Valvoline employee fired after using Pocahontas slur on invoice: 'This is not OK'

Kerry Justich Yahoo Lifestyle July 17, 2019

An oil-change shop in North Caroline is under fire after an employee called a customer “poka honas” on her invoice. The unnamed Asheville woman provided a screenshot of the Valvoline Instant Oil Change receipt containing racial descriptor — apparently referring to Pocahontas (but misspelled), one of President Donald Trump’s favorite ways to refer to presidential candidate Sen. Elizabeth Warren — and gave it to a friend.

The friend then posted it to Facebook on Monday.

“This is a receipt from service at the Valvoline on Merrimon Ave. for a friend who happens to be a person of color,” Ashley Garrison wrote on Facebook, on behalf of the invoice’s recipient. “THIS IS NOT OK. Maybe they thought they were being funny. Maybe they thought no one would notice. Whatever the motivation, the racist labeling of a person is never ok, whether at a business or otherwise.”

Garrison went on to say that the oil change story “already lost my business,” and even suggested that the franchise implement racial insensitivity training.

According to an update on the post, the training was something that the disgraced customer also suggested when speaking directly with corporate about the incident. Since that conversation, she has provided Garrison with a statement assuring that the employee responsible had been fired.

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