Pepsi Worker Attacks Coke Worker At Walmart
Police say that two soft drink workers, one representing Pepsi (David Paulina, 42) and one representing Coca-Cola (Robert Koscho, 48) "tried to run each other over with pallets full of soda bottles" at a Pennsylvania Walmart. The violence escalated outside the store, and the Coke rep ended up with a broken nose.
From WTAE:
As Koscho left the store, police said, Paulina called him over and punched him three times in the face, breaking Koscho's nose and giving him a black eye.It's all corn syrup, gentlemen. No need to break someone's nose."As the victim left the store, the suspect came over and got into a physical confrontation with him and struck him a few times," said Pennsylvania State Police Trooper Jeanne Martin. "He hit him in the face, gave him a black eye and broke his nose."
A Coca-Cola representative told WTAE Channel 4 Action News that the fight started over shelf space in the aisles of the store.
The Pepsi worker has been fired.
Cola Wars Get Physical As Pepsi Worker Attacks Coke Employee [WTAE](Thanks, Douglas!)
(Photo:Clean Wal-Mart)
Attention, Walmart shoppers! This ad is for you! Woo hoo!
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Comments:
Reminds me of Jennifer Government, where the market became so deregulated that street gangs paid by fast food joints started popping up and fighting over turf.
That's what I like some stiff competition. Play nice boys, have a rock fight.
Those guys should not be punished for their actions, this situation seems to show their actions were causes from the system.
One needs to identify the root cause of their actions within that system.
Do these guys get bonuses and better reviews if they unload more product?
I bet they do.
If that is the case, anyone would fight for their bonus or better reviews.
Also, that shows how stupid Pepsi and Coke are, they evaulate their employees about things that are out of their control like shelf space in a store.
What were they supposed to do, go back with a full truck and receive a punishment from their boss?
Always knew Coke was a wus...
Why did they fire the Pepsi worker? He won the fight!
@junkmail: coke is way better than pepsi. thats why the pepsi guy got so mad he had to punch the coke guy. he was jealous at how much better coke is.
Although the whole thing very immature, I must say I've always known Pepsi kicked ass;)
Was one trying to steal shelf space from the other? I thought Wal-mart would have given both x amount of shelf space.
Besides aren't Coke and Pepsi products usually kept separate from each other anyway? They're either on opposite sides of the aisle or generic sodas are between them.
@ry81984: If you take your job so seriously that you start stupid fights with other people over it, you need counseling.
Seriously. A fistfight ... over SODA??!
@ry81984: Actually, I highly doubt that delivery workers control shelf space. There's been lots of writing about how that sort of thing is now some sort of sick science and companies pay for every single square inch they get and the rate even varies on where in the aisle the space is.
@INconsumer:
Coke admitted Pepsi was better.
Remember the Pepsi challenge?
Coke tried the same thing and found that everyone preferred the taste to Pepsi over Coke. That is why they changed the formula.
Coke does a have a brand that people have strong emotional bonds with. It may not taste better, but the feelings, tradition, and image that come along with Coke appeal to older people more than taste.
When Coke did their own Pepsi Challenge they blindfolded hard core Coked drinkers and had them try both. The blindfolded hard core Coke drinkers would choose Pepsi. When they were not blind folded they always chose Coke.
As the soft drink market grows Pepsi is gaining way more drinkers and market share than Coke. Basically as younger people start drinking soft drinks they choose Pepsi over Coke because they value the taste over the image.
@Buran:
They do not control shelf space, but that does not matter.
I work in retail, if they have extra space they will fill it up. This is not counting a display specifically for one or the other, this is shelf space where tags can be moved. They will slide competitors products over to create a little more room for their products. They do what it takes to empty their trucks.
Slurm! It's highly addictive!
They were treated and released at Wal-Mart hospital, under the care of Dr. Zeppa. The district attorney, Mr. Pibb, had no comment.
This proves what I've known for years. Pepsi pwns Coke.
@Rectilinear Propagation:
@Buran:
Wal-mart doesn't give equal space to each company. Often companies whose products have lower margins or sell less product will have to pay more for shelf frontage. Companies whose products sell well, or have higher margins for the store may actually be paid to place their products on the shelves.
Often product manufacturers send employees to rearrange the frontage, which the Coke/Pepsi fight may have been over, if one caught the other rearranging things. If they can rearrange the space just after Wal-mart does a reorganization, there's a good chance it will remain that way for a few weeks.
This happened all the time when I worked retail electronics sales. Product reps would stop by, give us a spiel about their product, hand us some schwag, and rearrange the shelves behind our backs.
they fought because they were on such insane sugar and caffeine rushes from that brown fizzy water they were both drinking...
AND THUS BEGAN THE TRUE COLA WARS!
@ry81984: The reason the "Pepsi Challenge" was successful for Pepsi is because Pepsi is sweeter, and 9 times out of ten, the sweeter drink will always win in a "Sip Test" (where the soda is only tasted for a short period of time, making this test not directly analogous to drinking a full 12 oz can). Personally, I find Pepsi *too* sweet, so over the course of an entire soda, I get annoyed by it - and that's why I prefer Coke.
@ry81984: I would hardly says "everyone" prefers Pepsi to Coke. If I remember correctly, the final results of the Pepsi challenge were somewhere in the neighborhood of 52% TO 48% in favor of Pepsi. That is hardly a resounding victory considering the margin of error is generally in the neighborhood of 3% if they followed standard sampling procedures. On top of all that, the preferred soda is different depending on your part of the country. The southern US is heavily Coke. A lot of international markets don't even have Pepsi.
So, to sum it up: marketing means nothing, so stop quoting a marketing ploy (the pepsi challenge) to prove your point...
I drink Diet Coke, my wife Diet Pepsi. We're able to get along, primarily because if I started something like this case, she'd kick my ass.
pepsi is waaaaaaaaaaay to sweet! it's nasty! and i would say its like anything else formed out of habit. republican parents generally have children to grow up and vote republican, not always, but usually. same for dems.
also similar to smokers. they will smoke any cig in a dire time, but usually smoke the same brand as their parents.
my parents always bought coke. and said pepsi was too sweet. go figure that i say the same thing now.
@rwakelan:
I will not argue with that, but Coke is more band image than taste. Coke admitted this when they switched their flavor to a more Pepsi like flavor.
The south has a lot more tradition than in the North. People are so into the brand of Coke they call all soft drinks Coke. Its so strong they will actually ask if you want to order a Pepsi-Coke.
Also, all the generic brands of pop copy Pepsi instead of Coke for a reason.
Marketing means everything with these products. Coke's marketing is why they are so successful. During WWII Coke was America and that tradition still sticks today.
and coke is waaaaaaay better with liquor. i mean a pepsi and crown? get real. that was my biggest pet peeve in las vegas. too many pepsi only hotels and my alcoholic drinks tasted like crap because of it. i had to buy my own crown and 20oz cokes to get buy.
nothing can compare to mexico's pure cane sugar coke!
Pepsi dude is just jealous because his competition mixes better with Whisky. ;)
Such crude measures. If it were me, I'd start with the dead horse head delievered to their residence first.
i'm just imagining one of those benny hill stop motion skits with two forklifts buzzing around each other thru the store aisles...
ahhh... the Cola Wars wage on. have the dems in congress not put the breaks on this yet?
@INconsumer: Agreed...and Dublin Dr. Pepper is the best stuff ever. Both made with pure cane sugar... DOWN WITH CORN SYRUP!!!!
Frankly...corn syrup is likely the cause of the massive increase of cases of diabetes lately...
disappearing comments...again :(
@mac-phisto: ... with about a half-dozen of Hill's angels scantily clad (for whatever reason) in pursuit of Benny and Bob Todd on the forklifts.
I miss Benny.
@Trae: I prefer Coke for the same reason - fortunately, I've found that for the most part if I forget to ask if a place has Coke or Pepsi before ordering, they'll ask if Pepsi is OK if I just say Coke. But because some places just assume "coke" means "whatever cola" (well, if I wanted Pepsi I would have asked for it, so, "huh?") usually I will ask. They're pretty understanding when I explain I can't stand plain Pepsi, and usually have Sierra Mist, which I don't mind.
Sometimes the wait staff is even able to put grenadine into Pepsi which masks the too-sweet taste and gives me cherry soda anyway, which I prefer.
@Crymson_77: I've been trying to avoid the stuff. I've switched as much as possible to soda from a local "microbrewery" that specializes in root beer but has some other flavors as well. Fitz's Orange Cream Soda from St. Louis, yummmm. I'm stuck with Cherry Coke right now because they were out of the stuff I'll drink last time I was at the store. Argh.
I don't know why so many soda makers use that corn syrup junk. I'm hoping that as more corn is used to produce ethanol we'll see more cane sugar sodas offered. I like Dublin Dr. Pepper but can't get it in stores here - I'm going to have to order it. I can't find the cane sugar Coke for the life of me either.
@Xerloq: Personally I would have moved everything back to where it was and then filed complaints with the guys' bosses. If an employee gets enough complaints filed about him/her they'll eventually get a talking-to.
@ry81984: Supposed to do their jobs. I bet it's not in their job description to screw with other peoples' property that you aren't authorized to.
@Buran: for cane sugar coke, try cosco. or a mexican supermarket. i go to the local tienda in my neighborhood for my cane coke. whoa say that phrase backwards. you could probably get that there too. lol.
anybody else like coke zero?
Watch, by the end of the week VH-1 will have signed those 2 up for their own reality show!
Sam's Choice™ = Switzerland
@Xerloq: "behind your back? Ha I take the swag and help them move their products. lol the best part is, im not a sales person so I don't even sell their trash, I just like the toys. then the sales people have to go re-arrange things again to match the planogram. good stuff.
Funny as heck but I do not understand why this was posted to Consumerist.
I heart Coke Zero! It doesn't have the weird chemical aftertaste that most diet sodas have.
@INconsumer:
You speak the truth there, buddy. Mexican Coke (the legal stuff) is great. Here in LA, it's gotten to the point that the regular chain supermarkets even carry the stuff.
Oh, yah, and Coke Zero is the nectar of the gods. The Coke taste, not as sweet, and no impact on my diet. Coke Zero FTW!
Root Beer, OTOH, is the only thing I will have with my vanilla ice cream for a float. A&W or IBC are the best.
For some reason, I think the funniest article I ever read at The Onion was one about new Coke Mandatory from 2001. [www.theonion.com]
It's still comedy gold. Coke Mandatory: You'll Have No Other Option Than To Love It.™
I actually prefer Diet RC, though I usually drink Diet Pepsi because Diet RC is hard to come by.
I knew it.
Give Walmart enough space, and they test market Thunderdome...