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I put this in sightings since, well, she was never a customer, just somone who loved hovering in our store. Sorry its long, its not even that sucky (depending on how you look at it) but it is definately very strange!
Note: The coffee shop I work in is just inside the doors to the centre I work at. Immediately after us the food court commences
For a reason I can't remember, I ended up doing many a weekday close with our then supervisor, T. I'd done three in a row when I first noticed this lady. Elderly, and for some reason always wearing a red jumper. She was hovering around the outskirts of our store, just inside. She'd been there the days before too. I watched her from behind the til, smiling in case she decided to approach. After a while she moved onto the next store. I asked T about her, who said she'd seen her too, everyday at 4pm. I was curious. The lady came back by us later, after doing the rounds of the other shops, and hurried away when she saw me still there. (Note- I am obviously observant. People catch me watching them all the time and I can hold eye contact better then anyone I know)
The next week comes around, and once again I have the closes. 4pm on the dot, she shows up. T and I had discussed her, and now we stood behind the coffee machines and watched quietly. She got braver and moved closer. I went out and 'mugged' her, asking if there was anything I could help her with, etc. She seemed flustered I had asked, and muttered something about researching for a lunch with friends. She took off not much later, after I offered some friendly suggestions. Now, I'll start to shorten this story. You get the idea. We saw her everday.
Over the next month, we continued to see her. We were suspicious of what she was doing now, as every time we approached, she bailed, but every time we were busy, she approached the counter. T reported seeing her check our tip jar (bowl, technically) often, going so far as to reach into it, at which point T walked in front of her and she bailed.
Then one day, when myself and T are on again, one of the centres security guards approached us. He described the lady to us, and asked if we had seen her. We explained. He said the stores outside ( there's a pub, and a few more restaraunt type places) had seen her too, and the day before she'd been caught on camera STEALING the whole tip jar off our neighbour!
They refused to press charges on the little old lady, but everyone in the centre were warned. The security began to follow her, quietly. Apparently, she always started outside, working her way inside, checking every location for the tip jars. We were a favourite, since our tip bowl was in a nice obvious place, but unlucky for her, we were very observant. After a few weeks, the security told us to watch but LET her steal it! They would reimburse us.
Despite two more weeks, she was too nervous around us to make a move. Then later, she disappeared. We quizzed security about it. They had caught her a second time outside. They didn't prosecute, but the cops took into account the bizarre story and removed her license (she always drove). Apparently her relatives had reported she had dementia, and the cops deemed it unsafe for her to be driving. We haven't seen her or her red jumper since.
We were glad no one pressed charges, but seriously, why would someone (dementia explains the repeated sightings) want to steal a tip jar? Best reason we could see was no one would prosecute over it. Kept us amused for a few months none-the-less!
Note: The coffee shop I work in is just inside the doors to the centre I work at. Immediately after us the food court commences
For a reason I can't remember, I ended up doing many a weekday close with our then supervisor, T. I'd done three in a row when I first noticed this lady. Elderly, and for some reason always wearing a red jumper. She was hovering around the outskirts of our store, just inside. She'd been there the days before too. I watched her from behind the til, smiling in case she decided to approach. After a while she moved onto the next store. I asked T about her, who said she'd seen her too, everyday at 4pm. I was curious. The lady came back by us later, after doing the rounds of the other shops, and hurried away when she saw me still there. (Note- I am obviously observant. People catch me watching them all the time and I can hold eye contact better then anyone I know)
The next week comes around, and once again I have the closes. 4pm on the dot, she shows up. T and I had discussed her, and now we stood behind the coffee machines and watched quietly. She got braver and moved closer. I went out and 'mugged' her, asking if there was anything I could help her with, etc. She seemed flustered I had asked, and muttered something about researching for a lunch with friends. She took off not much later, after I offered some friendly suggestions. Now, I'll start to shorten this story. You get the idea. We saw her everday.
Over the next month, we continued to see her. We were suspicious of what she was doing now, as every time we approached, she bailed, but every time we were busy, she approached the counter. T reported seeing her check our tip jar (bowl, technically) often, going so far as to reach into it, at which point T walked in front of her and she bailed.
Then one day, when myself and T are on again, one of the centres security guards approached us. He described the lady to us, and asked if we had seen her. We explained. He said the stores outside ( there's a pub, and a few more restaraunt type places) had seen her too, and the day before she'd been caught on camera STEALING the whole tip jar off our neighbour!
They refused to press charges on the little old lady, but everyone in the centre were warned. The security began to follow her, quietly. Apparently, she always started outside, working her way inside, checking every location for the tip jars. We were a favourite, since our tip bowl was in a nice obvious place, but unlucky for her, we were very observant. After a few weeks, the security told us to watch but LET her steal it! They would reimburse us.
Despite two more weeks, she was too nervous around us to make a move. Then later, she disappeared. We quizzed security about it. They had caught her a second time outside. They didn't prosecute, but the cops took into account the bizarre story and removed her license (she always drove). Apparently her relatives had reported she had dementia, and the cops deemed it unsafe for her to be driving. We haven't seen her or her red jumper since.
We were glad no one pressed charges, but seriously, why would someone (dementia explains the repeated sightings) want to steal a tip jar? Best reason we could see was no one would prosecute over it. Kept us amused for a few months none-the-less!
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