Marks & Spencer's faces furious backlash from customers over Muslim policy

[tay]

Marks & Spencer is facing a boycott from hundreds of customers furious at the store’s decision to allow Muslim staff to refuse to serve customers buying alcohol or pork products.

The policy was revealed after customers trying to buy pork or alcohol from a Muslim shop assistant in central London were told they would have to use another till because of the cashier's religion.


The chain has admitted, however, that it has breached its own internal policy - by forcing its staff to choose between their beliefs and their responsibilties to the supermarket.


A spokesperson for M&S said that it works closely with employees with specific beliefs that restrict what food or drink they can handle, but on this occasion it had to “regret” that it had not followed its own guidelines.


“Where we have an employee whose religious beliefs restrict food or drink they can handle, we work closely with our member of staff to place them in suitable role, such as in our clothing department or bakery in foods.





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M&S faces furious backlash from customers over Muslim policy - Telegraph

 

[Tecumsehsbones]

Interestingly, here we have a big furor over whether pharmacy workers can refuse to serve customers who want birth control or abortifacients, which is mostly fundamentalist Christian pharmacy workers. Me, I try to be consistent. If you work in a store, you sell whatever the store sells to whoever is qualified to buy it. But I calculate there'll be plenty of folks who support letting Muslims refuse to sell alcohol or pork, but oppose letting Christians refuse to sell abortifacients.

 

[55Mercury]

but of course

hypocrisy is our species' middle name

 

[Tecumsehsbones]

but of course

hypocrisy is our species' middle name

I thought it was Sapiens?

Of course, our species's first name is Homo. We probably need a name change. How 'bout "Chuck?"

 

[SLM]

Interestingly, here we have a big furor over whether pharmacy workers can refuse to serve customers who want birth control or abortifacients, which is mostly fundamentalist Christian pharmacy workers. Me, I try to be consistent. If you work in a store, you sell whatever the store sells to whoever is qualified to buy it. But I calculate there'll be plenty of folks who support letting Muslims refuse to sell alcohol or pork, but oppose letting Christians refuse to sell abortifacients.

Not me, I think it's all daft. If you take a job in an industry that provides a service that causes some kind of conflict with your own value system, whether it's religious based or not, you need to deal with that conflict before you take the job. Employers need to have these policies in place, and they need to be fair policies so as not to effectively discriminate against a segment of society, but they shouldn't be randomly changing or altering these policies particularly when doing so means great inconvenience to either their customer base or to their staff.

 

[Blackleaf]

If anyone else refused to serve customers because they disagreed with what they were buying they would be instantly reprimanded.

Not if you're a Muslim, though.

As I've said before: It's one rule if you're a Muslim and another if you're anybody else.

 

[Ron in Regina]

Marks & Spencer is facing a boycott from hundreds of customers furious at the store’s decision to allow Muslim staff to refuse to serve customers buying alcohol or pork products.

The policy was revealed after customers trying to buy pork or alcohol from a Muslim shop assistant in central London were told they would have to use another till because of the cashier's religion.

Wow....my reaction would be dependent upon the length of the line I'd
been waiting in before I got to the Till. I'd be pissed, but much more polite
if it didn't overly inconvenience me, to be honest.

If the Cashier can't sell all the products that the store sells.....then maybe
they can work away from the Tills and in the vegetable section or something.

 

[petros]

How and by who sells me booze isn't an issue. The people bitching should move to a "dry" town, city or county. They'd never bitch about a Muzzie asking another employee to ringin their booze sale ever again.

 

[karrie]

I don't think you should take a job if your religion prevents you doing the job.


But life has this neat way of throwing what should happen out the window. For example, there are plenty of places in Alberta that are so chronically short staffed, they'd take staff that could fill half a position.


I suspect this could very well be the issue here. The inconvenience for a couple people of being asked to go to a different till, is secondary to the inconvenience to everyone of being down a teller.




And for some funny reason, a cashier's job isn't enough for most people to be willing to set their religious convictions aside.


So, I guess it kind of oils down to heading into the world with a dash of common sense in mind.

 

[Ron in Regina]

How and by who sells me booze isn't an issue. The people bitching should move to a "dry" town, city or county. They'd never bitch about a Muzzie asking another employee to ringin their booze sale ever again.

London or Regina aren't "dry" towns for booze or pork products though. The store
selling these items aren't "dry" stores for booze or pork products though. The
Cashier ringing (or not) these items up at the Till would know that the place
they've chosen to work sells these items before accepting the job.

Does the patron in line know that the items for sale and already in his basket are
only available in certain Tills at certain times depending upon who is working and
when? Are there designated Till's like Express (10 items or less) or are patrons
having to get into multiple lines without knowing this before they get to the front
of a line to be refused service?

 

[petros]

Self check out. No employee needed.

 

[Ron in Regina]

Self check out. No employee needed.

Catch 22. I hate even the concept of the self check out.

 

[#juan]

Marks and Spencer did it to themselves. Their Jewish employees are allowed to refuse to ring up or handle sales of pork products. Stupid religion should be kept of business altogether. Refusing to serve a customer should result in immediate dismissal.

 

[Tecumsehsbones]

Catch 22. I hate even the concept of the self check out.

I tried that once. They called it "shoplifting" and got all pissy about it.

 

[petros]

Catch 22. I hate even the concept of the self check out.

I use them. They are faster and friendlier.

 

[SLM]

Marks & Spencer is facing a boycott from hundreds of customers furious at the store’s decision to allow Muslim staff to refuse to serve customers buying alcohol or pork products.

The policy was revealed after customers trying to buy pork or alcohol from a Muslim shop assistant in central London were told they would have to use another till because of the cashier's religion.


The chain has admitted, however, that it has breached its own internal policy - by forcing its staff to choose between their beliefs and their responsibilties to the supermarket.


A spokesperson for M&S said that it works closely with employees with specific beliefs that restrict what food or drink they can handle, but on this occasion it had to “regret” that it had not followed its own guidelines.


“Where we have an employee whose religious beliefs restrict food or drink they can handle, we work closely with our member of staff to place them in suitable role, such as in our clothing department or bakery in foods.





more




M&S faces furious backlash from customers over Muslim policy - Telegraph

Now I'm reading that M&S is saying it was not a policy and that customers were not directed to another till, but that the individual would call for another staff member.

Thousands of customers threatened to boycott M&S, Britain’s biggest clothing retailer that also sells food, after a till worker in a London store asked a customer to wait as she would not handle champagne and called for another staff member.


Following a storm of protests on social media, M&S apologized for the “confusion”, saying it was not M&S’s policy to allow checkout staff to refuse to serve customers buying items like alcohol and pork which are forbidden in Islam.


A spokeswoman said the company’s policy for many years had been to try to accommodate staff of all religions by finding them roles where conflicts would not arise.


“On this occasion this person’s preferences were not taken into account and she ended up on the tills, which was a mistake,” the spokeswoman said. “We would like to apologize for any resulting confusion and reassure our customers that this was an isolated incident.”

M&S apologizes after Muslim worker refused to sell alcohol


So which version of the story is correct?

 

[petros]

Marks and Spencer did it to themselves. Their Jewish employees are allowed to refuse to ring up or handle sales of pork products. Stupid religion should be kept of business altogether. Refusing to serve a customer should result in immediate dismissal.

Of course nobody makes a stink about Jews.

 

[damngrumpy]

The problem with self checkout is the same as pump your own gas you come in
to buy something and indirectly you are now working for the company.
I too believe you sell products in a store and if you don't serve the customer you
get fired. We originally had freedom of religion now we have the freedom to
impose our beliefs on others. You don't do your job and that is to ring up the
customers purchases you should be fired on the spot regardless of what
religion you are. I say enough already. It is becoming apparent multiculturalism
does not work.

 

[Tecumsehsbones]

The problem with self checkout is the same as pump your own gas you come in
to buy something and indirectly you are now working for the company.
I too believe you sell products in a store and if you don't serve the customer you
get fired. We originally had freedom of religion now we have the freedom to
impose our beliefs on others. You don't do your job and that is to ring up the
customers purchases you should be fired on the spot regardless of what
religion you are. I say enough already. It is becoming apparent multiculturalism
does not work.

You're right. Let's go back to discrimination against non-Christians.

 

[damngrumpy]

Did I say that? No I said if they being of any religion does not serve the public
in a job that serves the public they should lose their job that would include the
Christians, and any other group. Its about legal products people want to buy
not about what you the clerk does or does not want to sell.
It has nothing to do with Christians or non Christians it has to do with religion
period. All religions should be subject to the laws of the State as all other
citizens are no exceptions.