The Customer is NOT always right.

[SolkaTruesilver]

Can't blame her. Her boss hung her out to dry.

Can't anything be done about it? I mean... seriously. You can't tolerate somebody doing that kind of abuse on an employee, yet he did.

[Tyyr]

If there's actual violence? No, the employer wouldn't even have any say in the matter as its no a criminal proceeding. The threat of violence is a different story. You could make a police report but nothing's likely to happen. They're busy with real violent crimes, not threatened ones and hurt feelings.

[SolkaTruesilver]

If there's actual violence? No, the employer wouldn't even have any say in the matter as its no a criminal proceeding. The threat of violence is a different story. You could make a police report but nothing's likely to happen. They're busy with real violent crimes, not threatened ones and hurt feelings.

So yet again, we have to wait for somebody to get killed or abused to do something, eh?

[Mark]

I told her to PRAY for this broad to come down and actually do it. After all, this call had been noted, documented, logged, and reported to management, who chose to dismiss it. Should she actually get assaulted by this bimbo, she'll own the damned dealership.

[Tyyr]

So yet again, we have to wait for somebody to get killed or abused to do something, eh?

Legally? Pretty much.

[Tsukiyumi]

In Texas, that sort of specific threat is a "terroristic threat", and is a felony. She could press charges if she chose to.

[Vic]

If there's actual violence? No, the employer wouldn't even have any say in the matter as its no a criminal proceeding. The threat of violence is a different story. You could make a police report but nothing's likely to happen. They're busy with real violent crimes, not threatened ones and hurt feelings.

So yet again, we have to wait for somebody to get killed or abused to do something, eh?

Words are words only, actions are the only thing......actionable. There's a pun in there somewhere.

[Mikey]

In Texas, that sort of specific threat is a "terroristic threat", and is a felony. She could press charges if she chose to.

Same in Jersey. Especially now that she's free of any obligation to her employer, she could press charges (and probably sue the company for not altering an unsafe work environment.) I had a boss from North Bergen (Tony Soprano country, for those who don't know Jersey) who heard about such a threatening call to one of our employees - the boss thereupon called back the threatening customer and basically told him "come at me, bro." I don't remember the exact wording of the whole conversation, but I do know that on my boss' side, the phrase "open your head up with a 2x4" was used.

[Captain Seafort]

In Texas, that sort of specific threat is a "terroristic threat", and is a felony.

"Terroristic threat"? What bright spark dreamt up that language?

It's certainly an offence, but it's "threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour", contrary to section 4(1) of the Public Order Act 1986. Basically broad-brush legalise to sweep up gobby fuckwits.

[Tsukiyumi]

"Terroristic threat"? What bright spark dreamt up that language?

No clue, but it's been in place here for at least the last 20 years. If you specifically threaten to hurt or kill someone, it's a crime. At least as long as there are witnesses.

[Mikey]

Yep.

OTOH, when I was in truck sales I never had to worry about it. With 85% of my business involving dual-rear-wheel vehicles, often with no or unloaded bodies, I had a perfect excuse reason to carry a good old-fashioned hickory tire-knocker. Keep it in the tool box and you're fine. Keep it under the seat, and even Texan cops will arrest you for UPW.

[SolkaTruesilver]

Yep.

OTOH, when I was in truck sales I never had to worry about it. With 85% of my business involving dual-rear-wheel vehicles, often with no or unloaded bodies, I had a perfect excuse reason to carry a good old-fashioned hickory tire-knocker. Keep it in the tool box and you're fine. Keep it under the seat, and even Texan cops will arrest you for UPW.

In the same idea, keeping a baseball bat in your car might get you in trouble. Keeping the same baseball bat with a glove and a few balls is just fine.

[Mikey]

Yep. Apparent intent is everything. I've read of a guy in Dallas who was arrested - when pulled over for speeding, the cop found a tire-knocker under his seat (he was driving a half-ton pick-em-up truck, and often pulled duallie trailers.) If it were in the trunk next to the lug wrench, there would have been no problem.

[Mikey]

BTW, for those unfamiliar with the "tool:" a tire-knocker (aka tire-thumper) is a club, generally hickory but sometimes aluminum or acrylic/epoxy, usually about 18" long and often with a turned or wrapped grip and a wrist-thong on the grip end. They sometimes taper from the business end to the grip, and are sometimes weighted toward the business end. Officially, they are used for thumping tires; a big truck has a lot of tires to check, and the inner ones on a duallie mount are hard to get at with a pressure gauge. So, you take a tire knocker and bang the sidewall - if you get a nice bounce and sharp "whack," you're OK to get on the road.

Unofficially, of course, they are simply a "get-away-from-me stick" in a size that's easily handled and controlled in one hand, and often weighted better than a police baton.

[mwhittington]

Ah, the tire knocker. My dad had one of those when he was a truck driver, but 99% of its use was in an official capacity. The other 1 percent was across the cheekbone of a Mexican gang-banger knocking around his girlfriend on the side of the road because she threw up in his Impala. Dad said she was about maybe 6 months pregnant and this puntamadre is dragging her out of the car by the hair and backhands her for barfing in his ride. Dad saw it and pulls over while the guy is grabbing some rags out of the trunk of his lowrider and throws them to the girl to clean up the mess. As she starts cleaning, my dad (who at the time was about 6 feet tall and 200 lbs.) comes up to the guy and says very politely for the man to apologize to the lady, to which he told my dad to do something that would be physically impossible, and then makes the mistake of putting his hand on my dad. Without a word, my dad swung the tire knocker full force across the guy's face, breaking his cheekbone and sending the guy into the ditch. Then he asks the girlfriend (who now has a swollen cheek) if she's alright, and she yells at him for smacking her boyfriend! My dad just gets back in the truck and drives off.