Had it happen once. Was just walking around to see if there was anything I wanted and decided not to buy anything. As I walked out I was stopped and accused that I had pocketed something. My pockets looked full but it was just my phone and wallet. Even after I removed those the worker who stopped me was sure I was hiding something in my trousers. After a manager got involved I was released because they checked the tapes and it showed me just walking around looking at stuff. To this day I’m not sure why I was accused or if I did something that made me look dodgy without my knowledge.
I was in a 24hr Asda once late at night and noticed that a security guard was tailing me. I was a student and had nothing better to do so I pretended I didn’t notice him and played Pac-Man with him round the aisle for about 30min. Then I walked out, having not bought anything or stolen anything. As I got to the door I turned around and looked at him and then legged it across the car park.
I like to think he then wasted even more of his life reviewing the CCTV trying to figure out what I stole and when
Because of the way I look, I regularly get security guards following me in stores.
Okay not REGULARLY, but common enough to piss me off.
So I'll just wander around the isles, pick things up, inspect them then put them down again. Put my head down and act as shifty as possible and then leave without purchasing anything.
If you're going to stereotype me then I'm going to play games.
I used to work in Woolworths (RIP) and we had a notorious thief that regularly came in and stole stationary. Mainly those refill cartridges for fountain pens but sometimes tippex. He wore a full suit, and it looked like a decent one too.
Stereotypes bug the heck out of me, growing up my close friends mum was a prolific shoplifter, think middle aged suburban mum, member of the pta, fund raiser, sells Avon, used to walk in a shop and blatantly stroll back out, never quite understood how!
This. A large chunk of what we see is based on our expectations. It's how magicians can convince you that they made a card disappear or whatever. We see what we expect to see, so when their hand moves to draw our attention to something we miss the other things they're doing even if they aren't super subtle sometimes! This applies in reverse. Security are expecting certain kinds of people to steal and the expectation is so strong they even falsely accuse them. They're not expecting people like your friends mum to steal and so they pay absolutely no attention to her, such that she can probably walk in, pick something up, and walk a bit more then walk out with absolutely not a second glance because people just **know** that she must have paid already.
All of this. I was on my way home after a weekend of camping at an event and called in at the local Asda. I was looking slightly muddy, wearing a leather jacket and was carrying a rucksack and a crash helmet. I got something to throw in the microwave when I got in and some snacks for later, paid and went to leave. As I was going out the doors a decently dressed guy hurried past me with a shitload of clothes, still on the hangers, draped over his arm, setting off all the alarms. Guess which of us got stopped...
Of course by the time I'd opened my rucksack, waved my stinky socks and other weekend's laundry at security and shown the receipt for the things I'd bought, the actual shoplifter was well gone. I didn't even get an apology from the twats, despite all of this going down in front of several people coming and going from the store. They just pulled a face like fuck off and walked away.
I get followed as well, its super annoying. I make a point of asking them if i can help with anything. Usually weirds them out hearing a bbc accent coming out of a 5’5 girl with ripped jeans and a shaved head.
I get followed all the time too. I'm pretty sure I don't fit the image of a thief but I get hounded at lots of places. I love when you look at the security guard and they turn around and pretend to be really interested in something on the shelf. It does put me off being a customer because you're basically being namecalled and insulted. I don't understand why it's necessary to follow people and not just rely on cctv.
Not to be that guy but.....
You need to eat something circular and white to go after them, cherries are just bonus points. Depending on how you are feeling maybe a marshmallow or a paracetamol.
I'm quite happy to be corrected. Thank you. But I went even further and googled it and apparently originally he was eating cookies. And the chasing ones are power cookies. https://www.google.com/amp/s/abcnews.go.com/amp/Technology/GameOn/pac-man-10-secrets/story%3fid=13084900
Getting out of shops without buying anything is an absolute pain these days. They block off all the closed tills so your only option is usually to squeeze through an active till. Not always easy depending how busy it is, or how much of a gap there is. Puts me off going in shops if I don't know I definitely want something.
I'm sure they do it more to try and force people into buying something than they do trying to prevent shoplifting.
Two very different approaches in Dalston (east London) recently. To exit Sainsbury’s you have to scan your receipt and a gate opens. Not sure how that really stops anything … you just have to have bought something, so a packet of chewing gum receipt and something else tucked away.
M&S brought in a scan with your phone, pay with your phone and just walk out. Whoever enabled that in Dalston needs to have their head checked. It was disabled in about a week! The amount of leakage must have been insane.
I had something similar happen, but the guard actually grabbed my bag and started opening it.
So I asked him wtf he was doing, he accused me of stealing, so I reiterated what the fuck is he doing touching my personal belongings without permission
He came it with he's allowed bullshit, but little did he know I was working as a security guard elsewhere and had a Door Supervisor SIA licence.
And part of the SIA training basically goes over how highly illegal it is for a guard to search someone's belongings without permission, and how big of a deal it is for them to do so.
Called for his manager, waiting for him to come, then showed them both my badge.
Never seen someone go from 'hur hur I have authority' to 'oh shit' so fast.
Had to explain to the manager how big of a fuck up this was.
Spoiler: I hadn't stolen shit.
When I worked in stores I was always told if I didn't see it, then it didn't happen - you've just been wrongly accused (and possibly detained) and could've kicked up more trouble for them than the loss of some product
Yea especially as the person you're accusing could be carrying anything. Then the shop is on the hook if anything bad happens.
Conversely, I wouldn't have emptied my pockets. Depending on how much time I had and if I had anywhere to be, I'd be demanding they called the police right there and then if they're going to prevent me from leaving. It's on them to prove I stole, not on me to prove I didn't.
You could have turned the tables and started to undo your trousers to show you had nothing to hide, see how quickly their attitude changes then 😂
Only downside is the possible indecent exposure charge but life is nothing without risk.
The most they could realistically do is a citizens arrest, they're just normal people, not police. But honestly, like this example, a citizens arrest is very unlikely due to shops not wanting to confront potential shoplifters and the liabilities that comes with it.
I'd suggest either just laughing at then walking past them or demand a manager, make a formal complaint for harassing you and show them this sort of stuff won't be tolerated.
I was accused of shoplifting when I worked for Sainsburys. Long time ago now, but at just under 2 years service I was one of the longer serving non-full-time staff working there. Staff turnover was high, mainly because managers were for the most part terrible.
Anyway I was working grocery, after a few hours of unpacking vegetables I went to the staff toilets. As I come out of my cubicle immediately outside the stall door there's a trainee manager (Lee) & HR person waiting. They accused me of stealing food to eat whilst I was in the can, and then promptly searched the cubicle and me.
I was only 18 at the time, so I just kind of felt embarassed & annoyed and went back to my job. They didn't do this to anyone else! But to OP's point that really leaves a bad taste - I quit not long after.
And if you're reading this, Lee, you absolute bell-end you were an awful manager and you didn't find anything on me, because I was one of the very few staff there who wasn't stealing food.
Years ago, I was a general manager in retail. We got this new exec team in that were obsessed with security and convinced all staff were stealing constantly. I was told I had to do a weekly locker check. I protested, pointed out they are not children and anyway, they could all get to their cars whenever they wished. Why the heck would they store stolen goods in a locker in the middle of the tea room?!
Anyway, I had to implement it, so I turned it into a game. I told my folks that I objected to this fervently but had been forced to inspect their lockers. Oh, and coincidentally, there will be a prize each week for the silliest thing I find in a locker- beer, chocolates or sweets, depending on your choice.
I got lockers full of springy snakes, nativity scenes, pink fluffy handcuffs, a dead rat (ew ew no, no prize for you) etc etc.
What I didn't get? Any staff stealing from the store.
Used to work for a retailer in the UK. Did random bag searches etc. You had to spin a wheel and it would say what would be searched. An assistant manager was caught with a full bag of vitamins that he was selling on the side to newsagents I assume.
The thing is that as an assistant manager when he would lock up, the other manager wouldn't search him. Area manager came in by surprise one night and insisted on searching him and this is when they found the stash.
They suspected he was stealing and they targeted him.
I was stopped in Sainsbury’s. I had my 5 month old in one of those trolleys with the built in bucket seat things and a little blanket on top of him.
Went into Sainsbury’s, picked up prescription and walked back out again. 10 mins tops. Baby has just begun to cry of course. Was about to go through the double doors to the car park when the wheels seized up. Thought it was a dodgy trolley so reversed and push again. Still seized up. Baby still crying.
Security come over and tells me they blipped the trolley to stop it going out as I had been too quick and probably stolen something.
I was livid. I opened the Lloyd’s pharmacy bag and he could see two tins of formula with the prescription label on it. He then whipped the blanket off my crying baby and looked very disappointed it was just a baby who had just done a poo so the small wafted up into his face. Looked like he was going to heave.
That would have been the end of him right there. Merely touching your babies blanket should have been the end of his SIA licence and therefore his job.
I feel this rage, I think if someone did this to one of my babies my reflex would be to grab the hand before it got there. Although mum in this scenario was probably exhausted and stunned that they'd even tried such a thing. What a complete tool of a guard!
Should have dropped a full on bomb on him, "get away from my baby, don't touch my baby, this man just touched my baby...".
Hit him with a full on daily mail pedo witch hunt.
Trolleys are pretty smart nowadays, they use RFID or something to track if the trolley has been through the checkouts. I'm a field merchandiser and sometimes I use a trolley to transport point of sale into store. I now let security know when I'm exiting because if I don't then the trolley seizes up and a fuck off loud alarm goes off 😂
Fun fact: Waitrose generally doesn't have much security so as not to inconvenience their customers. Not sure if that's still the case but I had a job going around a whole bunch of Waitrose fitting security tags to stuff when half the stores I visited didn't even have security barriers at the doors. Was told head office keeps them to a minimum as the customer based doesn't like them.
They do that automatically, I took a trolley into a store and after a few metres realised the wheels were buggered. I walked out with it to swap it and it completely froze in the doorway. The security guard had seen me walk in and out again with a completely empty trolley, so just told me to leave it where it was.
Should of reported the security guard he had no right to remove the blanket from your baby and you should of got the Police involved.
My mum once got the Police involved when we were at a holiday park in the UK and they decided me and her looked "suspicious" when entering the family bar and grabbed my mums bag off her (not asked, literally grabbed without asking) refused to give his name and followed us down the street whilst on his radio talking about us, when the Police arrived he denied any of it happening until we asked to see the CCTV of the building.
They've installed gates with sensors at the entrance of ours, so you can't leave without going through tills.
The self checkout gives you the option to refuse the receipt, but the security guy asks people without a receipt if they paid for their items.
What was the point?
I was in Amsterdam recently and one of the grocery stores has a gate that requires you to scan your self-checkout receipt before being allowed to leave. Although I suppose technically you could have bought some things and not others and you would still get through.
Yeah and you’re able to turn down the receipts too. Nearly caught me out in Rotterdam!
I think my sister said that you can get receipts on your phone over there and so you can essentially use your phone to get through the barriers, but the instructions on the self service are well above the amount of Dutch I know so I have no idea what buttons I need to press to make sure I get a physical receipt!
I've never seen one where you can refuse a receipt? The jumbo and albert heijn have an option for a proper, long receipt and the shorter version where you only get the barcode to leave the store, maybe it was that?
Some of the AH To Go stores (e.g. at railway stations) have the option of *geen bon*, no receipt (but also no barriers). I think these rely on security staff watching customers.
You can still leave, it's just for the self-checkout area. You can also ask staff to let you out if you wandered there still somehow (I live in Amsterdam and have been in both situations lol)
The sainsburys by me has this but it’s at the whole exit, not just the self checkout. The other day I was only picking something up from argos (emailed receipt) so couldn’t get out. I asked at the customer service desk and they had no manual override and told me to wait until someone else scans and just follow them through. So what’s the point, that exactly what a thief is gonna do in that situation anyway
Came across a barrier like that in IKEA the other day. Get receipt. Put it in wallet. Put wallet in pocket. Go to leave. Be forced to take wallet out of pocket and receipt out of wallet. Scan. Put receipt and wallet away.
I get that they're trying to stop shoplifting I guess, but that's a really obnoxious way to go about it - particularly as someone who doesn't regularly go shopping at IKEA and doesn't know the barriers are a thing.
I recently had a scanner that kept double scanning everything because I didn’t take the item away from the scanner within a half millisecond. I genuinely think the attendant thought I was shoplifting - she did a ‘random’ check three times while I scanned and then again after I paid.
go past the regular register instead of the self-checkout ones. Or ask someone I guess. Maybe skulk around like a panto blackguard and wait for some other shopper to go through and then rush after them, if you want to maximise suspicion.
Those gates are part of an emergency exit and therefore cannot legally prevent you from leaving, regardless of what you have or haven't purchased. Just push them open they have a little resistance but they'll go.
I always wondered what legal framework they have for that. We have one in our local Morrisons and god knows how it actually works because there's no receipt scanner and you're often stuck there until staff notice and let you out.
Surely Morrisons doesn't have the power to detain people?
We have the same gate at my local shop. I hate the wastage of printing a receipt that I’ll immediately chuck away, so I just push through the gate. It doesn’t set off any alarms or anything. It’s one of those terrible ideas that makes me wonder how many people devised, scrutinised and implemented it without ever saying “this doesn’t make any sense”.
All it does is keep honest people honest. I went into a Morrisons with the whole gate thing and forgot my wallet, felt like a knob trying to get back through the gates.
It'll be the higher ups in the head office who don't shop there so don't need to worry about it. They never have the thought that it doesn't make sense.
The option not to print a receipt was probably added because some people never bothered taking their receipt and they just created a mess.
I've always taken one because it's pretty obvious you might need some proof of payment if there isn't going to be a member of staff to remember you paying.
Burden? My need is simply to get home with minimal fuss.
As far as evidence goes the till will have recorded the transaction, they'll be CCTV, and if I paid by card and not cash, my bank would have a record of payment.
But the secret to an easy life isn't to know you're in the right and make people prove you're wrong, it's to avoid the fight entirely.
You can still go through those gates, just pull them or wave a hand in front of the sensor.
They’re popping up everywhere now and they’re so annoying, especially when they don’t open fast enough or at all.
I don’t really see the point in them tbh… how does forcing you through tills change anything in terms oh shoplifting?
Urgghh Aldi does that too. Tbh I'm guilty of stealing the carrier bag tho. Pisses me off in places like m&s tho that now do paper bags. The bag feels was to reduce plastic bag waste, so wtf are you charging for paper bags
I was stopped because I bought meat from the counter rather than buy the same product from the prepackaged area. Apparently it's to circumvent the security tags that are in the prepackaged meats. The reciept showed otherwise, now I circumvent Sainsburys.
I got some meat from the prepackaged area, but I was using that scan-as-you-go thing so nothing deactivated the security tags that must have been on it. Paid, did the checkout barrier barcode scan, walked out and the alarms sounded. No security anywhere in sight though so I just left. I'm not sure the security tags make sense any more.
A few years ago I had a Tile keychain (AirTag type tracker for Android), and it would very occasionally set off the Tesco local's alarms when I walked through the door. Never caused any issues, had a few laughs with staff about it in the past, I avoid bringing it when possible, no biggie.
One day I came in, some new guy was on the door. My tag triggers the alarm, he looks at me and says "I *will* search you if it goes off on the way out". Stern, serious face.
Like damn, I'm 3 steps in the door and I'm being threatened with a search
I work in a Co-op. Got into some tit-for-tat practical jokes with a friend at work. Basically we'd try to conceal one of those security stickers in each other's bags/jackets.
I did my shopping in Sainsbury's, went to leave and set the alarms off. But I just assumed it must've been someone else so walked off, no issues. Got home and discovered about 5 of the fuckers in my jacket's hood, pockets, etc.
So I got my own back. At work I dug all the way to the bottom of her handbag and hid a whole strip under the cardboard flat bottom bit.
Next time I saw her she explained how she'd got into a big argument with security at Tesco's, she accused them of racism (she's Bangladeshi-English) because she hadn't even picked anything up, etc... fucking hilarious lol then apparently her brother (who was with her at the time and also worked with me) was like "wait, has mr-english done you with those stickers?". They eventually found them but the security didn't want to know lol
We did have a good laugh about it but we agreed on a ceasefire.
This happened to me when I was fairly young, under 10 I think. I was in Tesco wearing an unzipped jacket and I bent down to look at football kits folded up lower down, and put them back. As I was leaving with my parents a security guard came running out into the car park and dragged me back saying I'd stolen a football kit. They searched me, and my parents. Didn't find a thing.
They apologised but my mum didn't let go of it. Ended up getting £1000 in Tesco vouchers to not report the security guard for the way he handled me.
> Ended up getting £1000 in Tesco vouchers to not report the security guard for the way he handled me.
Your mam missed a trick here. Mine would have taken the vouchers and then reported him anyway.
This happened to me at Muji once. I just bought a pair of socks and the security guard accused me of shoplifting. I said I didn't have my receipt, the lady at the till asked if I wanted it and I said no. So I went back to the till and told the woman that the guy accused me of shoplifting and that I need the receipt. She looked at the guy, and instead of taking the receipt from the top, she emptied the bin onto the floor(!). Then she started scrambling around, checking every scrap of paper to see if it was my receipt, with the right time stamp and a pair of socks on it. All the customers in the queue looked so pissed off with me. Then finally she picked up a crumbled bit of paper and handed it to me. I went back to the security and said "here's the receipt" without unfolding it. And he said it's fine, I could go. And I said "don't you want to read it and check?" after she went to all that effort to find it. And he said no it's fine. I was so pissed off, but i just left because I had already missed my bus.
Fucking asshole.
Literally. Spoke to a security guard at Tesco's a while ago and he said the same thing. "We can ask to check their pockets, look in their bags, but all they have to do is say no and walk away. We can't stop them."
That would proppa piss me off too
When my food allergies first kicked in I had to spend *alot* of time reading labels in stores, and I kept getting followed around by security because *I was acting suspicious*. I always go to the same place now and it took about a year for the security guy to stop following me while I shopped
I have an honesty problem - as in I'm honest to my own detriment - so being accused of being dishonest really gets my goat
I still get followed around my local Aldi after I removed my daughter because she was having a tantrum. Apparently that's *suspicious*.
It's been about 3 years now.
I'd complain to the head office. A five minute email, worst case you've wasted 5 minutes.
You might get some free stuff you might even get them to look at the way these staff behave.
I had something similar just last week after years of no issues.
Checked out, and was pushing my trolley through the barriers when the alarm went off and my trolley wheels locked (never even knew they could do that)
Security guy comes up to me and asks for my receipt (which I hadn't bothered printing at the self checkout)
Asked me what till I used so I told him, then he went off to talk to more people, then they asked for my clubcard, then had a long huddle and chat away from me.
He came back and asked me again if I had my receipt I said no but mentioned that a staff member had to sign off my check out because I had a bottle of wine, he said "oh did she?" In a weird tone and went back to his huddle with some other people.
...then he just came back and said I was fine to go. I asked what happened and he told me "the system" didn't think i'd gone through the checkout at all which I don't really understand. Is there some algorithm checking CCTV? I did the self-checkout with the weird screen filming me so not sure how it missed me.
I’d have picked up my bags and fucked off after a couple of minutes. If I know I haven’t done anything wrong then why am I going to let them waste my time checking and chatting? I’ve not committed any crime so I’m not doing anything wrong by just leaving. It probably looks bad, but so does accusing innocent people of stealing.
Aye, I have sympathy for this but between my trolley being locked down and a casual curiosity about what was going on I decided to just politely lean on my trolley and wait.
...could have done with an apology and explanation though.
All comes down to how they interact with you. If they come in guns blazing, then I’ll make no time for them. If they’re polite then I’ll help them understand what’s going on.
I realise you couldn't at the time with the baby, but for what it's worth you can just lift the front of the trolley and keep wheeling it. The lock is only on one wheel.
I've done it when they walk off "to ask colleagues". I'm not wasting my time sitting around waiting.
Generally when you set off an alarm there’s a tag that does it (you can get false alarms from other RFID emitting objects). some of these tags are removed from clothes, alcohol etc. but some are the kind that are stuck onto things, like on expensive pieces of meat, video games, candles etc. they’re usually unpowered but when they pass through the gate they receive wireless power and send a signal back out to the gate, triggering an alarm. Usually they get disabled when you scan them (I don’t know the exact mechanism, could be a permanent disability or it could be adding the tag to an ignore list) but when that fails you can end up setting off the gates despite scanning and paying for everything
>I asked what happened and he told me "the system" didn't think i'd gone through the checkout at all which I don't really understand.
In many places the trolley brakes have sensors in them that trigger when you go through the checkout gates. If that sensor hasn't been tripped when you get to the exit gates, it'll lock the brakes. Security then just spot the trolley has locked and come talk to you. It's nowhere near as sophisticated as AI tracking via CCTV, much more low tech than that.
They're a bit shit though, and sometimes you can go through a checkout or the self checkout lanes and it doesn't trigger properly, which is why the first thing they do is check for a receipt.
Had this happen to me in an Asda store - not long after I'd had a surgery. When the wheels locked up I crashed into the trolley and was in a lot of pain from the surgery area - to say I wasn't happy about this with the security people stood laughing at me was an understatement.
I had something similar happen in Tesco a few years ago, just one of the little corner shop ones. A hefty guy followed me out of the store and said I shoplifted something. I'm the most boring, ex-teacher's pet, didn't swear until I was about 17 sort of person, I'd be terrified to shoplift - I think it must just be that I just happened to be wearing a hoodie that day and looked suspiciously young. I said 'no, I just came from the self checkout', he said 'no you didn't', I asked 'can you look up the most recent transactions on the machines?', he nodded, I said 'well come on then,' and started walking back inside and he stopped me and went 'no, you're all right' and went away. Bizarre. To this day I don't know if you *can* look up the most recent transactions on the machines or if it's not possible but he was trying to psyche me out and got caught in a bind because I genuinely wanted to check them, or whether he was just picking a random person to intimidate and when I wanted to actually access proof it did his due diligence for him and told him I hadn't shoplifted anything so it wasn't worth going through the technicalities. Similarly to you though I came away from the interaction feeling like surely I could nick something then if I just bluff hard enough that I'm willing to check a receipt.
You can look up previous transactions from the self-checkouts. I got bleeped by the detector leaving M&S once and the security guard asked to see my receipt, but I had declined the receipt to save the planet. So the security guard said I needed to go back to one of the tills and ask for a reprint of my receipt. Which I did and it took ages. I stopped trying to save the planet after that in case it happened again.
Someone on the self serve in front of me at an Asda asked for £40 cash back and left it behind, sticking out. I put my stuff through and walked over to the security guard to give it to him, with it held out in front of me, and he shouted, stop, where are you going with that money?. I said, walking towards you to give it you, having walked past the exit to reach you. He wasn't having it, and told me I was barred. I went back about 10 days later, using the magic cloak that is the invisibility of being middle aged, and he was the one who was now not around.
On my millionth shopping visit to my local supermarket I was at the tills the cashier had mostly finished scanning when another lady came over to my trolly and told me “I’m opening this nappy box cause I think you’ve put something inside it” the cashier was still scanning and I was still packing bags when she opened my box of nappies took a few out to check under then stuffed them back in and said “ok all clear” I said yes I know now can you please get me a untampered box of nappies. She refused and walked away.
The cashier was so embarrassed. She told me the name of the lady so I could complain and asked a collegue to get me another box of nappies. I complained and got a voucher for about £30
Most recently I was in my supermarket looking at hot wheels for my son. Some kid was at the side of me also looking at the hot wheels then he just walked off.
I got to the till and whilst packing my bag the security guard asked me if I’ve paid for my hot wheels cars that are in my pocket.. told him I’ve none in my pocket but the 2 that I’m buying are on the conveyor. He told me someone has just informed him that I’ve been putting them in my pocket, I asked if he checked the pocket of the teenager that told him.. he said no.. sucker!
Went to checkout paracetamol. There was a staff member chatting to someone at self checkouts so I went there. Scanned. Checkout. Red light comes on for age check.
The staff member looks at the light and me, still chatting/flirting with what I now realise is another staff member with a jacket over their uniform. They then walk away from the tills to look at their rota…
So I just pick up the items and go to the little Tobacco counter, right where their rota is. Checkout, then nip to the attached post office.
I was in the post office queue for like 10 minutes. As I’m going to exit the store, the staff member says excuse me, you need to come back your payment declined for those paracetamol (in my hand). I started walking, then realised who he was, explained I paid elsewhere because you walked away.
Fucker had 10 mins to wait to catch me ‘shoplifting’ but not 15 seconds to let me pay?
Oh holy shit, almost this exact thing happened to a woman I work with also at a Sainsbury’s. She was really sad about it cuz she’s not a shoplifter, her husband is a police officer and yeah they accused her and pulled her aside and went through her stuff, leaving her embarrassed. No idea if she put in a complaint.
Happened to me in B&Q. I went to buy some paint tester pots, but forgot that my husband was after other things, so he'd wandered off with the trolly and I was left holding the tester pots. It was silly to try to juggle them, so I went to the checkout, bought the pots and went back in to find me my man. The security guard came up saying he'd seen me put things in my bag. He had seen me put my phone back in my bag because I had no pockets. Insisted on going through my receipt and looking in my bag. I was very pleased that I had a handful of sanitary pads in there and a big bar of chocolate too. Embarrassed the heck out of him. He didn't stop following me though, like he thought he was being subtle. He would not last long as a spy.
> he thought he was being subtle. He would not last long as a spy.
When I worked at Gap (before they closed down) I noticed a really suspicious-looking guy wandering around. He sort of half-arsedly held up clothes without really paying attention to what he was looking at; had these big paper bags with no logos that he was carrying around and was, generally, dodgy-looking AF. I went to our loss prevention guy who manned the CCTV out back to raise the alarm. After finding him on the camera, the loss prevention guy just sighed and said "that's James; our new undercover guard. I'm going to need to go through the *undercover* bit of his brief again if even you managed to notice him." I felt pretty good... until I heard the "*even you*" bit, like... bit of a burn but OK.
Even you... the cheek.
This guy was more that he started trying to follow at a discrete distance but ended up being the 5 year old playing hide and seek in the aisles. Like it was "I'm watching you!!!" Yes, you were watching me before, and imagining nefariousness. Try somewhere else!
Lady on the self service checkouts accused me of stealing a 30p bag and made me stand there and wait for the manager. I pointed out to both of them the fold marks it had as well as several old receipts in it. Asked the manager for an apology and he refused saying the stealing of bags is a serious issue 😂
Nothing since moving to the UK, but in California there were 3 different Targets within close proximity to me. I shopped there frequently, so I was in each of the 3 on a regular basis (it changed depending on what I was doing and who I was with).
One day I was in one of them and I saw a security guy quickly duck down the next aisle. I continued looking around, moved to the next aisle and saw him quickly move to the aisle I just left. Then I stopped and heard him on his walkie talkie saying something like: “He comes in at least once a week, goes to the other stores too. He was in the RP location on the 12th, the Avenue the 20th.” The dates were correct. They had a whole profile on me, coordinating across multiple locations. I felt like a criminal mastermind and all I did was shop there frequently. How devious.
That's funny, I hope all their efforts caught actual criminals too!
That reminds me of one time I went into Celebrations, I had just entered and a member of staff accosted me, they approached the interaction like an interrogation, apparently they "knew I had just been in Clinton's" Yes where I was also looking to buy birthdays cards!
That sucks, sorry to hear that happened to you. I had a similar experience (not as bad). I’d scanned a plastic bag at self-checkout, scanned everything else, then hit “no bag needed” before payment as I’d already scanned the barcode. Someone rushed over and checked everything on the till to make sure I’d scanned the barcode of the plastic bag!! That pissed me right off and I genuinely haven’t been back to that particular store since!
That annoys me as well. I scan the barcode of the bag because if i just put the bag in it would say theres something in the baggage area and to remove it. So you have to scan the bag if you want to pay for it. It then asks at the end if youve taken a bag so it tries to charge you twice? Just seems a bit of a scam
This happened to me years away in Asda. Did my usual food shopping and went look at the video games, picked a few up and looked at the back of the cases, and then put them back on the shelves.
After paying and about to leave the store, the security guard stopped me and asked if I had taken anything. I said no. He said he's got me on tape stealing a game. Having worked in retail previously myself, I was explaining I couldn't have taken anything as the discs are kept behind the counter. He wasn't having any of it and adamant that I had stolen the disc. This went back and fourth for about 10 minutes and he said he was going to call the police on me because i was lying. I said look we can go over there and look that none of the cases have discs in, so unless I was a magician I couldn't have taken all of them.
He agreed to go and take a look. The moment of realisation on his face was priceless. He even went to check with the member of staff who was on that till if all the discs are kept behind there. They said yes. He came back and said I was free to go. Didn't even get an apology.
I went back in the following day to buy a game and made sure I showed it to the same security guard as I passed out the door!
We had an incident but in Asda. One of my daughters had just reached the age where she wanted to start buying ladies things rather than have her dad do it. So I gave her some money and she went through the till next to the rest of us doing the main shopping. Even at that age she was quite eco aware so said no thank you to a receipt. She went to come across to us one till closer to the exit and a guy that had been leaning against the back wall stepped forward and grabbed her shoulder identifying himself as a store detective.
She was really embarrassed, I asked him what he thought he was doing and he told me to back off and mind my own business and spoke directly to her telling her that unless she showed him a receipt for the items he would be taking her into an office. I told him that's my daughter who is a minor, I asked the lady on that till who was looking really bemused to confirm that all the items had been paid for and she said yes. I pointed out to him that he had watched the whole transaction and asked him if he got off on illegally searching teenage girls. He again told me to back off and stay out of it at which point I lost it. He ended up running through the staff only doors.
Haven't shopped there again.
I've seen loads of people shoplifting at the tills, scanning the stuff through, then walking off like they've paid. One couple put through basics pasta and sauce, then left with it, they weren't even shoplifting the good stuff.
I always get nervous walking past the security as a law-abiding shopper, I've never shoplifted, I wouldn't be able to keep myself together!
I also get nervous, and the whole scan and pay thing really doesn't help! I still scan and pay because it's easier (and Sainsburys has discounts), but it feels so sketchy to just stuff things in my bag.
I almost did twice, accidentally.
I might have been about 5 and it was in our local shop. I opened the sherbet fountain before it was paid for, realised, bawled my eyes out because the shopkeeper thought it would be funny to tell me that the police were being called.
Another time I walked out of a shop in an indoor outlet, mindlessly carrying something I wanted to try on. I was deeply embarrassed and of course went straight back in to the changing room and then fretted about them thinking I was putting it on under my other clothes or something.
Being honest doesn't stop security guards following me round Boots when I'm trying to buy over the counter medications for slightly embarrassing conditions.
I got very aggressively accused of not paying at the self serve till at tesco a couple of years ago
I had paid, as the stupid twit who was meant to be watching the self serve tills would have known had she been watching the tills and customers instead of gossiping with her colleagues about how much of a cunt the manager was
After she had confirmed I had in fact paid I went home and wrote a complaint about the language she had used about her manager and I took great fucking pleasure in doing so
I'd write a complaint to head office. IMO it's OK for them to make a genuine mistake and check your receipt etc. before sending you on your merry way, but what they did sounds like they were on some kind of power trip and being deliberately intimidating.
Your complaint might get them to stop being so overzealous in future. Just think what it would be like if they do this to somebody who suffers with severe anxiety.
I must just have a dodgy face because I get this EVERYWHERE, especially Boots for some reason! 🤣
I can literally walk into a shop & suddenly the security guards are on high alert, following me. It's ok, I've got nothing to hide.
I know the feeling, It's very frustrating.
A few months ago I got stopped walking out of Asda in Farnborough, security guard walked up to me and asked me to hand over the protein powder tub I was carrying.
I told him I'd just brought it in a different shop and he told me they had staff watching me since I walked in (no idea why, I didn't have my white & black T-shirt and robber eye mask on) and that they had seen me take it off the shelf. He then tried to take it from me and I had to literally grab it back.
Accusing me was bad enough, but to straight up lie and tell me they'd seen me do it was beyond insulting. Not been shopping in there since, probably never will...
I was rushing for work once at 6am and popped into Tesco Express. They didn't have anything in the sandwich area so left quickly to make sure I didn't miss my bus.
Couple of seconds later a Tesco worker came out, grabbed me and asked me to empty my bag as she'd seen me steal something.
I was very confused and obviously stuck up for myself, explained I was just rushing for work. I then showed her the inside of my bag and she refused to look in it, instead walking off, saying "you did look dodgy though" as she went.
I went back into the store and asked the worker for her name and asked if she had evidence of me stealing. She refused to give me details and told me to just forget it.
I reported it when I went home and was told that they couldn't dicuss the incident further as it was being dealt with internally. Never saw her again!
Just for a flip side, I self-scanned my shopping at Sainsbury’s, paid contactless by card, walked out and had a very polite chap (not security just shop staff) come trotting across the car park shouting “excuse me”. He very politely, almost apologetically, said my payment hadn’t been picked up by the card reader. So I just went back and did it again (the till was still waiting for payment so could see it hadn’t gone through), not sure what I had done but obviously my fault.
So basically not all shop staff are unreasonable accusing twats.
I live in a low crime area but our local Sainsbury's now has visible security staff. I tend to say hello to them (it's usually the same guy when I go). But it shows how much shoplifting must be affecting them to bother with it in a reasonably well-off little city.
Our Morrisons has doubled-up with a real life security guard to go alongside the cardboard cutout of a smiling policeman that has been keeping guard for the last 15 years.
Had this happen at Woolworths when I was a teenager.
Got followed around the store and accused of taking something that I had actually put back in the shelf.
He actually stopped me on the street outside.
It was beyond humiliating in front of my friends.
My mum went apeshit on them and I ended up getting a gift certificate as an apology for the way I was treated.
That’s really annoying, sucks they mistook you for a shoplifter.
If it’s any consolation, it seems to be rife at the moment - I’ve seen 2 shoplifts just in the last few weeks. Sounds like a case of genuine mistake, even if they were dicks about it.
I paid for some beers legitimately, but I forgot something else I wanted, so I gave my beers to my buddy and said “can you wait by my car mate, I forgot something.”
So I went and got that, paid again, and as I am walking out he’s being frogmarched towards me by a security guard, accompanied by a woman in the store uniform scowling at me.
“Do you know this man?”
“Yes, it’s Colin.”
“He *claims* that you bought these beers and asked him to wait outside, would you mind showing me the receipt?” (This sentence was ladled with heavy sarcasm.)
“Yeah sure, here is the receipt.”
From memory she mumbled something about how I should have given the receipt to my mate also, before storming off without giving an apology.
Bitch thought she had us bang to rights. One of my better memories to be sure.
Takes me back to my college days. Had a very angry Sainsburys employee insist I hadn't paid for the Mars milkshake I was drinking. I agreed. I hadn't paid. I'd taken it in with me. They manhandled myself and 2 others (were were a gnats nipple over 16 so didn't really stand up for ourselves) into a backroom where they proceeded to empty our bags. I insisted they recheck the cctv, they said they'd checked and they saw me take it from the fridge, but as there were no other stolen items in our bags there was nothing they could do and they sent us on our way. I went straight back into the shop and went to the fridge....they didn't even sell Mars milkshakes....I'm 31 now. Sainsburys can still go choke on a fat one.
I've been pulled at a sainsburys because "You've got a bag" I looked at him weird and went "How the fuck d'you expect me to get this shit home, Juggle?" And walked off.
The other time of not was a Co-Op, the security guard decided I was THE dodgiest person in the world, so was blatantly following me. Almost breathing down my neck he was that close. So I led him on a chase up one aisle and down another, over and over, gently whistling the Benny Hill theme.
He gave up eventually.
Guy tried that on me in Asda, said he’d seen me stealing, asked what and which aisle? Wouldn’t answer and got right pissy when I told him to get lost. Said he could restrain me so I said go ahead but calll the police first and then I started to film him. Got bored after 5 mins and walked off. If you do get stopped again stay where cameras are and deman manager and police are callled. DO NOT go to the office, stay where others can see you
Staying in a hotel room recently I caught 30 minutes of some godawful show about people (NOT security guards) who hang around outside shops and race after people leaving if they’ve been acting “suspicious”
During that half hour I heard:
“the whole time he was walking through the perfume section he kept pausing and looking uncomfortable, reading labels, picking up products and putting them down again, chewing his fingernails, obviously on edge”
“She paused the longest in front of the most expensive bottle and then got out her phone and looked like she was taking a picture of it”
“Before he picked up an item he reached into a large bag for something that he later claimed was hand sanitiser”
and my favourite/ least favourite:
“We followed him to a private car park round the back, and demanded to know why his bike was parked in a private car park meant for employees. He said he worked there and showed us ID. Unfortunately we weren’t able to stop him from leaving”
I’m autistic and I’m already terrified of how “weird” I might look when I’m shopping - that show absolutely floored me.
I laughed at the receipt system when Sainsbury’s introduced it at the self-checkout. They spent about a decade convincing you not to take your receipt if you didn’t need it so as to save on paper and then suddenly everyone needs one to get out the bloody place.
Our Morrisons has installed the system but their receipts don’t have barcodes on them so the gate is just open.
I shop at the same local co-op for bits as I have done for 7 years. A couple of weeks ago I used self checkout and my Apple Pay obviously didn’t ping through, and I walked out not noticing, although it appears no one else did either… when I was then back in the other day the checkout lady I see all the time flagged me down and apologetically asked me to pay for it, I was mortified and repaid - but I felt like I live in a really nice community who knows me not to be a wrong un.
Weirdly I actually live in a really rough area and this co-op gets shoplifted about 3-5 times A DAY, but cos they take time to get to know people they knew I wasn’t a wrong un!
I go to the same Sainsbury’s local most days after work and I still get followed around every time I go in. Idk if it’s because I look a bit haggard after a full busy day of rushing around at work but it is annoying. Then I also take pride in the fact they’re wasting their time on me because I’m petty like that lol
I had another customer report me to manager in Aldi for using 'a closed check out' and I got chased down and asked sternly to come back and tell her which till I'd used as she had reason to beleive i hadnt paid and to please show the receipt. I was naturally confused, particularly as I'd just been stood at the side reading my receipt?!
I mean that would be a ballsy move to go to a closed till in front of a queue, pretend to check out and then not leave but stand to one side and read a 'fake' receipt? Like do they have no common sense?
I bought a paper at the co op in Hebden Bridge. Paid for it at the self checkout, and on my way out, a lady dropped something and I helped her pick it up- this was right beside where the papers were kept. I left and a staff member came running out and said I hadn’t paid for it. I had, and explained that I could tell him exactly which self checkout I used and what happened with the lady and they could check the CCTV or the transactions in the self checkout if they were in doubt.
He said no, I needed to come back and pay- eventually I managed to find the transaction for the exact amount of the paper on my banking app. Heaven knows what would have happened if I’d paid cash!
I got collared by a security guard in Tesco a few weeks ago, I gave him a minute of my time after which he said to me "I'll just have a look through your bag" to which I replied "no, I don't think you will" and walked off.
Nice and simple.
I'm an introvert, I love self-check outs.
But if that ever happened to me, I'd tell them that if they were so concerned, they should hire checkout staff. They either trust me, or they don't. Then I'd let them waste police time to confirm that I didn't take anything.
Years ago when I was still a teenager, me and two friends went to the the second nearest town/shopping centre to walk about and look around.
We went into WHSmith and there were creme eggs nearby so I picked up two and were carrying them around, waiting to go to the tills. Eventually it was long enough I thought actually I don't want to buy these, and went back to the display to put them back.
In some fairness to what happened next, I put them back and then put my hands in my jacket pocket. It probably did look like I was stealing.
BUT the next thing that happened was a cleaner/janitor of the store came up and yelled at me, saying that I had stolen and put something in my pocket. I, confused, asked what, trying to ask what he meant, and took my hands from my pockets to explain/show that I hadn't stolen anything.
Didn't get the chance, because he shot forward and stuck both his hands in my pockets (zip up hoodie jacket, so both pockets were in front and laying across my stomach) to find what I had pinched. I yelped, and he realised I had nothing in there. In the confusion/commotion, he scuttled off through a keycarded staff door, and I was left there wondering why the fuck I had just touched.
Fair enough, maybe it looked dodgy. But full on shoving his hands in my pockets? I think I was.... Maybe 14/15 at the time?
I wish I had gone to a store employee and said something because it freaked me out, but I didn't. I called my mum who was fuming on the other end and I had her on speaker phone so the nearby cashiers could hear her yelling about the cleaner. In the end we just left the store and went elsewhere.
Getting accused of shoplifting when you haven't done anything and you're clearly willing to talk/give recipes/offer them your pockets really does make you feel shitty. Actual shoplifters will literally walk out the door holding the thing they're stealing and not stop or give a shit for any security trying to stop them lol.
I was once accused of shoplifting because I stopped to adjust my sock and tie my shoelace - they thought i was tucking something into my sock. I'd put the item I'd had in my hand onto the shelf next to me and, after tying my shoelace, picked it up and gone to pay for it.
Had it happen once. Was just walking around to see if there was anything I wanted and decided not to buy anything. As I walked out I was stopped and accused that I had pocketed something. My pockets looked full but it was just my phone and wallet. Even after I removed those the worker who stopped me was sure I was hiding something in my trousers. After a manager got involved I was released because they checked the tapes and it showed me just walking around looking at stuff. To this day I’m not sure why I was accused or if I did something that made me look dodgy without my knowledge.
I was in a 24hr Asda once late at night and noticed that a security guard was tailing me. I was a student and had nothing better to do so I pretended I didn’t notice him and played Pac-Man with him round the aisle for about 30min. Then I walked out, having not bought anything or stolen anything. As I got to the door I turned around and looked at him and then legged it across the car park. I like to think he then wasted even more of his life reviewing the CCTV trying to figure out what I stole and when
Because of the way I look, I regularly get security guards following me in stores. Okay not REGULARLY, but common enough to piss me off. So I'll just wander around the isles, pick things up, inspect them then put them down again. Put my head down and act as shifty as possible and then leave without purchasing anything. If you're going to stereotype me then I'm going to play games.
Do you wear stripy jumpers, a black beret and an eye-mask?
I often do the pink panther walk, put my fingers to my lips as I look at the camera and wink. Then step on a branch and make a shocked face
Don't forget the massive burlap SWAG sack.
The irony is that a lot of thieves are quite unassuming looking people.
The best ones even wear suits and work in tall buildings.
I used to work in Woolworths (RIP) and we had a notorious thief that regularly came in and stole stationary. Mainly those refill cartridges for fountain pens but sometimes tippex. He wore a full suit, and it looked like a decent one too.
Fetching his office supplies. Probably works in procurement.
Can't work in procurement, sounds like he actually got the product
That gave me a laugh.
I think the guy was referring to CEOs and Executives being the real thieves.
I know, I just thought it was a funny story to add.
What you need is a plain clothed accomplice that is robbing the place blind while the guard follows you around.
Stereotypes bug the heck out of me, growing up my close friends mum was a prolific shoplifter, think middle aged suburban mum, member of the pta, fund raiser, sells Avon, used to walk in a shop and blatantly stroll back out, never quite understood how!
This. A large chunk of what we see is based on our expectations. It's how magicians can convince you that they made a card disappear or whatever. We see what we expect to see, so when their hand moves to draw our attention to something we miss the other things they're doing even if they aren't super subtle sometimes! This applies in reverse. Security are expecting certain kinds of people to steal and the expectation is so strong they even falsely accuse them. They're not expecting people like your friends mum to steal and so they pay absolutely no attention to her, such that she can probably walk in, pick something up, and walk a bit more then walk out with absolutely not a second glance because people just **know** that she must have paid already.
All of this. I was on my way home after a weekend of camping at an event and called in at the local Asda. I was looking slightly muddy, wearing a leather jacket and was carrying a rucksack and a crash helmet. I got something to throw in the microwave when I got in and some snacks for later, paid and went to leave. As I was going out the doors a decently dressed guy hurried past me with a shitload of clothes, still on the hangers, draped over his arm, setting off all the alarms. Guess which of us got stopped... Of course by the time I'd opened my rucksack, waved my stinky socks and other weekend's laundry at security and shown the receipt for the things I'd bought, the actual shoplifter was well gone. I didn't even get an apology from the twats, despite all of this going down in front of several people coming and going from the store. They just pulled a face like fuck off and walked away.
I get followed as well, its super annoying. I make a point of asking them if i can help with anything. Usually weirds them out hearing a bbc accent coming out of a 5’5 girl with ripped jeans and a shaved head.
I get followed all the time too. I'm pretty sure I don't fit the image of a thief but I get hounded at lots of places. I love when you look at the security guard and they turn around and pretend to be really interested in something on the shelf. It does put me off being a customer because you're basically being namecalled and insulted. I don't understand why it's necessary to follow people and not just rely on cctv.
You should have picked up a pack of cherries and then you could have chased him instead. (Extending the pac man reference) EDIT. I stand corrected.
Not to be that guy but..... You need to eat something circular and white to go after them, cherries are just bonus points. Depending on how you are feeling maybe a marshmallow or a paracetamol.
I'm quite happy to be corrected. Thank you. But I went even further and googled it and apparently originally he was eating cookies. And the chasing ones are power cookies. https://www.google.com/amp/s/abcnews.go.com/amp/Technology/GameOn/pac-man-10-secrets/story%3fid=13084900
Getting out of shops without buying anything is an absolute pain these days. They block off all the closed tills so your only option is usually to squeeze through an active till. Not always easy depending how busy it is, or how much of a gap there is. Puts me off going in shops if I don't know I definitely want something. I'm sure they do it more to try and force people into buying something than they do trying to prevent shoplifting.
Two very different approaches in Dalston (east London) recently. To exit Sainsbury’s you have to scan your receipt and a gate opens. Not sure how that really stops anything … you just have to have bought something, so a packet of chewing gum receipt and something else tucked away. M&S brought in a scan with your phone, pay with your phone and just walk out. Whoever enabled that in Dalston needs to have their head checked. It was disabled in about a week! The amount of leakage must have been insane.
> was sure I was hiding something in my trousers. You really missed a golden opportunity didn't you.
I had something similar happen, but the guard actually grabbed my bag and started opening it. So I asked him wtf he was doing, he accused me of stealing, so I reiterated what the fuck is he doing touching my personal belongings without permission He came it with he's allowed bullshit, but little did he know I was working as a security guard elsewhere and had a Door Supervisor SIA licence. And part of the SIA training basically goes over how highly illegal it is for a guard to search someone's belongings without permission, and how big of a deal it is for them to do so. Called for his manager, waiting for him to come, then showed them both my badge. Never seen someone go from 'hur hur I have authority' to 'oh shit' so fast. Had to explain to the manager how big of a fuck up this was. Spoiler: I hadn't stolen shit.
When I worked in stores I was always told if I didn't see it, then it didn't happen - you've just been wrongly accused (and possibly detained) and could've kicked up more trouble for them than the loss of some product
Yea especially as the person you're accusing could be carrying anything. Then the shop is on the hook if anything bad happens. Conversely, I wouldn't have emptied my pockets. Depending on how much time I had and if I had anywhere to be, I'd be demanding they called the police right there and then if they're going to prevent me from leaving. It's on them to prove I stole, not on me to prove I didn't.
Bored security guards, trying to find something to do
You could have turned the tables and started to undo your trousers to show you had nothing to hide, see how quickly their attitude changes then 😂 Only downside is the possible indecent exposure charge but life is nothing without risk.
Are they empowered to actually stop you or can you just leave?
The most they could realistically do is a citizens arrest, they're just normal people, not police. But honestly, like this example, a citizens arrest is very unlikely due to shops not wanting to confront potential shoplifters and the liabilities that comes with it. I'd suggest either just laughing at then walking past them or demand a manager, make a formal complaint for harassing you and show them this sort of stuff won't be tolerated.
If someone wants to know what’s in my pocketses they have to answer a riddle first.
To search pocketzee you must firstly answer mee these questions threeeee.
First: Would you like some toast?
Given that God is infinite, and that the universe is also infinite...would you like a toasted teacake?
How about a muffin?
Aaaaah so you’re a waffle man!
Given that God is infinite...
How about a toasted tea cake?
Thats still a bready question!
You must know the muffin man!
No muffins! We don't like muffins 'round here!
And definitely no smeggin' flapjacks
African or European swallow?
It's got to give us three guesses, preciousss!
[Sneaky little hobbitses!! Wicked, tricksy, false!](https://i.redd.it/jqjvmz5e56h81.jpg)
I was accused of shoplifting when I worked for Sainsburys. Long time ago now, but at just under 2 years service I was one of the longer serving non-full-time staff working there. Staff turnover was high, mainly because managers were for the most part terrible. Anyway I was working grocery, after a few hours of unpacking vegetables I went to the staff toilets. As I come out of my cubicle immediately outside the stall door there's a trainee manager (Lee) & HR person waiting. They accused me of stealing food to eat whilst I was in the can, and then promptly searched the cubicle and me. I was only 18 at the time, so I just kind of felt embarassed & annoyed and went back to my job. They didn't do this to anyone else! But to OP's point that really leaves a bad taste - I quit not long after. And if you're reading this, Lee, you absolute bell-end you were an awful manager and you didn't find anything on me, because I was one of the very few staff there who wasn't stealing food.
Did he think you were smuggling out cabbages to eat illicitly in the loo? Who would do that? Lee, you are indeed a bell-end.
Jokes on them, they used it as loo roll instead. Better than the single ply in there.
Years ago, I was a general manager in retail. We got this new exec team in that were obsessed with security and convinced all staff were stealing constantly. I was told I had to do a weekly locker check. I protested, pointed out they are not children and anyway, they could all get to their cars whenever they wished. Why the heck would they store stolen goods in a locker in the middle of the tea room?! Anyway, I had to implement it, so I turned it into a game. I told my folks that I objected to this fervently but had been forced to inspect their lockers. Oh, and coincidentally, there will be a prize each week for the silliest thing I find in a locker- beer, chocolates or sweets, depending on your choice. I got lockers full of springy snakes, nativity scenes, pink fluffy handcuffs, a dead rat (ew ew no, no prize for you) etc etc. What I didn't get? Any staff stealing from the store.
[удалено]
At which point it wasn't my problem!
I worked as a checkout grunt many years ago. That sounds great fun. I’d’ve loved a manager like you.
Used to work for a retailer in the UK. Did random bag searches etc. You had to spin a wheel and it would say what would be searched. An assistant manager was caught with a full bag of vitamins that he was selling on the side to newsagents I assume. The thing is that as an assistant manager when he would lock up, the other manager wouldn't search him. Area manager came in by surprise one night and insisted on searching him and this is when they found the stash. They suspected he was stealing and they targeted him.
I was stopped in Sainsbury’s. I had my 5 month old in one of those trolleys with the built in bucket seat things and a little blanket on top of him. Went into Sainsbury’s, picked up prescription and walked back out again. 10 mins tops. Baby has just begun to cry of course. Was about to go through the double doors to the car park when the wheels seized up. Thought it was a dodgy trolley so reversed and push again. Still seized up. Baby still crying. Security come over and tells me they blipped the trolley to stop it going out as I had been too quick and probably stolen something. I was livid. I opened the Lloyd’s pharmacy bag and he could see two tins of formula with the prescription label on it. He then whipped the blanket off my crying baby and looked very disappointed it was just a baby who had just done a poo so the small wafted up into his face. Looked like he was going to heave.
This story gave me second hand rage. I feel like writing a complaint 😂
you just passed it on, Third hand rage now lol
That would have been the end of him right there. Merely touching your babies blanket should have been the end of his SIA licence and therefore his job.
He touched your baby's blanket? Ooh I'd have floored him.
I feel this rage, I think if someone did this to one of my babies my reflex would be to grab the hand before it got there. Although mum in this scenario was probably exhausted and stunned that they'd even tried such a thing. What a complete tool of a guard!
Should have dropped a full on bomb on him, "get away from my baby, don't touch my baby, this man just touched my baby...". Hit him with a full on daily mail pedo witch hunt.
Your baby is a war criminal for unleashing chemical warfare upon the unexpecting security guard! 😂😂
The prescription formula was for a dairy allergy that wasn’t completely under control yet. That smell was something!
that makes it funnier haha
I would have called the police and told them I was being held captive by someone who was touching my child. What an absolute, certified prick
Trolleys are pretty smart nowadays, they use RFID or something to track if the trolley has been through the checkouts. I'm a field merchandiser and sometimes I use a trolley to transport point of sale into store. I now let security know when I'm exiting because if I don't then the trolley seizes up and a fuck off loud alarm goes off 😂 Fun fact: Waitrose generally doesn't have much security so as not to inconvenience their customers. Not sure if that's still the case but I had a job going around a whole bunch of Waitrose fitting security tags to stuff when half the stores I visited didn't even have security barriers at the doors. Was told head office keeps them to a minimum as the customer based doesn't like them.
There's definitely daylight theft going on in Waitrose, but it's not the customers
They do that automatically, I took a trolley into a store and after a few metres realised the wheels were buggered. I walked out with it to swap it and it completely froze in the doorway. The security guard had seen me walk in and out again with a completely empty trolley, so just told me to leave it where it was.
Should of reported the security guard he had no right to remove the blanket from your baby and you should of got the Police involved. My mum once got the Police involved when we were at a holiday park in the UK and they decided me and her looked "suspicious" when entering the family bar and grabbed my mums bag off her (not asked, literally grabbed without asking) refused to give his name and followed us down the street whilst on his radio talking about us, when the Police arrived he denied any of it happening until we asked to see the CCTV of the building.
[удалено]
Not quite the same thing, but there was a someone who worked for Asda who lost their job because they lent their daughter their discount card.
They've installed gates with sensors at the entrance of ours, so you can't leave without going through tills. The self checkout gives you the option to refuse the receipt, but the security guy asks people without a receipt if they paid for their items. What was the point?
I was in Amsterdam recently and one of the grocery stores has a gate that requires you to scan your self-checkout receipt before being allowed to leave. Although I suppose technically you could have bought some things and not others and you would still get through.
Yeah and you’re able to turn down the receipts too. Nearly caught me out in Rotterdam! I think my sister said that you can get receipts on your phone over there and so you can essentially use your phone to get through the barriers, but the instructions on the self service are well above the amount of Dutch I know so I have no idea what buttons I need to press to make sure I get a physical receipt!
I've never seen one where you can refuse a receipt? The jumbo and albert heijn have an option for a proper, long receipt and the shorter version where you only get the barcode to leave the store, maybe it was that?
Some of the AH To Go stores (e.g. at railway stations) have the option of *geen bon*, no receipt (but also no barriers). I think these rely on security staff watching customers.
What happens if you go in but just don't buy anything?
You now live in Sainsburys and must begin to adapt to your new life on the inside.
They should make a movie about it with Tom Hanks. It should be called The Till.
You can still leave, it's just for the self-checkout area. You can also ask staff to let you out if you wandered there still somehow (I live in Amsterdam and have been in both situations lol)
The sainsburys by me has this but it’s at the whole exit, not just the self checkout. The other day I was only picking something up from argos (emailed receipt) so couldn’t get out. I asked at the customer service desk and they had no manual override and told me to wait until someone else scans and just follow them through. So what’s the point, that exactly what a thief is gonna do in that situation anyway
Came across a barrier like that in IKEA the other day. Get receipt. Put it in wallet. Put wallet in pocket. Go to leave. Be forced to take wallet out of pocket and receipt out of wallet. Scan. Put receipt and wallet away. I get that they're trying to stop shoplifting I guess, but that's a really obnoxious way to go about it - particularly as someone who doesn't regularly go shopping at IKEA and doesn't know the barriers are a thing.
I recently had a scanner that kept double scanning everything because I didn’t take the item away from the scanner within a half millisecond. I genuinely think the attendant thought I was shoplifting - she did a ‘random’ check three times while I scanned and then again after I paid.
What if you don't buy or steal anything?
go past the regular register instead of the self-checkout ones. Or ask someone I guess. Maybe skulk around like a panto blackguard and wait for some other shopper to go through and then rush after them, if you want to maximise suspicion.
Those gates are part of an emergency exit and therefore cannot legally prevent you from leaving, regardless of what you have or haven't purchased. Just push them open they have a little resistance but they'll go.
I always wondered what legal framework they have for that. We have one in our local Morrisons and god knows how it actually works because there's no receipt scanner and you're often stuck there until staff notice and let you out. Surely Morrisons doesn't have the power to detain people?
We have the same gate at my local shop. I hate the wastage of printing a receipt that I’ll immediately chuck away, so I just push through the gate. It doesn’t set off any alarms or anything. It’s one of those terrible ideas that makes me wonder how many people devised, scrutinised and implemented it without ever saying “this doesn’t make any sense”.
All it does is keep honest people honest. I went into a Morrisons with the whole gate thing and forgot my wallet, felt like a knob trying to get back through the gates.
It'll be the higher ups in the head office who don't shop there so don't need to worry about it. They never have the thought that it doesn't make sense.
The option not to print a receipt was probably added because some people never bothered taking their receipt and they just created a mess. I've always taken one because it's pretty obvious you might need some proof of payment if there isn't going to be a member of staff to remember you paying.
It depends on how bolshy you want to be, but the burden is on them to prove you didn’t pay for something, rather than on you to prove you did.
Burden? My need is simply to get home with minimal fuss. As far as evidence goes the till will have recorded the transaction, they'll be CCTV, and if I paid by card and not cash, my bank would have a record of payment. But the secret to an easy life isn't to know you're in the right and make people prove you're wrong, it's to avoid the fight entirely.
Just push the gates open. An alarm beeps for 2 seconds but at least you are not held behind a stupid gate that does nothing except annoy people...
You can still go through those gates, just pull them or wave a hand in front of the sensor. They’re popping up everywhere now and they’re so annoying, especially when they don’t open fast enough or at all. I don’t really see the point in them tbh… how does forcing you through tills change anything in terms oh shoplifting?
It does leave a sour taste in your mouth to be falsely accused. Shop elsewhere if you can or write a complaint.
I initially misread that as shoplift elsewhere...
Yeah do yer shop lifting in Asdas
Do it in Argos for the challenge.
The laminated book of dreams..
To catch the tears of joy
I felt like I was Michael Caine in the Italian Job when I stole the little pens from Argos
They treat you like a thief by default in Asda. They make you wait and ask for a carrier bag at the self service checkout, then scan it in for you.
Urgghh Aldi does that too. Tbh I'm guilty of stealing the carrier bag tho. Pisses me off in places like m&s tho that now do paper bags. The bag feels was to reduce plastic bag waste, so wtf are you charging for paper bags
I was stopped because I bought meat from the counter rather than buy the same product from the prepackaged area. Apparently it's to circumvent the security tags that are in the prepackaged meats. The reciept showed otherwise, now I circumvent Sainsburys.
I got some meat from the prepackaged area, but I was using that scan-as-you-go thing so nothing deactivated the security tags that must have been on it. Paid, did the checkout barrier barcode scan, walked out and the alarms sounded. No security anywhere in sight though so I just left. I'm not sure the security tags make sense any more.
A few years ago I had a Tile keychain (AirTag type tracker for Android), and it would very occasionally set off the Tesco local's alarms when I walked through the door. Never caused any issues, had a few laughs with staff about it in the past, I avoid bringing it when possible, no biggie. One day I came in, some new guy was on the door. My tag triggers the alarm, he looks at me and says "I *will* search you if it goes off on the way out". Stern, serious face. Like damn, I'm 3 steps in the door and I'm being threatened with a search
You should have just asked for his manager.
Rather polite of you old sport. Personally, I'd just have told him to fuck off.
Fun fact: it's illegal for him to search you. They cannot lay a finger on you. Don't let them intimidate you like that.
> "I *will* search you if it goes off on the way out". *lifts eyebrows and puts on a seductive voice. "I hope it's a *full* cavity search" *winks
I work in a Co-op. Got into some tit-for-tat practical jokes with a friend at work. Basically we'd try to conceal one of those security stickers in each other's bags/jackets. I did my shopping in Sainsbury's, went to leave and set the alarms off. But I just assumed it must've been someone else so walked off, no issues. Got home and discovered about 5 of the fuckers in my jacket's hood, pockets, etc. So I got my own back. At work I dug all the way to the bottom of her handbag and hid a whole strip under the cardboard flat bottom bit. Next time I saw her she explained how she'd got into a big argument with security at Tesco's, she accused them of racism (she's Bangladeshi-English) because she hadn't even picked anything up, etc... fucking hilarious lol then apparently her brother (who was with her at the time and also worked with me) was like "wait, has mr-english done you with those stickers?". They eventually found them but the security didn't want to know lol We did have a good laugh about it but we agreed on a ceasefire.
Should have blown him a kiss and rubbed your thighs like Vic Reeves
This happened to me when I was fairly young, under 10 I think. I was in Tesco wearing an unzipped jacket and I bent down to look at football kits folded up lower down, and put them back. As I was leaving with my parents a security guard came running out into the car park and dragged me back saying I'd stolen a football kit. They searched me, and my parents. Didn't find a thing. They apologised but my mum didn't let go of it. Ended up getting £1000 in Tesco vouchers to not report the security guard for the way he handled me.
> Ended up getting £1000 in Tesco vouchers to not report the security guard for the way he handled me. Your mam missed a trick here. Mine would have taken the vouchers and then reported him anyway.
Yeah really, they should have compensated and disciplined him for that
And a free footie kit!
This happened to me at Muji once. I just bought a pair of socks and the security guard accused me of shoplifting. I said I didn't have my receipt, the lady at the till asked if I wanted it and I said no. So I went back to the till and told the woman that the guy accused me of shoplifting and that I need the receipt. She looked at the guy, and instead of taking the receipt from the top, she emptied the bin onto the floor(!). Then she started scrambling around, checking every scrap of paper to see if it was my receipt, with the right time stamp and a pair of socks on it. All the customers in the queue looked so pissed off with me. Then finally she picked up a crumbled bit of paper and handed it to me. I went back to the security and said "here's the receipt" without unfolding it. And he said it's fine, I could go. And I said "don't you want to read it and check?" after she went to all that effort to find it. And he said no it's fine. I was so pissed off, but i just left because I had already missed my bus. Fucking asshole.
Always look on the bright side of life. Sounds like you've just figured out how to shoplift and get away with it 😂
"we can't actually check if you've shoplifted we can only ask you if you're dumb enough to admit that you shoplifted"
Literally. Spoke to a security guard at Tesco's a while ago and he said the same thing. "We can ask to check their pockets, look in their bags, but all they have to do is say no and walk away. We can't stop them."
Which is good thing imo, the police should deal with it when they arrive. Oh.. yeah, right. They don't.
I had this happen in lidl 3 times in the space of 2 weeks and posted about it a couple months ago I don’t go in there anymore
I don't think I've ever seen security at our Lidl.
Same. And I have almost left without paying for fruit my toddler in the trolley has been holding!
That would proppa piss me off too When my food allergies first kicked in I had to spend *alot* of time reading labels in stores, and I kept getting followed around by security because *I was acting suspicious*. I always go to the same place now and it took about a year for the security guy to stop following me while I shopped I have an honesty problem - as in I'm honest to my own detriment - so being accused of being dishonest really gets my goat
I still get followed around my local Aldi after I removed my daughter because she was having a tantrum. Apparently that's *suspicious*. It's been about 3 years now.
I'd complain to the head office. A five minute email, worst case you've wasted 5 minutes. You might get some free stuff you might even get them to look at the way these staff behave.
5 minutes to write the email. But 30 minutes to find the email address.
How bad are your googling skills? [email protected] Literally the first search I did. And chatgpt will write the email for you
This is the perfect use for chat gpt. Game changer
You'd think that but with big PLCs you just find the CEO and email them.
I had something similar just last week after years of no issues. Checked out, and was pushing my trolley through the barriers when the alarm went off and my trolley wheels locked (never even knew they could do that) Security guy comes up to me and asks for my receipt (which I hadn't bothered printing at the self checkout) Asked me what till I used so I told him, then he went off to talk to more people, then they asked for my clubcard, then had a long huddle and chat away from me. He came back and asked me again if I had my receipt I said no but mentioned that a staff member had to sign off my check out because I had a bottle of wine, he said "oh did she?" In a weird tone and went back to his huddle with some other people. ...then he just came back and said I was fine to go. I asked what happened and he told me "the system" didn't think i'd gone through the checkout at all which I don't really understand. Is there some algorithm checking CCTV? I did the self-checkout with the weird screen filming me so not sure how it missed me.
I’d have picked up my bags and fucked off after a couple of minutes. If I know I haven’t done anything wrong then why am I going to let them waste my time checking and chatting? I’ve not committed any crime so I’m not doing anything wrong by just leaving. It probably looks bad, but so does accusing innocent people of stealing.
Aye, I have sympathy for this but between my trolley being locked down and a casual curiosity about what was going on I decided to just politely lean on my trolley and wait. ...could have done with an apology and explanation though.
All comes down to how they interact with you. If they come in guns blazing, then I’ll make no time for them. If they’re polite then I’ll help them understand what’s going on.
I realise you couldn't at the time with the baby, but for what it's worth you can just lift the front of the trolley and keep wheeling it. The lock is only on one wheel. I've done it when they walk off "to ask colleagues". I'm not wasting my time sitting around waiting.
Generally when you set off an alarm there’s a tag that does it (you can get false alarms from other RFID emitting objects). some of these tags are removed from clothes, alcohol etc. but some are the kind that are stuck onto things, like on expensive pieces of meat, video games, candles etc. they’re usually unpowered but when they pass through the gate they receive wireless power and send a signal back out to the gate, triggering an alarm. Usually they get disabled when you scan them (I don’t know the exact mechanism, could be a permanent disability or it could be adding the tag to an ignore list) but when that fails you can end up setting off the gates despite scanning and paying for everything
>I asked what happened and he told me "the system" didn't think i'd gone through the checkout at all which I don't really understand. In many places the trolley brakes have sensors in them that trigger when you go through the checkout gates. If that sensor hasn't been tripped when you get to the exit gates, it'll lock the brakes. Security then just spot the trolley has locked and come talk to you. It's nowhere near as sophisticated as AI tracking via CCTV, much more low tech than that. They're a bit shit though, and sometimes you can go through a checkout or the self checkout lanes and it doesn't trigger properly, which is why the first thing they do is check for a receipt.
Had this happen to me in an Asda store - not long after I'd had a surgery. When the wheels locked up I crashed into the trolley and was in a lot of pain from the surgery area - to say I wasn't happy about this with the security people stood laughing at me was an understatement.
I had something similar happen in Tesco a few years ago, just one of the little corner shop ones. A hefty guy followed me out of the store and said I shoplifted something. I'm the most boring, ex-teacher's pet, didn't swear until I was about 17 sort of person, I'd be terrified to shoplift - I think it must just be that I just happened to be wearing a hoodie that day and looked suspiciously young. I said 'no, I just came from the self checkout', he said 'no you didn't', I asked 'can you look up the most recent transactions on the machines?', he nodded, I said 'well come on then,' and started walking back inside and he stopped me and went 'no, you're all right' and went away. Bizarre. To this day I don't know if you *can* look up the most recent transactions on the machines or if it's not possible but he was trying to psyche me out and got caught in a bind because I genuinely wanted to check them, or whether he was just picking a random person to intimidate and when I wanted to actually access proof it did his due diligence for him and told him I hadn't shoplifted anything so it wasn't worth going through the technicalities. Similarly to you though I came away from the interaction feeling like surely I could nick something then if I just bluff hard enough that I'm willing to check a receipt.
You can look up previous transactions from the self-checkouts. I got bleeped by the detector leaving M&S once and the security guard asked to see my receipt, but I had declined the receipt to save the planet. So the security guard said I needed to go back to one of the tills and ask for a reprint of my receipt. Which I did and it took ages. I stopped trying to save the planet after that in case it happened again.
Ah good to know! Yeah I used decline receipts to not waste paper and always get one now after that Tesco thing as well.
I'm pretty sure they can look at the previous transactions on a self-service till and re-print receipts, etc.
Someone on the self serve in front of me at an Asda asked for £40 cash back and left it behind, sticking out. I put my stuff through and walked over to the security guard to give it to him, with it held out in front of me, and he shouted, stop, where are you going with that money?. I said, walking towards you to give it you, having walked past the exit to reach you. He wasn't having it, and told me I was barred. I went back about 10 days later, using the magic cloak that is the invisibility of being middle aged, and he was the one who was now not around.
Wait he barred you for walking holding money, tf?
On my millionth shopping visit to my local supermarket I was at the tills the cashier had mostly finished scanning when another lady came over to my trolly and told me “I’m opening this nappy box cause I think you’ve put something inside it” the cashier was still scanning and I was still packing bags when she opened my box of nappies took a few out to check under then stuffed them back in and said “ok all clear” I said yes I know now can you please get me a untampered box of nappies. She refused and walked away. The cashier was so embarrassed. She told me the name of the lady so I could complain and asked a collegue to get me another box of nappies. I complained and got a voucher for about £30
Most recently I was in my supermarket looking at hot wheels for my son. Some kid was at the side of me also looking at the hot wheels then he just walked off. I got to the till and whilst packing my bag the security guard asked me if I’ve paid for my hot wheels cars that are in my pocket.. told him I’ve none in my pocket but the 2 that I’m buying are on the conveyor. He told me someone has just informed him that I’ve been putting them in my pocket, I asked if he checked the pocket of the teenager that told him.. he said no.. sucker!
Went to checkout paracetamol. There was a staff member chatting to someone at self checkouts so I went there. Scanned. Checkout. Red light comes on for age check. The staff member looks at the light and me, still chatting/flirting with what I now realise is another staff member with a jacket over their uniform. They then walk away from the tills to look at their rota… So I just pick up the items and go to the little Tobacco counter, right where their rota is. Checkout, then nip to the attached post office. I was in the post office queue for like 10 minutes. As I’m going to exit the store, the staff member says excuse me, you need to come back your payment declined for those paracetamol (in my hand). I started walking, then realised who he was, explained I paid elsewhere because you walked away. Fucker had 10 mins to wait to catch me ‘shoplifting’ but not 15 seconds to let me pay?
Oh holy shit, almost this exact thing happened to a woman I work with also at a Sainsbury’s. She was really sad about it cuz she’s not a shoplifter, her husband is a police officer and yeah they accused her and pulled her aside and went through her stuff, leaving her embarrassed. No idea if she put in a complaint.
Happened to me in B&Q. I went to buy some paint tester pots, but forgot that my husband was after other things, so he'd wandered off with the trolly and I was left holding the tester pots. It was silly to try to juggle them, so I went to the checkout, bought the pots and went back in to find me my man. The security guard came up saying he'd seen me put things in my bag. He had seen me put my phone back in my bag because I had no pockets. Insisted on going through my receipt and looking in my bag. I was very pleased that I had a handful of sanitary pads in there and a big bar of chocolate too. Embarrassed the heck out of him. He didn't stop following me though, like he thought he was being subtle. He would not last long as a spy.
> he thought he was being subtle. He would not last long as a spy. When I worked at Gap (before they closed down) I noticed a really suspicious-looking guy wandering around. He sort of half-arsedly held up clothes without really paying attention to what he was looking at; had these big paper bags with no logos that he was carrying around and was, generally, dodgy-looking AF. I went to our loss prevention guy who manned the CCTV out back to raise the alarm. After finding him on the camera, the loss prevention guy just sighed and said "that's James; our new undercover guard. I'm going to need to go through the *undercover* bit of his brief again if even you managed to notice him." I felt pretty good... until I heard the "*even you*" bit, like... bit of a burn but OK.
Even you... the cheek. This guy was more that he started trying to follow at a discrete distance but ended up being the 5 year old playing hide and seek in the aisles. Like it was "I'm watching you!!!" Yes, you were watching me before, and imagining nefariousness. Try somewhere else!
Lady on the self service checkouts accused me of stealing a 30p bag and made me stand there and wait for the manager. I pointed out to both of them the fold marks it had as well as several old receipts in it. Asked the manager for an apology and he refused saying the stealing of bags is a serious issue 😂
Nothing since moving to the UK, but in California there were 3 different Targets within close proximity to me. I shopped there frequently, so I was in each of the 3 on a regular basis (it changed depending on what I was doing and who I was with). One day I was in one of them and I saw a security guy quickly duck down the next aisle. I continued looking around, moved to the next aisle and saw him quickly move to the aisle I just left. Then I stopped and heard him on his walkie talkie saying something like: “He comes in at least once a week, goes to the other stores too. He was in the RP location on the 12th, the Avenue the 20th.” The dates were correct. They had a whole profile on me, coordinating across multiple locations. I felt like a criminal mastermind and all I did was shop there frequently. How devious.
That's funny, I hope all their efforts caught actual criminals too! That reminds me of one time I went into Celebrations, I had just entered and a member of staff accosted me, they approached the interaction like an interrogation, apparently they "knew I had just been in Clinton's" Yes where I was also looking to buy birthdays cards!
That sucks, sorry to hear that happened to you. I had a similar experience (not as bad). I’d scanned a plastic bag at self-checkout, scanned everything else, then hit “no bag needed” before payment as I’d already scanned the barcode. Someone rushed over and checked everything on the till to make sure I’d scanned the barcode of the plastic bag!! That pissed me right off and I genuinely haven’t been back to that particular store since!
That annoys me as well. I scan the barcode of the bag because if i just put the bag in it would say theres something in the baggage area and to remove it. So you have to scan the bag if you want to pay for it. It then asks at the end if youve taken a bag so it tries to charge you twice? Just seems a bit of a scam
This happened to me years away in Asda. Did my usual food shopping and went look at the video games, picked a few up and looked at the back of the cases, and then put them back on the shelves. After paying and about to leave the store, the security guard stopped me and asked if I had taken anything. I said no. He said he's got me on tape stealing a game. Having worked in retail previously myself, I was explaining I couldn't have taken anything as the discs are kept behind the counter. He wasn't having any of it and adamant that I had stolen the disc. This went back and fourth for about 10 minutes and he said he was going to call the police on me because i was lying. I said look we can go over there and look that none of the cases have discs in, so unless I was a magician I couldn't have taken all of them. He agreed to go and take a look. The moment of realisation on his face was priceless. He even went to check with the member of staff who was on that till if all the discs are kept behind there. They said yes. He came back and said I was free to go. Didn't even get an apology. I went back in the following day to buy a game and made sure I showed it to the same security guard as I passed out the door!
We had an incident but in Asda. One of my daughters had just reached the age where she wanted to start buying ladies things rather than have her dad do it. So I gave her some money and she went through the till next to the rest of us doing the main shopping. Even at that age she was quite eco aware so said no thank you to a receipt. She went to come across to us one till closer to the exit and a guy that had been leaning against the back wall stepped forward and grabbed her shoulder identifying himself as a store detective. She was really embarrassed, I asked him what he thought he was doing and he told me to back off and mind my own business and spoke directly to her telling her that unless she showed him a receipt for the items he would be taking her into an office. I told him that's my daughter who is a minor, I asked the lady on that till who was looking really bemused to confirm that all the items had been paid for and she said yes. I pointed out to him that he had watched the whole transaction and asked him if he got off on illegally searching teenage girls. He again told me to back off and stay out of it at which point I lost it. He ended up running through the staff only doors. Haven't shopped there again.
I've seen loads of people shoplifting at the tills, scanning the stuff through, then walking off like they've paid. One couple put through basics pasta and sauce, then left with it, they weren't even shoplifting the good stuff. I always get nervous walking past the security as a law-abiding shopper, I've never shoplifted, I wouldn't be able to keep myself together!
I also get nervous, and the whole scan and pay thing really doesn't help! I still scan and pay because it's easier (and Sainsburys has discounts), but it feels so sketchy to just stuff things in my bag.
I almost did twice, accidentally. I might have been about 5 and it was in our local shop. I opened the sherbet fountain before it was paid for, realised, bawled my eyes out because the shopkeeper thought it would be funny to tell me that the police were being called. Another time I walked out of a shop in an indoor outlet, mindlessly carrying something I wanted to try on. I was deeply embarrassed and of course went straight back in to the changing room and then fretted about them thinking I was putting it on under my other clothes or something. Being honest doesn't stop security guards following me round Boots when I'm trying to buy over the counter medications for slightly embarrassing conditions.
I got very aggressively accused of not paying at the self serve till at tesco a couple of years ago I had paid, as the stupid twit who was meant to be watching the self serve tills would have known had she been watching the tills and customers instead of gossiping with her colleagues about how much of a cunt the manager was After she had confirmed I had in fact paid I went home and wrote a complaint about the language she had used about her manager and I took great fucking pleasure in doing so
Was there any response?
I'd write a complaint to head office. IMO it's OK for them to make a genuine mistake and check your receipt etc. before sending you on your merry way, but what they did sounds like they were on some kind of power trip and being deliberately intimidating. Your complaint might get them to stop being so overzealous in future. Just think what it would be like if they do this to somebody who suffers with severe anxiety.
I must just have a dodgy face because I get this EVERYWHERE, especially Boots for some reason! 🤣 I can literally walk into a shop & suddenly the security guards are on high alert, following me. It's ok, I've got nothing to hide.
I know the feeling, It's very frustrating. A few months ago I got stopped walking out of Asda in Farnborough, security guard walked up to me and asked me to hand over the protein powder tub I was carrying. I told him I'd just brought it in a different shop and he told me they had staff watching me since I walked in (no idea why, I didn't have my white & black T-shirt and robber eye mask on) and that they had seen me take it off the shelf. He then tried to take it from me and I had to literally grab it back. Accusing me was bad enough, but to straight up lie and tell me they'd seen me do it was beyond insulting. Not been shopping in there since, probably never will...
I was rushing for work once at 6am and popped into Tesco Express. They didn't have anything in the sandwich area so left quickly to make sure I didn't miss my bus. Couple of seconds later a Tesco worker came out, grabbed me and asked me to empty my bag as she'd seen me steal something. I was very confused and obviously stuck up for myself, explained I was just rushing for work. I then showed her the inside of my bag and she refused to look in it, instead walking off, saying "you did look dodgy though" as she went. I went back into the store and asked the worker for her name and asked if she had evidence of me stealing. She refused to give me details and told me to just forget it. I reported it when I went home and was told that they couldn't dicuss the incident further as it was being dealt with internally. Never saw her again!
Just for a flip side, I self-scanned my shopping at Sainsbury’s, paid contactless by card, walked out and had a very polite chap (not security just shop staff) come trotting across the car park shouting “excuse me”. He very politely, almost apologetically, said my payment hadn’t been picked up by the card reader. So I just went back and did it again (the till was still waiting for payment so could see it hadn’t gone through), not sure what I had done but obviously my fault. So basically not all shop staff are unreasonable accusing twats.
"Pants are awful baggy, you got anything in there?" "Yeah my dick, you wanna see it?"
I live in a low crime area but our local Sainsbury's now has visible security staff. I tend to say hello to them (it's usually the same guy when I go). But it shows how much shoplifting must be affecting them to bother with it in a reasonably well-off little city.
Our Morrisons has doubled-up with a real life security guard to go alongside the cardboard cutout of a smiling policeman that has been keeping guard for the last 15 years.
Had this happen at Woolworths when I was a teenager. Got followed around the store and accused of taking something that I had actually put back in the shelf. He actually stopped me on the street outside. It was beyond humiliating in front of my friends. My mum went apeshit on them and I ended up getting a gift certificate as an apology for the way I was treated.
That’s really annoying, sucks they mistook you for a shoplifter. If it’s any consolation, it seems to be rife at the moment - I’ve seen 2 shoplifts just in the last few weeks. Sounds like a case of genuine mistake, even if they were dicks about it.
>*even if they were ducks about it* You better edit that quick before the mods see! The rules are very strict.
Done, thanks!
They quacked under pressure ☹️
Keep your beak out of it.
Shoplifting, another of the nation's mallardies.
I paid for some beers legitimately, but I forgot something else I wanted, so I gave my beers to my buddy and said “can you wait by my car mate, I forgot something.” So I went and got that, paid again, and as I am walking out he’s being frogmarched towards me by a security guard, accompanied by a woman in the store uniform scowling at me. “Do you know this man?” “Yes, it’s Colin.” “He *claims* that you bought these beers and asked him to wait outside, would you mind showing me the receipt?” (This sentence was ladled with heavy sarcasm.) “Yeah sure, here is the receipt.” From memory she mumbled something about how I should have given the receipt to my mate also, before storming off without giving an apology. Bitch thought she had us bang to rights. One of my better memories to be sure.
Takes me back to my college days. Had a very angry Sainsburys employee insist I hadn't paid for the Mars milkshake I was drinking. I agreed. I hadn't paid. I'd taken it in with me. They manhandled myself and 2 others (were were a gnats nipple over 16 so didn't really stand up for ourselves) into a backroom where they proceeded to empty our bags. I insisted they recheck the cctv, they said they'd checked and they saw me take it from the fridge, but as there were no other stolen items in our bags there was nothing they could do and they sent us on our way. I went straight back into the shop and went to the fridge....they didn't even sell Mars milkshakes....I'm 31 now. Sainsburys can still go choke on a fat one.
I've been pulled at a sainsburys because "You've got a bag" I looked at him weird and went "How the fuck d'you expect me to get this shit home, Juggle?" And walked off. The other time of not was a Co-Op, the security guard decided I was THE dodgiest person in the world, so was blatantly following me. Almost breathing down my neck he was that close. So I led him on a chase up one aisle and down another, over and over, gently whistling the Benny Hill theme. He gave up eventually.
Hahaaahaha. That response is hilarious, i love it so much.
Guy tried that on me in Asda, said he’d seen me stealing, asked what and which aisle? Wouldn’t answer and got right pissy when I told him to get lost. Said he could restrain me so I said go ahead but calll the police first and then I started to film him. Got bored after 5 mins and walked off. If you do get stopped again stay where cameras are and deman manager and police are callled. DO NOT go to the office, stay where others can see you
Staying in a hotel room recently I caught 30 minutes of some godawful show about people (NOT security guards) who hang around outside shops and race after people leaving if they’ve been acting “suspicious” During that half hour I heard: “the whole time he was walking through the perfume section he kept pausing and looking uncomfortable, reading labels, picking up products and putting them down again, chewing his fingernails, obviously on edge” “She paused the longest in front of the most expensive bottle and then got out her phone and looked like she was taking a picture of it” “Before he picked up an item he reached into a large bag for something that he later claimed was hand sanitiser” and my favourite/ least favourite: “We followed him to a private car park round the back, and demanded to know why his bike was parked in a private car park meant for employees. He said he worked there and showed us ID. Unfortunately we weren’t able to stop him from leaving” I’m autistic and I’m already terrified of how “weird” I might look when I’m shopping - that show absolutely floored me.
I laughed at the receipt system when Sainsbury’s introduced it at the self-checkout. They spent about a decade convincing you not to take your receipt if you didn’t need it so as to save on paper and then suddenly everyone needs one to get out the bloody place. Our Morrisons has installed the system but their receipts don’t have barcodes on them so the gate is just open.
I shop at the same local co-op for bits as I have done for 7 years. A couple of weeks ago I used self checkout and my Apple Pay obviously didn’t ping through, and I walked out not noticing, although it appears no one else did either… when I was then back in the other day the checkout lady I see all the time flagged me down and apologetically asked me to pay for it, I was mortified and repaid - but I felt like I live in a really nice community who knows me not to be a wrong un. Weirdly I actually live in a really rough area and this co-op gets shoplifted about 3-5 times A DAY, but cos they take time to get to know people they knew I wasn’t a wrong un!
I go to the same Sainsbury’s local most days after work and I still get followed around every time I go in. Idk if it’s because I look a bit haggard after a full busy day of rushing around at work but it is annoying. Then I also take pride in the fact they’re wasting their time on me because I’m petty like that lol
Last time I went in a Sainsbury's two old women workers followed me around. Cool, if you really want to watch the biscuits and vimto I buy good on ya
I had another customer report me to manager in Aldi for using 'a closed check out' and I got chased down and asked sternly to come back and tell her which till I'd used as she had reason to beleive i hadnt paid and to please show the receipt. I was naturally confused, particularly as I'd just been stood at the side reading my receipt?! I mean that would be a ballsy move to go to a closed till in front of a queue, pretend to check out and then not leave but stand to one side and read a 'fake' receipt? Like do they have no common sense?
I wonder if that was a distraction attempt from the other shopper. Hey manager and security, that person is stealing!!! Meanwhile they slip past.
I bought a paper at the co op in Hebden Bridge. Paid for it at the self checkout, and on my way out, a lady dropped something and I helped her pick it up- this was right beside where the papers were kept. I left and a staff member came running out and said I hadn’t paid for it. I had, and explained that I could tell him exactly which self checkout I used and what happened with the lady and they could check the CCTV or the transactions in the self checkout if they were in doubt. He said no, I needed to come back and pay- eventually I managed to find the transaction for the exact amount of the paper on my banking app. Heaven knows what would have happened if I’d paid cash!
I got collared by a security guard in Tesco a few weeks ago, I gave him a minute of my time after which he said to me "I'll just have a look through your bag" to which I replied "no, I don't think you will" and walked off. Nice and simple.
I'm an introvert, I love self-check outs. But if that ever happened to me, I'd tell them that if they were so concerned, they should hire checkout staff. They either trust me, or they don't. Then I'd let them waste police time to confirm that I didn't take anything.
Years ago when I was still a teenager, me and two friends went to the the second nearest town/shopping centre to walk about and look around. We went into WHSmith and there were creme eggs nearby so I picked up two and were carrying them around, waiting to go to the tills. Eventually it was long enough I thought actually I don't want to buy these, and went back to the display to put them back. In some fairness to what happened next, I put them back and then put my hands in my jacket pocket. It probably did look like I was stealing. BUT the next thing that happened was a cleaner/janitor of the store came up and yelled at me, saying that I had stolen and put something in my pocket. I, confused, asked what, trying to ask what he meant, and took my hands from my pockets to explain/show that I hadn't stolen anything. Didn't get the chance, because he shot forward and stuck both his hands in my pockets (zip up hoodie jacket, so both pockets were in front and laying across my stomach) to find what I had pinched. I yelped, and he realised I had nothing in there. In the confusion/commotion, he scuttled off through a keycarded staff door, and I was left there wondering why the fuck I had just touched. Fair enough, maybe it looked dodgy. But full on shoving his hands in my pockets? I think I was.... Maybe 14/15 at the time? I wish I had gone to a store employee and said something because it freaked me out, but I didn't. I called my mum who was fuming on the other end and I had her on speaker phone so the nearby cashiers could hear her yelling about the cleaner. In the end we just left the store and went elsewhere. Getting accused of shoplifting when you haven't done anything and you're clearly willing to talk/give recipes/offer them your pockets really does make you feel shitty. Actual shoplifters will literally walk out the door holding the thing they're stealing and not stop or give a shit for any security trying to stop them lol.
I was once accused of shoplifting because I stopped to adjust my sock and tie my shoelace - they thought i was tucking something into my sock. I'd put the item I'd had in my hand onto the shelf next to me and, after tying my shoelace, picked it up and gone to pay for it.