Whataburger Case

A fast food chain based out of Texas, “Whataburger” has recently come under the media spotlight. When two police officers entered the restaurant and tried to order, an employee turned them away. The employee’s reasoning for this was that “we don’t serve police officers here”. This certainly violated a psychological agreement between Whataburger and the employee, and ultimately had a negative impact on the employee and the business organization. The worker was swiftly fired by Whataburger, which results in a negative impact on the employee’s life. The worker was not the only party to suffer from this incident; Whataburger’s public image was certainly tarnished as well.

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The employee in this situation hurt Whataburger’s reputation by not serving police. For the most part, Police Officers in this country are respected and are (rightfully so) seen as individuals who put their lives on the line to protect the community. Claiming that you don’t serve officers will certainly have a huge backlash in sales for Whataburger. Next, “show loyalty to the organization” is violated in this case. This is straightforward for the most part. Damaging your employer’s public reputation doesn’t demonstrate loyalty in any form. Lastly, this employee contravenes the psychological contract of “be courteous to clients and colleagues”. Whether it be Police, a certain race, religion, or occupation; refusing to serve a group of people simply because of how they identify is not courteous or professional. However, it is important to note that this case is certainly not as straightforward as it is seems. The employee could have experienced a psychological contract infringement from his employer, which caused him to act out in the manner that he did. By no means is this a justification for his behavior, but it can serve as an explanation as of why the employee