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Two incidents I have observed...

2K views 40 replies 29 participants last post by  miss_cas 
#1 ·
1. Was at K-mart about a year ago and found a pair of well worn toddler size shoes nestled in among the towels. When I showed a worker she told me they find all kinds of things like that. Mother puts on new shoes and 'discards' the old without paying.

2. Was at grocery store and noticed a child (4-5 yr/old) poking holes in the packaging of most of the meat as mother walked down the case. I told him he shouldn't be doing that and got an earful from mother. The meatman was annoyed with mother but she just left with a few choice words. Meatman had to remove all the packs of meat. Not sure what he did with them after removal.

What is wrong with people?
 
#2 ·
1. Was at K-mart about a year ago and found a pair of well worn toddler size shoes nestled in among the towels. When I showed a worker she told me they find all kinds of things like that. Mother puts on new shoes and 'discards' the old without paying.
?
My daughter asked why there were strings connecting shoes at walmart. It makes them hard to walk in to try. I told her about people like the above that do this and that was why they do that now to make it harder.
We also had refuges in our town that would just take off there old shoes and put new ones on at the store leaving their old ones in the box. I always wondered if they thought this was what you did or thought it was a fair exchange or if they had observed someone putting their shoes in the box as a place holder while they tried on shoes and thought that is what you would do.

The refuges would also drive away at the gas station without paying for gas. I often wondered if they saw someone pay at the pump and drive away not realizing that the person had paid for the gas already.
 
#5 ·
Funny that this is brought up. We were at Wal Mart looking for boots for our son. I picked up a box and commented to DH that the box was really light. I figured the other was the display boot. When we opened it a pair of house shoes was nestled in the box..well worn house shoes I might add.
DH carried the box to an employee and she said it happens all the time. I would have NEVER thought of doing something like that..but I can see how easy it would be to do.
 
#6 ·
I was in Toys R Us doing an exchange before Christmas. I noticed a lady pushing her kid in (what I thought was a cart!) and acting weird. Then as she left, I realized she had walked out the door with a cart full of merchandise. I turned her in.

They weren't able to recover all the stuff she stole, but what I thought was a cart was actually a stroller that she stole off the display.

Made me sick to think about what she was teaching her kids.
 
#7 ·
Remember the old days when there was only one sample of each shoe style in the store and the salesperson had to go to the back to get a pair in your size? The salesperson had to help you try them on and you decided if you wanted to buy them or not. Not so easy to steal shoes this way.

I guess it's cheaper for the big stores to just trust shoppers not to steal than to hire attentive staff to prevent thefts. :shrug2:
 
#19 ·
How about the one where they actually put on the shoe and tie it up for you. We have some local shoe stores that still do that. Those make me uncomfortable.

Our Jc Penney store still have the one on display and they go and get them for you. Are all Jc Penny stores like this?
Had an argument with the teenage sales clerk at Jc penny on if the shoes fit my daughter or not. Stride right wouldn't let me buy shoes for my daughter she was small and he didn't think she could walk yet so he wouldn't sell me shoes.
 
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#9 ·
I'm not so sure about that. I've seen and heard employees ask people if they were going to pay for that.

One time when Little Miss was a toddler I brought in a pair of pants to the store showed them to the greeter and asked if she needed to mark them. She read the tag and said no as they could clearly see they don't sell land end pants. I knew her and we chatted about how I was looking for a shirt to match it.

I found a contasting top and wanted to see if they had a applique in the sewing department to make it really match. I head directly over there and a man come running over out of breath asks in a gruff voice "What do you think you are doing?" I tell him I'm looking for applique to match. He asks are you going to buy that shirt."I tell him if I find a applique to make it match the pants. He asks "Are you going to buy the pants?" I tell him they are mine and he asks to see them and sees the land end tag. Blushes says "Good Luck finding a applique and leaves quickly"

Oh and I have never stolen anything I even return pens to places if I accidentally walk off from them . I also only taste test grapes in places that have given me permission. ;)
 
#14 ·
So would those be the plain clothes people that walk around keeping an eye on people and those in the back that keep and eye with the camera not people in uniforms. or are they in uniform?
 
#13 ·
I think folks will think of anything to steal from stores. I had something happen to me a while back. I always buy the same bra (same size and style--they come in a box) everytime. Went to purchase a couple while on sale, get home and someone has swapped them out and put a cheaper bra in the box. I learned my lesson to always take them out of the box and check from now on.
 
#38 ·
I had that happen to me at Walmart and when I brought the used bra back they acted like I was trying to return a filthy used bra! I was angry and embarrassed at the same time. The cashier said loudly, "This bra is filthy!!" and I said, "I know! that's how it was sold!" One day I also grabbed a boxed bra in the rack only to discover that someone had replaced the NEW bra with their OLD DiRTY bra!! I told a clerk and she did give me a "look" and said nothing about it but took it. I think that I might not say anything the next time I run across something like that because I am tired of being the one who they think is guilty!

Not only at regular stores but also at the thrift store people change clothes and shoes in the fitting room, leaving their old ones behind and they switched tags to the color that is half price. So now, they have to add an extra label with a description of the item and size and attach that to every piece of clothing in the store. The prices aren't as low anymore either and now we know why.
 
#15 ·
In NYC police and security are everywhere. The other day I saw a soldier standing with a huge rifle type gun in the subway. That was definately a first for me. But it made me think of all the photos I see on tv with people walking around with guns and tanks rolling down the street while people are walking around trying to get to where they need to go.
 
#16 ·
Some are in uniform and some are plain clothes, just depends on the store and the day.

I will say, though, as I told people the incident about Toys R Us, the majority of them asked me if Toys R Us gave me a gift certificate. When I told them no, they insinuated or flat out said that they should have. That's another mentality I don't understand.
 
#26 ·
I will say, though, as I told people the incident about Toys R Us, the majority of them asked me if Toys R Us gave me a gift certificate. When I told them no, they insinuated or flat out said that they should have. That's another mentality I don't understand.
Wait, people thought you should get a gift certificate because you saw someone else steal? That's a new one to me. Although, I'm not the type to demand a free meal when mine is messed up. Simply replacing with the correct order is enough for me.
 
#17 ·
The sense of entitlement these people have absolutely infuriates me! Grrrrrr! I guess they think they are too damned good to pay for their goods as the common folk do.

The wicked, petty part of me wishes we could track these people down and take stuff from them - you know, give'em a taste of their own medicine! lol
 
#22 ·
We get followed sometimes by store security. DH open carries his firearm. It's sort of funny to see a gaggle of workers nearby and one dressed in regular street clothes. Then, later to see the one in street clothes following us around and pretending to shop. We usually go with a very exact list and I am sure that no one else needs that exact same handful of items. I keep wanting to take them down the ladies "neccesary" aisle if it is a guy and see what he looks at then. **teehee** Usually, we just ignore them and just continue shopping. I do make sure that I make eye contact with the person and say "hi" in a friendly way at each stop.
 
#23 ·
Its terrible but it happens a lot. My dh manages a hardware/home store and things get stolen constantly. People will even grab things just as they are walking out the door. They find empty boxes all the time. People will go to the back yard and load things and just drive off. Things are not to be loaded without a ticket but it still happens.
 
#24 ·
I think everyone needs to spend a few months working in a store/mall. It is a real eye opener.

The store I worked in stopped allowing any form of underwear in the dressing room (even with the sanitary strip). It seems that women would start their monthly while in the mall, get their tampon then switch out the dirty undies. EEeeewwwww!
 
#29 ·
Sadly, it's nothing new. My dad worked loss prevention for Sears back in the 60's and 70's before he was married. His job was to pretend to be a shopper and catch others shoplifting.

I admit, I've felt tempted before on shoes, back when my kids were little and we were very poor. I never did, but each time they tried on a pair and I thought about how we were giving up something (nothing petty, either, usually food or heat) just to afford them, I'd be tempted. I never did though, but I can understand the desperation that can lead to that. Doesn't make it right, but I can understand.

Of course, some people don't shoplift because they are desperate, they shoplift because they can get away with it :angry:
 
#33 ·
Where I live their are no uniformed security guards they are all plainclothed so you don't know they are watching you. One of our malls does have a police station in it.
Good for you Mrs Mc for turning in a shoplifter!!! Besides the morality of it you are keeping our prices down.

I think the majority of shoplifters are not doing this out of necessity. They just have no morals!!
 
#35 ·
DH is a dept manager at WM and says people steal things from that store or others and return them for cash because WM will take anything back. They stopped giving cash if you don't have a receipt, instead they give a WM gift card.

Here's a good recent story: DH works in the garden center. At Xmas, he came back from lunch and noticed a particular Xmas tree in a place where it shouldn't have been. The cashier said it had been returned (this is a live tree). He went to customer service and asked, they said yes, two women had brought the tree in and the door greeter had helped them with it.

DH asks the door greeter if he remembered the customers, he said yes and described them. DH goes to the security office to review the tapes and see the two women he had described (one was wearing very distinctive clothing, the other was in a wheelchair so they were easy to spot). Door greeter says he thinks they might still be in the store. DH spots the woman in the wheelchair waiting outside with a full cart. Door greeter says yeah, that's her. They walk along the cash registers and find the other woman checking out with her gift card.

Here's what happened: They grabbed the tree on display outside the garden center and brought it in, asking for help (they never paid for it). Took it to customer service, got a gift card, got a cart, filled it and walked out without paying. While the woman in the wheelchair waited out front, the other used her (stolen) gift card to buy pizza and air fresheners. (Apparently air fresheners, like the Febreze warmers, are popular to steal and return to other stores that give a cash return. They are $5-$10 each, so easy, quick money for thieves. Who knew?)

DH grabbed one of the police officers and told him what happened. They took the two in and found more than $800 worth of stolen merchandise in the cart.

DH says this kind of thing happens all the time, but they don't always catch the thieves.
 
#36 ·
My daughter is assistant at a grocery store here and all they have to have is "probable cuse" to confront someone. I know when I was working they had to leave the store but then they changed it To see if they come to the counter to pay for the products. If not we had them on camera to prosecute. We also had loss prevention. Even the employees didn't know who they were and we were a very small company.
 
#39 ·
I've been reading all these posts with my mouth hanging open - what a waste of energy - could be so better used elsewhere for sure. We have families here who are know to the stores and they keep on shoplifting.
 
#40 ·
When I used to work at a grocery store, people would think of the most inventive ways to steal.
Like putting a case of pop or heavy cat litter under their cart, knowing full well the cashier does not want to lift it and will just punch in the code in the computer. Only they will put steaks under the case of pop. Pay for the pop and get $50.00 worth of stolen meat. There was a lady who once got caught with piles of meat packages in the bottom compartment of her stroller, which she had covered up with a diaper bag and baby blanket. The only reason she was caught at all was because a vigilant shopper had seen her putting the meat into her stroller in one of the aisles.
Or label switching. Peeling labels off of cheaper meats and putting them on more expensive cuts to get a prime steak for ground pork price. Peeling labels off of discounted products that are about to expire, and putting them onto the fresher products that should be sold at full price.
The one that irritated me the most was people opening a box of items like granola bars, eating one of the item in the store, then not actually buying the rest of the box. Do people not know that this is stealing?
 
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