Terrible Parents

[eltf177]

You aren't allowed to confront shoplifters, but when shrink gets out of hand management seems to blame the employees for doing nothing. Hey, that's because of management's policy so get a clue or get off our backs!

[Lace Neil Singer]

Kinda like when management gives us a hard time about drive outs. We mostly don't see them, but even if we did, short of throwing ourselves in front of the car, we can't stop them anyway.

[XCashier]

I don't really believe 'deterrents' work.

They do, but only against people who wouldn't steal in the first place. A determined enough thief won't stop at anything.

You aren't allowed to confront shoplifters, but when shrink gets out of hand management seems to blame the employees for doing nothing.

Or they blame the employees themselves for the theft. And not a single one of the upper management folks can see the blatantly obvious problems with their policy.

[crazylegs]

It's cuz of our own safety; I was told this when I started working there that a cashier had apprehended a shoplifter who had then drawn a knife and stabbed her.

When I worked for Nipper as loss prevention we were initially allowed to apprehend - until such time as an LPO who was working at Norwich was stabbed to death. Because the company wouldn't issue body armour they decided that even if the LPO was stood next to the shoplifter and watched them pocket the item & walk out then the only course of action was to call the police. The police were not amused when they were informed of this change of policy.

[AccountingDrone]

When I worked for Nipper as loss prevention we were initially allowed to apprehend - until such time as an LPO who was working at Norwich was stabbed to death. Because the company wouldn't issue body armour they decided that even if the LPO was stood next to the shoplifter and watched them pocket the item & walk out then the only course of action was to call the police. The police were not amused when they were informed of this change of policy.

Kevlar does not work against knives. You need chainmail or solid plates if you really don't want to get stabbed. Yes, kevlar can help make a knife not penetrate as deeply, but as one idiot found you can stab through it. [idiot was boasting about his new vest, grabbed a knife and stabbed himself ]

[Kagato]

Depends on the vest you are using, you can get stab-proof kevlar vests that are reinforced with chainmail these days but they are expensive, not to mention a little on the heavy side.

[crazylegs]

Kevlar does not work against knives. You need chainmail or solid plates if you really don't want to get stabbed.

Depends on the vest you are using, you can get stab-proof kevlar vests that are reinforced with chainmail these days but they are expensive, not to mention a little on the heavy side.

Re chainmail, I know When working my next job I was issued (initially) a rigid plated vest, then that was recalled and replaced with a (cheaper, lower rated) vest with chainmail and yes, it was heavier - bloody hot in the summer too!

[Lace Neil Singer]

I suppose a mithril vest is out of the question, then?

[EricKei]

I recall one time back at BoutiqueGrocery when one of our more athletic assistant managers, who had been stalking a guy in a trenchcoat for a good 20 minutes, tore off after him as soon as Coat Guy left the store with several bottles of expensive liquor hidden in his coat pockets.

The guy made it to a getaway car and drove off before AM could catch him. Upper management basically told AM (and all of us), 'we appreciate the effort, but PLEASE don't do that again', as they didn't want anyone getting shot.

As for blaming us for shrink whilst simultaneously making it impossible for us to prevent it (the latter for very good reason, see above)...yeah. GameStore was the same way. Every employee, from the newest floor walker to the highest corporate dude, had their bags and pockets checked EVERY time they left the store. This, of course, had zero effect on shrink whatsoever, but it made Corporate feel like they were doing something proactive. Because, of course, everyone knows that it's always the employees who are walking off with all of the ten-year old, $5 games...and it has nothing to do with the racks of live product facing away from the register, that we used to have...

I suppose a mithril vest is out of the question, then?

Depends on how much ya wanna pay. That stuff's hard to come by in this era...but not impossible >_>

[Rubystars]

Same at the C-store. Someone comes in to rob the place, let them have what they want. A soon to be ex CW worked at a...Mart of Walls...in Texas, I think, and she says they told her i they were robbed, the cashier was supposed to pretend to faint. I don't know how true or even useful that is though!

I used to work for that same company and yes they told us to pretend to faint. I always thought that sounded rather stupid.

[cindybubbles]

Why don't you have those merchandise tag detectors installed near the doors? Then, when the alarm sounds, you may be able to tell if they're shoplifting by their behaviour after the fact.

[Moosenogger]

Why don't you have those merchandise tag detectors installed near the doors? Then, when the alarm sounds, you may be able to tell if they're shoplifting by their behaviour after the fact.

We don't have that kind of system set up in our store, and it would probably cost a fortune to set it up. We'd also have to worry about passing the idea by the airport, since they own the property and have a say in anything we do to the store. We do have ink tags, but only put those sensors on clothing worth over $30, shoulder bags, and hats.

[Irving Patrick Freleigh]

Why don't you have those merchandise tag detectors installed near the doors? Then, when the alarm sounds, you may be able to tell if they're shoplifting by their behaviour after the fact.

In a larger store, 9 times out of 10 the detectors going off will be a false alarm or considered as such, and nobody will do anything about it. It's just a false sense of security.

In a smaller store, it's hard to do anything about the detector going off when you also have to look after the entire store.

Also, the detector going off isn't enough justification to chase after and detain somebody.

[NotAlBundy]

In a smaller store, it's hard to do anything about the detector going off when you also have to look after the entire store.

Also, the detector going off isn't enough justification to chase after and detain somebody.

Yup. The previous location of our shoe store that I worked in had the security tags. Half the time when they went off, I was so busy, I couldn't stop the customer/thief.

Also, our training doesn't deal with how to stop someone who DOESN'T have a shopping bag from our store (a thief). It only shows how to stop someone who DOES have a bag from our store (99% of the time a customer, but some thieves are smart and save bags to steal with). I asked my district manager how he wanted us to handle it when the person is setting off the alarm and they don't have a bag from our store and I got NO answer from him. It's very frustrating.

On the other hand, the store location I am in now does not have security tags and people steal from me like there's no tomorrow. The week of local bigtime sporting event, I lost as much in one week as I do in a whole month.

Most of the time when the alarm went off, it was someone coming IN from JCPenney, where they had not removed their tags there.

[An Haddock]

I suppose a mithril vest is out of the question, then?

They usually only come in Hobbit sizes.