Did you know that every day, each large retail store experiences $500 in loss?  That's each store, in every state, every day!  That isn't just outright theft, it includes waste such as employee's not properly marking out stock merchandise for store use, and return fraud.

Every day when I clean and straighten the shelves in my department I find an empty container, or a package that has been opened so one part (the needed part)is missing.  When these packages are brought to the attention of upper management, their answer is to be more vigilant and give better customer service.  Most everyone in our store is very good about approaching customers to make sure they are finding what they need, myself included.  The only time I am unable to provide this type of customer service is when I'm with another customer or stuck at the counter mixing paint.

The employees of my store find it very frustrating to know we are being scammed.  What makes it even worse is the rule that we are not allowed to approach a known shoplifter except to offer better customer service as upper management and the security department feel this is the appropriate way to deter shoplifters.  Not that I argue that it doesn't, but people who are getting caught in the act are getting away with it without any consequence.  What's to stop them time and time again if they know there is no punishment?  Don't we encourage this bad behavior and subsequent bolder bad behavior when we don't say no?  These criminals know they won't be stopped so why should they?

I understand the employers view that they don't want to risk the safety of an employee, they also don't want to be sued by a disgruntled thief, but these people are not being held accountable.  They are being encouraged to steal because no one is saying, "No you can't do this!"

The same thing is happening at the "service counters".  If you don't have the rules on returns clearly spelled out, it encourages people to return things fraudulently, it also encourages them to verbally abuse the employees behind the counter.  I have mentioned before that the attitude lately toward employees is that they are supposed to take whatever behavior is thrown at them with a smile or they risk the customer screaming about bad customer service and threats of shopping elsewhere.  Our hands are tied and no one understands our frustration.

Three things happened this past weekend that make me question what is wrong with people.  The first was my co-worker and I discussing what would be done with the returns from the previous night.  In our basket of things to put away were three tubes of caulk, all with expired dates, one which had expired in 1999.  There is nothing in our department over a year old let alone 7 years old.  We can't just mark it out of stock and throw it away because it falls under a hazardous material.    We can't send it back to the manufacturer.  We can't resell it.  What would you do?

The second, was a customer who purchased a $200 air conditioner two days earlier with a check.  She now wanted to return the air conditioner and receive cash back.  It was explained to her that after 10 business days, once the check cleared, she would receive a check for the purchase amount, or she could return it after those ten days for a cash refund.  She became loud.  It was pointed out by the employee that if he didn't follow the rules it would cost him his job.  She became abusive (so much for compassion for the plight of your neighbor).   She spent another 10 minutes screaming about how we were accusing her of being dishonest, how rules were meant to be broken, how we wouldn't have treated her this way if she would have been our famous senator.  Our manager pointed out that he knew our senator personally and the senator would have followed the rules because that is the honest upstanding man that he is.  She left screaming that she wouldn't be shopping there anymore.

The third, was an elderly gentleman who wanted to return a flashlight.  He didn't have a receipt, it looked old and abused, we couldn't even find anything that looked like it.  We refused to refund his money.  He walked over to the hardware department, took a flashlight off the shelf, grabbed a package of batteries, and walked out of the store.  He kept walking even when the alarms went off and the cashiers were calling after him "sir, come back".  Again, what would you do?

Every day, every store, $500.  A neighbor once laughed as she told us about the item she walked out of the store with,  "It was less than a dollar.  It's not like I do it everyday.  Besides, big stores can afford it."  Can we really afford it?  Never mind big business.  Can we consumers afford this?  Costs are rising, who pays for this?  How many jobs could be created with this "lost" money?  Or, how could the current employees have a better wage if this "lost" money was finding it's way to their pockets?  Is this really the attitude of our society?  I want mine, screw you.  IS THIS ACCEPTABLE???

tags: honesty  work  theft  life  crime  customer service  shopping  fraud  business  the revolution begins  

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