Community Supports Wegmans Worker With Asperger’s Syndrome Yelled At By Customer

It's almost that time of the year where you hear about a lot of heartwarming good deeds, acts of kindness and communities coming together.

One community went to stand behind a man named Chris Tuttle, who was treated badly by a customer. His sister put this on her Facebook page, and it went viral:

Do you know this guy Chris Tuttle?  If you do, I need you to give him a shout out!  He is my little brother and yesterday at Wegmans, a customer yelled at him and then in the middle of her transaction, left to complain loudly to a manager, came back to his line and he was so shaken, dropped a candle she bought on the ground and it shattered.  Luckily the manager took him off register immediately because clearly he was upset.  The customer's  problem?   Chris was checking her out...TOO SLOW and she was furious.  She yelled at him, the manager and anyone else who would listen.

 Do you know Chris?  He has Asperger's syndrome.  He is the happiest guy you will ever meet-I say that because if you know him, if you have seen him at Wegmans, if he has helped you load your car with groceries, if he has helped you find popcorn on aisle 13, if he has checked you out on aisle 12, if he has taken your trash from the café or if he has mopped the floor after you've spilt a jar of pickles-then you already know that and I need you to let him know.  Is he slow?  Yes, probably.  But as the manager explained to the woman yesterday, cashier isn't his primary job.  He gets called to cashier when Wegmans is busy, so they put him on cashier to HELP out.

What this woman doesn't know is that 10 hours later, Chris told me the story as if it just happened, he was just as stressed and just as upset.  She has no idea how damaging her actions were...to one person.  Part of Asperger's is the inability to move on, to not be able to wrap his mind around the fact that this woman isn't worth it. To hear him tell the story, your heart will break.  He doesn't understand why someone would be so nasty to him and for him, he takes it personal.

After much discussion with the whole family last night, he doesn't get that some people are just like that.  Some people are just unaware of how their actions effect others and how their rudeness needs to be ignored and that it has nothing to do with him.  I tell him all the time, some people will "get you" and some won't.  The people that "get you" those people are your friends, focus your energy there.    Hugs and kisses to Wegmans for employing him for 7 years, for giving him a chance, for giving him a life, a job to look forward to everyday and understanding managers, despite his disabilities.

xoxo

Chris deserves better and if he's ever put a smile on your heart, could you let him know?  Could you leave a comment or the next time you go to Wegmans, could you tell him?  I want him to have a better day