Woman issues warning about disturbing act at Aussie servo
Claire Champion was concerned for a female worker's welfare after overhearing a conversation at a Metro Petroleum in Tahmoor on Sydney 's south-west outskirts on Saturday.
In a video shared to TikTok, Ms Champion explained she overheard an older man enquiring about a female worker's shift schedule with her male colleague.
She said the customer did not know the female worker's name or when she would be working next until her colleague confirmed her name was Ally and shared her upcoming shift rotation.
Ms Champion was alarmed by the conversation and believes the information shouldn't have been passed on without Ally's consent.
'I know this is a long shot in reaching you, but I know for a fact that if that was me, I would not want someone who didn't know me well enough, to ask me my work schedule and didn't know my name,' she said.
Ms Champion urged followers to track down Ally so that she was aware that personal information had been given out to a customer.
'[The man] was asking a lot of questions about you,' she said in her plea to Ally.
'I wouldn't want them knowing that information about me, so I hope this reaches you.
'Stay safe out there Queens.'
Many viewers agreed that Ally's colleague was in the wrong with some going as far as say he should be sacked.
'Sharing personal information about a co-worker—like their name, schedule, or any other details—with someone we don't know is a serious breach of privacy,' one wrote.
'It doesn't matter how harmless the request might seem; we have a responsibility to protect each other's personal information in the workplace.
'We never know what someone's true intentions are, and giving out that kind of info without permission can put someone at risk or make them feel unsafe.'
Another added: 'Ally, your co-worker needs a talking to,' another commented.
A third wrote: 'Genuinely baffled why her colleague did this?'
Others assured Ms Champion that she had done the right thing.
'Girls protecting girls in Australia – this is amazing,' one woman wrote.
Micha Hayek, whose family runs Metro Petroleum Tahmoor, reviewed CCTV of the incident after coming across Ms Champion's video.
'Our team member did get reprimanded and the entire team got an updated briefing on the safety of privacy and protecting each other at work and how to act in these situations,' Ms Hayek told news.com.au.
'Because our station is in a small town, we have many return customers so after we showed Ally the footage to see what our next steps should be, it turns out he has been her regular customer for a while and she knows him, and he was just asking because she is not working her usual hours.'
While Ms Champion was inundated with support for her video, not everyone agreed with her approach.
In a subsequent video she clarified some details after being asked why she hadn't contacted the service station directly.
She explained she had no way of knowing if the male worker was, in fact, the manager and therefore lodging a complaint to him wouldn't have been helpful to Ally.
Ms Champion also noted the service station was remote and didn't want to put herself in a potentially dangerous situation by intercepting the conversation as she justified her actions.
'My job was to make sure she was aware that a potential stranger knew her weekly schedule and was asking multiple questions about her,' she explained.
'This video made it to Ally and her family, as well as the service station manager. My approach worked, why criticise me for trying to do the right thing?'
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