Publix is the culprit here. At the time (2012ish), I was an assistant dept manager. Someone got the feeling that the Meat Manager of 10 years was occasionally eating expired 99 cents honey buns. So the store manager rallied the troops, and asked the receiver to count the expired honey buns before she left and again in the morning when she came in (before the vendor came in to give credit for expired product).
She did what was asked from her. She let them know when there was a discrepancy. That is when management went to town. They were dead set on getting this Meat Manager of 10 years, who lost a thumb doing meat cutting over the years. He was a great manager and everyone in the dept loved him.
But….when he didn't take a break cause the department is very demanding, he would sometimes eat an expired product. The meat cooler door was right next to the receiving area. Those expired items were always in his face. This was a bad thing for him.
This post isn't even about the meat manager though. It's about the receiver. When they finally got enough evidence because of the input from the receiver, the LP (loss prevention) guy from corporate came to the store. They took the 10 year meat manager/cutter who lost a finger working for the company to the office. They told him he was fired. The LP guy walked/escorted him out of the building, and the meat manager had tears rolling down his eyes. They chose to walk through the backroom, and the receiver got a full viewing of the hurt this man was going through.
She started crying too, and after she got herself together…she SCREAMED at management, and told them to NEVER use her to fire another co-worker. She later confided in me, and told me she couldn't believe that they were able to use her for this. She couldn't believe they made her think this was a good thing.
10 years of service and a lost finger…the company that loves to use the term “Family” fired a 10 year employee over some expired shit sugar product, cause theft is a no tolerance thing.
He later got a job at Walmart at the meat department…where there is no meat cutting. Mostly pre-packed meat. They paid him OK though. Didn't end up too bad for him. He sure did love Publix though.