"preemptive" action

[RPGnet Columns]

Post originally by X at 2003-04-08 06:11:54
Converted from Phorums BB System

"We also do NOT kick people out for stealing. WE kick people out for acting like they MIGHT steal something. I feel no need to "catch someone in the act" and take "preemptive" action, telling people they are not welcome in my store. "

What does this really mean?

Acting like they might steal?

Does it mean that you throw customers out who look suspicious?
Long hair on a guy, some sort of hippie THIEF! Throw him out!
That guy speaks with wierd accent, THIEF! Throw him out!
Too old, that geezer must be THIEF! Throw him out!
Girls do not play RPGs, she must be THIEF! Throw her out!
Too dark skin, he must be THIEF! Throw him out!

[RPGnet Columns]

Post originally by Fred Skin at 2003-04-28 13:56:07
Converted from Phorums BB System

I work in retail and it isn't about potential thieves "looking" suspicious, it's about them ACTING suspicious. It's easy to tell if a thief is checking out the store, keeping an eye on the clerk, covering for his buddies as they pocket some stuff, etc. Looks have nothing to do with it.

[RPGnet Columns]

Post originally by Justin Adams at 2003-05-04 18:58:53
Converted from Phorums BB System

I totally agree on this. my own position, being in a mall, cannot take this kind of actions but the fact is, when you run a 'mom and pop' operation, you dont have to follow pr procedures, if you dont like how a person is acting, you CAN throw them out. and I have seen countless people moving in my store that I hadnt actually caught red handed, but I just knew were stealing. whereas a corp cant do anything about it unless they catch the thieves red handed, single store retailers have alot more leanway. and the fact is, saying 'look bud, your going to have to leave.' may piss the guy off, but he isnt going to try to press charges unless he feels you are throwing him out for specific, prejudicial reasons. if you ARENT racist, you almost never have to worry about someone thinking you are, and getting you in trouble for it, so if a person you think is a thief just happens to be female, or black, or hindu, or goth you shouldnt hesitate to throw them out if you can afford to do so. as a second note, the 'good customer' reffered to here is one who will work as a second set of eyes for you, and tell you when people are stealing.

[RPGnet Columns]

Post originally by BigBastard at 2003-06-12 16:31:48
Converted from Phorums BB System

You should make your customers leave their backpacks and book bags at the counter. Everytime we caught a shoplifter it was some kid trying to slip something in his bag. Another trick the local theives tried was to fold a coat over one arm and slip a book in between his arm and the coat. We solved this by putting up a coat rack and made it mandatory for everyone to put their coats on it. If they give you any lip about tell them you have been having people knock over expensive displays or ripping books.

If you run into a rash of shoplifting without catching anyone have all the kids in your shop keep their ears open for any little bastard bragging about robbing your shop. Then all you do is call the parents and tell them that you have eye witnesses and video tape of their kid shoplifting and all you want is the products returned. We did this two times and one of those times the mother gave us the kid's entire gaming library.

Hope this helps.

[RPGnet Columns]

Post originally by Owen E. Oulton at 2003-07-18 08:15:37
Converted from Phorums BB System

"You should make your customers leave their backpacks and book bags at the counter."

Stores with this sort of policy generally lose my business these days. Back when I just had a bunch of books in my bag, it wasn't a big issue, but these days - well let's just say I'm not handing a Pentium laptop over to a store clerk unless I know them very well. Not that I think the clerk is going to rip it off, but it's a common scam for a thief to just go up to the counter when it's busy and say "I left my black shoulder bag here" and walk away with it.

Of course, a claim tag like the ones used at coat-checks goes a long way to mitigate this, as does losing the common "We're not responsible for anything left here" attitude invariably adopted.

[RPGnet Columns]

Post originally by Marcus King at 2003-08-27 10:13:37
Converted from Phorums BB System

"X"

I do not have to catch people stealing to toss them out. I do so whever I feel someone is scope-ing my store out to rip me off.

Sometimes that is a long haired kid, sometimes a skin head, sometimes it is someone with lots of tattoo's, sometimes a black or other "not of my race" person.

Not that I really care what you think (you won't even use your name in your post!), but, to be clear to everyone reading:

We have a no-bs policy here. Customers get banned for life for telling an ethnic joke in my store, I have fired long-term employee's for same.

To me, this is just business. I don't care if a guy is white or black, brown or green for that matter, I want his cash, and his (or her) repeat business.

There are two things that I never, not ever, hesitate to toss people out of my shop for: Acting like a thief, and smelling like they need a bath.

Anyone else, from the homeless guy who comes in to pet my cat twice a week, to the kid with 18 piercings on his face, is welcome here if they are polite, friendly and well behaved.

I do not babysit brats, so anyone leaving their kid here who pulls the tail on my cat gets the boot. People who curse in my store get the boot, and idiot guys who wear their pants so low their underwear shows get told "once" to pull their trousers up, or they get the boot.

This is a very ethnically diverse neighborhood. I have a LOT of young black kids in here every day. Many of them play craps around the corner from here, and buy dice here. They all know the rules, pick out the dice, roll them in the empty bin we have, not the floor. Pay for them and don't act like you are trying to boost my dice. I've sold maybe 5,000 dice to these kids (I guess they throw away the dice if they don't win, I don't know) and in that time I have caught two stealing from me. They don't get to come back in.

I also have so many hispanic customers that I am taking a Spanish class this fall, so I can better help my customer base.

Being a shop owner has many pitfalls. No medical insurance, no 401K plan, LOTS of responsibility for LOTS of bills. One of the "few" benefits is I get to run this shop my way. People who want to steal from me are not welcome.

[RPGnet Columns]

Post originally by Roy Morgan at 2003-10-14 18:36:18
Converted from Phorums BB System

A local game shop owner here has had a similar experience with kids taking non-display copies of gamebooks into the gaming room "to look at it", and then slipping them into bookbags and walking out with them. This is a college town, and he's just down the street from the university, so kids with bookbags make up the majority of his customers. It became such a problem that he adopted this policy, and the thefts have decreased dramatically.

By the way, if you adopt this policy APPLY IT TO EVERYBODY. Many costumers get upset if you tell them they have to leave coats or bags outside the game room, but let your ol' pal Johnny take his in. It's a fast way to lose business. It's also a good idea to have nametags on the bags, and to ask for ID when someone comes to claim them, or to use a claim ticket system. People tend to like this policy even less when they don't think their valuables are safe.