. I would have left it in the car.
As people's free spendable income diminishes, so does our visit to restaurants. I understand about not giving any raises out. I've owned some of there stock. Not doing the best, but doing ok.

I've never really been a "gun nut" (though I'm leaning that way). But, think about what you just said. Life vs. income, no real choice there. Maybe the guy wouldn't have hurt a flea, Probably he wasn't going to hurt anyone. He brought a gun, those are mighty big Maybes and Probablys.

I understood the raise thing also, that's why I stayed working there( And, with tips my income was substantially more.), though a token .05 cents or something would have been nice.

I would rather pay for the ALL YOU CAN EAT salad bar and SIT inside all day...

Just be sure to tip your waitress, please. They didn't cause this - they just want to feed their families too.

 

[tedbower]

You might notify some local news agencies and see if anyone wants to publicly take them to task. I will be boycotting them as well.

 

[Greenmonsta79]

Sorry to hear your situation but you did the right thing! and Pizza Hut did the wrong thing, looks like no more Pizza Hut here if those fools treat their employees like that! I know it's hard out there but I think your better off without Pizza Hut, There are always jobs out there just have to look and press on no matter how hard it is! Good luck at your new job!

 

[Militarypol21]

They could have gave you a hint while conducting the "internal investigation" that you were going to loose your job and that you might want to start looking for a second job. They could have gave you an apology or at least thanked you for saving a life and the company money. I don't completely agree with them not offering you a severance package saying instead they paid you while they were conducting the investigation.

But...

In the end, you did break company policy which was why you were terminated. In my honest opinion you did the right thing but the company is probably looking at it as we have to do something about this or another employee somewhere down the chain will now think it's ok to bring a gun to work because "such and such" got away with it.

Sometimes doing the right thing isn't actually doing the right thing...

 

[baldmax]

I really never cared for Pizza Hut anyway. I go there because my wifes family likes them. I may have to OC the next time I go there. By the way, I do not OC, but for this, I will.

 

[NateIU10]

Anyone we can write a letter to to let them know how this will make us no longer eat there?

 

[WIZZO499]

No more Pizza Hut for me.Good luck OP!

 

[patton487]

Lets have a bunch of us LTC go to that pizza slut and order lunch all open carry. Let the local news know. It would be a hoot! Stick it right in their face. lol

 

[Koukalaka]

Shame on Pizza Hut. They should be grateful to the OP, who did what was right, taking it upon himself to protect others against a criminal when the company was unwilling to provide adequate security provisions to begin with.

I will personally boycott this company and would be happy to add my name to a boycott list, or to contribute to a fund in the OP's defense.

I will say one other thing, though. In today's America, where the power of the trial lawyers has all but obliterated common sense, I doubt that a company like Pizza Hut would ever consent to its employees carrying firearms. I think they would probably fear being named in a lawsuit if an employee were to injure or kill someone with a firearm that the company knowingly allowed him/her to possess at work.

There is a larger issue here, in that our society has really deteriorated with respect to common sense. Someone burns his stupid self with hot coffee and sues McDonald's...someone smokes for decades, then sues the tobacco company for his lung cancer...someone eats junk food for twenty years, then claims that it's the fault of the restaurants for making him think that a burger and fries will be good for him. This insanity, brought on by blood-sucking lawyers (note that I think there are good lawyers around too), has created a situation where even an employer sympathetic to Second Amendment rights may be FORCED to do the wrong thing. Ugh.

Anyway, we are with you, mcshaker. I will say a prayer for you and hope that you find a great job soon. Doing the right thing sucks sometimes, but I think a lot of people view you as a hero and respect the sacrifice you are being forced to make.

 

[indianajoe]

For what it's worth, here's what I just posted to the company's web site:

To Yum Brands Investor Relations:

I understand that Michael Shaker, an employee at your Anderson, IN, store was fired today, relevant to this incident --
Pizza Hut employee shoots would-be robber » Local News » The Herald Bulletin).

My family and I will no longer be patronizing any Pizza Hut location, nor any other stores under the Yum Brand. We will also be instructing our financial advisor to divest our portfolio of any funds that include stock in Yum Brands.

If your company is not willing to provide a safe environment for customers and employees (broken door locks and faux security cameras) and then penalizing an employee for lawfully defending himself and others when confronted by an armed aggressor on the property, then my family has no use for your restaurants.

I'd like to see a public apology to this employee and reinstatement of employment, and a public statement accepting responsibility for poor security measures, and your full-throated support of the 2nd Amendment to the US Constitution.

 

[Koukalaka]

Lets have a bunch of us LTC go to that pizza slut and order lunch all open carry. Let the local news know. It would be a hoot! Stick it right in their face. lol

That would be great...although it has to be done very carefully. If we are to make, in effect, a PR statement, it must be the right one: good people are free to exercise their rights, and this results in a SAFER society and the protection of others--NOT that we are "gun nuts" who walk around looking for a confrontation.

 

[inFALable]

I called the manager of the Pizza Hut today. He had nothing to say but gave me his bosses number

937-478-2227

 

[Joe Williams]

If you want to have an OC demonstration, it should be outside the store. With everybody eating Dominos or Papa John's. They probably aren't much better in their policies, but one company at a time, I reckon.

Might even be fun to stand on public property outside the Pizza Hut and give away Dominos pizzas. Expensive, but fun.

 

[PatriotPride]

Unbelievable. Sorry to hear that. I have no idea what to tell you here. It may be a good idea to take some time and evaluate the situation before making any decisions. Good luck.

 

[mcshaker]

They could have gave you a hint while conducting the "internal investigation" that you were going to loose your job and that you might want to start looking for a second job. They could have gave you an apology or at least thanked you for saving a life and the company money. I don't completely agree with them not offering you a severance package saying instead they paid you while they were conducting the investigation.

But...

In the end, you did break company policy which was why you were terminated. In my honest opinion you did the right thing but the company is probably looking at it as we have to do something about this or another employee somewhere down the chain will now think it's ok to bring a gun to work because "such and such" got away with it.

Sometimes doing the right thing isn't actually doing the right thing...

Actually all hints pointed in the opposite direction.

Otherwise valid points.


Koukalaka: .... PR statement, it must be the right one: good people are free to exercise their rights, and this results in a SAFER society and the protection of others--NOT that we are "gun nuts" who walk around looking for a confrontation.

Agreed. 2nd amendment issues are delicate and it is easy to portray the wrong impression.

inFALable: I called the manager of the Pizza Hut today. He had nothing to say but gave me his bosses number
937-478-2227

Again, don't be too rough on him. By all means, express your opinions - but, he's just one of the sheep trying to feed his family like everyone else. The issue is most definately more of a corporate one.