Oh fun, I might get fired.

[Hobgoblin]

It's either I get fired or get a final written warning. I should note that I've never had a warning in two years of employment. I've been in top 2 stores (last week, actually, my store was ranked second out of ~700). Go figure.

So what happened? Great question.

I had a ps3 get stolen. That's not cool. These cost $499 for anyone who doesn't know. I had the box on the counter while helping a customer and when he asked me to step into the back room for something (to shrink wrap a game) he took off with it.

No, I didn't put the box on the floor behind the counter. So whatever happens is going to be called "Negligence" on my part.

Here's what the store looks like:
_____Back wall/counter_____________
---------------X-----------Floor
|----------|--Y---| |------|

That first section is glass cases. The second one is the registers. The empty section? That's the spot where there is no counter, so you can walk behind the registers. Then we have more glass case. The "Y" is where I left the Playstation 3, and the "X" is where I should have put it.

Now, for a customer who walked into the store planning to steal the unit (which is what the police said happened, given everything that went on before this guy walked in), would putting the box on the floor really matter, given that when I was asked to shrink wrap the box, I would have been in the back for a full 2 or 3 minutes?

Oh, I was alone. No one else was working in my store.

Thank goodness I'm thinking I can get a job with a local EMS provider and was planning on doing this anyhow.

What do you guys think? Does it seem fair or rational to fire me for it? I really do want to know what you all think about that. I really do have an excellent track record with the company, so it seems a bit outrageous to me. However, I'm having some trouble being objective here. That's where you guys come in. Should I get fired? Is a final written warning in order?

[IT Grunt]

Hmm.. given this situation, given that the counter is wide open for people to walk behind it while you're in the back room, then I doubt putting it on the floor back there would have made much difference. It sounds like this guy was determined. They should have had another person on duty with you if there are situations where you have to go out of sight of the counter. That's my opinion, your mileage may vary.

[Nakajo]

It was a mistake, you're owning up to it, and you realize how to remedy it in the future.

I wouldn't fire you over it, only because I believe you've learned from that mistake, and it's very unlikely now that anything like that will never happen again under your watch.

However, while I wouldn't fire you, it doesn't mean your store won't. I wish you luck, and I hope your boss gives you some slack!

[otakuneko]

If he was determined to swipe it, probably the only thing you could've done is lock it back up or take it with you to the back room. Even then, thiefboy might've just smashed something.

[princess4life]

a lot of it will depend on the company, but your track record with the company usually comes into play and the fact you’re taking responsibility for it should also help with you not getting fired.

[Rubystars]

I think it's sad that you're the one in trouble. I thought management tended to think of customers as perfect angels who would never do anything wrong.

The thief is responsible here. Most normal people would not steal.

To me I think it's sad that you have to even have policies in place to prevent all that theft, because so many thieves do come in.

Imagine if this were back in the 40s or 50s, and a store clerk had set a package on the counter, and went into the back to just grab something else for the customer really quickly. There would have been a reasonable expectation that the merchandise would still be there on the counter when they got back.

If it did get stolen, I'm sure the clerk wouldn't be yelled at or have his or her job threatened. The depravity of the thief would have been the topic at hand, not the clerk.

Of course I understand that in today's society that it's taken for granted that people will steal given any opportunity. Should you have been more careful? Maybe. I do think it's wrong that they're treating you as if you're the one who stole it though.

[aurelemsrealm]

As for me, I wouldn't fire you. I might give you a warning about being more careful with merchandise, but that'd be all. Yes, your track record would be a consideration. The fact that you seem to realize your mistake would also be a consideration. All of us make mistakes, but we shouldn't be penalized for the wrongs done by others.

It's like my job at the c-store -- I can't stop people from driving off with gas. All I can do is try to remember as many of the details as possible and call in the description to the police. Other than filling out the appropriate paperwork and calling the police after the fact, there's little else I can do about it. Luckily, most of the customers are trustworthy, but it's the company's risk since they won't allow us to make customers pre-pay/pay-at-pump only. That's been a hotly debated issue in the company, by the way. Clerks and store managers favor it, but the upper-management feels that it will cut into inside sales. While it might reduce impulse buys, people are going to come in if they really want beer, cigs, drinks, snacks, whatever else.

Anyway, good luck!

[digilight]

In a perfect world management would not permit you to leave the customer area while you are alone. The fact that even under what managment considers to be the correct thing to have done would most likely not have mattered here goes to show that all parties do hold some level of responsibility.

You do hold responsibility for not securing the PS3 prior to going to the back to shrinkwrap the game for the customer.

Management, however, holds responsibility for not providing some type of lock box type contraption to secure it in, or for instructing you to bring it back with you while you left the area.

Management also holds responsibility for not dissallowing employee's from leaving the sight of a customer or the item in this type of a situation.

I would say that, no you do not "DESERVE" to get fired, as others have mentioned that doesn't mean that it won't happen, but I don't think that you deserve it if it happens.

I do think that this is a sign that management needs to get some serious LP training and methods in place to prevent this type of thing from happening in the future. There needs to be specific rules in place on what to do, whether its a locking drawer that you have the key to on your wrist or whatever.

But also remember this. People will scam, steal, and use all kinds of fuckery to get things that don't rightly belong to them. You can't stop them all, but you can be careful, and do you're best. But you also need management to help you make it as theft proof as possible.

Possibly if you go into the meeting accepting your portion of responsibility and immediatly asking them "How can we work together to prevent things like this from happening in the future" would also work for a point in your favor.

Good luck.

[Hobgoblin]

Thanks for replies everyone. Its very nice to hear that I'm not a total idiot and that (from my version of events at least) I shouldn't get fired.

However, like you all said, it might still happen. If it does, I just need to remember that it is just a job that I was planning on leaving soon anyhow.

But it still sucks, you know?

[Andara Bledin]

Imagine if this were back in the 40s or 50s, and a store clerk had set a package on the counter, and went into the back to just grab something else for the customer really quickly. There would have been a reasonable expectation that the merchandise would still be there on the counter when they got back.

If it did get stolen, I'm sure the clerk wouldn't be yelled at or have his or her job threatened. The depravity of the thief would have been the topic at hand, not the clerk.

Well, actually, things weren't appreciably different back then. There were just fewer people around, so the 10% (random figure) that were asshats weren't quite so notable because the number of overall people you ran into was much, much smaller.

^-.-^

[Imogene]

Hmm, if you work where I think you work, I used to work at a store in my area recently, and the first day I walked into that store, I noticed the camera pointed at the back of the counter. Perhaps they think, if nothing else, putting the system on the floor, and forcing the thief to come around the counter, you should at least get a good picture of their face as they walk back around the counter. *shrugs* Just a thought.

[Irving Patrick Freleigh]

What do you guys think? Does it seem fair or rational to fire me for it?

No, but I'd probably give you a talking-to about securing merchandise properly. Something that expensive should not be left alone with the customer.

If putting the PS3 on the floor isn't secure enough, I'd suggest taking it to the backroom with you while you wrap the game. Distracting employees is a very common ploy used by thieves to run off with merchandise.

But once again we see management only appreciates you when you're raking in the sales, but if you make one mistake it's curtains for you.

My store has about the most theft-proof method of securing game consoles possible: They're on pull tag. Meaning if you want to buy the unit, you take its pull tag, present to the cashier and pay. Then (and only then), the console is brought out of the cash office and given to the customer.

[Subspace_Relay]

I don't feel that you should be fired. Unless your store has a policy that states you are supposed to take a game system into the backroom with you, you did nothing wrong. Placing it on the floor wouldn't have stopped him, and it is reasonabe to assume that a customer won't steal merchandise they are left alone with.

[Naaman]

Management, however, holds responsibility for not providing some type of lock box type contraption to secure it in, or for instructing you to bring it back with you while you left the area.

Management also holds responsibility for not dissallowing employee's from leaving the sight of a customer or the item in this type of a situation.

Management also holds some responsibility for only having one person at the store

Hmm, if you work where I think you work, I used to work at a store in my area recently, and the first day I walked into that store, I noticed the camera pointed at the back of the counter. Perhaps they think, if nothing else, putting the system on the floor, and forcing the thief to come around the counter, you should at least get a good picture of their face as they walk back around the counter. *shrugs* Just a thought.

Some corporate drones will also try to put the blame on staff for shrinkages. My GF works for the UKs biggest pharmacy chain and even when chavvy bastards walk in with kit bag, empty make up spinners into it, wave at the camera before legging it. Word from head office is that "Customers never shoplift, it must be staff"

[Pezzle]

I remember whilst running the tech bench, I had an expensive store floor model laptop stolen right from under my nose. Right next to the bench. They swiped it while I was serving another customer and changing the ink in the printer for them so I could print out a work order, since of course I cant touch their computer for repairs until they sign it (I think now, it may have been a setup or just a good opportunity).

Aaaand... I wasn't fired nor blamed. Why?

I was the only person in all of computers, including technician. So, it's not my fault they didn't put any other employees there to help watch the floor >> I dont have fly eyes yanno'