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Mar 28, 2006 7:15 pm US/Eastern
Did Sam's Club Go Too Far?
A local man says he was kicked out of a Sam's Club but no one will tell him why.
by Marty Griffin
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) ―
The battle lines are drawn tonight between the largest company in the world and a Pittsburgh man.
Glenn Harcsar says he was shopping at Sam's Club when he was stopped by security, told to leave the store and warned he would be arrested if he ever came back.
Now, he wants to know why and if it has happened to others.
Harcsar is an English teacher and a high school rowing instructor.
He was at the Sam's Club in Monroeville with his eight-month pregnant wife with a shopping cart full of baby stuff.
That's when Sam's security people grabbed him, took his membership card and told him to leave.
He wondered if they had the wrong guy and they did.
"You've been identified by our scanning system. You're not going to be allowed to purchase these items and you must leave and never come back. Otherwise, you will be prosecuted," that's what Harcsar says he was told.
Sam's Club officials even confiscated his club card from the cashier.
Harcsar says the general manager and security personnel told him they had him on tape, from their surveillance cameras, shopping at a Tarentum store and a Greensburg store.
They also said they had his truck on tape and they knew his eating habits.
But no one explained anything about what he supposedly did wrong.
That left Harcsar with more than a few unanswered questions.
"[It] scared me completely. For the next three hours, I tried to figure out who has stolen my identity," said Harcsar. "How do I reclaim myself from the database Wal-Mart is keeping against me? What consequences does that have for me?"
Sam's Club's parent company, Wal-Mart -- still won't explain their beef with him.
But in a statement, a spokeswoman apologizes for his treatment.
"On behalf of Sam's Club… I would like to extend a heartfelt apology for any inconvenience or mistreatment that Mr. Harcsar may have encountered when shopping at Sam's Club.Member service is our highest priority and we are conducting a thorough investigation of this matter."
They will also send Harcsar a letter he can show at any Sam's Club in case he is stopped again.
Right now, Sam's Club will not tell KDKA Investigator Marty Griffin what happened or why.
They did call the accusations against Harcsar shocking and ridiculous and they promise to tell us exactly what happened as soon as they complete their investigation.
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