Computer store manager recounts assault against her by customer, 65
A customer reportedly angry over viruses that infected her laptop computer is accused of attacking an employee at an Ypsilanti computer store.
Ypsilanti police arrested the 65-year-old woman Friday after she allegedly punched and kicked the manager at Clover Computers multiple times.
Dawn Hitsman, manager at Clover Computers, 50 East Cross St., in Ypsilanti, said the woman was a familiar customer and had visited the store earlier in the week because her computer was in need of repair. Hitsman said rather than pay for the repairs, the woman sold her computer to the shop for parts and bought a new, upgraded laptop.
That same day, Hitsman said, the woman called the store and complained that her new computer was working slowly. Hitsman said the woman was encouraged to bring it back to the store to identify the issue. She said the woman dropped her computer off and over the course of a day or so employees determined some viruses had been downloaded to the new computer shortly after it was purchased.
Hitsman said the customer returned to the store Friday and became irate after being told it appeared she had accidentally downloaded viruses.
Hitsman said she offered to do a free virus removal, but the woman was dissatisfied and was “slamming her fists on the counter” and “screaming and yelling.”
Hitsman said the woman then demanded to know where her original computer was — the one she had previously sold to the store — and called the police to report it stolen after being told it had already been taken apart.
“We let her get irate for about 10 minutes," Hitsman recalled. “At that point, we had already asked her probably five or six times to leave the store.”
She added, “She was just becoming so volatile. We were afraid she would break other people’s things or hurt somebody."
In an attempt to get the customer to leave, Hitsman said, she took the woman’s purse and computer outside and set them down near the front door. She said the woman yelled, calling her a "thief."
"I was kind of just hoping she would walk out the door ... and I could lock the door," Hitsman said.
When the woman still refused to leave the store, Hitsman said, she went outside again to move the woman’s things away from the door and nearer to the window. At that point, she said, the woman approached her and punched her in the face.
Hitsman said the customer punched her in the face three times, grabbed her hair, pushed her to the ground, jumped on her and kicked her in the head.
Hitsman said the store’s owner pulled the woman off of her and the police arrived soon after.
Ypsilanti police arrested the woman and an ambulance was called.
Hitsman said she has several open wounds but required no stitches. She was able to return to work today.
“My face is all swollen and bruised," she said. "I feel like I was hit by a truck."
Hitsman said she never defended herself or fought back.
"It would be like hitting my grandma," she said. "I'm not going to hit a 65-year-old woman, that's like hitting a 6-year-old kid."
She said she also wanted to avoid acting in any way that might tarnish the business's reputation.
"Our image is really important to us," she said.
Heather Lockwood is a reporter for AnnArbor.com. Reach her at heatherlockwood@annarbor.com or follow her on Twitter.
Comments
Keepsitreal
Mon, Feb 28, 2011 : 2:55 p.m.
Well I respect your last comment and since you were not there when I had this issue when I look for my next lap top I will come to you first. I am on that lap top I purchased now btw.We will talk soon.Thank you.
Calvin
Mon, Feb 28, 2011 : 11:40 p.m.
thank you. I appreciate it. We try very hard. You are a great person :)
snapshot
Sun, Feb 27, 2011 : 11:37 p.m.
A customer gets irate and makes a scene and the store employee takes her purse and computer off the counter and puts it outside? The employees and store owner feel justified in doing this? Yelling and screaming about poor service, or the perception of poor service is not a crime. Taking someones personal property is. This employee escalated the confrontation and brought it to a level of legal conflict. You don't touch, move, or take another's property without permission, and certainly not in the middle of a conflict.
Keepsitreal
Tue, Mar 1, 2011 : 1:49 a.m.
Security should of thrown her out ,she should be sewing not THROWING punches. AA.com likes this.
Dawn
Mon, Feb 28, 2011 : 1:03 a.m.
You are incorrect. She was screaming and swearing with many other customers in a small area. There was child in the room. She also was slamming her fists right next to laptop computers that were for sale. She knocked merchandise on the floor. We asked her to leave the store for ten minutes. She called the police while she was in the store and they told her to leave. She yelled at them that it was not fair or good enough and she would not leave . They said they were not sending an officer and that she had to leave. After all this i decided to remove her belonings in an effort to get her out of the store. we offered a refund, we offered her a free anti virus. There wasnt anything we could do for her. She refused what we offered and wasnt going to leave until an officer would come. But they told her to leave on the phone. We called the police once i removed her things and she still wouldnt leave. By the way when we called the police they told us that we could remove her physically. you were not there to have to make the decision. With all the violence in the world- School shootings, work place shootings, ect...i was concerned with my safety and my employees safety plus customers safety. What if she had a gun? Its not far fetched. You dont know what to expect when things like this happen. By the way AFTER we locked her out and she had her things...she ran full force into our glass doors, three times, and slammed into it trying to break into the store. She kicked the door many times and slammed her fists into the glass. She stayed outside our door doing all of the above until the police arrived. I appreciate everyones opinions and we as people can learn from others' opinions. However in this case this was a situation that you did not witness nor were a part of and were not the one who felt unsafe. the point is we all felt unsafe with her in the store before the assault.
Dawn
Sun, Feb 27, 2011 : 8:58 p.m.
Someone just posted that they had their computer repaired and then suddnely had viruses and they never had one before. Well, to keep it real your probably another computer store or an ex employee- Because if that happened and you called an told us, we probably would have removed them free of charge for you. We do not put viurses on computers people. We go out of our way to make customers happy. We are very well known to give free computers into the community and go outside our warranty. If you want to slander someone or their business I suggest it be truthful.
Dawn
Mon, Feb 28, 2011 : 1:30 a.m.
also i did want you to know that she admitted that she downloaded the viruses. She said she didnt believe they were viruses...She said she wanted the product PC TOOL. Pc tool is a virus. I just wanted you to know that there was not question about where the viruses came from.
Dawn
Mon, Feb 28, 2011 : 1:21 a.m.
I was here since june. I do know that this store had some issues prior to my being here. i have not heard of the virus thing tho. They had a couple bad employees that were stealing ect. The owner had taken some time off and relied on his old manager and employees to run his store so he could open up another. Long story short- he opened that new store and came back to clover to run it himself- he hired me. Everyone was fired. We hired a great staff. We added a community program and started offering free computer lessons. We educate our customers. Its been almost a year and we have grown considerably and are very proud that we are honest and ethical. i would love if you cam back to us and let us prove that to you sir. What would it take to get you back? it doesnt rest well with me that you are so upset.
Keepsitreal
Mon, Feb 28, 2011 : 12:29 a.m.
No wonder that lady whooped your ass! Keep up the good work :)
Keepsitreal
Mon, Feb 28, 2011 : 12:27 a.m.
I was very truthful, not another cpu store or ex employee but definitely an ex customer. I see they deleted my comment. I wish you guys the best and do not think that the persons act was acceptable at all. And as far as being truthful goes, believe whatever you want, this happened a year and a half ago and I never seen you before.
Dawn
Sun, Feb 27, 2011 : 9:04 p.m.
We hate doing virus removals by the way. FYI we dont need to make an issue to get peoples business. Virus removals are maybe 1% of our business. We stress the importance of anti virus and install it for FREE on anyones computer anytime. Part of our policy is to check systems for anti virus- and make sure people are not using more than one that would cause conflict. We are a great business. we make mistakes, human error- but we are not unethical. You are simply a liar- or MAYBE YOU GOT YOUR FIRST VIRUS!
Wolf's Bane
Sun, Feb 27, 2011 : 8:06 p.m.
Mace and a cell phone is all you need, Dawn. Good luck in the future.
InterestedReader
Sun, Feb 27, 2011 : 4:01 p.m.
In this situation what Dawn did was right. She needed to remove this person before she caused damage. Attempting to do this by moving personal belongings in the hope that she would follow avoided physical contact which would have escalated matters. This is the type of technique taught in nonviolent crisis intervention training.
Dawn
Sun, Feb 27, 2011 : 9:08 p.m.
thank you.
Joy
Sun, Feb 27, 2011 : 10:34 a.m.
I'm sorry for your pain and wish only the best for you as you recover from this assault on your life and limb. However, it needs to be pointed out that the root of all this evil is the operating system being foisted upon unwitting users. Windows-based computers should be sold only to this willing to learn about computer security BEFORE and on a continuing basis. Obviously someone in the later years of life will prefer spending time with family and friends rather than hours of downloading Windows software updates and anti-virus updates not to mention malware detection. On the other hand, perhaps the older lady finally lost it after years and years of viruses hosing her computer. If you prefer spending time with loved ones, purchase an Apple computer. Viruses never breach the secure walls of OS X and one is encouraged to learn about security but a computer science degree is not required.
Patrick
Sun, Feb 27, 2011 : 7:27 p.m.
Loathe tho I am to make this a computer problem (it's a self control problem, and the customer complete lost hers; I think the virus issue was just an excuse), rather than 'buying a Mac' I'll bet that installing Linux on the old computer would have solved the virus problem and said machine was mostly used for getting on the net and perhaps an occasional word or excel task that could be handled by Google docs.
actionjackson
Sun, Feb 27, 2011 : 8:16 a.m.
First of all Dawn I'm glad you are physically alright. Doesn't do much for the trauma to have that behavior inside your own business. Bullies tend to go after those that cannot defend themsellves for some reason. This is definitelly one of the worst cases that I have heard. Waitstaff, Counter People, and in your case those that perform services for one and all will find the bully that recognizes that they can perform in a verbally abusive manner, maybe because they paid for it?????
WhyCan'tWeBeFriends
Sun, Feb 27, 2011 : 7:03 a.m.
You know, just because the item you purchased malfunctioned, not due to the seller or even the hardware, does not give the buyer the right to extended support and ASSAULT! My husband left the custom computer business years ago when it became obvious that that was going to be the norm - minus the assault - that thankfully never happened.
OWC
Sun, Feb 27, 2011 : 3:19 a.m.
@Zip the Cat: I agree with you!
OWC
Sun, Feb 27, 2011 : 3:12 a.m.
Dawn, you are just the cat's meow for how you handled this dreadful episode.
OWC
Sun, Feb 27, 2011 : 2:37 a.m.
Dawn, when she returned the first virus laden computer you should have sold her a Mac. Problem solved!
Calvin
Tue, Mar 1, 2011 : midnight
thats not as simple as you think. She couldnt afford mac #1. She only knew how to use PC. We do sell mac also
FCBarcelona1899
Sun, Feb 27, 2011 : 1 a.m.
@Zip the Cat: I agree with you!
Dawn
Sat, Feb 26, 2011 : 11:06 p.m.
I want to add that I LOVE DEPOT TOWN! :) lol
Tom Lienert
Sat, Feb 26, 2011 : 10:34 p.m.
Nice-no wonder our kids and grandkids are clueless about accepting responsibility for their actions.You probably should have left her stuff be, but I'd suggest the store sue the customer for any and all costs related to the treatment of the injuries, along with any repairs made necessary by HER actions. Just as there is no acceptable excuse for violence against women, there is also no excuse for THAT sort of behavior by ANYONE.
Dawn
Sat, Feb 26, 2011 : 10:52 p.m.
To be fair Tom she should have left when asked.
zip the cat
Sat, Feb 26, 2011 : 9:10 p.m.
If it were me I'd sue her socks off,letting it slide without doing anything invites her to do it again. Whats to say next time she pulls out a gun and in a fit of rage kills someone. Get a good lawyer and hit her in her pocket book.
Dawn
Sat, Feb 26, 2011 : 9:18 p.m.
exactly why i wanted her OUT of the store. thank you
Dawn
Sat, Feb 26, 2011 : 8:24 p.m.
Thank you Ann Arbor.com for writing the story. I appreciate it. I am glad you took the time out to call me.
Cash
Sat, Feb 26, 2011 : 8:01 p.m.
I'm glad you are okay, Dawn. That's what matters the most. The courts will take care of that woman hopefully.
Cash
Sat, Feb 26, 2011 : 8:48 p.m.
Well I admire that a lot. Too bad more people don't have your attitude. This world would be a nicer place!
Dawn
Sat, Feb 26, 2011 : 8:23 p.m.
Thank you. I was concerned that someone would get hurt or something broken. I would take the beating again, i am a lover not a fighter.
DFSmith
Sat, Feb 26, 2011 : 7:56 p.m.
Dawn- you need to defend yourself. Just because someone is 65 yrs old, and looks like a grandma, doesnt give her the right to assault you, or be disruptive inside your store. However, I wouldnt have touched the woman's personal belongings ad moved them.
GettingBluer
Sun, Feb 27, 2011 : 1:11 a.m.
I agree about Dawn defending herself. She is too nice for her own good. Dawn, don't ever let someone physically hurt you...it won't tarnish your reputation.
Dawn
Sat, Feb 26, 2011 : 8:27 p.m.
what i meant to say was that obviously she attacked me so i made the right decision removing her things, because had I not she could have hurt someone else, or broken something. reminder the was a child at one point here and I needed her out so noone would get hurt.
Dawn
Sat, Feb 26, 2011 : 8:22 p.m.
I chose not to remove her physically yet remove her belongings in hopes that would have her follow me out. The police told me that I made the right decision on taking her things out and not physically removing her. They also informed us that we could have physically removed her. She was out of control and I had other customers in the shop also that is was imperative that she leave the store- this is obvious because she beat me. There was a child here at one point- so I chose to make that decision in the heat of the moment.