Yeah, I'm 16,your point being?

[Tithera]

I'm sorry, there's really no other place to put this and I'm really need to get it off my chest. I am tired of the people who work at big name stores following me around when I'm shopping by myself. I admit, I do mischevious things like go to the children's toy section and set off all the nice lil lights and sounds, but not all the time. I don't steal or try to rip off anyone but paying for something, destroying it and trying to take it back, saying it was damaged when I bought it. I'm not like that. I work with SC's all the time and know better. Plus, my mom didn't raise me like that.
I especially hate it when I confront them about it and they flat out lie to me.
E-employee
Me

Me: Sir, I'm sorry, but you're making me uncomfortable. Please, stop following me.
E:I'm not following you, I'm checking prices for someone in the line.
Me: In the same exact ailse I'm in 6 straight aisles in a row?
E:Yes.
Me:Since I got here, 15 minutes ago?
E:Well I.....uh
Me:Exactly. Stop following me. Now.

Then, they think they're smart by sending someone different to trail me.I get fed up and walk out, without buying anything.
Or when I'm at the check out counter. The total will have some odd ball change that I actually have. I will attempt to extract this change from my pocket when the clerk says, "I havne't got all day, you know! There are other customers waiting."
I look behind me, empty line. I look at the other lines, all closed. What? Are you crazy? What drugs are you on lady? She looked a little shady to me any way, with WAY too much make-up and smoke on her breath. I think you do have at least 5 seconds for me to get that penny out of my pocket, but if you insist, I had her a 10 and a handful of change.
Clerk:What do you want me to do with this.
Me:Well, since you're so impetiant (sp?) you can have what's there and count out the change for me *smiles big*
She grumbles, counts the change (off by one penny that had in my frickin hand!!!) and gives me my other change back. Oh, no "have a nice day?" Thank you and I certainly won't come again.
Or the clerks who think I can't do math because I am sixteen. I work at a resturant where we have to hand write bills and add it all together with tax and I can't figure out a simple percentage? Hmm....let's think on that one for a bit. NO I didn't pass algebra 1 or geometry. Im not in highschool, Im in kindergarten apperently, alright, I'll level with you. NOt! GRRR!!! I'll be in line, looking at the prices of my books or cds and will mentally adding them up until i get to the line. I have memorized the tax prices for the state of ohio and made sure that my stuff was or wasn't on sale. she adds them up and.....does not come out right. it's like, 10 bucks off.
Me:Uh, are you sure that's right?
Cl:Wha'ya mean?
Me:That's 10 more than what I added it up to be.
Cl:Well, maybe you just can't do math.
What?! Me: *takes out cell phone, types numbers (plus tax) into calculator.* Well, apparently you can't either. *shows her results.* My two books are on sale, or didn't you know that?
She mutters some choice words and fixes the tab. A lady behind complaimented me on my great math skills saying how they always try to rip you off here(they don't have scaners, they do everything by hand) and I never went there again.
Sorry, long, but I feel better now.

[blas]

What the hell kind of stores are you shopping at?

[kibbles]

Yikes, that's a whole lot of sucky employee stories there! But like it has been said before, Sucky Customers work somewhere too right?

[rdp78]

What the hell kind of stores are you shopping at?

I second that especially the one that doesn't have scanners (I'm thinking it might be privately own) and everything has to be done by hand (they do have register at least).

Well, I a couple months ago I did stop by a real dollar store and on the door it had a sign that said that anyone under 18 has to be with an adult (well, something like it). It also said they will be carding people who might look under 18 and well, I still have acne enough said but I did have ID on handy (never thought I needed for something like that). Anyway I did look around and didn't run into an employee who IDed me but I didn't find what I needed anyway (it was kind of a mess). Also there are two other stores near me and they don't have that sign. I'm thinking it's becuase its in a bad area and they might had a problem with kids shoplifting there. I would note this store is bigger then the other stores.

[Tithera]

Yikes, that's a whole lot of sucky employee stories there! But like it has been said before, Sucky Customers work somewhere too right?

good point.
I usually try to stay away from big corrpurations like Wal-Mart and all that, but when I'm on errands for my parents I have too. Wal-Mart and Meijers are the ones that really get "suspcious" of teens. They are the worst.
I like the locally owned mom-and-pop stores a lot better like Butterfly Love or Goodwill a lot better. It's cheaper and nicer to shop in.
Actually, it was one of the major stores that did it by hand that one day. They were getting the scanners and stuff redone, so they had to type up everything by hand. Later on, they did the cash registors and all was well in the world of no math land.

[Arucard]

Not quite because I was a teen (I was 22 at the time) but something similar.

Long story short, I was wearing a leather bracer on my right arm, with metal studs in it, while I was shopping with my girfriend. Apart from that ornamentation, I was dressed very neatly.

I swear I have never had my backpack checked so many times in one day, and in Target, I had a security officer following us the entire time I was there.

I didn't get angry or anything, and actually had a good chuckle about it. Some day I still mean to go shopping wearing the matching bracer as well, with a notepad and pen, and try to interview everyone who checks my bag or follows me as part of a 'social experiment'.

[GyroKat]

Looks have a lot to do with how you're treated.

I once took a train with my boyfriend. In some trains, you can buy the tickets on board, in others you can't. I had mixed them up in my head, and my boyfriend was from another country and didn't know. So, of course we get a £50 fine, which is just about all my money. I was only 17 or so at the time, and I tried to apologise and tell them that I thought I could buy it on the train, but they had no mercy and wouldn't let me leave the train to buy the tickets.

Now, that's fair, of course, but I KNOW that they'd have been nice and let me correct my mistake if it wasn't because my boyfriend at the time had dreadlocks and looks exactly like the type of person who'd try to cheat. Sigh.

[RecoveringKinkoid]

"I'm sorry, there's really no other place to put this and I'm really need to get it off my chest. I am tired of the people who work at big name stores following me around when I'm shopping by myself. I admit, I do mischevious things like go to the children's toy section and set off all the nice lil lights and sounds, but not all the time."

Well, you might be an honest person, but if you are behaving in a way that would lead them to think you are a troublemaker, maybe you ought to think about that.

Usually, behaviors come in sets. A person who does A usually also does B, if you follow me. If you come in and do deliberately annoying things, they are wondering what ELSE you are going to do.

Just something to think about.

[Boozy]

I feel badly for teenagers sometimes. As with any group, a handful of troublemakers give them all a bad name.

I remember when I was in high school, we were always told how important it is to treat the adults and teachers in our lives with respect and consideration. And most of us did (and didn't need to be told, either). But society doesn't seem to have much respect for teenagers. And respect is a two-way street.

With that said, loss prevention strategies in stores do involve age profiling. I don't know if that's necessarily disrespectful. Its just something most of us have to put up with until we reach a certain age.

[mariamousie1]

For a class I once had to go around to 3 different stores or businesses and ask them a series of questions about how they became interested in that work, if they like working there, and what kind of customers they get, etc. The first 2 places went fine, the third place was a bank and the woman acted like the last thing she wanted was to answer my questions and said they were totally busy and it was the rush hour (I purposely picked places that were empty, so I don't know what she was talking about). She tried to get me to come back the next day but I had to have it done that night. I offered to go someplace else, but she finally said she'd answer them but I'd have to stop if a customer came in. I finally got the answers from her but they were pretty bad (Why did you choose to work in a bank? I don't know, it's what I've always done) and she mumbled half the time and I couldn't hear her, and once she gave an answer that made no sense. I thanked her and left when I was done and told my class about it, my teachers said sometimes you run into people like that.

[NightAngel]

I'll be honest- I keep a close eye on most teens. Not all- some are fine. And, yes- a great deal of it depends on how the kid acts. But I've always got an eye on the store anyway- I really don't trust anyone.

Not so much because of the shoplifting (although I've caught quite a few doing just that) but because we have a lot of trouble with them deliberatly messing up the store. Oh, yes- they think it's hilarious to come in and take armloads of new release movies and hide them in the middle or literally throw them on the floor. Or to take candy from the racks, open it and dump them, smear them, etc. on the shelves. Not to mention the ones who come in yelling obscenities, wrestling, etc. and then act like they're going to rough me up when I tell them to straighten it up or get out. I guess I have an excessively mean look when they get like that because usually they wind up leaving instead of trying.

If I have any misgivings about anyone, no matter the age, I'm right there with them every step of the way. I've had people tell me not to follow them anymore but I can be where ever I want in my store and if I think the person is up to something you'd better believe I'm not leaving them alone. Period. My bosses would rather I irritate someone by doing that and have them leave with nothing than take the chance on them leaving with their pants shoved full of DVDs.

Funnily, I used to take my teen son to work with me and have him watch for shoplifters. Believe me- no one ever suspected that's what he was doing. I had a lot of people report him to me. "Theres this teen boy back there- he's been wandering around for a long time... I think he's, you know- up to something!" and I'd thank them and tell them I'd check into it.

[blas]

I think LP should focus on elderly customers as well.

I don't even want to remember how many elderly SCs stole candy from the grocery store (the ones that are charged by the pound that you put in little bags) and got away with it because everyone swore up and down that the "freak" looking teenagers were trying to steal stuff.

[Tigress]

I never really had people follow me around as a teenager, mostly because people thought I was much older than I was. To the point that people that set up credit and phone card booths would literally chase me halfway down the store to get me to sign up for their crap.

Now that I'm in my late 20's, people mistake me for a teenager. The more high-scale, conservative stores won't give me the time of day. I get followed, usually when I wear my trenchcoat. But the moment I flash my credit card or they hear me yell at a bunch of hooligans to behave, it's all good again.

[blas]

I got followed a lot as a preteen.......Baby Spice was my idol and I saw she wore those mini backpacks (they were the "in thing" in the mid to late 90s) and I always wore them out and about. I can honestly say I can't blame sales associates for following me. Although that one jackass at JCPenny who stopped me and searched my backpack in front of the whole store was just rude and disgusting because I hadn't even done anything wrong!

In recent years, I don't know......I have this old fashioned part of me that says "I should look as nice as possible in public". Now, the exception to it is if I go to a store after work, cuz I don't care what I look like at 7 am. But on the weekends, when I'd go shopping or on days off from the gas station, I'd always wear my nicest jeans and prettiest tops and do my hair and makeup all perfect and sales associates would just flock me. Especially the ones at Victoria's Secret.

[Tithera]

Well, you might be an honest person, but if you are behaving in a way that would lead them to think you are a troublemaker, maybe you ought to think about that.

Usually, behaviors come in sets. A person who does A usually also does B, if you follow me. If you come in and do deliberately annoying things, they are wondering what ELSE you are going to do.

Yea, I get where you're coming from on that. But, I actually haven't done anything like that in a while. I never have the time. I get in and get out, mostly because of them following me or because there are some creepy guys harassing me around the store. I don't carry a purse or anything around with(I never have enough crap to put into it). I have my wallet in my back pocket and my cell phone in my other. I can hardly put change in my pockets, let alone anything else. And, i do treat the clerks and everyone ese with respect. When they say, "have a nice day" I'll say you too and smile, which is a lot more than my mom even does because1) I work with stupid people and serve stupid peple everyday and 2) I know it makes my day better when I'm treated like a human being rather than just a blob of flesh serving someone. But, when they are mean to me, oh baby will I get pissed. NOt saying I actually do anything, but mentally, they are in a pit of spikes with a thousand Vogons reciting their horrible poems, causing their heads to explode.
It brings me great happiness.