Oh... you're offended? Then why are you still here?

[Eireann]

Jeez.

The other night, a woman came into the store. A minute or so later, the owner came in and recognized her. She's stolen from us before. He told her he knew that she'd been stealing, he had it on video, and told her to get out.

She tried to stay there. He told her to get out. Now, if someone told me to get out due to stealing, I'd leave. I don't steal, but I'd leave anyway, and never come back.

SHE came back. Today. I didn't recognize her at first, but then she told me she was in here the other night, and she remembered seeing me, and the owner had called her a thief, and she wanted to talk to him. She stood there biting off the words. I told her the owner wasn't here (true), and she didn't care.

Then she stayed. What the hell? He called her a thief and kicked her out - what did she expect to accomplish by coming back? An abject apology? Tears? An offer to lift most of the remaining merchandise? A back rub?

I told her he would be back next week. And she stood there looking at clothing. She came in with some guy, which makes me wonder if she brought him in as backup, perhaps to try threatening the owner. I was slammed with customers, so I couldn't do much, but I did call the owners and tell them what was going on. I wasn't sure if I should call the police, or what. (The woman said to me, "He told me he had video of me." I said, "Yes, he has video.")

She left just after I talked to the owners, fortunately. Damn, I hope she doesn't come back.

[LillFilly]

The Owner should probably have an official memo or list of who has been banned and what to do (like call the police) if they return, so you guys know what to do. Maybe suggest that, so everyone is kept informed.

Drives me nuts when someone writes a report with no description of the person, so you can't even tell if they came back if you weren't the one who interacted with them.

[Eireann]

Yeah, if I hadn't been so busy (and if I'd thought of it) I might have taken her picture with my phone. On the other hand, since we do have video, we may be able to pull an image of her off that. I'm the only one who works here, apart from the owners, and since I was here the other night when he kicked her out, he didn't need to describe her to me.

Weird behavior on her part, though.

[Kristev]

I don't think I like this situation.

[Moosenogger]

The guy she came with may have been there to lift more items while the original thief bitched at the owner. Personally, the moment I recognized her I would have called the police. She was told to leave and not come back, and she did it anyway. At that point, she's trespassing on private property.

[Eireann]

Yeah, the same thing occurred to me. I didn't realize that they were together until they left. I did call the owner, and she may have thought that I was calling the police, because she left just after I hung up.

I don't know what the laws are here, regarding someone who has been banned from a store, yet comes back. I had no backup, and the store was packed, so it wasn't a good situation - and I'm sure she knew it. Really, even if she weren't a thief, what on earth would be accomplished by talking to the owner?

[Emerald Knight]

You have the right to refuse her service on those grounds, and (at least, as far as I am aware) you do have the right to call the police on her if she keeps coming back, because she is harassing you and the owner by doing this despite telling her to leave.

We have barred individuals, and our managers always have their mobile phones on them on shift, so calling the police is not a problem.

It might be an idea to suggest having more than one person on shift though, in case she makes a habit of it.

[Eireann]

If I were in the States, yes, I'd call the police; I would have done it as soon as she started talking to me, and I realized who she was. I just don't know the laws here, concerning things like that. This is not a large place with multiple employees; so far, I'm it (apart from the owners, who are out of town). I'm going to ask an acquaintance about the law.

[Emerald Knight]

... Except I live in the UK, not in the States.

I know about this because we have banned people who came back and were threatened with a police escort from the building. You have every right as a business to ensure your and your stock's safety, and that includes barring anyone you deem to be a thief or a threat. Since you have video evidence already, that only secures your victory.

[Eireann]

...And I don't live in the UK, either.

I don't know the Czech laws concerning such things. Furthermore, I'm not the owner, and the owners have final say about banning someone. True, she's already been banned. Also true, the owner didn't tell me what to do if she came back. I've emailed him, but there's been no answer yet. I'm more than happy to kick her out, call the police, etc.; I'm just waiting to hear from the owners, and to find out more of their legal rights here.