Emily Swenson Minnesota ice cream shop worker at Moorhead Freez fired for receiving $100 tip from possible dementia sufferer as debate ensues.
A worker at a Minnesota ice cream parlor was fired for receiving a larger than normal tip from a customer that ‘could be’ dealing with dementia.
Emily Swenson was working a shift at the Moorhead Freez when a customer came in and tried to leave her a $100 tip.
After Emily insisted that the tip was too generous and that she could not accept it, the customer put the bill in the tip jar and drove away according to Kansas City.
Days later, on April 24, Emily received a written warning from her boss. Her parents, Seth and Lisa Swenson, uploaded the ’employee warning notice form’ on their joint Facebook post.
Read the statement: ‘Emily needs to understand that some of our customers are elderly and could be dealing with dementia or other illnesses that make it hard for them to understand their actions. No one in their right frame of mind tips $100 at a place where every menu item is under $12.’
The parents explained in their Facebook post that Emily was working her fifth season at the ice cream shop – and revealed that her boss had accused her of ‘taking’ the $100 from a customer.
The written warning went on to say, ‘As an employee of The Freez, it is your responsibility to protect the reputation of the establishment. If the customer is dealing with issues and the family finds out that she was allowed to put $100 in the tip jar, The Freez will be looked down on as a place that takes advantage of the elderly.’
Emily was fired the next day, according to her parents.
The Freez terminated her on the basis that she violated the company’s policy which states that employee’s should not accept bills over $20 as a form of payment – although the policy does not mention anything about tips.
Ice cream shop comes under fire
The owner of the shop said it has been bullied since the Swensons made their post. The shop has a 1.7 rating out of 5 on Facebook, with a large portion of its more than 1,100 ratings as of Tuesday being in response to the alleged firing.
The ice cream shop released their own statement on Facebook following wide rebuke
‘Ice cream makes people happy. Social media bullying – not so much,’ the Freez wrote.
‘We did not terminate the adult at will employee of five years for not accepting a tip. There’s more to the story.
‘We won’t go into details, it’s a personal matter. However, we believes that if the parents are posting for an adult child – they haven’t asked the right questions of their adult daughter,’ the Freez continued.
Members of the public rushed to the comments to share their reactions to the controversial termination.
‘So perhaps the owner should check to see if that customer was an elderly one with dementia before firing her employee,’ Atlanta Swensen wrote.
‘Perhaps she was someone who really appreciated Emily and her coworkers who do a good job. I doubt any other food establishment would fire someone for saying they couldn’t accept the tip and then the person put it in the tip jar anyway!’
Responded another, ‘Enjoy going out of business jerks.’
Added another, ‘You literally said “nobody in their right mind” as if you assumed the person that left the tip had mental issues. This isn’t just wrong towards the employee but to the customer as well.’
Another user said, ‘I’m trying to wrap my head around this situation. How is it Emily’s fault if the lady dropped the money in the tip jar after Emily refused to take it? It sounds to me like the manager/owner was looking for fault in employees.’
‘Dementia or not this is an insane response to the situation,’ a user wrote.
And then of course there was this comment as well:
‘I didn’t know I had dementia until today. Apparently generous tipping is a sign of being ‘not in my right mind. Who knew? Thank you for saving me a doctor visit. I’m sure your ex employee will be much happier elsewhere.’
While another contemplated, ‘I’m just sad, for everyone. I’m sad that it even happened. But really the comments do need to stop.’
