A teen's success was recently dampened after a racist encounter with Jiffy Lube.
Dustin Hawkins recently purchased a 2003 Mitsubishi Eclipse GS and couldn't be more proud of his purchase.
At the time of buying, however, Hawkins didn't have enough money for a full check of the vehicle. Once he had the funds, he took the car to his local Jiffy Lube car maintenance shop to see what maintenance would need to be done on the car.
Hawkins claimed everything seemed to go smoothly, and nothing appeared to be out of the ordinary, at least until he checked his receipt.
Hawkins recalled:
"I handed the paperwork to my sister, because I was going to read it later."
"And then she said, 'Dustin, why did you tell them your name was George Floyd?' and I go, 'What?'"
When asked what he thought of the incident, Hawkins replied:
"I know exactly what happened. That was some blatant racism."
George Floyd became a household name in 2020 after his death when he was brutalized by a police officer during a startling arrest.
Upset by the incident, Hawkins shared what happened with his mother, who is currently in the hospital, recovering from surgery.
A family friend, Barbette Morris, shared what happened on Facebook.
This drew the attention of locals, family and friends, and news stations.
Barbette Morris/Facebook
Barbette Morris/Facebook
Barbette Morris/Facebook
According to Morris, the family reached out to the local Jiffy Lube for an explanation.
The employee they spoke to stated:
"It was an accident. [We] use that name on fake invoices."
Barbette Morris/Facebook
This riled up other Facebook users, stating this was a sign of ingrained racism.
Barbette Morris/Facebook
Barbette Morris/Facebook
Barbette Morris/Facebook
Barbette Morris/Facebook
Jiffy Lube also responded to the post, stating the incident did not reflect their values.
"This is incredibly troubling to hear, and certainly does not reflect the brand's values."
Barbette Morris/Facebook
"Each Jiffy Lube service center is independently owned and operated, so we are engaging with the franchisee to understand how such a deeply disturbing incident occurred and to ensure that immediate and effective action is taken to address this incident with the appropriate parties."
Not everyone was convinced by this statement.
Barbette Morris/Facebook
Barbette Morris/Facebook
Barbette Morris/Facebook
Barbette Morris/Facebook
What troubled Hawkins the most was the use of George Floyd's name after his tragic death.
"I can't imagine they (the Floyd family) would be okay with a big name corporation throwing around their deceased brother, son, throwing around his name like that."
The family is currently seeking out a civil rights lawyer to investigate the incident further.
The manager of the location was suspended according to local news reports.
In the meantime, it's unclear if Jiffy Lube will make any further comment or follow-through with any sort of professional development or racial training.
