Do you think I should’ve been fired?

Question

I lost my job because of an incident from last week. I did door to door sales, and I was actually pretty damn good at it. I was a newer guy and was being praised for doing as well as veterans. Customers liked how respectful and personable I was, as I also emphasized with them how I understand how people feel about door to door salesmen. I was very successful.

Last week, I was with a customer, and my particular line of work was windows. The customer admitted he had window problems and asked me to look at them. I came inside to do so. He locked the door behind me and reached for my penis. My instant reaction was to threaten him with physical violence. I told him I was going to punch him in his mouth.

Reason I reacted like that was

A. He locked the door behind me, which was pretty threatening.

B. He was a big fucking dude. I mean, I’m 6’3 230 pounds and he was bigger than me.

I called my team lead once I got out, and talked to the director and also the manager. Director straight told me he would’ve reacted the same way.

Human Resources had to get involved, which I get, but they told me I was a liability for a lawsuit and they had to let me go. He seemed actually disappointed, and the boss (director wasn’t there for this) did as well.

Wade12345 · Accepted Answer

I would have done hit the guy before it even got to "threatening language".

I nearly clobbered a police officer one time because he groped me by the balls while patting me down looking for a weapon. Of course I was unarmed.

SnowedIn · Accepted Answer

Should have? No. But can HR make that decision and can I understand that decision, yeah.

Anonymous · Answer

I don't think you should've been fired. From the company's point of view, it does make the most sense to fire you because that is a very strong liability when physical violence or threats are involved. However, I think you should've called the police and filed a report against that person at that specific time. Filing a report and involving police would have been the smartest option at the time simply because that man is a predator and attempted sexual assault on you. I'm sure it's not the first or the last time he'll try something like that. Unfortunately, it seems like you didn't contact law enforcement so it's really just hearsay and most companies cannot afford bad press. If you really want that job back you should consider setting up a meeting with a higher-up to fully explain the situation because there might be some sort of legal action they can take or there might be another company they can put you under. At this point though, you definitely have the means to file your own lawsuit against the company for wrongful termination and sexual harassment. Or you could maybe just find a different marketing job that offers door-to-door sales positions.