FARGO, N.D. "A former Harley-Davidson of Fargo employee says he was let go for buying a lower-priced motorcycle of the same brand from a different store than Fargo.


He brought the concern to us over the whistleblower hotline—and wants to make locals aware of a rule that he and others say they were never informed of.
A lay-off during the holidays is never easy. But for the Johnson family, that was the least of their worries. Ben Johnson explains that he and his wife, Bethany, have been bogged down with hospital bills. "My wife's had cancer, you know, she's in remission now, but...the way the surgeon explained to us is radiation's the gift that keeps on giving,” he said.

Complications from radiation has his wife dealing with multiple surgeries—and consistently in and out of the hospital since 2010. But the Johnsons aren't just stuck with Bethany's medical bills.
"And then for me,” Ben said, “I was out of work for about nine weeks, I had a herniated disk in my back." An employee of Harley-Davidson of Fargo, Ben Johnson says he tried to trade in his Road Glide that he bought there. "It was a great bike,” he said. “Probably one of the best bikes I ever owned." But he needed something cheaper. "They never got back to me,” Ben said, “I was just trying to get something done faster than later."

He says he waited at least a week and a half with no response from his Fargo store. So he called other Harley dealerships, and within two days Ben found a cheaper Harley-Davidson Fat Bob 100 miles out, in Alexandria, Minn. "That got me into a lower payment that was better for me and my wife to save some money,” he said, “and put toward medical bills and help us both out." That was on a Monday. By that Friday, right before the holiday weekend, he was called in early to work. "I thought they were just gonna have him come in to talk to him because it was one of their longer days," his wife Bethany said. "Went in and said I was being let go because, 'I can't have employees buying motorcycles from other dealers,'" Ben said.

To that, Ben says he responded, "I told them I was just doing this to help my family." But he says the company was firm in its decision. One of the store's owners, Jimmy Entenman, did respond, but only to say the store can't comment on any human resources or personnel matters. But another former employee tells us the same thing happened to him last April.
The Johnsons were aware of that situation, but say there was no written rule about this. "When James was let go because he bought a bike from Stutsman,” Bethany said, “they should have said, just so you all are aware, we will not tolerate you buying a bike from someone else." "I've never known anything that this could ever happen...Never had an employee hand book,” Ben said. “You know, been there for over two years. Nothing's ever been said in any manager meeting, in any store meeting.

Both employees who were separately let go from Harley-Davidson of Fargo specifically bought Harley-Davidson motorcycles from different stores. They say there was a third employee who bought a motorcycle that was not a Harley-Davidson. And that employee did not lose his job. But Ben Johnson says he's moving forward and interviewing elsewhere.

"It sucks,” he said, “but you know, one door closes, other ones open."

He says he's less concerned with getting his job back, but wants to make sure this doesn't happen to anyone else."

http://www.valleynewslive.com/conten...466666003.html

 

ND is an 'at will' state, which means they don't need a reason to fire you. My BIL was working at a Ford dealer, asked his boss if he could buy a pickup from another dealer. Boss made him pay a $500 'loss profit' fee for doing it.

ND is a business friendly state...

 

If he’s bogged down in medical bills, should’ve just sold the bike and been done with it until circumstances changed.

 

That's a pretty horrible story.

 

He said he needed a lower payment, not no payment. The company he worked for could have helped him out, they didn’t. This ain’t Russia, the owner is a douchebag.

 

First off before you condemn Fargo Harley based on the word of a former employee it might be best to wait to hear both sides of the story.

How is this whistle blowing?

The only thing that seems to be blowing here is a disgruntled employee blowing smoke up somebody's a$$.
I bet if either employee mentioned was worth a $hit they wouldn't have been let go regardless of where they bought a bike from.

Just by the act of the disgruntled employee buying another bike period while apparently his family is "bogged down with hospital bills" shows he lacks common sense.
He should have sold the Road Glide outright and used the former monthly payment to help pay off the hospital bills.

The lack of common sense is likely what got him fired not buying another bike from some other dealer.

 

That's not unusual at all. Not saying it's "fair," but it's not unusual. I was a Nissan salesman in another life. At my first dealership, there had been a previous manager who happened to be a big guy, like 6' 4" or whatnot, and he needed a full-size truck. At the time, Nissan didn't have the Titan yet, and this guy wouldn't have fit in a 4-cylinder Hardbody. Long story short, he went and bought a full-size Chevy. When he drove it to work the next day, the owner fired him on the spot.

So yeah, it happens. And in an "at will" state, he has no recourse.

 

Yeah, its easy to comment on one side of the story. I think there is more to it than he's saying. Three sides to every story, we have heard only one. I did comment, on another site, that you should be able to buy whatever you want from wherever you want. But even with this said I think he could have been a little more assertive with his employer and resolved the situation he felt he was in before going elsewhere. JMO

 

“I’m doing this for my family”

Going to have to remember that one.

I work for a company that treats me great. Paid door-to door, work from the house, company truck, etc.

But they would fire me in an instant for parking at a competitors place.

Just like when the American auto companies pissed people off because they couldn’t park their Toyota’s in the Ford parking lot.

 

New York is an "At Will" state as well unless you are by a Union agreement which prohibits these types of employer retaliations. And that's why I've worked Union jobs my entire life. You give your boss an honest days work for an honest days wages. That's it. He doesn't own you or get to dictate where YOU spend your wages.