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Welp, it finally happened. I got called a "f----ing racist b----" for doing my job.
I was watching SCO doing my usual; it was busy so I was standing away from the door near the service desk, which just so happened to have a perfect view of the screen, scanner, and belt for reg 8. A mother/daughter pair roll up with an overflowing cart...I think I recognize them. SCs have discovered that the belt weight sensors are destroyed, so there's been a mild epidemic of scanning one item and sending three down the belt; usually the items are identical so you can't tell unless you're paying very close attention to what is actually scanned. We have all been told to watch for this and fix it if we can. Also coincidentally I can perfectly hear the scanner beep and voice from that register, so I know more items are being sent down the belt than what gets scanned. SCs daughter is actively trying to block my view; bobbing and weaving. That is definitely not normal. If there are two people in a shopping party, the second person goes down to the end to bag.
I count three instances of overscans (not in succession, so someone knew I knew what they were up to), wait an appropriate time, check my phone (this works as an excuse; I've trained some SCs to think that the registers interface with my phone) and then approach.
Me: "Excuse me, the system didn't register a couple items. I just need to verify the screen." Lo and behold, I find six items that did not scan (because they were stacked on top of other items). I scan them and go back to what I was doing. In most cases of this, the person knows they were caught and quietly pays up. Not this time. SC pays up, and...
SC: "Are yall watching these other
round here? Watch these other !"
Me: *I'm 'watching you' because you decided to try and steal in my sightline* "I pay attention to everything up here, it's my job."
SC: *getting in my face, or she tries to* "You just watching me cuz I'm black! I see you cuz I'm black!"
SC stands in line at the desk, but it's too busy up there so she circles back to me.
SC: "Yall fix what you did!"
Unfortunately D (our linebacker CDH) isn't working. All he has to do is show up and "no, no problem here sir"
Thankfully, a rational customer needs help so I can escape. After I finish, SC sees me and tries to hit me with her cart as she's exiting; I saw what she was up to and did not try to cross the exit path. SC doesn't find this acceptable.
SC: "YA RACIST !" *storms out*
GM comes down immediately and asks what happened; I tell him what I saw (stacking multiple items and only scanning one; this is a known problem) and that I ensured everything was scanned and only after SC paid did she get shouty. [if I had in fact overscanned an item--which does happen due to people holding items before sending them down--I will catch and void it immediately]
GM: "You did what you're supposed to do."
Later last night, CDH asks me what happened; I reiterate what I told GM (with the addition of SCs fireworks).
CDH then says something that I'm not really expecting. In addition to the usual "don't get into a physical confrontation" (I had no idea SC was going to blow up!)" I'm told to just let them shoplift because we don't have security... This is why the store can't have nice things, because our shrink percentage is probably insane and even moreso not only with the holidays but Covid as well.
When I was there previously, we did have a PA code to summon a manager to whatever register...we don't now.
I was watching SCO doing my usual; it was busy so I was standing away from the door near the service desk, which just so happened to have a perfect view of the screen, scanner, and belt for reg 8. A mother/daughter pair roll up with an overflowing cart...I think I recognize them. SCs have discovered that the belt weight sensors are destroyed, so there's been a mild epidemic of scanning one item and sending three down the belt; usually the items are identical so you can't tell unless you're paying very close attention to what is actually scanned. We have all been told to watch for this and fix it if we can. Also coincidentally I can perfectly hear the scanner beep and voice from that register, so I know more items are being sent down the belt than what gets scanned. SCs daughter is actively trying to block my view; bobbing and weaving. That is definitely not normal. If there are two people in a shopping party, the second person goes down to the end to bag.
I count three instances of overscans (not in succession, so someone knew I knew what they were up to), wait an appropriate time, check my phone (this works as an excuse; I've trained some SCs to think that the registers interface with my phone) and then approach.
Me: "Excuse me, the system didn't register a couple items. I just need to verify the screen." Lo and behold, I find six items that did not scan (because they were stacked on top of other items). I scan them and go back to what I was doing. In most cases of this, the person knows they were caught and quietly pays up. Not this time. SC pays up, and...
SC: "Are yall watching these other
round here? Watch these other !"Me: *I'm 'watching you' because you decided to try and steal in my sightline* "I pay attention to everything up here, it's my job."
SC: *getting in my face, or she tries to* "You just watching me cuz I'm black! I see you cuz I'm black!"
SC stands in line at the desk, but it's too busy up there so she circles back to me.
SC: "Yall fix what you did!"
Unfortunately D (our linebacker CDH) isn't working. All he has to do is show up and "no, no problem here sir"
Thankfully, a rational customer needs help so I can escape. After I finish, SC sees me and tries to hit me with her cart as she's exiting; I saw what she was up to and did not try to cross the exit path. SC doesn't find this acceptable.SC: "YA
RACIST !" *storms out*GM comes down immediately and asks what happened; I tell him what I saw (stacking multiple items and only scanning one; this is a known problem) and that I ensured everything was scanned and only after SC paid did she get shouty. [if I had in fact overscanned an item--which does happen due to people holding items before sending them down--I will catch and void it immediately]
GM: "You did what you're supposed to do."
Later last night, CDH asks me what happened; I reiterate what I told GM (with the addition of SCs fireworks).
CDH then says something that I'm not really expecting. In addition to the usual "don't get into a physical confrontation" (I had no idea SC was going to blow up!)" I'm told to just let them shoplift because we don't have security... This is why the store can't have nice things, because our shrink percentage is probably insane and even moreso not only with the holidays but Covid as well.
When I was there previously, we did have a PA code to summon a manager to whatever register...we don't now.
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