CHICAGO (Reuters) - A U.S. retailer has been deluged with angry messages since an employee sent an e-mail to an American soldier in Iraq saying "if you were sensible, you and your troops would pull out of Iraq."
Bargain Suppliers of West Allis, Wisconsin, took down its Discount Mats Web site after voice messages and e-mails poured in following the January 16 message to Army Sgt. Jason Hess by the unnamed, and now former, employee.
Hess, serving at an Army base in Taji, had sent the company an e-mail asking if it could ship its foam-rubber floor matting to an Army Post Office in Iraq.
The response sent later that day said: "We do not ship to APO addresses, and even if we did, we would NEVER ship to Iraq. If you were sensible, you and your troops would pull out of Iraq."
The Veterans of Foreign Wars said it applauded the company for firing the worker.
"It was totally out of line for any employee to interject personal feelings into what was a normal business transaction," VFW Commander-in-Chief Gary Kurpius said in a statement. "Supporting our troops is not an acknowledgment that you support the politics of the war."
Bargain Suppliers' vice president, Sajid Nasir, apologized in an interview with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and said some of the messages had left him fearful
I tell my peers over and over.... the power of the people is mighty! Most people do not complain... they go silent! Silence is a killer to business! So is the grapevine! This is excellent on two levels. One.It shows the respect for our troops and justice, is alive and well. It does not matter what our platform on war... our people deserve our respect and support. Second level... it reaffirms my knowledge that, in business, the swing will come back. The customer/client/visitor/ is always first. Business wants/belief/policies are second. Without people... no business can exist. Money is the by-product, of society, not the wheel itself. It may turn it, but without the other, there is nothing to turn! Technology just gives more power to the grapevine and a swifter fall of the axe! Thanks Everyone for giving voice to this matter. We do count! Kathy :)
