What would you do?

I'd tell the fire department and see if the Assistant Manager throws the person they send out for trespassing.

Call the fire marshal and follow up if anything has been done about the safety of customers and employees. A fire code violation

My dad used to be a fireman and he is always noticing stuff like that.

There is no problem until an emergency happens, then it's a crisis.

If you want your pound of flesh, report the store to the fire Marshal and let them deal with it. I don't go to Walmart , ever.

Report the Assistant Manager and include his threat.....

Publicly name and shame the store on Social media.

I would call the Fire Dept. -- maybe that is the reason for requiring those doors be opened, and if so, maybe the Fire Dept. will fix this situation, and maybe one day there will be a fire there, and people's only path to escape will be those open (previously locked) doors, and they will survive all thanks to a concerned citizen who decided to do something!

Honestly now that I'm in my 40s, I get more and more comfortable calling out rude behavior. They didn't need to threaten to trespass you, that was uncalled for and I probably would call the fire department just because of they way they treated you.

My guess though, those doors might automatically unlock if they fire alarm is triggered.

I'd put your concerns in writing to management, copy in the Fire Department, and ask for an apology at the same time for the rudeness. Fire safety is everyone's responsibility. If anyone seems complacent or thinks compliance is an unreasonable burden, tell them about Grenfell.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grenfell_Tower_fire

This is totally on your own local laws.

Problem with calling the fire department is they may not know CURRENT legal situation.

If available, code enforcement would be better. Yet they might say the laws have been changed. Hence why that door was locked.

I came across a similar situation here with the main entrances at a major grocery store. They remodeled the store and while they were remodeling they only had one entrance instead of two entrances.

Manager told me there are storage rear exits. Yet there are no signs saying so. "Authorized employees only" sign actually.

So I complained about that to code enforcement. It turned out the local code enforcement pushed the city council to change the laws.

I would write a letter to Walmart corporate explain your experience (sbd name and shame the assistant manager) and ask what their policy is. And I would boycott that Walmart store or all of them until you get an apology.

This reminds me of a time many years ago when I used a DC train station restroom, yet all the soap dispensers were gone. I had just sat on a bowl so needed a hand wash.

I was upset so went to the DC Department of Health website and filed a complaint. To my surprise, they sent out an inspector who reported back that there was soap. I agreed, since eventually there were new soap dispensers.

I never expected anybody would care, LOL!

Call the local Fire Marshal and pass the information on to them. Then go back a week later and see what happened.

Call code enforcement and the fire department.

Holy crap, I’d be shook! One of those situations totally out of context with what you’d ever expect to happen in your life. I’d call the local fire department and see what they’d advise.

You should call the local fire departments fire Marshal office go inside and take a picture of it you have your proof it's probably close to a $10,000 fine for Walmart per issue so if you found more than one door that are changed even though they have an exit sign on them it would be huge fines for them and you should definitely do that.

Call the fire department for sure

They are probably locked to keep shoplifters from escaping ...lol

Having gone so far I think I would feel obliged to at least tell someone higher up the Walmart corporate ladder, and possibly the fire department.

As you say it's no great loss to be banned from Walmart.

Think of all the lives that would end if a fire happened. Call the Fire Dept. You fo not even have to give your name. I turned in one of the nursing homes I worked in on nights. Unsafe practices. They had to comply. I am not dying in a fire. Consider it your good deed for the day.

Send email to cooperate but don't hold your breath

I would put my black belt into practise.

I would honestly call the fire Marshall and report the situation. Especially given the manager’s response to your concern.

I dislike Walmart...call the fire marshal.
How many times have there been fires in retail places and people dies because the fire exit was locked or blocked ???

He'd probably get written up if he actually trespassed you ngl

I'd have taken a video and then called the fire department non-emergency line

Off subject Walmart is the last place I'd go for quality. 😄

And yeah that guy was totally off base to say that to you. You should report him.

I'd be calling the fire department. You definitely didn't deserve to be threatened.

Tell the fire department.

Id probably call the fire dept

Make the call.

let us know what happens

Brush it off, your better than that, Walmart is a weird place.

Lead a Navy SEALs operation and storm the place!

In my position best I could do is commanding a brigade of angry fishermen 🫠

I can understand your exasperation, especially for being treated disrespectfully and threatened by some Assistant Head Jerk in Walmart....but it really not a hill to die on.

If I was in a narky mood I would report them! 🤗

Depends how determined you are to piss off Walmart. Random thought that goes away in a minute, it's not worth your time.

You know someone crazy enough that might set fire to the place well people are inside shopping make the call to the fire Marshal

If they really pissed me off, then yes, I would make a call to OSHA and the Fire Marshal and leave it to them.

rat 'em out

I’d go home and smoke a fatty and forget about it

It's the fire department that sets those door exit rules, not Walmart.

If there was ever a fire however, keep in mind that if anyone pulls the fire alarm on the wall which then sounds the alarm and automatically sends that signal to the fire department, pulling that alarm switch also automatically releases ALL magnetic locks on ALL doors in the building and automatically opens ALL sliding doors which may have been manually closed contrary to posted signage.

If you go into an underground parking lot of a condo or a business and a power failure occurs and the lights go out, all doors that were otherwise locked to the general public have magnetic locks by law ..and will automatically unlock following a power failure.

If you are in an underground parking lot and you want to gain illegal entry to the building, all you have to do is pull the fire alarm on the wall which then simulates to the fire system a power failure, which then releases the entry door lock of the door you're trying to get in through but will also sound the fire alarm.

The problem is, pulling the fire alarm also deactivates the passenger and freight elevators while automatically opening the elevator doors, which means you cannot use the elevator. That is why all elevators have a key lock which says 'fire department' and by unlocking that switch, will then allow the elevator to be used by fire fighters only.

An elevator that's in transit when the fire alarm is pulled is automatically programmed to return to the ground floor and open the door, regardless of the direction it was going when the alarm was pulled.

I understand where you're coming from when you posted this one which was a great post, but keep in mind that in the event of a fire, those sliding doors will open automatically if the fire alarm is pulled.

However, what if there isn't a fire and an emergency evacuation is required, such as from a terrorist attack inside the building and now as you say, those sliding doors are closed when they aren't suppose to be closed?

The answer is this... if you're a victim of that terrorist attack and you have the opportunity to pull the fire alarm, PULL IT!

Doing so will now open those doors automatically, though no fire is present.

The fastest way to get the cops to arrive during an incident in a large building like that if communications in the clear is not possible using a cellphone 911 call, just run to the nearest fire switch on the wall and PULL IT.

That place will be covered with cops and fire trucks faster than you can exit the building yourself, because ALL emergency response stations are notified automatically if a fire alarm is ever pulled in a building, whereas a 911 call is dependent on the 911 dispatcher evaluating the authenticity of a call, then calling the appropriate agency (fire or police) and sometimes that call is delayed if they think it's a hoax.

Pull the fire alarm and answer for your actions later.

The same thing applies on the streets of New York for example, where there are fire department signaling posts located along a street. Breaking the glass and pulling the red handle behind the broken glass will get a plethora of cops and fire trucks arriving on that location FASTER than making a 911 call on your phone.. and doing so is not illegal in an emergency requiring First Responders.

the Walmart Assistant Manager (probably)

Take a picture of it and show the fire department. That's probably how that girl burned up in that oven