Retail Security Tales

[Chromatix]

There's generally a latch mechanism which means the locked wheel has to be released with a key, so while it's not too difficult to get the trolley outside the wire, it *is* difficult to take it much further than that. It's a good defence against the ignorant SC (but my house is just down the road!) and the casual thief (hey, let's ride this thing down the hill).

However, a savvy enough trolley thief might lift the whole thing over the area where the wire is. This is undoubtedly easier if there's more than one of them to do the lifting.

[Lace Neil Singer]

We don't have motorised scooters for customers, thank goodness; people who come in on their own are bad enough. Not all of them, but there's one customer who's a bloody maniac on hers. She was banned from the store when she drove into a buggy and nearly totalled a child... cuz of course, all the staff she nearly killed weren't important enough for her to be banned. -.-

[Mr. Security]

Reminds me of a guy that has been coming into the library lately. He has this giant over sized scooter( I swear it's close to street legal) that he comes whipping into the library with. He will always go to the 4th floor with his scooter barely fitting in the elevator. He will park it in front of the railing and then recline the seat all the way back like a lazyboy recliner and stick his feet up on the railing and sleep. we have asked him several times not to put his feet up on the railing but generally he ignores us

[WishfulSpirit]

Are they? I've seen a lot of stores claiming their carts can't leave the lot, but I see lots of them in neighborhoods. So either the system doesn't work or, more likely, is a giant bluff that isn't working...

They work, at Bulls-eye at least. We'd parked a store over because we had extra shopping to do and crossed the wires trying to get to our car (I fully intended to return the cart to the proper corral). Soon as we passed the magic line, the cart would not move. Had hubby stay with the cart while I went and got the car.

[Dreamstalker]

My store has the 'carts will lock in taken beyond the painted yellow lines' thing...we do have the key, but some carts will tend to lock up in the store on certain areas of the floor. And we still see them all around town.

[XCashier]

Luckily I didn't fall...in retrospect I should have, that might have gotten her booted when nothing else can.

Or you could've landed on top of her. That might've gotten the message across.

[Smapti]

The grocery store I work at has a uniformed security guard who, like the OP, is employed by a third party and really isn't supposed to do anything but be seen and let us know if he sees anything unusual. The real security/loss prevention team are plainclothes and will see you long before you see them; the store has cameras like a Vegas casino and they've got their own hidden little Batcave by the front door from where they can watch for anyone trying to steal from us and ambush them as they try to leave.

They don't carry any weapons besides a pair of handcuffs, but they're mostly former military (and a few of them are amateur MMA fighters) and they're allowed to get physical with shoplifters who try to run away or fight. I remember one day a few years ago I was pulling empty boxes off the displays near the front of the store when a customer ran in calling for me to get help because someone was getting beaten up in front of the store; I ran over to see what was going on and it turned out to just be our security guy putting a submission hold on an uncooperative would-be thief. I had to assure the skeptical customer that it was OK, they're with us.

[bainsidhe]

I've seen a few stores where regular shopping carts also "lock" if someone tries to remove them from the lot. No idea what it costs to purchase that feature, but I wish my local grocers/retailers had such carts. Instead, you'll find carts 1/2 mile away at the mall, because that's where the bus stop is. That, or you'll see a family walking home with a cart, because it's easier for them to haul home their kid and groceries.

I actually saw one SC cussing out a greeter that tried to stop him from removing a store basket from the store. Look, didn't she know it was his basket?! He always brought it back to the store whenever he shopped at *big box retail*, and he hates how sometimes he'll come when it's busy and there are NO baskets available. I don't suppose it's because other shoppers are using them or, like him, decided to steal them.?

[Dreamstalker]

We had a uniformed guard just standing inside at the front doors the first week after the Marathon bombings. Smoothest. week. ever. No tantrums, threats, arguments, walkoffs, etc. Even the usual crowd of thieves behaved--or were just scared off.

We now have an alarm on the door to the seafood case. Simple but really annoying thing that goes off while the door is open. I give it a week before either Seafood Guy gets blamed for not paying attention or one of our more determined thieves figures out how to disable it. I'm guessing they paid some LP guy more than they had to for that revelation--while the rank and file had been trying to tell SM for a year.

[LillFilly]

this reminds me of a woman that always rode her own scooter to my mall. She had to pass by three entrances to the mall and went to the one that concrete was being report. she drove her scooter right up to the caution tape, pulled it up, and drove right through the wet cement; and then the caution tape stuck to the back of the scooter and she pulled the saw horses down into the cement! she rolled right into the mall without even looking back. I think for 3 years those tire tracks were in the cement out there. We also had a woman driving the motorized scooter from Walmart through the parking lot towards the main road. she was halfway down the main road when the battery gave out and strangely enough she left her groceries in the cart basket and walked all the way back to the Walmart where the bus stop was and sat down to wait for the bus. I told Walmart where there was and they had to send some guys with a pickup truck to load it up we went and told the lady at the bus stop that we had her groceries but she completely refuse to acknowledge our existence. they ended up bringing her groceries to the service desk but she got on the bus without them anyway. It was odd how she refused to look or talk to us. maybe because she was caught trying to steal the cart...

[bainsidhe]

maybe because she was caught trying to steal the cart...

I bet she was trying to steal the groceries too. That's why she refused to acknowledge any of it was hers.

[Rebel1012]

Slight update.....the cart lady returned 2 days ago.....with jam jar thick glasses on (which she did not have last time). Managed the cart ok this time and had a store employee walking around with her to "assist".

Did shopping, went home no hassles