Rehire the Best Buy heros!

Extreme punishment for trying to stop shoplifters

Excerpt:

A pair of Best Buy employees in Broomfield lost their jobs this week after they tried to stop armed shoplifters.

The firings raise an important question: Shouldn't heroism be rewarded?

Instead, Best Buy handed Jared Bergstreser, 20, and Colin Trapp, 23, their walking papers after they tried to stop a pair of shoplifters on Aug. 1.

The men worked in the store's "asset-protection" unit, and had some training in how to handle thieves, according to Boulder's Daily Camera. They weren't security guards.

When the employees saw two men leaving the store with stolen merchandise, they gave chase.

Bergstreser tackled one of the men and Trapp rushed to help. The thief pulled a knife. The shoplifters got away, but not before a manager was cut. (The manager has not been fired. Her involvement in the melee is unclear.)

Bergstreser suffered minor cuts and bruises. He does not dispute that Best Buy's asset-protection training made it clear that he was not to make physical contact with a customer and that he violated company policy.

Trapp says he wasn't told clearly about the no-contact policy, and he is considering filing a wrongful-termination claim.

We don't know what training occurred between employer and the employees. But if Best Buy follows standard practice, it's unlikely Trapp will prevail, Denver employment attorney David Stacy tell us.

Workers Are Fired, Celebrated

Excerpt:

The firing of two workers at a suburban Best Buy Co. store who tackled a fleeing shoplifter -- thus breaking company rules -- has struck a nerve here as locals celebrate the pair as folk heroes while the retailer defends its policies.

Jared Bergstreser and Colin Trapp failed to hold onto the suspect in the Aug. 1 incident; he pulled a knife and fled. But their efforts, they say, cost them their jobs. "I really wasn't thinking," said Mr. Bergstreser, adding that he was familiar with the policy. "I just sort of reacted."

A company spokeswoman, Kelly Groehler, said Best Buy doesn't comment on personnel decisions. But, she said, "These procedures are in place first and foremost for the safety of our employees."

That hasn't convinced many locals. Scores of comments, most expressing admiration, have been posted on Mr. Trapp's Facebook page and other Web sites. "Punished for not being cowards," one commentator wrote. Added another: "Welcome to Best Buy, where no good deed goes unpunished!" Several posters pledged to boycott the chain.

On Wednesday, the Denver Post published an editorial protesting Best Buy's decision to fire the young men. "Shouldn't heroism be rewarded?" the paper asked.

Comment: I am officially boycotting Best Buy until these guys are rehired! I will buy at Amazon or Wal-Mart or Target but not Best Buy until these heroes are hired back!