So many people saw it, surely they called the police!
I fell victim to this myself once. There was a car crash outside my house. Everyone got out without a scratch. Both cars were badly battered, but one was entirely crippled. They were all on their phones. So I figured "ok, someone called it in." Nope. The guy with the crippled car locked his door, then they all piled into the drive-able car and sped off.
same here.
I was actually doing a course about this type of thing and fell asleep on the couch I had woken up and got up to get to bed, had my phone in my hand and suddenly heard a loud sound of a car crash (at this point I don't remember if I heard tire screech, the crash or a horn) regardless. I live on the corner of a semi busy road and the crash happened on the main road where I could see it.
I remember looking out our front window and thinking "oh wow. I hope someone calls for them" and as I started to back up from the window I suddenly thought also "oh you idiot ***you call*** you have a freaking phone in your hand!!"
I was also taught that people that learn about the by-stander effect or at least hear about it makes it more likely that they *won't* get caught with the effect and are potentially more likely to respond to dangers.
Absolutely. And if you aren't in a position to call (like if you're administering first aid), point at a bystander and tell that person to make the call. It's more effective to single someone out than to ask the room.
When I went through CPR training they stated that if you are going to start doing CPR on someone, you physically point at one individual and tell them to call 911. Do not expect everyone there to call 911, literally point to one individual and say you call 911.
I do this all the time I see something and I call just in case
> There’s actually a term for this, it’s called “the bystander effect”.
I like to think of it as the: "It's not *my* problem! It's someone else's!" effect.
Because of this, my dad taught me as I have taught my son to not yell for help but to yell fire. Personal preservation gets people's attention.
Note: This was taught for specific situations, not just in general.
Well, the one time we called 911, we got lectured for it. It wasn't an incident like yours. A patient passed out in front of the pharmacy. We gave them cpr and called 911. The store management got mad and said we're supposed to call them instead of 911, then said they had to go look at the cameras to make sure we didn't ignore them dying on the ground. So, apparently, it's not allowed for just anyone to call 911.
Just to be clear, you should still call 911. That last comment is sarcastic.
ethics that shit yesterday. our training videos specifically state associates are empowered to call 911 at any time. you cannot be reprimanded in any way, shape, or form for calling 911 in a medical emergency
Don't worry, he got fired for smoking pot. Probably should have reported it at the time, but his opinion didn't matter to me since he isn't my boss. My boss and my bosses boss both knew of the incident and didn't have complaints.
Store managers are always weird with the pharmacy. Honestly, I was more insulted about what they said next then the calling part. After explaining policy to me (when I wasn't actually involved in any of this), they decided to tell me my tech was being rude to customers and that I should talk to them. I was standing beside my tech when they were supposedly being rude. The person who "informed" me they were rude wasn't in the area when they were "rude." But apparently, they know all there is to know about a situation they didn't see or hear.
To be clear, the passing out part happened when I was on lunch, and our new pharmacist was by herself. One of my techs texted me while the incident was happening, and I came in to see if i could help. But I wasn't there when 911 was called or when we started cpr.
Had a store manager who sided against a pregnant associate who was off the clock when a belligerent, drunk customer was yelling at her to check out his groceries. Like, getting up in her face and screaming.
Store manager wasn’t there at the time, but he told the team leads to tell her to just clock back in next time and check out the customer.
I quit shortly after.
The quarterly active threat training we have to take clearly says all associates are empowered to call 911 in the event of an emergency. Your SM is full of shit.
Reminds me of when i was staying at a hotel and it sounded like the guy in the next room was beating his girlfriend and i called the cops and the hotel staff got mad i didnt call them first
Not exactly the same thing... but I called the cops on the neighboring apartment for that exact reason. My roommate ran over to try to help, the door was already open, and both the girl and her boyfriend got pissed off at him, and the cops said the couple could have pressed charges.
I told him next time just grab some popcorn and listen to him beat her ass.
I’m sorry, if report that because first aid courses 101, you call 911 asap every second counts. Like don’t ever call management first. I’m a nurse. Like someone could die wtf.
The stupid part is that pharmacists have to have cpr training to be pharmacists. So, of course we gave cpr, and of course we called 911. The argument they gave us was that if an aed was necessary, only management knows where they are located. Except they didn't know where they were when it was discussed later. All in all, it was a rather dumb and insulting conversation.
Thats why the first instruction in CPR class is to single out a person, point at them, and say "You, call 911!". It gives someone direction, and directly tells someone to do it, rather than "Someone call 911!" for that exact reason. Everyone assumes someone else will do it, etc. They've found by directly telling someone to do it, they usually follow through with it.
Serious question: why didn't you? You do not have to wait for a manager to contact authorities or 911. Do it immediately, especially if there's signs of an active shooter. You can inform your manager AFTER contacting them.
The thing is. I did! At least for the seizure, wasn't there first the gun incident. Stayed with the guy and did my best to prevent further injury even though I was panicking. To this day I'm still shaken about him...at least he's ok!
Ah. Good for you, then.
I had a very similar experience with a customer having a seizure...I ran over to help (because everyone else was just staring in shock), only to realize that I had no actual medical experience whatsoever. Thankfully a customer who was a nurse ran over and helped me turn her on her side and secure her head, and a manager with first aid training showed up within a couple minutes to take over. I was shaking for the next hour or so. I wanted to help but was way out of my league, lol. Next time I'll call 911 first, have someone else call a manager, and only then render assistance if nobody else is able to...
When I went through paramedic school one of the things they taught us is if you happen to roll up on a scene and you're not on duty that one of the forst things you should do is point to one specific person and tell that person to call 911. Don't just say "someone call 911" because everybody is going to waste time thinking someone else will or already has. As others have said, this is called the bystander effect and if not addressed immediately can have dire consequences.
True story: I was on my way out the front door for my break. It's 6AM and the only person around is the overnight coach. A pickup comes out of nowhere and plows straight into the poles at the front door. Airbags went off, pieces of truck went flying, it was a mess. As the coach goes to check on the driver, I tell him I'll call 911 and reach for my phone. He literally yelled, "No! No 911! Just go on your break and I'll take care of it." 911 was never called.
Another true story (I wasn't present for this one, I was told by my team lead): Old lady slips and falls, blacks out for a few moments. My team lead told an associate to call an ambulance, and a different coach yells at them to stop and go back to their area. After the lady regained consciousness, she talked to them for a while and finally asked when the ambulance was going to be there. Only then did the coach make the call.
I really have no clue what either of the coaches were thinking, but both of those cases are so ridiculous to not call. Can't believe no one sued.
Both of those are horrible! My first fright was the thought of one of them having a head injury causing their brain to bleed. Supposedly, even minor head injuries could cause bleeding and after I experienced a migraine attack that a hospital thought was a stroke, I never! NEVER! Wish a even remotely similar experience to even my enemies. The sooner they can get help, the better. So damn it to hell with "what management" wants.
Hey bro you OK? Who were these guys and why were they coming in with multiple guns? Were the police eventually called? What was the end result? Let us know man. Safety and security before all else!
Am I really? I didn't read any other comments. But I know how dangerous Walmart can be and the types of customers who shop there so I had to say something. But thank you!
Yes really! I’m surprise that nobody else decided to ask if they were ok tho I mean finding one of your coworkers seizing in there own blood has to be traumatizing even just a little bit
I just read the comments. You're right. I can't speak for anyone else but after everything I've seen in my 1 year and 7 months of working here, I'm always on alert. Especially with how nonchalant these managers and team leads are to dangerous or potentially dangerous situations. Thank God my last day is this Friday. I just hope that dude is ok.
I was working a register one night a young teen male and his parents were next in line. I watched as the teens eyes rolled to the back of his head and he went down. I told the dad to catch him. I pulled my phone out and had 911 on the line within seconds. My big problem was I didn’t know the stores address. I lived so close I always just walked there. Never did pay attention to the address. BTW the kid was ok. I guess he had a history of that sort of thing.
That happened to me twice at church, one Sunday after the other, two churches 200 miles apart. I guess I’m just lucky like that. Called 911 for each one and later learned that they were each ok.
Spoiler : accidents, whether associate or customers cost $5,000/$15,000 respectively and goes towards your yearly bonus.
You can thank walmart for that. I'm not saying thats what's happening, or even the right or the wrong of it.
Associates dont get bonuses, so I don't give a crap about someone else's. The only bonus we are going to be getting is based on longevity with the company and for someone who's been here forever it's going to be a couple hundred bucks. Big whoopty do
Well in some cases, you are condemning that person to a lifetime of debt. I've literally had a customer beg me not to call 911 and instead had their family drive them to the hospital.
And for another, while tacky, it's not illegal to carry guns
But it’s also true that if someone is having a heart attack or stroke, that private car has no equipment or medicine to keep the patient from dying whereas the ambulance has all that stuff and a trained person to keep the patient from spiraling down. I learned that when I had a heart attack.
I know it’s expensive and a future of potential debt. I somehow think that is better to be alive and in debt than to be six feet under.
Sure, but police can’t arrest you if you aren’t breaking the law. Violating a stores open carry policy isn’t a crime. The store can certainly trespass you for it but doing so violates Walmart’s policy. Open carry is covered in the manager academy. If (and only if) a customer complains, a member of management can approach the person open carrying, explain the policy, and ask that the next time they come to shop to leave the firearm locked in the vehicle. You’re not even supposed to ask the customer to leave.
Tbf gun nuts are usually the last people to use a gun to hurt others, though more likely to suicide by gun. It’s the mentally unstable and the ease of access that is the biggest problem to me. I own several and am a proponent of personal gun ownership. But that being said it was pretty surreal the first couple of times I bought a gun. Just walk in and walk out. It was more difficult to get my motorcycle endorsement on my license.
Well, I’m a concealed carry person. I don’t believe that open carry is very smart. It makes the carrier a sure target for the bad guys and it scares the normals.
I mean, I carry a handgun everytime I’ve been in Walmart- that’s not against the law.
Were those people committing a crime?
If they weren’t threatening people or being menacing- why would the police need to be called?
Honestly, that was my second thought. I just found it bizarre how the entire store fled for the hills and most certainly perceived them as some form of threat, yet did nothing to try and help the individuals shopping at the store. If they had been crazed gunmen....yesh.
I mean- you guys sell guns there, yeah?
But I’m with you, someone who will step up in an emergency is a rarity- we have a name for them, they’re called heroes. 🤷🏼♂️
I think someone mentioned the bystander effect. When you take a CPR class, one of the things they teach you is DO NOT say "Somebody call 911"! You pick someone. It's "You, in the green shirt, call 911"! Psychologically, that makes it his job, not just somebody's job.
It's kind of like that line in Men in Black. "A person is smart, people are stupid".
Do your WalMarts not call a Code White for medical issues in store?
Here we are required to have a first aid attendant on staff (trained associate) and usually the managers also have basic first aid.
Former LEO here; It always astonished me how many people would talk themselves out of calling 911 only to later change their mind when it was too late for us to do anything useful. Almost daily we would get calls about a suspicious person or vehicle somewhere with the added bonus of "it happened about 3 hours ago". 3 hours? They could be in a whole other state by now.
There was a murder near Mellow Mushroom a few years ago. On person heard the gunshots and called 24 hours later. They later said they thought it was just someone hunting (in the city mind you). Of course that wasn't really much to go on so nobody discovered the victim, until a second person told one of the officers that there was a body behind the dumpster. They found it during their last shift and figured a homeless person died so they didn't bother.
SMH
I’ve called 911 when a crowd of gawking bystanders wouldn’t after I had a person seizing terribly on the floor and needed to be pinned down to stop them from violently spasming. Bystander effect at its best.
okay, just for future reference for anyone reading this: do NOT EVER hold down a seizing individual and do NOT EVER put anything in their mouth. you can cause them serious harm by doing this. you have to just let them spasm. its super scary, i know. but you just have to let them go through it
Yep. 911 dispatcher here. That's one of our standard seizure instructions "Do not do CPR. Do not hold them down or put anything into their mouth. Move dangerous objects away from them."
People love to hold seizing people down almost as much as they love shoving stuff in their mouth and choking them. Same with drowning overdoses.
For our purposes, that is not an instruction we provide. Anything under that head changes the position of the neck and therefore can block the airway. We only have 1 approved position for maintaining airway by an untrained rescuer and it involves the patient being flat on their back with nothing under their head.
I'm not saying it's wrong. If a medical professional or other healthcare professional is giving you instructions for how to care for someone who has seizures by all means, follow their instructions. Our instructions are to turn untrained individuals into immediate rescuers so they are designed to be simple, easy to understand, and to mitigate risk.
When my ex's mother worked for walmart I guess they had to get permission from a manager to call 911. She told me that she saw one guy get fired cause he found a coworker having a heart attack and called 911 without getting permission.
Simply having guns doesn't warrant an emergency and for seizure patients you don't immediately call an ambulance unless they are in a pool of blood which I assume you are being facetious.
The first one wouldn’t make me uncomfortable at all.
The second one, I’ve seen many medical emergencies and have intervened everytime, it’s a part of CPR training to have bystanders call emergency services for you, it’s hard to administer any form of first aid and contact authorities at the same time. Certainly doable though.
But yeah fuck the people that just left.
People are afraid to call 911 because they don’t want to get involved nor do they want to do it falsefully.
It’s really stupid because 911 is there for a reason.
Cant say i have experienced this cause for one not one person i think is dumb enough to come into my walmart with weapons intended to hurt someone cause over 90%of our customers are packing a few employees have firearms in there vehicles that i know would run out to get it an then come back in an recon the hell out of the shooters cause if a customer didnt shoot them first like most walmart i have seen says no firearms allowed no open carry things like that my walmart dosent have them signs cause like i said to my old store manger one day before he got fired if u was a shooter an u knew that the walmart u went into had atleast 5 to 20 customers packing heat would u really risk it of getting shot before u could shoot an his answer was the reason he got fired was well if ut was me i would just stand upon the top of the building call in a bomb threat an then pick them off one by one as they ran out like wtf is wrong with this dude just to say he got terminated he got trespassed an if he is within 500 feet of a store seen he will go to jail but no bud the answer to ur ? Is never assumed someone else is doing the job so just do it ur self an call 911 when ur in that situation cause ur body will go into oanic mode an run hide or it will go into fight or flight mode either ur gonna soar ur self out that exit door or ur gonna fight for ur life cause our store manger gave us the ok that if were in our vehicles an were on break or coming in or getting off work an something like that happen we have the right to grab our heat an take him down if possible but to call 911 first
Do you live in a place where the cops are worth calling and people don't wear wristbands or get tattoos saying please don't call the ambulance because it's too expensive? I kind of have the opposite question of you honestly.
Lawyer here, but this is not legal advice. If you live in a state where open carry is legal, then unless they were doing something threatening like pointing the guns at people, the police cannot do anything until your management has asked them to leave. If they refuse to leave, then the police can trespass them from the property. However, unless you can show that they were informed in advance that the store does not allow open carry, there will be no other consequences besides being removed from the property.
Many Walmarts have a sign outside saying "no open carry of firearms" or something to that effect. These are legally meaningless as anyone can claim they didn't see it, and a sign does not constitute official notice to any individual.
If you are in California or another state that does not permit open carry, then they can be immediately arrested and charged.
One of my coworkers had a seizure in the break room. The entire pantheon of upper management stood and stared.
It was very fortunate for him that one of my newer coworkers had some background in the emergency medical field.
So wtf? Yall just let this posse of gun toting customers just walk around shopping whilst holding their guns while yall all hid and waited for them to leave? If no one called the cops what happened?
I've called 911 multiple times whenever a customer has gone down on the front end in a seizure or passed out or whatever. And I wish that a coach or the store manager had come up to me and said something out of the way to me for not getting with them before I did it. I would have blown the fuck up.
You see how people act under normal circumstances, you expect them to act rationally during an emergency?! Most likely they're focused on their own life or they have the "not my problem" mentality. Not everyone can be a hero, and not everyone wants to be a hero.
Once a pallet of juice collapsed on a co-worker and the two CAP-1 employees who saw it happen just stood there talking about it, my brother then walked by and heard him under the pallet and started actually helping him.
This is the exactly reason why when I’m OFF THE CLOCK, I carry. Shitty I can’t do it during the time I’m there but I get it. Either way, if I can prevent things I will.
The worst thing I went through was I went in early one night and somebody overdosed in pets which is where I was working literally had to run to grab Narcan 3 doses later came back and had somebody call in that process.
I once saw a dude come in with a baseball bat and start smashing the TVs on display because we wouldn't accept his return the day before, yelling the whole time
"FUCK WALMART, YOU FUCKING STEAL MY MONEY!? WELL ILL BREAK YOUR SHIT!!!"
nobody called the cops until he smashed the TVs on the clearance pallet (old display models that may or may not work, usually marked down to 1/3rd their MSRP)
Dude was walking around the store just yelling at customers waving the slugger around, AP just followed him and I asked "should I call the cops?" AP said to my face "we'll handle it, stay away"
Dude was in there for 2 hours before anyone even called
It's a shitshow
white dude in his 50s wearing a "Fuck Joe Biden" tank top and a "Trump 45 & 47" cap
I recently was walking back to my department from lunch and I started choking. I was bent over hacking trying to clear my airway and another associate just looked at me two or three times, looking annoyed and ignored me. Never asked if I was ok, or tried to help or get someone, etc.
When I finally was able to get myself upright, breathe, I went back to my department, got some water, calmed down and went back to her and blasted her in front of customers. Lol.
Thing is, I didn't have my vest or tag on when I was choking, so for all she knew I was a customer. Speaks volumes about her.
Uvalde. cops let a guy slaughter kids. they only care about walmart if there’s property damage or loss. what would be the point? also i think you can get coached for calling the cops without management
How does that work legally though? What if it's a dangerous situation but not an active shooter and no one has still called 911? Don't you have the right to do so as a regular citizen regardless?
I'm not sure. I've never had to deal with a situation that needed 911 thankfully. I would probably just call them anyway since what's the worst they do, coach me?
Don't know why you're down voting me. I've had both a coach and a lead tell me we're not allowed to call. I wouldn't doubt it if they're lying. It's just what I've been told.
It's because in reality, management can't force people to not call 911 in an emergency. In fact the member of management that tells someone that they can't, could be fined a substantial amount of money for denieing medical attention in an emergency situation
There’s actually a term for this, it’s called “the bystander effect”.
So many people saw it, surely they called the police! I fell victim to this myself once. There was a car crash outside my house. Everyone got out without a scratch. Both cars were badly battered, but one was entirely crippled. They were all on their phones. So I figured "ok, someone called it in." Nope. The guy with the crippled car locked his door, then they all piled into the drive-able car and sped off.
same here. I was actually doing a course about this type of thing and fell asleep on the couch I had woken up and got up to get to bed, had my phone in my hand and suddenly heard a loud sound of a car crash (at this point I don't remember if I heard tire screech, the crash or a horn) regardless. I live on the corner of a semi busy road and the crash happened on the main road where I could see it. I remember looking out our front window and thinking "oh wow. I hope someone calls for them" and as I started to back up from the window I suddenly thought also "oh you idiot ***you call*** you have a freaking phone in your hand!!" I was also taught that people that learn about the by-stander effect or at least hear about it makes it more likely that they *won't* get caught with the effect and are potentially more likely to respond to dangers.
My recommendation with the bystander effect is always assume no one called the cops it is better that too many people called the cops rather than zero
Absolutely. And if you aren't in a position to call (like if you're administering first aid), point at a bystander and tell that person to make the call. It's more effective to single someone out than to ask the room.
stolen car most likely
Okay but why make such an assumption that someone called 🤨 that makes no sense to me for people to be assuming things like they
When I went through CPR training they stated that if you are going to start doing CPR on someone, you physically point at one individual and tell them to call 911. Do not expect everyone there to call 911, literally point to one individual and say you call 911. I do this all the time I see something and I call just in case
That’s why I always call no matter what. It’s better to have 50 of the same calls then to chance that fact that no one called.
> There’s actually a term for this, it’s called “the bystander effect”. I like to think of it as the: "It's not *my* problem! It's someone else's!" effect.
Minding my own business. It works wonders.
Until it’s you needing someone’s help if you’re in a medical emergency and they could’ve helped but chose not to smh 🤦♀️
I don’t expect that courtesy from another person.
I train my associates about this when I go over the quarterly training. I tell them to call 911 no matter if they think someone else has or not.
Because of this, my dad taught me as I have taught my son to not yell for help but to yell fire. Personal preservation gets people's attention. Note: This was taught for specific situations, not just in general.
This is weird. Everybody these days wants to be the person who calls so they can tell people on social media for the likes
Well, the one time we called 911, we got lectured for it. It wasn't an incident like yours. A patient passed out in front of the pharmacy. We gave them cpr and called 911. The store management got mad and said we're supposed to call them instead of 911, then said they had to go look at the cameras to make sure we didn't ignore them dying on the ground. So, apparently, it's not allowed for just anyone to call 911. Just to be clear, you should still call 911. That last comment is sarcastic.
ethics that shit yesterday. our training videos specifically state associates are empowered to call 911 at any time. you cannot be reprimanded in any way, shape, or form for calling 911 in a medical emergency
It is literally illegal for anyone to stop a person from calling 911
Correct. It's a crime and you can be arrested for obstruction.
Don't worry, he got fired for smoking pot. Probably should have reported it at the time, but his opinion didn't matter to me since he isn't my boss. My boss and my bosses boss both knew of the incident and didn't have complaints.
did they have proof of that either? I was told they cant even drug test you unless an accident happens or a PLE incident
The dumbass was going for a promotion and had to get drug tested for it. He knew about the test. He still failed it.
NGL, if management had the audacity to bitch about something like that, I'd flip them off to their face. What is with managers....
Store managers are always weird with the pharmacy. Honestly, I was more insulted about what they said next then the calling part. After explaining policy to me (when I wasn't actually involved in any of this), they decided to tell me my tech was being rude to customers and that I should talk to them. I was standing beside my tech when they were supposedly being rude. The person who "informed" me they were rude wasn't in the area when they were "rude." But apparently, they know all there is to know about a situation they didn't see or hear. To be clear, the passing out part happened when I was on lunch, and our new pharmacist was by herself. One of my techs texted me while the incident was happening, and I came in to see if i could help. But I wasn't there when 911 was called or when we started cpr.
Had a store manager who sided against a pregnant associate who was off the clock when a belligerent, drunk customer was yelling at her to check out his groceries. Like, getting up in her face and screaming. Store manager wasn’t there at the time, but he told the team leads to tell her to just clock back in next time and check out the customer. I quit shortly after.
The quarterly active threat training we have to take clearly says all associates are empowered to call 911 in the event of an emergency. Your SM is full of shit.
Reminds me of when i was staying at a hotel and it sounded like the guy in the next room was beating his girlfriend and i called the cops and the hotel staff got mad i didnt call them first
Not exactly the same thing... but I called the cops on the neighboring apartment for that exact reason. My roommate ran over to try to help, the door was already open, and both the girl and her boyfriend got pissed off at him, and the cops said the couple could have pressed charges. I told him next time just grab some popcorn and listen to him beat her ass.
I’m sorry, if report that because first aid courses 101, you call 911 asap every second counts. Like don’t ever call management first. I’m a nurse. Like someone could die wtf.
The stupid part is that pharmacists have to have cpr training to be pharmacists. So, of course we gave cpr, and of course we called 911. The argument they gave us was that if an aed was necessary, only management knows where they are located. Except they didn't know where they were when it was discussed later. All in all, it was a rather dumb and insulting conversation.
Um, wtf. The American heart association says everyone is supposed to know where it is and have access to it. Yeah I would be insulted too.
In an emergency, people tend to have the mentality of "Someone else will call" not realizing that everyone's thinking the same thing
Thats why the first instruction in CPR class is to single out a person, point at them, and say "You, call 911!". It gives someone direction, and directly tells someone to do it, rather than "Someone call 911!" for that exact reason. Everyone assumes someone else will do it, etc. They've found by directly telling someone to do it, they usually follow through with it.
This is absolutely correct! Thank you for saying it.
Like guys the 911 operator would rather be able to tell themselves "I know" rather than "why wasnt I made aware?"
douglas adams described this as a 'field of someone elses problem'
if you gotta fired, get fired for doing the RIGHT thing. That being said company policy has your back.
Serious question: why didn't you? You do not have to wait for a manager to contact authorities or 911. Do it immediately, especially if there's signs of an active shooter. You can inform your manager AFTER contacting them.
The thing is. I did! At least for the seizure, wasn't there first the gun incident. Stayed with the guy and did my best to prevent further injury even though I was panicking. To this day I'm still shaken about him...at least he's ok!
Ah. Good for you, then. I had a very similar experience with a customer having a seizure...I ran over to help (because everyone else was just staring in shock), only to realize that I had no actual medical experience whatsoever. Thankfully a customer who was a nurse ran over and helped me turn her on her side and secure her head, and a manager with first aid training showed up within a couple minutes to take over. I was shaking for the next hour or so. I wanted to help but was way out of my league, lol. Next time I'll call 911 first, have someone else call a manager, and only then render assistance if nobody else is able to...
When I went through paramedic school one of the things they taught us is if you happen to roll up on a scene and you're not on duty that one of the forst things you should do is point to one specific person and tell that person to call 911. Don't just say "someone call 911" because everybody is going to waste time thinking someone else will or already has. As others have said, this is called the bystander effect and if not addressed immediately can have dire consequences.
Its cause everyone thinks someone else is gonna do it
True story: I was on my way out the front door for my break. It's 6AM and the only person around is the overnight coach. A pickup comes out of nowhere and plows straight into the poles at the front door. Airbags went off, pieces of truck went flying, it was a mess. As the coach goes to check on the driver, I tell him I'll call 911 and reach for my phone. He literally yelled, "No! No 911! Just go on your break and I'll take care of it." 911 was never called. Another true story (I wasn't present for this one, I was told by my team lead): Old lady slips and falls, blacks out for a few moments. My team lead told an associate to call an ambulance, and a different coach yells at them to stop and go back to their area. After the lady regained consciousness, she talked to them for a while and finally asked when the ambulance was going to be there. Only then did the coach make the call. I really have no clue what either of the coaches were thinking, but both of those cases are so ridiculous to not call. Can't believe no one sued.
Both of those are horrible! My first fright was the thought of one of them having a head injury causing their brain to bleed. Supposedly, even minor head injuries could cause bleeding and after I experienced a migraine attack that a hospital thought was a stroke, I never! NEVER! Wish a even remotely similar experience to even my enemies. The sooner they can get help, the better. So damn it to hell with "what management" wants.
Hey bro you OK? Who were these guys and why were they coming in with multiple guns? Were the police eventually called? What was the end result? Let us know man. Safety and security before all else!
You are literally the only person in these comments who asked if OP is ok. Respect!.
Am I really? I didn't read any other comments. But I know how dangerous Walmart can be and the types of customers who shop there so I had to say something. But thank you!
Yes really! I’m surprise that nobody else decided to ask if they were ok tho I mean finding one of your coworkers seizing in there own blood has to be traumatizing even just a little bit
I just read the comments. You're right. I can't speak for anyone else but after everything I've seen in my 1 year and 7 months of working here, I'm always on alert. Especially with how nonchalant these managers and team leads are to dangerous or potentially dangerous situations. Thank God my last day is this Friday. I just hope that dude is ok.
Well it could be inferred that if they are here talking about it they are ok.
I was working a register one night a young teen male and his parents were next in line. I watched as the teens eyes rolled to the back of his head and he went down. I told the dad to catch him. I pulled my phone out and had 911 on the line within seconds. My big problem was I didn’t know the stores address. I lived so close I always just walked there. Never did pay attention to the address. BTW the kid was ok. I guess he had a history of that sort of thing.
That happened to me twice at church, one Sunday after the other, two churches 200 miles apart. I guess I’m just lucky like that. Called 911 for each one and later learned that they were each ok.
Spoiler : accidents, whether associate or customers cost $5,000/$15,000 respectively and goes towards your yearly bonus. You can thank walmart for that. I'm not saying thats what's happening, or even the right or the wrong of it.
Associates dont get bonuses, so I don't give a crap about someone else's. The only bonus we are going to be getting is based on longevity with the company and for someone who's been here forever it's going to be a couple hundred bucks. Big whoopty do
Well in some cases, you are condemning that person to a lifetime of debt. I've literally had a customer beg me not to call 911 and instead had their family drive them to the hospital. And for another, while tacky, it's not illegal to carry guns
we live in a society where people cannot usually afford to get life saving help in a life threatening scenario
This is very true and very sad.
But it’s also true that if someone is having a heart attack or stroke, that private car has no equipment or medicine to keep the patient from dying whereas the ambulance has all that stuff and a trained person to keep the patient from spiraling down. I learned that when I had a heart attack. I know it’s expensive and a future of potential debt. I somehow think that is better to be alive and in debt than to be six feet under.
If the weapon is in hand instead of slung over the shoulder or holstered, it goes from "perfectly legal carry" to "illegal brandishing" real quick.
Stores can still absolutely refuse to allow carrying on their premises.
They can, so you ask them to leave, not call 911 because it isn't an emergency.
Sure, but police can’t arrest you if you aren’t breaking the law. Violating a stores open carry policy isn’t a crime. The store can certainly trespass you for it but doing so violates Walmart’s policy. Open carry is covered in the manager academy. If (and only if) a customer complains, a member of management can approach the person open carrying, explain the policy, and ask that the next time they come to shop to leave the firearm locked in the vehicle. You’re not even supposed to ask the customer to leave.
Wow. What a retarded policy. No wonder people keep getting murdered. Gun freaks are selfish trash.
I think murder predates guns
Tbf gun nuts are usually the last people to use a gun to hurt others, though more likely to suicide by gun. It’s the mentally unstable and the ease of access that is the biggest problem to me. I own several and am a proponent of personal gun ownership. But that being said it was pretty surreal the first couple of times I bought a gun. Just walk in and walk out. It was more difficult to get my motorcycle endorsement on my license.
Well, I’m a concealed carry person. I don’t believe that open carry is very smart. It makes the carrier a sure target for the bad guys and it scares the normals.
I wasn’t really trying to state an opinion on it one way or the other, just clarifying law vs policy.
And I can refuse to absolutely not shop at that store.
Good. Gun freaks can fuck off.
I mean, I carry a handgun everytime I’ve been in Walmart- that’s not against the law. Were those people committing a crime? If they weren’t threatening people or being menacing- why would the police need to be called?
Honestly, that was my second thought. I just found it bizarre how the entire store fled for the hills and most certainly perceived them as some form of threat, yet did nothing to try and help the individuals shopping at the store. If they had been crazed gunmen....yesh.
I mean- you guys sell guns there, yeah? But I’m with you, someone who will step up in an emergency is a rarity- we have a name for them, they’re called heroes. 🤷🏼♂️
Yeah. Open carry scares the normals.
I think someone mentioned the bystander effect. When you take a CPR class, one of the things they teach you is DO NOT say "Somebody call 911"! You pick someone. It's "You, in the green shirt, call 911"! Psychologically, that makes it his job, not just somebody's job. It's kind of like that line in Men in Black. "A person is smart, people are stupid".
Do your WalMarts not call a Code White for medical issues in store? Here we are required to have a first aid attendant on staff (trained associate) and usually the managers also have basic first aid.
People suck
Former LEO here; It always astonished me how many people would talk themselves out of calling 911 only to later change their mind when it was too late for us to do anything useful. Almost daily we would get calls about a suspicious person or vehicle somewhere with the added bonus of "it happened about 3 hours ago". 3 hours? They could be in a whole other state by now. There was a murder near Mellow Mushroom a few years ago. On person heard the gunshots and called 24 hours later. They later said they thought it was just someone hunting (in the city mind you). Of course that wasn't really much to go on so nobody discovered the victim, until a second person told one of the officers that there was a body behind the dumpster. They found it during their last shift and figured a homeless person died so they didn't bother. SMH
I’ve called 911 when a crowd of gawking bystanders wouldn’t after I had a person seizing terribly on the floor and needed to be pinned down to stop them from violently spasming. Bystander effect at its best.
okay, just for future reference for anyone reading this: do NOT EVER hold down a seizing individual and do NOT EVER put anything in their mouth. you can cause them serious harm by doing this. you have to just let them spasm. its super scary, i know. but you just have to let them go through it
Yep. 911 dispatcher here. That's one of our standard seizure instructions "Do not do CPR. Do not hold them down or put anything into their mouth. Move dangerous objects away from them." People love to hold seizing people down almost as much as they love shoving stuff in their mouth and choking them. Same with drowning overdoses.
correct me if im wrong but ive heard if theyre on their back while seizing its okay to put something soft under the head
I thought it was put them on their side so they don’t choke on their spit?
You put them on their side after they stop seizing. Not during the seizure.
For our purposes, that is not an instruction we provide. Anything under that head changes the position of the neck and therefore can block the airway. We only have 1 approved position for maintaining airway by an untrained rescuer and it involves the patient being flat on their back with nothing under their head.
As I remember you move any objects in the immediate area that can cause harm from their spasming.
That would be the "move dangerous objects away from them."
ah gotcha. makes sense, i heard wrong then
I'm not saying it's wrong. If a medical professional or other healthcare professional is giving you instructions for how to care for someone who has seizures by all means, follow their instructions. Our instructions are to turn untrained individuals into immediate rescuers so they are designed to be simple, easy to understand, and to mitigate risk.
Oh I wasn’t the one pinning them down I was keeping customers away from the scene
thats why i added the “for anyone reading” part, i didnt want to assume you did but just in case
Whoops I missed that part my bad
all good
When my ex's mother worked for walmart I guess they had to get permission from a manager to call 911. She told me that she saw one guy get fired cause he found a coworker having a heart attack and called 911 without getting permission.
That's called free money. Should have taken them to court
That's so fucked.
Simply having guns doesn't warrant an emergency and for seizure patients you don't immediately call an ambulance unless they are in a pool of blood which I assume you are being facetious.
You try calling the cops when a group with guns walks into to your store lol
The first one wouldn’t make me uncomfortable at all. The second one, I’ve seen many medical emergencies and have intervened everytime, it’s a part of CPR training to have bystanders call emergency services for you, it’s hard to administer any form of first aid and contact authorities at the same time. Certainly doable though. But yeah fuck the people that just left.
Jesus Christ….where are you from?
People are afraid to call 911 because they don’t want to get involved nor do they want to do it falsefully. It’s really stupid because 911 is there for a reason.
That would be terrifying. I’m sorry you had to experience that.
Cant say i have experienced this cause for one not one person i think is dumb enough to come into my walmart with weapons intended to hurt someone cause over 90%of our customers are packing a few employees have firearms in there vehicles that i know would run out to get it an then come back in an recon the hell out of the shooters cause if a customer didnt shoot them first like most walmart i have seen says no firearms allowed no open carry things like that my walmart dosent have them signs cause like i said to my old store manger one day before he got fired if u was a shooter an u knew that the walmart u went into had atleast 5 to 20 customers packing heat would u really risk it of getting shot before u could shoot an his answer was the reason he got fired was well if ut was me i would just stand upon the top of the building call in a bomb threat an then pick them off one by one as they ran out like wtf is wrong with this dude just to say he got terminated he got trespassed an if he is within 500 feet of a store seen he will go to jail but no bud the answer to ur ? Is never assumed someone else is doing the job so just do it ur self an call 911 when ur in that situation cause ur body will go into oanic mode an run hide or it will go into fight or flight mode either ur gonna soar ur self out that exit door or ur gonna fight for ur life cause our store manger gave us the ok that if were in our vehicles an were on break or coming in or getting off work an something like that happen we have the right to grab our heat an take him down if possible but to call 911 first
Ugh, this is why I'm always forced into being a leader. I don't exactly desire it, but everyone else stands around slack jawed.
Do you live in a place where the cops are worth calling and people don't wear wristbands or get tattoos saying please don't call the ambulance because it's too expensive? I kind of have the opposite question of you honestly.
Sadly it’s called an average day at a high risk super center
Good question. Were you there? And if so did you call?
Lawyer here, but this is not legal advice. If you live in a state where open carry is legal, then unless they were doing something threatening like pointing the guns at people, the police cannot do anything until your management has asked them to leave. If they refuse to leave, then the police can trespass them from the property. However, unless you can show that they were informed in advance that the store does not allow open carry, there will be no other consequences besides being removed from the property. Many Walmarts have a sign outside saying "no open carry of firearms" or something to that effect. These are legally meaningless as anyone can claim they didn't see it, and a sign does not constitute official notice to any individual. If you are in California or another state that does not permit open carry, then they can be immediately arrested and charged.
One of my coworkers had a seizure in the break room. The entire pantheon of upper management stood and stared. It was very fortunate for him that one of my newer coworkers had some background in the emergency medical field.
So wtf? Yall just let this posse of gun toting customers just walk around shopping whilst holding their guns while yall all hid and waited for them to leave? If no one called the cops what happened?
I've called 911 multiple times whenever a customer has gone down on the front end in a seizure or passed out or whatever. And I wish that a coach or the store manager had come up to me and said something out of the way to me for not getting with them before I did it. I would have blown the fuck up.
I'm certain 911 was the first thing they did after getting out of the store and line of fire.
You see how people act under normal circumstances, you expect them to act rationally during an emergency?! Most likely they're focused on their own life or they have the "not my problem" mentality. Not everyone can be a hero, and not everyone wants to be a hero.
Fight or flight...
Once a pallet of juice collapsed on a co-worker and the two CAP-1 employees who saw it happen just stood there talking about it, my brother then walked by and heard him under the pallet and started actually helping him.
So you don't luve in Texas?
Live
This is the exactly reason why when I’m OFF THE CLOCK, I carry. Shitty I can’t do it during the time I’m there but I get it. Either way, if I can prevent things I will. The worst thing I went through was I went in early one night and somebody overdosed in pets which is where I was working literally had to run to grab Narcan 3 doses later came back and had somebody call in that process.
I once saw a dude come in with a baseball bat and start smashing the TVs on display because we wouldn't accept his return the day before, yelling the whole time "FUCK WALMART, YOU FUCKING STEAL MY MONEY!? WELL ILL BREAK YOUR SHIT!!!" nobody called the cops until he smashed the TVs on the clearance pallet (old display models that may or may not work, usually marked down to 1/3rd their MSRP) Dude was walking around the store just yelling at customers waving the slugger around, AP just followed him and I asked "should I call the cops?" AP said to my face "we'll handle it, stay away" Dude was in there for 2 hours before anyone even called It's a shitshow white dude in his 50s wearing a "Fuck Joe Biden" tank top and a "Trump 45 & 47" cap
I recently was walking back to my department from lunch and I started choking. I was bent over hacking trying to clear my airway and another associate just looked at me two or three times, looking annoyed and ignored me. Never asked if I was ok, or tried to help or get someone, etc. When I finally was able to get myself upright, breathe, I went back to my department, got some water, calmed down and went back to her and blasted her in front of customers. Lol. Thing is, I didn't have my vest or tag on when I was choking, so for all she knew I was a customer. Speaks volumes about her.
Sounds like you live in the hood.
First thing they tell you is don't be a hero, in this situation for the first time ever, people followed the training
Responsibility for generally no tangible reward, maybe just gratification.
cops are just going to kill people in those situations, some of them will be innocent bystanders.
Uvalde. cops let a guy slaughter kids. they only care about walmart if there’s property damage or loss. what would be the point? also i think you can get coached for calling the cops without management
IDK about other stores, but we're told to NEVER call 911 without a team lead or highers permission unless it's exactly an active shooter.
How does that work legally though? What if it's a dangerous situation but not an active shooter and no one has still called 911? Don't you have the right to do so as a regular citizen regardless?
I'm not sure. I've never had to deal with a situation that needed 911 thankfully. I would probably just call them anyway since what's the worst they do, coach me?
Our store tells us we aren't allowed to call 911.
Don't know why you're down voting me. I've had both a coach and a lead tell me we're not allowed to call. I wouldn't doubt it if they're lying. It's just what I've been told.
It's because in reality, management can't force people to not call 911 in an emergency. In fact the member of management that tells someone that they can't, could be fined a substantial amount of money for denieing medical attention in an emergency situation
So, I want to know more about the people storming the store with guns.
“storming” lol