Wherein I had to be the bad guy

[Kittykat]

We have this homeless man that kept hanging out on the store property and waving his signs up and down for cars. Mind you, he has been asked repeatedly to stay off the property except to purchase items. Today, he came in and bought two beers; with money I assume he either begged for or was just given to him, for food. That was fine, until I saw he was once again, standing on the property afterward; waving his sign and trying to get money.

I'd had enough, and called the local PD. An officer came out, talked to him; talked to me; and I asked for a No Trespass order. I hate to be the bad guy, but you were told several times dude.

[Buzzard]

Not the bad guy, just the guy who had to make the call. On the plus side, you guys no longer have to deal with him, just call the police when you see him.

[Monterey Jack]

Nothing pisses me off more than homeless guys using money given to them for food/shelter to buy booze or cigarettes instead. This is why I refuse to give money to panhandlers. If they were REALLY hungry, they'd accept a trip to the closest fast food place for a $5.00 meal combo.

[Mental_Mouse]

The thing is, they may well be able to get food elsewhere, from wandering do-gooders, soup kitchens or friendly restaurants. But cigarettes are an addiction that's harder to quit than heroin (*), and is massively widespread among the homeless. Alcohol can also be an addiction, and when it's not it's anesthesia for someone whose life pretty well sucks.

(*) So I was assured by an ex-junkie... between puffs.

[emax4]

You could also make a bigger sign, "Don't give money to the homeless who panhandle here, as they just come in and buy beer."

[Smapti]

You're not the bad guy here. Put yourself in the customer's shoes - they just want to come in, pick their stuff, pay for it, and leave with as little hassle as possible. They didn't come there to be panhandled.

I've had to kick panhandlers off the Store's property lots of times. I just tell them to go down to the corner, or to the other end of the strip mall that isn't our property, and it's none of our business what they do there, I just can't have them doing it here.

[notalwaysright]

It's unfortunate, but it's for the store's own good. Where my dad lives a store changed management (? not sure) and suddenly stopped having a security guard who would help keep the VERY pushy panhandlers away. I'm not talking "sign waving" these would run up and stand in front of you aggressively, basically preventing you for going either into the store or out to your car. The store wouldn't do anything, you could call the cops yourself, but I just wanted groceries. I started going to a different store. I don't think it's out of line to expect to get into a store without being accosted.

[Pixelated]

I've never minded giving panhandlers money, even knowing that it might not be going for anything good ... as long as they're not aggressive.

Unfortunately, when they hang out directly in front of a business entrance ... they become more than a mere nuisance; they can scare customers away. So no, you weren't the bad guy.

[Ironclad Alibi]

I once spent too much time talking to a panhandler. Back in the mid 1970s. He walked up and asked if I had a dime for a bureau. I talking to him for several minutes trying to figure out why he was panhandling money for a piece of furniture. It finally dawned on me he was asking so he could buy a beer-o. He didn't get the dime.

[Slave to the Phone]

As someone who works with homeless people almost daily, I don't think its out of line for me to mention that they are usually homeless due to mental illness and/or addictions. Many of them can't read or write well enough to complete a fairly simple application and forget using a computer. Many of them are very nice, but being nice isn't going to get you a job in this day and age. Most of them don't make good choices and just live in the moment.

While I have a certain amount of sympathy for them, I also know that they can be very unpredictable.

Just because I work with them doesn't mean I want to have them blocking me from where I want to go. I refuse to get out of my car if the store I have stopped at has panhandlers in the parking lot, I just find a different place to do my shopping. Like many people, I tend to go back to the same places unless something forces me to go to another place for the same products. Once I have done that, that store becomes my default place to go. Stores that have panhandlers don't just lose my business for the day, they lose it forever due to inertia.

[notalwaysright]

The panhandlers at the store I mentioned previously didn't seem homeless, actually. They didn't carry signs, or large duffel bags, or look scruffy or dirty. Okay, they did seem a bit "white trash" but overall they could have been shopping and not appeared out of place. They just popped seemingly out of nowhere to ask for money for gas or for the bus or one time, "to buy my kid a burger." No child anywhere to be seen. So I always assumed these people weren't homeless as much as just pulling small cons.

[Nunavut Pants]

... homeless people ... are usually homeless due to mental illness and/or addictions.

I have read elsewhere that a number of people who become homeless for economic reasons wind up using drugs because when you don't have a place to live, there isn't much to do with most of your time. That, and it's incredibly stressful and can aggravate any latent mental issues that a lot of us have.

[taxguykarl]

The panhandlers at the store I mentioned previously didn't seem homeless, actually....So I always assumed these people weren't homeless as much as just pulling small cons.

A few years back, an enterprising reporter followed one panhandler and found that to be the case: she lived with her parents who had no idea how she made her money.

[Ironclad Alibi]

A few years back, an enterprising reporter followed one panhandler and found that to be the case: she lived with her parents who had no idea how she made her money.

That reminds me of the Sherlock Holmes story The Man with the Twisted Lip.

[CyberLurch]

A few years back, an enterprising reporter followed one panhandler and found that to be the case: she lived with her parents who had no idea how she made her money.

It's more common than you might suspect, actually.