Loud and Annoying CVS Security Alarm

Posted Sat December 20, 2008 12:00 pm, by Teresa B. written to CVS

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This is in reguards to the CVS store located at West Ave and NW Military in San Antonio, Texas.

On Friday December 19, I went into your store to purchase the Revlon Eye makeup that was on sale for Buy one get one free. I was standing back in the makeup isle and this alarm was constantantly going off. It was very loud and annoying to the point that after about 5 minutes of listening to it and not seeing a employee I reached up and turned off the alarm. Well that just made it make a louder and shiller sound. I watched as a young female employee hurried out of the office and back to where I was and she turned the alarm off. She asked why I turned it off and I told her that was trying to shop and that it was constantly in my ear. I mean it was within arms reach from me right above the Revlon area. She said that it was for security reasons to stop people from stealing the makeup. I realize that that must be an issue with such small items but to so annoy your paying customers with an alarm that goes off the entire time you are in the area is beyond me.

I asked the employee why she didnt come turn off the alarm when she heard it go off the first time and she said that she had been walking buy. That is not true. I had been looking for someone to turn it off and I saw for myself her come from the office. I told her that at the very least an employee should come over to the section when the alarm goes off and then either stand there and look busy while making sure that no one is shoplifting or turn it off completely. Allowing it to go off for that long, and I do mean it was a long time. I was trying to compare colors and also I was looking at a new product by Revlon and wanted to compare it to what I wear now. The employee just said that the alarm had to stay on and that it goes off when someone is in the area. She walked away. To give you an idea of how loud it was, it sounds like one of the doorbells that sound when you enter a store. Except it was constantly like that. I ended up just picking up the eye makeup and forgeting about the other stuff that I had been thinking about. I paid and left.

There were around 4 or 5 employees working in the store when I went in. So I am not sure why someone could not have turned the alarm off until they saw that I had moved away.

I think that if CVS is having such a problem with shoplifting in that store then they might want to either put the makeup behind lock and key or do as Walgreens does, they have a checkout stand in the makeup area so that the cashiers can keep an eye on the merchandise and help check out customers.

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Re: Loud and Annoying CVS Security Alarm by Buddy Posted Thu December 25, 2008 @ 12:13 PM What makes you think you had any right to touch it? If it was annoying you, you ask an employee to come shut it off! I'm sure you would not approve of them coming into your house, and touching things that belong to you. Reply Had you have actually READ by Teresa B. Fri December 26, 2008 @ 12:20 AM Update by Teresa B. Posted Thu December 25, 2008 @ 12:56 AM I went back in to the same store tonight to get some Pedilyte for my sick grandbabies, and to buy the Loreal Make up that was on sale and I saw the manager that is normaly in the store. I told her what happned the last time I was in. She had been told that a customer had turned off the alarm but was NOT told why. She was very shocked that It was me. I go in there quite a bit and she has helped me out on various issues, from trying to figure out how to operate the digital photo maker to finding a certain brand of cold med. So she is pretty familiar with me and I hope she knows that I would not steal, expecially since I use my CVS card everytime I am in there, and they have my info!! She had me walk back to the makeup area with her, and sure enough the alarm started going off. We stood back there for a few minutes and even she said it was annoying. She also had me show her how I turned it off and she tried to turn it off to. But the loud alarm came on. She said she would call corparate and let them know. She did tell me that the reason it was put in was thet someone wiped them out of the Nuetragena line of makeup, all in one day! I told her I was sorry for messing with it and that I felt bad for doing it, but I just could not stand the sound anymore. She appologised and told me that she will make sure it gets fixed or they will work out a way to make it better for a customer who is shopping back there. Reply Re: Loud and Annoying CVS Security Alarm by mikedthornton Posted Sun December 21, 2008 @ 7:57 AM I had a similar experience at one of the CVS's around here. I was there early in the a.m., and they had not turned off the overnight bell which "dings" each time someone walks. By that time of the morning, it just dinged and dinged and dinged. Pretty annoying for customers and for the staff. I'm not sure about that local store, but I know many of them have to call their central help desk to have the alarms turned off if they don't automatically shut down like they are supposed to. I do know that many of the new CVS's have a specific beauty counter and a staff for just the beauty area. I'm sure the district guys will get word of this so that they can check into it. Reply Re: Loud and Annoying CVS Security Alarm by Cambion Posted Sun December 21, 2008 @ 2:07 AM Sounds like they might have a flaw in their alarm system if it's going off constantly, but I also don't think you should have been tinkering with the alarm. I know those alarms are loud and annoying, but they aren't meant to be toyed with by customers, hence the increase in volume when you tried to turn it off. Reply I know I shouldnt have messed with it by Teresa B. Mon December 22, 2008 @ 7:57 PM If you need to contact CVS by mikedthornton Tue December 23, 2008 @ 6:16 AM