Anybody have this happen? (Retail question)

[Irving Patrick Freleigh]

Apparently the new thing thieves do in big-box stores is shoot a little Nerf dart into the ceiling, or toss up there one of them sticky, gooey balls or figures that sticks to walls or ceilings, or leave some other kind of marker up there.

This acts as a signal to other thieves that the store is a good place to steal from, or even the position of the marker tells them where the good blind spots are.

I just learned this today in our daily huddle and was wondering if anybody has seen this yet.

[fireheart]

No I haven't, but I'll keep an eye out for it.

[Iris Kojiro]

I never knew that, but thanks for sharing. I'll be on the lookout. Wouldn't that sort of thing fall down after a while, though?

[TOLady]

I've checked my usual suspects/websites for something like this happening, but haven't found anything.

However, wouldn't you think it strange to see customers/potentional thieves walking around the aisles looking towards a ceiling, that in all likelihood is about 20 feet away, looking for a tiny splotch on a ceiling surrounded by brilliant bright white lights? Not to mention people who seem to think it okay to stick wads of gum wherever they feel like when it loses it's flavour..

Also - I just asked my DH if he had ever heard of that and he added that most big-box ceilings are so filthy with dust, nothing would stick to them.

Heck - and most people can't even see a price tag on a shelf if it's 5 inches away from their face!

I wonder where that information came from?

BTW - as an aside - as much as I'm going to miss the Chronicles of Numbnuts, congrats on losing the asshat!

Cheers!

[DerangedHermit]

I guess it's the retail version of throwing a pencil into a classroom ceiling.

[Irving Patrick Freleigh]

I wonder where that information came from?

The LP girl, who called the huddle, claimed she got it off of Myspace.

[Mike Taylor]

I've never heard of this, but we already know where our blind spots are in the store and the LP guys send someone right to them if there's anybody suspicious in the area.

[Geek King]

The LP girl, who called the huddle, claimed she got it off of Myspace.

Uh-huh.


Far be from me to suggest such, but if your LP is getting its hot tips off of Myspace, they may already be in trouble. Be wary of being asked to clean shelves with Coke and tinfoil.

[Becks]

The LP girl, who called the huddle, claimed she got it off of Myspace.

That ranks up there with Wikipedia for great sources of information.

[wagegoth]

That ranks up there with Wikipedia for great sources of information.

MySpace makes Wikipedia look like the Encyclopedia Brittanica.



There's nothing on Snopes, but it may take a while to wend it's way there.

[Javarod]

Hmmmm, the MySpace source seems iffy, but the concept doesn't. It is after all a blind spot, and pick the right time of the day, and no one will see you doing it. Bigger problem out here is that few stores use drop ceilings here, so i can't see it sticking to the corrugated steel inside the roof.

[Becks]

MySpace makes Wikipedia look like the Encyclopedia Brittanica.

That is very scary.

[Geek King]

That ranks up there with Wikipedia for great sources of information.

Um, this may be a bad time to mention this, but in a peer review done comparing EB to wiki, wiki was only slightly less accurate over the articles compared. If you are using some secondary sources to fact check (which you should do with any source of information) it would be as valid. Scary, huh? The difference in validity is mostly in the perception of the source, rather than fact.

[Balgram]

That dart thing is a curious myth to be spreading around. If anyone sees the original article or another reference to it, kindly send me a link. I like tracing back rumors and stories/urban myths like these, and this one smells fresh and interesting. I can't imagine it being true. For one thing, there are darts all over our ceiling. We are a firm believer in office wars.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pVKnF26qFFM

Incredibly off topic, but I like using Wikipedia. It's a fast and fairly reliable source of information. It's not going to be perfectly accurate, but what book is? Frankly, because it can be constantly updated and renewed, Wikipedia is by its very nature more likely to be accurate and useful. Is it popular to mock Wikipedia?

Not trying to be rude, honest. I've just never seen a problem with Wikipedia, and I think it's an excellent idea.

[RecoveringKinkoid]

What, we have altruistic thieves now?

I can see it if they are leaving a marker for a second thief they are maybe working with, but random thieves?

I dunno about you, but if I find a good fishing spot, I dont share that info. I'm just sayin'.

I'm thinking Myspace is maybe not the most reliable newsource.