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Loss Prevention Lunacy
I'm not sure where this should go, but this seems like the best place. The floorwalkers and security guards aren't co-workers - they're hired from outside companies.
Background:
We have 2 sets of doors that open onto the mall parking lot (one is the main entrance, the other is by our Starbucks), and a set of doors that go into the mall. We only ever have one loss prevention person (floorwalker) working at a time, and we don't always have one working. We also have 'security guards' hired from Security Company. On nights the mall closes at 6pm, we only have one 'security guard' working; when the mall is open late, we have 2. The floorwalker is on the sales floor, so the guards are stationed at the doors - problem is there's more sets of doors than guards. S_______ is too cheap to pay for extra floorwalkers or guards, so the smart professional thieves, and the lucky opportunists, usually get away, sometimes with their loot, sometimes not. Sometimes we get their licence number, sometimes not. 'K, on to my tales...
Tell me, what qualifications do you have?
Saturday, floorwalker caught a female shoplifter with a stack of meat. He put her in the file room and asked M, the tiniest cashier, to watch her. WTF was he thinking?? M is 17, maybe 4 feet 10 inches, very slender, and doesn't look the least bit threatening. Of course shoplifter intimidated M by getting up really close and glaring at her, so M moved aside and let her go. I don't blame her - I'd be afraid of getting beaten up, too.
While this was going on, floorwalker came to my till and asked if I could 'put the register in training to ring up the meat' so he could have a record of it. I told him that I don't know how to do that, and even if I did, it wouldn't be allowed - theft ringup has to be done by management or customer service. Apparently he went to 2 or 3 other cashiers (all newer, BTW), and they had no clue what he was talking about. He got pissed at all of them. Again, WTF? I told him who had to ring it up.
When he found out shoplifter was taking off, he ran after her, but she got into a waiting car (male driver and two kids in it!) and they were gone. He did get the licence number at least.
Of course he was pissed at M and blaming her, but even SM said floorwalker was stupid to put her in there. He should've got 2 bigger women to do it - much less chance of intimidation. I wonder who'd be liable, and for what, if M had got injured?
I'm hoping floorwalker will get a reprimand for this. He may even end up looking for another job. Can't wait to find out...
I may have stopped a theft, but then again maybe not
This morning. 'Security guards' don't come in until 2pm. After I finished with customers, I was standing out in front of my till like we're supposed to. I saw a woman with 5 or 6 big value packs of meat in her arms, just standing at the end of an aisle across from the Starbucks exit to the parking lot. I was immediately suspicious - why wouldn't she have a basket for all that meat, and why was she standing right there? She saw me looking at her, so went to the display bin of lotion beside the aisle end, opened one and smelled it, still with the meat cradled in her arms.
I was about to go over and ask if she needed any help finding anything, but I got a customer right then (the till I was on faced away from suspected shoplifter), so while I was ringing her through, I called the SM's office and asked him if we had a floorwalker on duty. No, why? I told him what I suspected, so he asked for a description and said he'd go look for her. My customer was
over that!
SM came to my till after and said he never saw the suspected shoplifter, but he did see a guy in the meat dept putting back a lot of value packs. So I wonder... were they together? Was he a decoy so she could get away? Were they afraid to steal after I spotted her? Was I suspicious over nothing?
S______ really needs to put out more money and have either decent loss prevention or security guards working all day! Thefts don't just occur after 2pm for crying out loud! And I'm sure the cost would be worth it in theft prevention.
Background:
We have 2 sets of doors that open onto the mall parking lot (one is the main entrance, the other is by our Starbucks), and a set of doors that go into the mall. We only ever have one loss prevention person (floorwalker) working at a time, and we don't always have one working. We also have 'security guards' hired from Security Company. On nights the mall closes at 6pm, we only have one 'security guard' working; when the mall is open late, we have 2. The floorwalker is on the sales floor, so the guards are stationed at the doors - problem is there's more sets of doors than guards. S_______ is too cheap to pay for extra floorwalkers or guards, so the smart professional thieves, and the lucky opportunists, usually get away, sometimes with their loot, sometimes not. Sometimes we get their licence number, sometimes not. 'K, on to my tales...
Tell me, what qualifications do you have?
Saturday, floorwalker caught a female shoplifter with a stack of meat. He put her in the file room and asked M, the tiniest cashier, to watch her. WTF was he thinking?? M is 17, maybe 4 feet 10 inches, very slender, and doesn't look the least bit threatening. Of course shoplifter intimidated M by getting up really close and glaring at her, so M moved aside and let her go. I don't blame her - I'd be afraid of getting beaten up, too.
While this was going on, floorwalker came to my till and asked if I could 'put the register in training to ring up the meat' so he could have a record of it. I told him that I don't know how to do that, and even if I did, it wouldn't be allowed - theft ringup has to be done by management or customer service. Apparently he went to 2 or 3 other cashiers (all newer, BTW), and they had no clue what he was talking about. He got pissed at all of them. Again, WTF? I told him who had to ring it up.
When he found out shoplifter was taking off, he ran after her, but she got into a waiting car (male driver and two kids in it!) and they were gone. He did get the licence number at least.
Of course he was pissed at M and blaming her, but even SM said floorwalker was stupid to put her in there. He should've got 2 bigger women to do it - much less chance of intimidation. I wonder who'd be liable, and for what, if M had got injured?
I'm hoping floorwalker will get a reprimand for this. He may even end up looking for another job. Can't wait to find out...
I may have stopped a theft, but then again maybe not
This morning. 'Security guards' don't come in until 2pm. After I finished with customers, I was standing out in front of my till like we're supposed to. I saw a woman with 5 or 6 big value packs of meat in her arms, just standing at the end of an aisle across from the Starbucks exit to the parking lot. I was immediately suspicious - why wouldn't she have a basket for all that meat, and why was she standing right there? She saw me looking at her, so went to the display bin of lotion beside the aisle end, opened one and smelled it, still with the meat cradled in her arms.
I was about to go over and ask if she needed any help finding anything, but I got a customer right then (the till I was on faced away from suspected shoplifter), so while I was ringing her through, I called the SM's office and asked him if we had a floorwalker on duty. No, why? I told him what I suspected, so he asked for a description and said he'd go look for her. My customer was
over that! SM came to my till after and said he never saw the suspected shoplifter, but he did see a guy in the meat dept putting back a lot of value packs. So I wonder... were they together? Was he a decoy so she could get away? Were they afraid to steal after I spotted her? Was I suspicious over nothing?
S______ really needs to put out more money and have either decent loss prevention or security guards working all day! Thefts don't just occur after 2pm for crying out loud! And I'm sure the cost would be worth it in theft prevention.
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