I cannot believe what happened while I was doing a Sunoco "spotter" shop. That's the one where you give a $10 gift card to anyone who has a Sunoco decal on their car. I had to take pictures of the winners. I had locked my purse in my car so I stuck the gift cards in the small pocket of my camera case...big mistake. I laid the case down for a few minutes to take a picture. When I turned around, they were gone...$110 worth. I had to call the police and file a report...terrible.

did they check the stations cameras

Sorry that happened. Keep the police report number. That shop was so under paid with all the paperwork and pics.

That's awful! I am so sorry! Could have happened to anyone.

Lindazane Wrote:
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> I had locked my purse in my car so I
> stuck the gift cards in the small pocket of my
> camera case...big mistake.

I am more concerned about you locking your purse in the car while at the gas station. I see many women (including my mom) leave their purse sitting on the passenger seat or throw it on the floor of the passenger seat, lock their car and walk away. Big mistake.

The criminals usually work as a team...one is the driver of the getaway vehicle while the other one is the "breaker" of the window. Within seconds, the car window has been broken, the purse snatched and they are driving away with missing or stolen tags on the car making if difficult to track them down. The "bad guys" are also lurking in parking lots of grocery stores and fitness clubs waiting to see a woman leave her vehicle without her purse and then break into her car.

Police recommend that if you are not going to carry your purse, it should be put in the trunk of your car BEFORE you actually arrive at your location. If you park your car, open the trunk, throw your purse in the trunk, lock the car, and walk away, it defeats the purpose. Once again, "the bad guys" are already in the parking lot looking for these scenarios and within seconds, the trunk is popped open and your purse is gone.

I feel for the OP but at least these gift cards belong to the MSC or client. It is much better than losing your own cash and having to cancel all your credit cards. And replacing your driver's license. Hopefully both men and women are not putting their SS# cards in their wallets.

First: Those gas cards are tracked. All have numbers. The company will cancel the cards. Too bad for the thief!

Second: I kept my Sonoco cards in a fanny-pack on my body. Inside my fanny pack, I kept my ID and money.

I left my purse at home. You are vulnerable as your purse sits in your car so don't bring one.

One of the Sonoco shops I did was in a dangerous part of town. I sat in my car most of the time between customers because I was scared but did not want to back-out and had a bonus.

The next day, that same gas station was robbed and the clerk was shot. (she thankfully lived) This was in Anderson South Carolina, at the time.

I agree with Shop2LiveinFL about locking your purse before leaving home, but for those in SUV's, etc. where there is no trunk and the entire interior is visible through the windows, you still have to hide it. Most of these types of vehicles have some sort of hidden storage. My crossover has a lockable compartment under the floor in the rear.

After reading about all these horror stories with this job, I'm sure glad I only got one that went by without incident. For jobs needing photos, I keep the camera around my neck with a lanyard.

There was a breakthrough in clothing recently...

pockets.

What are these........pocket.....things you speak of??

Actually if you read her post she DID put it in the POCKET of her camera case. Your concern is .......

CANADAMOMMY Wrote:
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> Actually if you read her post she DID put it in
> the POCKET of her camera case. Your concern is
> .......


I could be wrong here, but I'm going to go out
on a limb and say she wasn't wearing her camera
case as an article of clothing. Now if she was on
the tv show naked and afraid, she may be but
I doubt they would have a sunoco in the middle
of the wilderness while trying to survive and further
doubt she would be doing any type of shop while
in the wild for survival.

Sorry Lindazane that some folks on here have such lack of compassion for something that occurred.

Is it really a lack of compassion or just a sense of humor? I'm sure she could use a laugh at this point and if those cards have been tracked and can be canceled it was a stressful situation, but one which will end just fine.

I'm sorry that some people have little to sense of humor and can't laugh at a situation.

Considering that said situation will end up being just fine, and no one was hurt, and apparently even though her camera bag was stolen, her actual camera wasn't as she had laid the bag down to take a picture. So all that was lost was the cards (which the MSC will take care of) and probably some accessories as well as the bag itself... and the time it took to file a police report. But still, all in all, everything will be fine.

Getting a bit of a laugh out of the situation usually helps people relax, realize a more positive perspective, and feel a little better.

And the tips of how it might have been avoided ~ the 'Monday Morning Quarterbacking' ~ is a natural response and while it won't help the OP in *this* situation, it might help her, as well as others, in the future. It's not passing judgment or indicating a lack of compassion, quite the opposite ~ it's trying to be helpful going forward.

WOW just plain wow... laugh at a shop gone south for stolen items? The next time you have a failed shop
let us see you post how it is a laughable moment?

Wow. Who knew that posting a helpful hint on how to avoid having your purse stolen out of your car would become a bad thing?

EDITED FOR CROSS-POSTING: Who said that the shop was a failed shop? I don't remember reading that anywhere. And as other posters have mentioned, the gas cards are traceable. So yes, the shop did not go 100% smoothly but really now, there are bigger issues in life to stress over.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/22/2014 12:35AM by Shop2LiveinFL.

If you will read the thread, techman was the first to post and asked about cameras at the station as a possible way to help identify the thieves. I would say that was damn helpful. It is the American way to find humor in tragedy. As to laughing when one my shops goes south, don't worry, I'll be the first.

I'll laugh louder. And no I won't be laughing with you I'll be laughing at you!

I would expect no less from you.

Every other thread, I swear I find myself thinking, "Man, does she need to get laid." Or something.

OMG I think I just died.

Well, that's real appropriate, Mantis. What are you? Nineteen?

You guys are all right...I made multiple mistakes. I was thinking of putting the cards in my pocket but was afraid one or two might fall out...LOL. And I had been wearing the camera case on my shoulder until that one incident. This was an older lady who needed help so I did disregard my common sense. Good news, the station does have video and one of the customers actually witnessed the incident. Seven of the eleven stolen cards were recovered. I had contacted the scheduler immediately and she was going to deactivate them all anyway. I figure these were the ones that could not be used.

How great that it really did work out despite the obvious headaches and anxiety

Thanks, LisaSTL, I even got my camera bag back.

techman01 Wrote:
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> There was a breakthrough in clothing recently...
>
> pockets.

I completely agree with the suggestions posted here about purses. Now onto pockets...techman, I would suggest you take a trip through a ladies' clothing store and look for pockets. I don't own a purse and only use pockets. I often find it extremely difficult to find ladies' attire with pockets. Most of those pockets you see are actually fake.

Bena, you and I must not shop the same stores. I have no issues finding pockets and if it doesn't have pockets it is not appropriate shop attire IMHO. I need pockets on both sides of my pants so that my DVR can go in the right hand pocket and my car keys in the left hand pocket. Having locked myself out of my car on several shops I no longer rely on dropping my keys in my purse. I want to feel them in my pocket before the door closes. An outfit may be cute, but if it isn't functional with nice deep pockets, it stays at the store.

But I'm delighted to hear that the camera bag and majority of the cards have been recovered. Sorry about the frustration, upset and obvious embarrassment of having to report the situation to your scheduler. It does, however, sound like you handled the theft perfectly.

LisaSTL Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> It is the
> American way to find humor in tragedy. As to
> laughing when one my shops goes south, don't
> worry, I'll be the first.


Hey! You'll have to wait in line.

While initially I'll be all ticked off, I usually do end up laughing about it ~ and at myself ~ because, what else can you do?!

I mean, I probably wouldn't be laughing if I actually got hurt. Depending on what *kind* of hurt, at least. Heh.

And yeah ~ pockets are difficult to find in the clothes I need, too. Maybe because I'm a 'big girl'. I mean, too big of pockets and too much stuff in there might not be flattering. Ha!

Mantis Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Every other thread, I swear I find myself
> thinking, "Man, does she need to get laid." Or
> something.


What is life like on planet Misogynist?
What year is it there? 1953?
Are all the females kept barefoot and pregnant?
How many hound dogs do you have under your porch?
Does anyone on your planet have a double digit I.Q.?
If so, is he your king?

What makes that post even the slightest bit misogynistic?