A couple days ago, I walked into the local big box home improvement store. At the customer service counter a guy was loudly ranting about something-not really any of my business until I noticed the woman behind the counter make eye contact with me and she seemed concerned. I needed to stop at the service counter but wasn't going to just walk up with the guy throwing a wildman fit and from the look on the lady's face, this was beyond a complaint. Realizing this was going badly and could get worse, I continued across the entryway to a spot next to/behind the CS kiosk which placed me 15-20' behind Mr. Wildman with a solid exterior wall beyond him. I didn't say or do anything other than casually move into this 'tactical position' but Mr. Wildman noticed and immediately seemed to settle down a bit. The problem must have been 'called in' as I noticed 3 'truck loader' (read that as hefty helper) employees double timing up the main aisle. A manager type and the 3 big dudes escorted wildman outside and continued the 'discussion'.
Situational awareness and paying attention is important. Could I or should I have stayed outside? Maybe, but looking through the front doorway, the level of intensity of the confrontation wasn't apparent.
Would I have become involved? Only if it appeared physical violence was imminent or actually occurred.
All I did was put myself in a position to assess and make that decision but that untracked the aggressor and allowed more physically capable employees to arrive.
Situational awareness and paying attention is important. Could I or should I have stayed outside? Maybe, but looking through the front doorway, the level of intensity of the confrontation wasn't apparent.
Would I have become involved? Only if it appeared physical violence was imminent or actually occurred.
All I did was put myself in a position to assess and make that decision but that untracked the aggressor and allowed more physically capable employees to arrive.