Two technicians from a car maintenance shop in Canada were recently fired from their jobs after being caught on dash-cam footage mocking a Chinese customer’s name.
Shuai Yue, an international student from China, brought his car to Fountain Tire at 960 Pembina Highway on Friday for a seasonal tire swap and an oil change. He was shocked to find later in the dash-cam recordings that the technicians made fun of his name and his culture during the routine road test.
In the three-minute clip, which Yue uploaded to YouTube, one of the technicians can be heard asking initially “Is his name Wong?” The other responded with laughter.
They continued to mock Yue’s name until they parked the car at the end of the video.
“Shuai Yue. Shoot?” one of them says.
“I shoot you?” said the other.
“I shoot you? In the face?” one replied as they both continued laughing.
The footage not only caught the two technicians mocking the customer’s name as they drove his car around the block, they were also found to be swearing and speeding.
Based on the video, the vehicle was speeding over 80 km/h down Jubilee Avenue, where the speed limit should be 50 km/h.
“My first name Shuai means handsome, beautiful and also smart and a general in the army,” Yue told Winnipeg CTV. “My last name Yue means high mountain.”
“I feel so shocked. I cannot focus on my study and work,” said Yue, who found the remarks to be racist and discriminatory.
Yue also complained that the glove box had been tampered with without permission.
“I think this cannot be happening in Canada because Canada is a cultural diversity country,” Yue went on. “I had a total loss of my words and I feel so angry about it.”
In response to the video Yue posted on YouTube, Fountain Tire wrote:
“After viewing this video you posted, we are deeply disappointed in the behavior exhibited by the technicians’ safety testing your vehicle. Disciplinary action was immediately taken. Their remarks and actions do not represent the relationships, expectations, values, and culture of Fountain Tire. We sincerely apologize.”
The company would later say they had fired the two technicians as soon as the store’s owner was made aware of the incident.
“We agree with the customer that the behaviors and attitudes and comments were completely unacceptable,” Fountain Tire Winnipeg owner Kevin Kaniuga said.
Fountain Tire’s corporate office also reportedly sent out a memo to “remind stores across Canada about its policies and practices.”
Kaniuga added that he’s considering to conduct sensitivity training in the future.
“It’s definitely a thing that needs to be talked about. It’s not acceptable what was said,” the owner further noted. “We completely understand what he’s saying. We agree with him.”
“It’s good to know some companies like Fountain Tire — they respect the customer. And they don’t tolerate discrimination happening in that company,” Yue noted.
Kaniuga said he attempted to apologize to Yue directly, but the customer has reportedly yet to answer his calls.
Feature Image via YouTube / Shuai Yue
