They're now "just for show"

[Bright_Star]

The Wal-Mart that I used to work at has been going through an extensive remodeling. EVERYTHING & I mean EVERYTHING has been turned topsy turvy. You have to re-learn where everything's at.
So some moron with an IQ of -75 decided to deactivate the scanners near the door that beeps IF you have merchandise that wasn't deactivated at the register. This was supposed to help shoplifting. So they're leaving the scanners in place for "show".
So I asked a friend of mine..."How does leaving those things in place now that they're deactivated do anything to prevent someone from walking out the store with stuff that they've swiped?" He didn't know what to say.
BUT they watch the associates like a hawk to make sure they don't steal anything. BUT they don't do anything to potential shoplifters cause they don't want to "inconveniance the customer!!!" Honest to goodness that's what I heard the other day. & I'm like

[tropicsgoddess]

Only having scanners for show to inconvenience the customers?!! Like that's gonna deter shoplifters at all.

[AKWalMartCartGuy]

BUT they watch the associates like a hawk to make sure they don't steal anything. BUT they don't do anything to potential shoplifters cause they don't want to "inconveniance the customer!!!" Honest to goodness that's what I heard the other day. & I'm like

they're already just for show. we can't search them, it's just a very elaborate facade to deter shoplifting, they see people's carts being searched and think they will be caught by the greeter, this prevents the mixing items in with everything else type theft, and little kids stealing stuff

[Becks]

You know, I'm really sick of places so worried about employees stealing that they don't give a if the "customers" are.

[Boozy]

Sadly, every statistic I've heard on the subject shows that employees are far more likely to steal than customers.

Employees also steal more expensive things and in larger amounts. The amount lost to employee theft dwarfs the amount lost to shoplifting in most large department stores.

[Broomjockey]

Sadly, every statistic I've heard on the subject shows that employees are far more likely to steal than customers.

Employees also steal more expensive things and in larger amounts. The amount lost to employee theft dwarfs the amount lost to shoplifting in most large department stores.

Uh, I have to contest that. In the book Pretending You Care, Norm points out something very valid. Customers aren't subjected to the same scrutiny that employees are. This absolutely has to swing the numbers to some degree.

Almost all employee theft is eventually caught, logged, and punished. How many "potential" shoplifters are just let walk out because someone lost eye contact for 1/2 a second? How many are told "ditch the merch, and you can leave"? Etc. etc. and none of that is ever reported and logged. Yes, employees may infact be able to steal larger items due to easier access, but if "customers" had to be searched, and itemized receipts shown for every item they have, then the numbers would likely start to balance more, if not swing the other direction.

[lordlundar]

Yes, it's not that the employees do steal more than the customers, but because employees are practically strip-searched before they leave, they are caught more. If supposed "customers" were treated the same way, then the numbers would easily be reversed.

Bu no, the policy is "trust the shady guy sneaking around watching every staff member more than the employee of 20 years who is so tight on money he works over 50 hours a week just to make end meet."

[Spiffy McMoron]

I don't know what's worse--you situation, where the alarms are kept most for show, or at my old store, where nobody cared if the alarms went off.

They would go off a couple times a day, and I never saw anyone stopped or searched. Everytime, the cashiers ignored it or waved the person through.

[Irving Patrick Freleigh]

Broom took the words right out of my mouth. Employee theft is far more accurately documented and reported than customer theft, so it leads corporate LP to believe employee theft is a bigger problem that it probably is.

[Peppergirl]

Here's what I find particularly appalling: The stories I've read on here where employees have busted SC's changing price tags (meat in the grocery, particularly) and the managers just turned a blind eye because they didn't want make a scene.

Yet, let an employee walk out with a pen, or something equally small, that's company property and they'll get fired in a heartbeat.

It just doesn't make sense to me.

[Andara Bledin]

First off, it's usually not the store's fault that people aren't searched or stopped when leaving a store and the alarms go off. It's the law that they can't do anything.

Those sensors have pretty much alwys been for show and to scare off the casual shoplifters. So, if they're deactivated, they're no more useless than they were before, but they're a lot less annoying.

Also, as regards employee vs customer theft: If you take the entire amount of everything that has been stolen and remove the numbers that was stolen by employees, what you have left can reasonably be assumed to have been stolen by customers. I don't know the figures, so can't be certain, but I suspect that the amount stolen by employees comes out to well over half of what has been stolen overall.

Plus, there are a lot of instances where employees steal from customers that don't get documented by LP (such as ID theft and the like).

^-.-^

[Boozy]

I don't know the figures, so can't be certain, but I suspect that the amount stolen by employees comes out to well over half of what has been stolen overall.

I do know the figures. According to the most recent study, employees steal 66% more than shoplifters.

With that said, some valid points have been made here about methodology. For example, Broomjockey pointed out that employees are perhaps more likely to be caught than shoplifters, so that may skew the findings. The latest study that I am familiar with claims to have accounted for that variable. I can't attest to that, of course, as I am not a statistician nor was I involved in the study.

[marasbaras]

The reason that we have these laws is that some stores in the past went way too far. So, laws were put in place to protect the consumer.

I really think stores need to rearrange themselves so that one cannot get to the exit door without going through a checkout. It's just too easy to walk in, walk around, walk out the entrance these days.

[JLRodgers]

Back when I worked in retail, management had us watch for shoplifters (no sensors, nothing like that on anything -- it was a warehouse club). We had quite a few each day (a "quick inventory" was done every night at restock -- all items stocked were counted and compared to receipts).

Then one day a team leader made an interesting comment -- customers steal more than employees (qty not $), employees steal more expensive things, but the "employees" doing the theft were more likely management than the lower level ones since they had access to all tapes/security/doors/etc there was no/little proof they did anything.

Of course they did have one management person (of receiving) "accidently" unplug the security tape, unlock the receiving door, and load up his truck trailer with a few pallets of electronics. Once they chained the back door and locked up all security tapes to a secured area, most of the theft ($ wise, not qty wise) stopped. Since non-management didn't have access to these areas....

[Becks]

employees have busted SC's changing price tags (meat in the grocery, particularly) and the managers just turned a blind eye because they didn't want make a scene.

Can't offend the customers, you know. They won't come back. And they'll tell all their friends and family, who'll tell everyone THEY know...etc.