I don't trust you people

[LillFilly]

I was reading PFB and one of the stories about a ring lost by a jewelry store caught my eye.

A little while ago, we had a customer and her young son come to our office to report that they'd found a lost ring. A nice ring, lady's style, gold, with multicolored stones (definetely real). We are supposed to collect the lost & found, take the finders information if they wish to give it, log it into our computer and store it for a specific amount of time.

However, this lady would NOT give-up that ring. She gave us her information and said if the owner came looking for it to give them her phone number! She somewhat alluded to her reason being that she was going to keep it safe because she didn't trust our ingegrity!

Wow.

About a month later she even called-back asking if anyone had asked about it yet because she wanted to sell it! We told her not to because it had not gone past the holding period.

Thankfully, most people have been far more decent than that, turning-in expensive items and full wallets. The sad thing is, hardly anybody comes looking for them.

[hinakiba777]

At the end of the year here at the rez, all things left in the lost and found get dumped. We either take it, or it goes to GoodWill.

It's sad, but everyone knows where the lost and found is. IF you leave a $500 jacket in the L&F for 8 months, you obviously don't want it.

However, during the year all thing are logged and returned if someone comes looking. Though maybe not always logged. There are definitely more items in those bins then there are items in the log.

[Kiwi]

People would leave all kinds of things at the craft store, rings, wallets, c cards, handbags you name it.

I remember one woman demanding my manager assign two staff to help her look... when we were on a skeleton crew as it was and her being outraged that my manager wouldn't pull us from the counter to help her search.

[MsFabulous]

About a month later she even called-back asking if anyone had asked about it yet because she wanted to sell it! We told her not to because it had not gone past the holding period.

Good lord...
I wouldn't put it past her to have claimed a finder's fee if the owner had ever called her

[Gabrielle Proctor]

Someone in this story shouldn't be trusted...

[Cia]

Somehow I don't think the woman would have fessed up to having the ring in the first place if the owner had called her. "I turned the ring in...I don't know why she gave you my number" so forth and so on.

[Jester]

We've had people make it clear they didn't trust us.

A while back, while my friend Zim and I were working on the roof deck, he had a couple at one of his tables that both of us had talked to and they seemed really nice. They paid their bill and left, but a little while later came back, and were asking about a missing camera. Now, neither Zim nor I had seen any camera, but we helped them look around the deck, thinking we were being rather helpful.

But these people started to prove their douchery by saying things like, "We just want our camera back, no questions asked." Implying, of course, that one of US had taken their camera for our own personal gain. Um, no. We hadn't. (I've worked with Zim at THREE different bars, and while he has his flaws (who doesn't?), he is NOT a thief, nor am I.)

This douche nobility than continued in his insinuation game, going so far as to talk to our Rockin' Manager, again implying that someone on staff had taken their precious camera. She made it real clear that her staff Did Not Steal, and she was rather offended by the suggestion. So, the douche parade left, unsatisfied.

What happened next staggers even my mind. I found out the next day that, as Zim was taking out the trash, His High Doucheness came back yet again, and accosted him in the alley, asking once again about the damn camera that neither of us had ever even seen! Zim had had about enough of this shit. "Dude, you want to look in my bag? Here, go ahead, look. If you're gonna call me a thief, you might as well check it out." Zim opened his backpack (which he had with him, as taking out the trash is generally the last thing we do), and of course, there was no camera in there. So not only did Zim show the guy up, he called him out on his Douche Chicanery.

Fuck you, Lord Douche, and your damn camera. If Zim or I ever do find it now, we're tossing it over the balcony to smash on the fucking street below....or your head if it's in the way. Ass douche!

[4love]

Wow, I didn't realize it was a trust thing... though I guess I should've.

Had something happen like that once. A lady came in saying she'd found a purse just outside our store, where we have some benches. Wouldn't let us put it in the safe, oh no. Heck I didn't even see the purse she claimed to have found. Made me write a note with her contact info. and a description of the purse.

Went on and on about how someone's id and money and passport and all sorts of important stuff were in there, but wouldn't let us keep it safe. Annoying.

The cynical part of me wonders if she was just trying to make herself feel better about keeping it, and maybe in a month or two she's taking the money for herself or something.

[tropicsgoddess]

Some integrity she has.

[germunster]

"Dude, you want to look in my bag? Here, go ahead, look. If you're gonna call me a thief, you might as well check it out." Zim opened his backpack (which he had with him, as taking out the trash is generally the last thing we do), and of course, there was no camera in there.

This once happened to me at a health club. When I came out of the shower, a guy was in the locker room slamming locker doors loudly. When he saw me, he demanded to know what I had done with his wallet, as he had just cashed his paycheck and left it in an unlocked locker. I was standing there in just a towel at the time. I told him something like "Man, that sucks, but you should be more careful and that's why you should have a padlock for your locker."

He seemed to take that all right, but then followed me out to my car with the club manager, demanding to search my gym bag. The club manager asked me to come back inside and I did, although I was totally pissed off about it.

I allowed the club manager to look in my bag, not the stupid guy, who kept standing there loudly demanding that the police be called to arrest me for stealing his wallet.

Turns out that the guy forgot which bank of lockers he had used and the club manager found the guy's stuff a few minutes later. And here's the part that really burns me, the guy wouldn't even apologize to me for being such an ass.

The club manager was embarrassed, though.

[Enjis]

Ya know, if those folk are so untrusting of bar or store staff, why don't they turn over purses, wallets and other valuables to the police? Isn't that what we were taught to do when we found money or something on the street?

Huh. They probably don't 'trust' the police, either.

[sms001]

I hate to be a naysayer, but I can almost side with the SC on this one. If I found something of value (especially something that might have sentimental rather than monetary value) I might do as she did.

Her allusion to you and the staff being untrustworthy was out of line, but:

First and foremost, I KNOW that I trust me.
Secondly. while I might trust you LillFilly, I also might be jeopardizing the return of this object to the rightful owner if I've guessed wrong.
Third, what about all the other people who I haven't met (and can't judge to be trustworthy or not) that work at your location? Maybe people even you haven't met on different shifts. The cleaning service if there is one. Etc.
Above and beyond trustworthiness, what about sheer circumstance. You're in a store with lots of people in and out, lots of details, several lost and found items. Who's tracking all of this? I'm just one person keeping track of one found item in my home. Not much chance of getting lost or misplaced or thrown out or what have you.

I think I'd give you my card with the item written on it and check back occasionally.

Sidenote. If I was going to steal/keep the ring, I wouldn't mention it to you at all.....

[mattm04]

We had that happen once. One lady found a wallet full of cash, Cards, etc. she refused to leave it with us or the Police. The SC left a piece of paper with her "name" and "phone number." A person came to claim the wallet, the number the SC left was not in service and it appeared to be a fake name. Oh, turns out the SC(stealing customer) stole it from a purse. Never found the SC.

We have policies in place for lost/found. I'm not sure of the exact polices but i believe the MOD must deal with high-value times, cash, etc. where we try to ID the owner, inventory it on camera and bag it and store it in the safe. LP may be involved also. I'm not sure what we do if the the finder keeps it.