Pajama Idiot
A true story which happened the other night. I’m at my store it’s just a few minutes until closing time. It has been quite the routine night, nothing out of the usual. I’ve announced the closing on the intercom and I’m ushering the last of the customers from the store. The doors are locked and I take a quick walk across the front lobby looking down each aisle to make sure everyone has gone. It’s been a long day, I want to go home!
I notice that there are still two young girls in the store… maybe 18 or 19 years old. One of them is wearing pajama bottoms, what’s up with that? Is it now fashionable to coordinate pajama bottoms with a blouse and hit the town? Anyhoo, they are just having a good old time shopping away, chatting it up. I get on the intercom again and announce the store is closed, and ask politely to please make final selections and bring them to the front checkout. Do they heed my request? Absolutely not, I can still hear them back there “Hee-Hawing” as if they don’t have a care in the world. I wait a couple more minutes and decide I need to go see what they are doing. I head up into the office and I can see them through the security mirror. They are really pissing me off because not only are they making me stay late, they are making a mess. Just picking stuff up, looking at it, and tossing it to the floor, taking hosiery out of the package & leaving them to dangle on the rack.
About now, my blood is starting to boil and I’m contemplating whether I should just turn the lights off and tell them they have to go and then I notice the Pajama idiot kneel down on the floor and do the classic “look both ways” and sure enough, she starts loading her purse with stuff. Now I’m way past boiling blood and into a full eruption! I run down the stairs and walk straight up to them and looked her dead in the eyes…
Mike: “Give me the Stuff”.
Pajama Idiot: “What stuff”?
Mike: “Stop being stupid, I saw you”.
Pajama Idiot: “Saw me what”?
Mike: “I don’t have time for this crap, open your purse”.
Pajama Idiot: “Ok, I’ll give you the stuff back”.
(At this point, she empties all the stuff she stole onto the floor)
Mike: “Now both of you get out of my store. Don’t ever come back. If I catch you again, I’ll send you out of here in hand-cuffs, understand”?
Pajama Idiot: (Looks up to the ceiling) “yeah… Man, ya’ll got some serious surveillance in here, I thought I was pretty slick about that”.
Mike: “Yeah, slicker than snot on a doorknob, only two people in the store 15 minutes after it closed knowing the whole crew is watching for you to LEAVE so they can go home. Now GET OUT”!
Man, that really irks me. No respect. Dumb and bold. Welcome to the new generation of kid shoplifters. *sigh
Comment by Wendy — May 5, 2006 @ 11:11 pm
Are you doing your job as the adult, by not calling the police and their parents? MOM
Comment by MOM — May 5, 2006 @ 11:34 pm
Dude, I know you didnt want to stay for the whole police scene but I would have locked the place down and had the cops take them away! No good thieves! Is there any thing worse than a liar or a thief????
Makes you wonder what our world is coming too??!!
Comment by Stephanie — May 5, 2006 @ 11:46 pm
P.S. Love the owl picture he looks like he is smiling..
Comment by Stephanie — May 5, 2006 @ 11:47 pm
Does CVS have some kind of policy not to prosecute?
Comment by Xerraire — May 6, 2006 @ 6:11 pm
If you’ve ever watched the TV show COPS, you’ll often hear the Officers who have been doing the job for a long time tell you how they are “numb” to it. It’s very similar in Retail for shoplifting. In my 20 years, I’ve seen the very worse side of people in that respect. It’s really rather depressing because you want to try and see the best in everyone and give them the benefit of the doubt but they constantly prove otherwise.
I don’t think I want to get into policies of my place of employment on the internet but I will say that they do indeed prosecute. Let us however use some common sense and realize that we live in a MUCH more dangerous society than we did 20 years ago. Let us add to that the fact that nowadays folks will SUE at the drop of a hat and Jury’s for some odd reason tend to make crazy decisions. We’ve all heard about the lady who spilled a hot cup of McDonald’s Coffee in her lap, right?
The fact that people are shoplifting in the first place usually places them amongst the dregs of the population. Trying to “Apprehend” a thief often puts your life in danger. People have been stabbed, shot, beat up, maimed or otherwise injured. Do you think I want to go through a lady’s purse not knowing she’s a heroine addict and find out there is a filthy needle hidden inside? (one little poke is all it takes) Should I detain a young girl for an hour inside an empty store waiting for the Police to arrive only to have her accuse me of sexual assault when they do? Do I spend $100 in labor processing an individual who stole $5? Do I tackle the girl running from me in the parking lot and put her in a wrestling hold until she submits? Do I attempt to do the same with the 300lb linebacker dude who looks like he could throw me around like a Rag-Doll?
Very different world folks…
Comment by Night Owl — May 6, 2006 @ 11:02 pm