Sheetz criticized for barring workers from having ‘missing, broken or partially discolored teeth’

A woman who was the victim of domestic violence and was headbutted in the mouth by her ex-husband causing her to lose her front teeth has also lost her job at a convenience store chain for violating the store’s ‘smile policy’.

Rose Marie Counts had been working at Sheetz in Circleville, Ohio for a month when she was cited in the manager’s office for violating the company’s policy that prohibits “obvious missing, chipped, or grossly discolored teeth.”

Counts was told she would no longer be allowed to work for the company until her smile was fixed, a process that could take up to nine months while she waited for the swelling to subside so she could have proper teeth.

The Pennsylvania-based company has about 650 locations and says it is now revising its unusual policy which states: ‘applicants with obviously missing, broken or severely discolored teeth (not related to a disability) are not qualified to work with Sheetz’.

Counts shared his despair at unfairly losing his job on his Facebook page.

‘They asked me to come to the office at work. He was nervous after having been with the company for about a month. When I walked into the office, the manager had the company policy regarding employee appearances. I was informed that policy states that all Sheetz employees must have and remain with a perfect, beautiful and warm welcoming smile. If you are an employee of this company and you break a tooth, you have 90 days to fix it,” Counts wrote online.

Then, in a harrowing conversation that was secretly recorded and posted on social media, Counts was told that he would no longer be allowed to work for the company.

The conversation begins as his manager appears to show some understanding of the position of Counts, who had a new set of upper front teeth and was about to embark on a new set of lower teeth, a long and painful process in itself.

‘If you can write a letter, a detailed written plan including time, duration and cost to fix it. I know you said you were going to do some work,’ the manager asks.

‘I had the ones above and my appointment for the ones below is at the end of this month. My insurance won’t pay for deciduous teeth, so it will take three months for the swelling to go down and then they’ll have them made, which can take up to six months,” Counts explains.

‘So, nine months in total?’ the manager replies, showing signs of exasperation. ‘So if you can, and I appreciate you being understanding…’

In the company handbook, Sheetz’s appearance policy states: ‘The time to resolve issues like this should not exceed 90 days. Should a current employee develop a dental problem that limits his or her ability to display a nice, full and complete smile, we cannot allow this situation to continue indefinitely,” he states.

“Sheetz believes that an employee’s smile during interactions with customers and co-workers is critical to creating the sense of hospitality in our stores that we strive for,” the company explains.

Counts explains on Facebook that she did not have her upper teeth when she started the job with plans already scheduled for her lower teeth, but her insurance won’t pay for a temporary denture while the new teeth form.

“I was hired this way,” Counts replies. ‘I feel like I’ll look for another job because if my job performance isn’t good enough and it’s based in part on my appearance, it’s not a company I want to be associated with.

‘This company has no idea what I’ve been through. I lost my front teeth because my ex-husband hit my head because I forgot to turn off the hall light. So it’s not like I was a drug user and things happened that way. It was legit,” he continues.

‘But I feel like my job performance alone should be enough. I don’t feel like I should have to justify myself by my appearance. I am not a materialistic person. I’m very nice to customers,’ Counts says calmly.

“And I’ve heard great things about you,” your manager replies in an attempt to show empathy.

There is a momentary pause before Counts makes her decision before the manager can formally fire her.

‘Maybe this isn’t the line of work I’m supposed to be in. I have always worked in healthcare and wanted something different. I loved it

‘I don’t want to be here anymore,’ she says, her voice cracking.

On Facebook, Counts elaborated on his conversation with his anonymous boss.

“Although I am good at my job, I can no longer be a front-line employee in the company because of my smile,” Counts detailed online. ‘The company defines my smile as unbeautiful because I still have work to do on them. So I went to work today and I left work today crying.’

‘Being told by my appearance that my job is in danger. And that maybe I should fill out paperwork and maybe the company will help me if I tell them my story. I won’t spend a red penny on Sheetz!

‘This is, in my opinion, one of the biggest forms of discrimination that there can be. Who are they to decide what beauty is? So I leave this job feeling like I’m not good enough again.’

Other former workers have also spoken out about the so-called ‘smile policy’.

“I hate politics,” a former employee in North Carolina told Well-informed person. “It’s really disgusting and kind of classy, ​​especially when most of the people you’re hiring are going to be low-income,” the former employee said.

Following Insider’s questioning of the policy, it looks like things are finally under review.

“The consultation has prompted a more targeted review to ensure our policies are aligned with Sheetz’s commitment to fostering a culture of respect,” said Nick Ruffner, Sheetz public relations manager.