Hey, guess what...I'm a shoplifter now!

I understand your discomfort. Haven't stores ever heard of staples?
When I was younger every store stapled your bag closed, usually with
the receipt across the top. It made it a lot easier to assume which
shoppers might need to be watched.

Why wouldn't they do your return? Perhaps there was something strange
about your return (as others have suggested) that made the associate
suspicious.

I'm sorry they weren't more discrete with you, no one wants to be
"watched" during their shopping.

Unfortunatly, anyone with a bag, stroller, walker, oversized coat,
ect is looked over once or twice in most stores these days.

Loss prevention is a huge deal for retail stores. And while the
manager should have been way more tackful about things, trust me, this
had nothing to do with skin color.

i don't care how big her bag was! yeah, the management has every right
to watch people and be suspicious, but they should have enough common
sense to know not to say such a thing within earshot of a
customer...period!!!

nothing is more offensive than being suspected of being a shoplifter.
several years ago (i was probably 18) i went into a dollar general. i
bought a few things and when i got to my car, i realized i didn't have
my keys. i went back into the store and looked around for them. i went
back out to my car to look again. this girl who worked at the store
but was off duty came walking out to her car, and as she passed by,
she said, "you better be careful. she's watching you." ooooh, that did
it! i have no earthly idea why the lady in the store would think i was
stealing because i left the bag/items i purchased in my car before i
went walking back through the store. why would i buy something, take
it to my car, and then go back in to try and steal?

there ended up being a confrontation at which time i verbalized my
disgust with a few choice words. the lady threatened to call the cops
if i didn't leave and i said, "i can't leave because i'm looking for
my keys!!! call the cops! maybe they'll help me look for them because
i'm not leaving until i find them"

everyone in the store was watching right about the time i spotted my
keys on a shelf where i had been looking. the lady felt really stupid
and the customers gave me looks of approval for showing my butt.

you don't EVER accuse someone of being a thief unless you see them
steal. as they say, "them's fightin' words."

what was the explanation about why she wouldn't do your refund? I am
not saying that you were treated appropriately, and at the very
minimum any conversation about watching a customer is best kept quiet,
there seems to be information missing from your story.

Nothing in your retelling indicates that, in this case anyway, race
had anything to do with it. I find it hard to believe that a manager
that determioned you needed to be watched based on your race would
direct someone of the same race to do the watching. That is not to
say that it doesn't happen, it does, and not just based on race, also
on age, attitude and demeanor, dress - oversize jackets or baggy jeans
get just about as much attention as a large bag. Sorry to say it and
you can thank the people who steal this way for the attention.

I know what to look for for, Ive been doing retail for so long, I know
what to look for.

Prior to them putting all the sudafeds behind the counter, I could see
the meth heads walk in my front door.

Their outward appearance, and them making a b line to the drug section
made them easy to spot.

Now its a combination of things, you cant always go on outward
appearance. It is not racial, it doesnt matter the age. I had to send
a man in a walker to jail a few months ago, he was putting things
under his walker and walking out with it.

Purses and large bags catch my eye, but its the body language which
makes me page my undercover constables follow someone.


Good Day

I'm with Casmly. Im tired of being watched extra carefully everytime i
shop. i dont not have a car, i take the bus or walk everywhere, it is
just not feasible for me to go to one store, then home, then to
another store, then home....and so on. i understand and respect that
businesses want to protect their property, but until i give them good
reason to suspect me, they can feel free to stop staring.

I'm sorry but I'm really tired of hearing that those with large bags
are more likely to shop lift, have to be watched carefully etc. I can
understand stand alone stores a bit more, but give me a break. If you
are a store in the mall, you should expect many people to be carrying
around over sized purses, shopping bags, backpacks, diaper
bags...Especially this time of year. And to me, it's silly to
automatically assume that they are more suspicious than the person
wearing a large jacket, multiple layers of clothing, pushing a
stroller...

I will agree with an earlier poster that most likely the
employee/manager was using you as an example. With this being a prime
season for hiring extra help, it's entirely possible. It does not
make the fact that she said this with-in ear shot ok.

I wonder the same thing. I have been told no by African Americans
before and I never attribute to racism so why is it always the other
way around? If the manager did not say anything racist then do not
attribute it to racism!

Also, it is not uncommon to be "watched" when carrying purses, bags,
bulky clothing, etc. I was a manager in retail for 2 years and we
"watched" people regardless of whether they were African American,
hite, purple, females, males, tran-gend. Anyone who walked in with
something big enough to stuff something inside, they were watched.
Thats part of the job.

I work in a mall and yeah, I do pay a little more attention to those
that have large shopping bags than those that do not, especially if
they take those large shopping bags into the fitting room with a bunch
of merchandise. When people have a large, random assortment of
merchandise and take it into the fitting room, chances are that a few
pieces are going to end up "missing."

99% of shoppers are honest and I can usually tell after a few moments
of watching which ones I need to continue to keep an eye on and which
ones I need to leave alone.

Sometimes I tell my co-workers to keep an eye on another customer, but
I always pull that co-worker faaaar away from the area, tell them, and
then go about my way. Never, ever, ever, ever do you do this in front
of customers. That's so wrong.

She should have not said that so loudly. I would have been embarrassed
too.

I think it is completely reasonable to have the staff pay careful
attention to shoppers who come in with a bag of some sort. Was it a
large bag? Maybe this was a new employee and the manager was letting
her know what type of things to watch for to prevent theft. When you
come in to a store with a bag or bags, it does look suspicious, as
anybody could easily slip merchandise in there as well. Some stores
will even make you leave your bags while you are shopping. I know
Dollar Tree makes you check any large bags or backpacks you have at
the front counter.

Also, it is crazy to think that this happened because you are "African
American". Shoplifters come in all colors, and you heard her
specifically say it was because you had a bag. When I worked retail, I
had my eyes open for everything - I didn't even think about race.

I do agree however that it could have been more discreet.