Rachel Rogers worked as a sales representative at the Lululemon shop in Peachtree Corner, Ga. for five years. She called 911 after the same looters had attacked the store four or five times, stealing thousands of dollars worth of merchandise.
Jennifer Ferguson, Assistant Manager, described the scene. Ferguson explained, “We saw some men run in the store wearing masks and hoodies. They swiped merchandise until they could no longer hold anymore and fled out the door.”
Rogers was terminated a week after the incident. She was fired after she violated a policy of the company that stated “zero tolerance” when it came to calling 911.
It is understandable that a company would tell its employees to not interfere with looting. Rogers, however, was fired because she disobeyed a company rule that prohibited her from calling the police. The same group of thieves struck another Lululemon shop in the area and were caught the following day.
Ferguson said that the “no 911” policy was implemented to protect the company.
MORE CORPORATE INSANITY: Two Lululemon @lululemon employees fired for calling the police on looters in an Atlanta, Georgia location pic.twitter.com/Hw781OgUHT
— • ᗰISᑕᕼIᗴᖴ ™ • (@4Mischief) May 26, 2023
We are not to interfere. Ferguson explained that you “clear a path” for what they are going to do. That’s it. We were told to not put it on any notes because that could scare others. “We’re not supposed to call the police or talk about it.
James Ferguson, the husband of Ferguson’s wife, described what his wife and Ms. Rogers had to endure.
This crew is now in jail. Jenn and her co-worker’s bravery and courage are partly responsible for their arrest.
Here is where I feel my blood boil. They are both leaders who want to move up in the company. What was their reward, then? The two employees were terminated immediately without any mention of severance pay or financial compensation. As the two terminated workers compared their Zoom calls, the Regional Manager of Lululemon openly asked why they had called the police. It would be “bad for Lululemon” to call the police. You’ve got to be kidding! These women are heroes. These ladies did what we ALL HOPE to do in similar situations. They were honest and brave.
Retailers have decided to accept huge losses of merchandise by organized gangs that have realized no one wants to arrest or prosecute them. We’re told that “shoplifting” and felony thefts are “victimless crimes”.
The consumer pays for these crimes by paying higher prices for goods and shopping in a dangerous environment.
This brings me to the end of my remarks. You and I don’t want to see our city become like Portland or San Francisco, where businesses are leaving the cities because of theft and crime. Citizens are afraid to visit certain areas because the police will not call or won’t be called. Citizens of the community who allow criminal activities to continue unchecked are tacitly approving their actions. It is not the way our community, state, or country operates. Criminal activity must be punished and law and order must be respected. In addition, courageous and brave citizens and employees who take a stand should not be punished but commended.
These criminals are brazen, but their stupidity and their fear of management are equally as bad. Metro Atlanta is going to become more and more similar to San Francisco, Portland, and other large cities because it refused the learn from the mistakes of the big cities during the 1980s and 1990s.
Broken windows lead to a fractured society.
