Really? A fridge??

[prjkt]

This is a story from back at the Mart of K, where I was working as "Customer Greeter"

Fairly busy day, plenty of people in and out.

From inside the store, up comes a guy, looks like the typical bikie, but that's not what got my attention.

What did was the big box sticking out of his trolley, a fridge. Now at that point there were several registers in the shop, so he could have paid for the fridge there, so I ask for his receipt:

Bikie Guy *smirking*: "My wife has the receipt, she's outside, can I come back and show you?"
Me: "Sure, just leave your trolley here and I'll keep watch."

He never came back.

From his smirk I seriously think he was just bored, and seeing what he could get away with.

[the lawsmeister]

its been done before.
One of the stories told in training when I was at the furniture store was about a couple of couches that got stolen by a couple of blokes that had what looked like a receipt. They pulled up out the front walked in grabbed a couch and walked out again. Everyone apparently thought they'd spoken to someone else in the store.

The other story I heard was to do with a well known chain of computer and electrical stores. Scammer would come in wearing similar clothes to the staff, grab something off the shelf (usually something bulky like a printer)and walk out right behind a genuine customer so it looked like they were helping them carry their purchase.

[bainsidhe]

Someone in our store stole a canoe. The outdoor/camping section was in the far back of our huge store, and a couple guys apparently hauled the thing through the isles and out the front door. Amazing what you can get away with if you act like you know what you're doing.

I once had a guy try stealing a case of beer. I'm not even sure why I asked to see his receipt, I just did. He smiled, put down the case of beer, handed me the receipt, and then trotted outside and jumped into a waiting vehicle. The receipt was for something completely different, and he had been holding it like he just checked out with the beer. It wasn't even good beer.

[Monterey Jack]

I once had a guy try stealing a case of beer. I'm not even sure why I asked to see his receipt, I just did. He smiled, put down the case of beer, handed me the receipt, and then trotted outside and jumped into a waiting vehicle. The receipt was for something completely different, and he had been holding it like he just checked out with the beer. It wasn't even good beer.

I'm honestly surprised I haven't read more stories about this...people who just pick up discarded receipts off the ground or whatever and just grab what they want and walk out the door, hoping no one will take a close enough look at the receipt to notice. Granted, at the "warehouse" stores like Costco and BJ's, they'll usually have a greeter standing at the doorway waiting to go over the receipt with a fine-toothed comb before marking it with either a pen or a hole punch to indicate that it's been approved and processed, but I'm sure a sucktomer would try to slip through the cracks with some high-end merchandise.

[Teefies2]

I'm honestly surprised I haven't read more stories about this...people who just pick up discarded receipts off the ground or whatever and just grab what they want and walk out the door, hoping no one will take a close enough look at the receipt to notice. Granted, at the "warehouse" stores like Costco and BJ's, they'll usually have a greeter standing at the doorway waiting to go over the receipt with a fine-toothed comb before marking it with either a pen or a hole punch to indicate that it's been approved and processed, but I'm sure a sucktomer would try to slip through the cracks with some high-end merchandise.

And this is why at my store, we tear receipts in half if they are left behind or the people don't want them. No one can pick it up off the ground (or out of the trash!) and "shop the receipt".

[Evannah]

Lol! I can't believe he tried that. I was watching America's Dumbest Criminals years ago and watched a man trying to smuggle something out of the store under his shirt. I can't remember what it was now, but the thing was large and square and you could clearly see the square shape underneath! He got caught and then the video footage was on America's Dumbest Criminals for all to see. I can't for the life of me think why...

And this is why at my store, we tear receipts in half if they are left behind or the people don't want them. No one can pick it up off the ground (or out of the trash!) and "shop the receipt".

I do that too. It was drummed into me at Land of Quid. I do it at the charity shop and now also at my newest job at the clothing/home decor store.

[JustShootMe]

Just last weekend the Loss Prevention Officer & I watched a woman walking the parking lot, picking up receipts. The LPO then watched her look through the stack she had & then throw them on the ground. Guess there were none paid in cash for small items she could steal to scam a refund.

[Argus]

Amazing what you can get away with if you act like you know what you're doing.

This has been known for some time: http://comic.nodwick.com/?comic=2001-10-24

[dbuzman]

I'm honestly surprised I haven't read more stories about this...people who just pick up discarded receipts off the ground or whatever and just grab what they want and walk out the door, hoping no one will take a close enough look at the receipt to notice. Granted, at the "warehouse" stores like Costco and BJ's, they'll usually have a greeter standing at the doorway waiting to go over the receipt with a fine-toothed comb before marking it with either a pen or a hole punch to indicate that it's been approved and processed, but I'm sure a sucktomer would try to slip through the cracks with some high-end merchandise.

When I was stationed in Korea, some kids got in trouble for doing something similar. They were getting receipts out of the trash, going into the base exchange and taking an item on the receipt off of the shelf then getting a refund.

[raudf]

When I was stationed in Korea, some kids got in trouble for doing something similar. They were getting receipts out of the trash, going into the base exchange and taking an item on the receipt off of the shelf then getting a refund.

What's sad is that if they hadn't been going for a refund, they might have gotten away with it. This is assuming they were following the maxim of "Only the guilty run when everyone else walks."

I watched a gaggle of giggly teen girls try to shoplift in a store once. No, I didn't have to alert their loss prevention, because one of them was already tracking the girls. The gaggle wasn't giggling in the typical gaggle of teen girls' style. It was higher, more nervous sounding and they were damn near scuttling along, eyes shifting around like scared geese. In a group. These gals were no pros and yes, they got busted. I didn't bother sticking around, since I didn't see them take anything, so I didn't get to see them explain themselves to the nice Mr Officer!

[MoonCat]

What's sad is that if they hadn't been going for a refund, they might have gotten away with it. This is assuming they were following the maxim of "Only the guilty run when everyone else walks."

I watched a gaggle of giggly teen girls try to shoplift in a store once. No, I didn't have to alert their loss prevention, because one of them was already tracking the girls. The gaggle wasn't giggling in the typical gaggle of teen girls' style. It was higher, more nervous sounding and they were damn near scuttling along, eyes shifting around like scared geese. In a group. These gals were no pros and yes, they got busted. I didn't bother sticking around, since I didn't see them take anything, so I didn't get to see them explain themselves to the nice Mr Officer!

This reminds me of when my sis worked at Kohls and a teenage girl was caught shoplifting. The thief was pissed because, "My friends told me it was easy to steal here!!"

[wolfie]

This has been known for some time: http://comic.nodwick.com/?comic=2001-10-24

Got a 403 (forbidden) error from that one.

[Geek King]

Got a 403 (forbidden) error from that one.

Works for me. A 403 is usually a local server forbidding access to the site. Any chance its blocked for you?

[wagegoth]

Two stories.

1. My first husband told me of his delinquency as a young man. He was a burly, Brian Dennehy physical type (barrel chest, popeye arms), tall and got his beard early. He joined up with a local gang (well before the gangbanging we know today), and he and a couple of guys who were older would wear coveralls, take in a fake receipt, and walk out with high end appliances. When his parents were informed, he was shipped off to military school.

2. I worked at a now defunct department store back in the old, old days of multi-part receipts. The regular receipts had three parts, different colors. The return receipts had five, with different colors from original receipts. One day a couple tried to return a Cuisinart using a tiny strip cut from the return receipt they'd gotten when they'd returned another Cuisinart. Seriously, a tiny, single line strip, from what was obviously a return receipt because of the color. That was a nope.

[wolfie]

Works for me. A 403 is usually a local server forbidding access to the site. Any chance its blocked for you?

If by "local server forbidding access" you mean something like a company's "don't let the worker bees visit anything interesting on the web", it better not be - this is my home internet connection. It might be a geographical block (I'm in Canuckistan, you're in the Unexplored Southern Area), or they might be getting vicious about people with outdated browsers.