BB62
Accomplished Advocate
This afternoon I entered the Kroger store on Glenway Avenue in Cincinnati, intending to purchase some gift cards, but first wanted to use the restroom.
As I was standing at the porcelain object on the wall in the men's restroom I heard a voice behind me say "Hello" and ask how I was. I turned around to see who it was and found it was a security guard (not a police officer). He said "Can I ask you to leave that outside?" Since I had no intention of leaving what I had in my hand outside, I said "Leave what?"
I think he said something about there being a bank in the store, but since I was otherwise occupied I said something to the effect of "How about if we talk about it after I get done here?" After two (or three) repetitions of his request and my request, he finally left the restroom. I was hoping he didn't repeat the request again because at that point I was really irritated, thinking "Does this guy really think this is the place and time to have a discussion??"
Anyway, I left the restroom and found him in front of the customer service desk and asked what was up. He said that he was told that since a bank in the store and since they sell liquor, no carry was allowed. He said that not all stores had banks or wine-tasting, but that the policy applied only to such stores. I asked him "Who said that?" and he said "The management", so I asked to speak to the manager. I then told him that I was an instructor, and that the law wasn't what he was told it was. It was a pleasant conversation, he told me that he personally had no problem with open or concealed carry, but that he was doing as he was told.
The manager arrived and repeated what the guard said about their policy - no OC or CC in certain stores. I questioned it, stating that it was my understanding that Kroger's policy was to follow state law, and asked if the policy had changed. I told him that if it had, I would put out the word, but that the last time the policy had to be clarified, it resulted in lots and lots of calls, nationwide, to Kroger's customer service center. I asked him to please check on the policy, and he did so. He came back and said that he had checked with loss prevention and found that unless the customer was "causing a problem" (like "causing" a customer to complain) that carry of any sort was fine.
So, we're back to who is "causing" a problem! <sigh>
I asked and received the name and phone number for the manager and the loss prevention employee, as well LP guy's e-mail address.
It's late tonight, and I'll work up a letter to the LP guy, but in the meanwhile I'd appreciate contact information higher up in the food chain if anyone has it.
This is the second such instance I'm aware of this year, the other being here: http://forum.opencarry.org/forums/s...ut-of-Kroger&p=1979034&viewfull=1#post1979034
I certainly don't want Kroger to establish a policy other than "we follow state law", but no one yet that I've seen has documentation/documentation from someone other than a customer service rep of just what their policy is - and that just doesn't cut it.
As I was standing at the porcelain object on the wall in the men's restroom I heard a voice behind me say "Hello" and ask how I was. I turned around to see who it was and found it was a security guard (not a police officer). He said "Can I ask you to leave that outside?" Since I had no intention of leaving what I had in my hand outside, I said "Leave what?"
I think he said something about there being a bank in the store, but since I was otherwise occupied I said something to the effect of "How about if we talk about it after I get done here?" After two (or three) repetitions of his request and my request, he finally left the restroom. I was hoping he didn't repeat the request again because at that point I was really irritated, thinking "Does this guy really think this is the place and time to have a discussion??"
Anyway, I left the restroom and found him in front of the customer service desk and asked what was up. He said that he was told that since a bank in the store and since they sell liquor, no carry was allowed. He said that not all stores had banks or wine-tasting, but that the policy applied only to such stores. I asked him "Who said that?" and he said "The management", so I asked to speak to the manager. I then told him that I was an instructor, and that the law wasn't what he was told it was. It was a pleasant conversation, he told me that he personally had no problem with open or concealed carry, but that he was doing as he was told.
The manager arrived and repeated what the guard said about their policy - no OC or CC in certain stores. I questioned it, stating that it was my understanding that Kroger's policy was to follow state law, and asked if the policy had changed. I told him that if it had, I would put out the word, but that the last time the policy had to be clarified, it resulted in lots and lots of calls, nationwide, to Kroger's customer service center. I asked him to please check on the policy, and he did so. He came back and said that he had checked with loss prevention and found that unless the customer was "causing a problem" (like "causing" a customer to complain) that carry of any sort was fine.
So, we're back to who is "causing" a problem! <sigh>
I asked and received the name and phone number for the manager and the loss prevention employee, as well LP guy's e-mail address.
It's late tonight, and I'll work up a letter to the LP guy, but in the meanwhile I'd appreciate contact information higher up in the food chain if anyone has it.
This is the second such instance I'm aware of this year, the other being here: http://forum.opencarry.org/forums/s...ut-of-Kroger&p=1979034&viewfull=1#post1979034
I certainly don't want Kroger to establish a policy other than "we follow state law", but no one yet that I've seen has documentation/documentation from someone other than a customer service rep of just what their policy is - and that just doesn't cut it.
