I remember a pair of ballsy teen shoplifters from when I was working as a cashier at a mom-n-pop drug store in the 90s. They came in wearing baggy clothing but skinny as rails, and when they shuffled up to the check out lane to buy the one pack of 25 cent gum between them, these two were suddenly plump and lumpy around their middles.
I called a manager for a "skewed SKU" check which was the drug store's "code" for theft and he made them turn out their pockets and lift their shirts. These kids had stuffed their waistbands with Mountain Dew, a gentleman's magazine (ahem), cheap knock-off cologne and gummy candy.
The manager took them to the back room, sat them down, explained to them that being sugared up, horny and reeking of terrible cologne was no way to go through life. After a 45 minute lecture, he let them go, making them promise not to steal again. One of them even asked for a job, and when he turned 16 he was allowed to work as a stock boy.
It really changed how I saw the position of 'manager'. I've never seen that kind of investment in people or heart from a corporate store, but then again, that drug store went out of business a few years later.
I called a manager for a "skewed SKU" check which was the drug store's "code" for theft and he made them turn out their pockets and lift their shirts. These kids had stuffed their waistbands with Mountain Dew, a gentleman's magazine (ahem), cheap knock-off cologne and gummy candy.
The manager took them to the back room, sat them down, explained to them that being sugared up, horny and reeking of terrible cologne was no way to go through life. After a 45 minute lecture, he let them go, making them promise not to steal again. One of them even asked for a job, and when he turned 16 he was allowed to work as a stock boy.
It really changed how I saw the position of 'manager'. I've never seen that kind of investment in people or heart from a corporate store, but then again, that drug store went out of business a few years later.
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