Safeway Gasoline Spill Incident - An Unhappy Story

Gas prices are up and we still love our cars and our driving.  It is not uncommon to see cars lining up at cheap gas station pumps.  This incident took place in our neighborhood Safeway store.

This is a relatively new Safeway store at 950 W. Hamilton Avenue, Campbell, CA 95008.
One of the special features of this Safeway is its gas station.  Since it opened, it's been one of the cheapest in the area.



On Sunday, February 5, 2012, my wife Jeanet was there to fill up for her Honda Accord.  The dispenser handle broke off, and the gasoline ran off the rubber hose.  She was obviously panicky and yelled for help.  She had gasoline over most of her clothing. The ground was also wet.  She slipped and fell.  Finally, the people inside the store shut off the the pump from inside. She was asked to fill out and signed an incident report.  But she did not get a copy. The attendant helped her to push off the car and she drove home.

Jeanet came back home with the smell of gasoline all over her.  She took a shower and was even thinking about washing her clothing.  I was home and I asked her to take all her clothing outside.  Later we packed it in a plastic bag. She was not thinking too clearly about what might have happened to her.  She was very fortunate.

My son Joseph heard of this after he came home an hour later. We thought it was incredible that they did not even give her a copy of the incident report.  Joseph and I went back to the store to see the attendant Julie A. at the gas station.  We wanted to talk to the store manager.  The manager himself refused to come out as he was "busy", and sent Mr. Juan Rodriguez to assure us that headquarters would review the video tape and investigate the incident.  But, he refused to give us a copy of incident report signed by Jeanet.
We asked him for a business card so that we had a record of whom we talked to. We got one for the store manager instead.  Anyway, we noted their names from the name tags they wore.

We got a call from the claims department Monday to confirm the facts and to check on Jeanet's condition. We were going to wait for a couple of days to see if she had any lingering injuries from the fall.  Jeanet found the email address for the claim person, Angela S., and sent her the update. This person never replied to any emails and always used the telephone for communications.  Jeanet was never able to talk to her directly and had to leave voice messages every time.  Angela called back at her discretion. 

The phone number was 925-467-2418, and now we found that there is a recording asking for the claim number. Jeanet was not even aware of her "claim number" until we received a copy of the "release form."

On April 30, 2012, Angela finally called again, and tried to see whether Jeanet was ready to settle the claim. We were fed up with this corporate game, and agreed to close this simple case.  Angela called the store to make sure that a representative would be there in the afternoon when Jeanet was able to go to sign a release form. This designated person was named Johnathan.

Jeanet went to the store and asked for Johnathan. Some other clerk came out because Johnathan was "busy."  She brought the release form for Jeanet to sign.  Jeanet asked to have a copy before she signed the form.  The clerk agreed.  The clerk went to the back and then walked out again, but told Jeanet that she could not have a copy of the release form because Johnathan said so.  Jeanet was furious and yelled at the clerk that they tricked her. Said the clerk, "Well, it is too bad.  You have already signed it!"
Jeanet refused to leave, and she was ready to create a scene in front of those checkout lines.  The clerk backed off and went back in for more consultations. Finally she came out with a copy of the signed release form you see on the left.


Jeanet did not want to get an anonymous gift card for the compensation, so Safeway issued her a money order of $200 for the damaged clothing, an amount that was agreed upon over the course of many phone conversations. The three-month ordeal was finally over, but it left us with a real bad taste.  I have not had much time in the last few months to write anything on my blog, but I had to write this one up.

Lessons learned
1) For third-world country grocery stores, the layout for the customer service counter should be away from the checkout lines, and preferably not directly visible from the checkout lines.  Stores should hire a couple of macho bouncers for the customer service department.

2) Bring a camera (built-in camera in a cell phone will work just fine), always take a photo on any paper you sign before giving back to the clerk.  You are entitled to a copy of anything you signed.  But, can you trust them? It is disheartening to hear that "Na Na Na, you lose.  You have already signed it." We really don't want to start a fight for that piece of paper.

Where is America heading?

We were hoping to deal with this incident using common sense.  We thought about getting an attorney to represent Jeanet. We resisted that temptation, as Jeanet was not really hurt physically after a few days of observations.  She was shaken up a bit on the psychological front.  Should we have gotten legal counsel to avoid this sort humiliating treatment by the Safeway staff? I wonder what kind of training the Safeway staff is required to take in order to deal with claims?  In the engineering profession, I have to do all kinds of training to deal with export controls, corruption and sexual harrassment every two years.
If we have to retain an attorney's services for small incidents like these, we'll be in a world of frivolous legal litigations. We have to go places with legal guards, especially the rich and famous.  They need legal guards in addition to body guards.
I like Toynbee's model of  the rises and falls of civilizations, which are based on universal rhythms of rise, flowering and decline. Will this great civilization of United States of America go down in history, at least in part, with burdens of legal entanglements? I probably won't see this myself in person; I certainly hate to think about this.

[Names, addresses, and email addresses are desensitized for privacy sake.  I certainly don't want to see the involved get penalized or lose their jobs. They are just working for a big corporate machine and many just have no clue on what's right and what's wrong.  They need to be better trained to deal with claims.]

Gift Giving - The Cultural Differences

December is a Holiday season. In the United States, it gets identified mostly with the Christmas celebration. There are other holidays celebrated at this time as well. The eight-day Jewish holiday, Hanukkah, and the weeklong celebration honoring African-American heritage, Kwanzaa, are two examples.
Christmas is more like a Chinese New Year celebration in its spirit and festivity. On the other hand, the Thanksgiving Day celebrated in the North America is a true New World invention that is celebrated by all Americans. It transcends religious boundaries.













The Christmas celebration is now so secularized that the Christians find its connections to consumerism not particularly palatable. How can one include Christ in the parties and buying sprees? And what is the meaning of "Salvation" in the context of the birth of Jesus Christ? If you dare ask, many people will give you a puzzled look without saying explicitly "what's that?"

A significant portion of non-essential and luxury spending takes place between the Thanksgiving dinner and Christmas Eve celebrations. Business is doing everything to entice the customers to spend, with huge sales and new nifty products. It is the defining season for many retail businesses.

Gift exchanges for Americans are reassuring acts of love and care. No one in their right mind will risk damaging relationships, any relationship. The American gift exchange custom suffers from the order of N square complexity, if I may use the computer science jargon. Give N people in a group, you need N*(N-1) gifts to meet the needs of all exchanges. Obviously, business likes this phenomenon.

[What is Christmas to the Chinese?]
It is not hard to understand that the nativity scenes of the Christmas celebration are foreign to most Chinese. Many of my Chinese friends like the tranquil, snowy "silent night" images of the Christmas season. They appeal to many, and they really transcend cultural boundaries and religious experiences. But the parties and gift exchanges learned from the movies and TV programs from the mega-consumerist USA are picking up steam in the Chinese perceptions of Christmas. The family traditions and religious experiences tend to impress and penetrate the Chinese thinking at a much lower level. Chinese Christians account for around 3 percent of the population. Estimates are difficult to get for the less structured Protestants and many underground "house churches." The official government census points to 1 percent of the population, which is surely a low estimate, because religious affiliations are not viewed positively by the atheistic government.

[Socially and Politically Correct Gift Presentation or Exchange]
Normally, opening gifts is the high point of giving and receiving. Surprises and happiness and whatever is socially required need to be expressed appropriately. This is true for Americans. The Chinese tend to view this as impolite and imprudent .

It is important to give gifts to people who can influence your career and promotion. This almost borders on "appeasement" and "bribery" for the Americans. It is also common practice to present gifts in public. I have seen more than once that the grateful Chinese visitors present a gift at the end of workshop or meeting to the host in the US. But, this public act is awkward for many company officials in the US. Accepting gifts can be a serious problem for US government employees. Legally, government employees must follow a guideline in receiving gifts such as, "A gift valued at $20 or less, provided that the total value of gifts from the same person is not more than $50 in a calendar year."

Gift exchanges are not that familiar to the Chinese. Chinese gift giving has quite a different meaning. The substance is more important than the appearance. Thus, gift wrapping is not that critical as long as what's inside has good value. Giving gifts is a show of appreciation and gratitude. Thus, the notion of love and sharing is not really there in the traditional Chinese gift-giving mentality.

[Altruism, Sharing and Giving can be learned]
Children in the US are taught to share from an early age. I still remember my children had to bring toys to school to do show-and-tell and to share with other kids in the class. Giving and sharing can be learned, and is easy when one is or feels self-sufficient. Although Christian institutions have less control nowadays over their herds, it is evident everywhere that the Christian faith influences day-to-day living. This sort of altruism, unconditional love and giving is quite unusual to the Chinese.

Chinese tend to be very practical when it comes to gift giving or doing good deeds. The influence of Buddhism leads people to do good primarily to accumulate virtues and credits for good future lives. And it could also be a penance for some wrong-doing in a past life. Christians have a long history of similar ideas, without the notion of cyclic incarnations. On the other hand, Christian faith has a deep tie-in to the sinfulness of human nature. Chinese have hard time believing the notion of "original sin." Religions, as they were, have hard time thriving among modern intellectuals, because they have hard time wrapping themselves into a system of axioms and perpetual cycles.

[Communal and Family Gift]
It is only in recent times that children receive gifts other than the "red packet (with cash in it)." Even so, gift giving is still somewhat a communal and family thing. The gifts tend to be practical, such as new school outfits to replace the old ones. Family members give to each other the things they need as a family. Toys and other intangible items were just too much of a luxury in the past, but they start to appear as Chinese society gets more affluent. Come to think of this practicality matter, the most appreciated precious metals is "gold" still. The gold chains, pendants and bracelets are all good for jewelry and as expensive gifts, yet they are particularly useful when economical hardships hit. Can this explain why diamonds were not that popular in the past?

[Gift Recycling - Green by accident? ;-)]
Gift recycling is not unusual at all for the Chinese, especially in the two most important gift-giving seasons, the Chinese New Year and the mid-Autumn Festival. Non-perishables like expensive cigarettes and liquors can change hands many, many times. You'll hear some stories that people find a good sum of cash in the cigarette carton when someone finally opens the gift. It is also common in China that your work unit or company gives some gifts to employees during Chinese New Year and the mid-Autumn Festival as a token of appreciation. It is a type of bonus.



[Gift to the Unknowns - Philanthropy]
The ultimate challenge to Chinese society, or any society for that matter, is to see the rise of philanthropic activities. The willingness to give and share unconditionally is part of a great and mature civilization. Chinese often like to talk about and hope to become a dominant force on the world stage. I would say that when acts of philanthropy start to unveil, then I shall believe that a universal and all-embracing culture is maturing, and that it will become the light and envy of the world.

Ethical Dimension of Genetic Research

Listening to audio books is something I missed quite a bit when I was in Beijing. I have been hooked on "reading" books since late 1990's. My good friend JN heard of my interest in mythology and loaned me a deck of tapes, "The Hero with a Thousand Faces" by Joseph Campbell. I enjoyed listening to this book while driving to and from work. I did not read anything further by Joseph Campbell. But, I ventured into local libraries to start my audio book journey. I still remember that the first one I picked was "Robinson Crusoe." That was one of the few translated non-textbooks I read. I read very little for enjoyment when I was young. The number of books I actually finished reading in English is small. I can remember one, "The Good Earth" by Pearl S. Buck. Three or four years into this new new hobby, I kept a record of the books I "read", and even gave them a score from 1 to 10. I have to thank JN for leading me into a life of reading and enrichment.

The most recent book I finished is Michael Crichton's "Next", a book about genetic research, corporate greed and legal intervention. He is probably most famous for "Jurassic Park", because it was turned into a successful series of movies. It surprised me to learn that this prolific author, Dr. Crichton, died of lymphoma in 2008. There are two interesting characters/animals in the novel, a transgenic chimp, Dave, and a transgenic African grey parrot, Gerard. This is fictional, but it is not too far from what we might run into these new breeds in the future. We need to consider the ethical and moral responsibilities of our actions.

"Next" is overall a good book with a bit too much on the side plots, and thus it is hard to focus on the main plot. The odd part is that the audio CD ended with an interview with the author. Dr. Crichton actually felt very strongly about the ethical dimension of the genetic research and its ramifications for our future. Indeed, I was happy to have that extra segment on the CD. It let me know that the book is not just a novel to him. I took a refresher class in Chemistry 1A at West Valley community college in 2001 and another class in human genetics at the height of human genome news and the cloned Dolly the Sheep. It was and still is exciting to see molecular biology making such progress, but it requires us to ponder the ethical and moral issues of genetic research.
After I came back to the States in April, I read "Christ the Lord: the Road to Cana," by Ann Rice; "Treasure Island," by Robert Louis Stevenson; "Saving fish from drowning," by Amy Tan; and "Next". I am now in the middle of "Op-Center - State of Siege," by Tom Clancy. Listening to a thriller while driving is questionable. I was so involved in the book and I had no recollection of going through the toll both with my FasTrak sticker.

Shanghai was mentioned several times in the book as a heaven for generic research and gene therapy. Is this really true? For lack of any ethical concerns and social responsibilities in the regulations? I have to ask my good friend in Nanjing who is leading a genetic research institute there. Nanjing is about 100 miles from Shanghai.

Down with the Chinese Capitalism!

[Really no regular thermometers?]

My wife had the flu and a fever, and I could not find our good old-fashioned thermometer after our recent move. The drugstore told me that fact with a straight face, but the clerk also told me that the much more expensive electronic ones are available. Was the clerk really telling the truth? Or was this yet another example of institutionalized price gouging? For months now, it has been difficult to find affordable face masks for the H1N1 epidemic. Only the so-called "advanced" models are available, but they are expensive.

It is not really possible to legislate business ethics and morality. Those qualities are a matter of one's free will. Moral and ethical behavior is social and cultural, and is based on value systems. Many people can be law-binding citizens but can be very crooked any way you look at them.

[Bargain for a dead body]
I saw this picture in my daily dose of mobile phone news. I was outraged, not simply because the picture depicted bargaining for a price to the dead body the boat crew was able to retrieve, but also because of
the loss of human decency and dignity. I felt deep pain and outrage. What if I were this corpse's parent and what would I do if my son's body were waiting to be traded. Was it worth 12000 RMB?

You can also read the story about 3 college students who perished while saving two children in the Hubei province. You can read the CCTV's version. Society has become so selfish, and thus we have created heroes before our own eyes. What's wrong with this society? Where is the beloved government and leadership?



[China is a haven for Capitalism]
This country is sick. The last 30 years of economical openness and reform without corresponding political openness and reforms has turned the people into money-worshipers and government into investment bankers. Can China be capitalism's last haven? What happened to government and leadership? What are they focusing on? On maintaining the 8 percent year-to-year growth in GDP ?

The government's job seems to paint a glorious picture of an economical boom and military advancement. Have state-run branches invested in the Blackstone mutual fund again? Why is the government making such investments itself? Is it trying to create regulations so that there is a level playing field that benefits everybody, and now is it thinking how to make the pot of gold grow bigger? The government has screwed up its priorities big-time.
Maintaining a strong military power to defend the motherland while the poor and needy are crying out loud for justice and help? We are in the 21st century now. Does the government really see any serious threats from other countries and regions?

[Refocusing on the social fabric and value systems]
The government should refocus its energy and priorities to address the needs of migrants, the aging, minorities, and the medically deprived. Domestic justice and the fabric of society are in serious need of being repaired. A harmonious society is not just a noble goal or slogan. If the moral, ethical and spiritual emphasis is not there, society will continue to become corrupt and eventually collapse. The government will go with it.

On this note, I was by chance introduced by my good friend CH to the film director Jia Zhangke. Anyone who is interested and has the stomach to see the raw aspects of modern-day Chinese society should watch his films. Maybe in time he'll be the Charles Dickens of China, depicting the country as it goes through the painful process of modernization.

What's in Common between Coal Mines and Sanlu Milk Products?

I don't watch TV or read the newspaper regularly. I get free cell phone news briefs twice a day with my subscription from China Mobile. It is a distilled version of news that always comes with four pictures, one in politics/military/international, one in sport, one in entertainment, and the last one is the same logo picture. Presumably it is the best sanctioned view of the current events as they are known or supposed to be known all over China. This is my daily information and education directly from the mobile source. I get to read simplified Chinese comfortably now.

About every two to three weeks recently, I have read about coal mine explosions and accidents. The safety condition must be pathetic. These Chinese mining enterprises manifest themselves as the money-grabbing apparatus taking advantage of the poor in the society who take the most deadly job in China to make a living. It appears that every coal mine operation is the same, that which coal mine is next in line to have accidents is random. When that happens, investigations will begin, responsible parties will be jailed, and party chiefs and government officials will be removed. For many, it is worth the risk since there is no faster way to get rich, and gambling like this is not a bad deal in China. This reminds me of the Junk Bond King Michael Milken. Many wish that they have a chance to do the gambling. Many people, including me, still feel that it is not right to get people killed or buried alive 1 mile below the earth's surface.

By the way, the immediate removal of party membership of the involved officials alwaysis accompanied by scapegoat-hunting exercises as a form of political excommunication. Those doing the scapegoating hope it would indemnify them from any wrongdoing or prevent the tarnishing of their perfect image.

Another recent news item was the recent SanLu (Three-Deer) baby milk scandal, in which many infants were exposed to melamine and suffered kidney damage. Fatalities occurres in many parts of the country including in several cities. It is an industry-wide practice to enhance profit margins by adding melamine while the raw milk is diluted to pass the test for nitrogencontent, and thus protein content. Soon after the government started the test, very few brands test negative for melamine contamination. Many countries are more aggressive in testing and publishing the test results, and the importing of food products from China is seriously curtailed.

This is another case of corporate greed and lack of business ethics. The corporate China is making profits by cutting corners putting the health of the general population at risk. Again, the punishment pattern is similar to other scandals and it is worth the risk to get rich fast in this country.

On a sad note, a friend from Taiwan told me that similar scandals took place there about 20 years ago. He suggested that this phenomenon might be natural for any developing country. Is this truly a predestined phenomenon that as a society we all have to suffer and learn together from? I mean that the greed and the suffering part is a necessary part of the development. If so, some societies will learn fast and will gradually move to a new and civil level of playing field, while some stagger and never move forward. What moves things forward and what leaves us fumbling, never to become a civilized nation that treats its citizens as individuals and not as targets for profit-making?