Certain retailers lock their doors for some time now. I am speaking personally about stand alone jewelry shops. Shoplifting? You don't know how many times i have witnessed apprehensions. Think Macy's, Bloomingdale's, large dept. stores. Sometimes rather peacefully, other times a knock down fight instigated by the perp(s). It is sad to see limited prosecution now and that deodorants (wth?), eye drops, certain creams/cosmetics are locked up now at CVS, Rite Aide, Target.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/28/2023 03:45AM by Madetoshop.

"Target says it will close nine stores in major cities, citing violence and theft"

NEW YORK CITY (1)
Harlem

SEATTLE (2)

SAN FRANCISCO
OAKLAND METRO
PITTSBURG

PORTLAND (3)

I guess they are giving up?

They say due to violence and theft, but if you dig deeper it is really just part of the already existing trend of more online shopping along with the after effects of ther pandemic where more people work from home and moved out of the cities. This has caused a major decrease in sales at many retailers, especially in the cities listed.

I don't worry about shoplifters. Or crime in general. I moved to a very low crime state and in this area people still leave their doors unlocked. I've done it by mistake a few times. Of course, we have crime, but it's mostly in areas that are not close to me. So, if I were doing a mystery shop and saw some shoplifters getting booted out a store, it would be unusual or somewhat sensational, but the incident wouldn't make me fearful. Now, if it's crazy people arguing, I'd be a little more apprehensive to be around that at the time. But not to the point that I wouldn't go back to the place where it happened.

@tstewart3 wrote:

@BusyBeeBuzzBuzzBuzz wrote:

San Francisco is a dumpster fire but what other "blue cities" are being as ridiculous as SF?

Austin

Aye. -sighs-

Re: “bringing politics into it”

Politics is everything in the public. People make choices about public policy. Those policies create societal norms. Good norms = good. Bad norms = bad. Ok to criticize policies that = bad. That’s a fair portion of the site.

@sestrahelena wrote:

As to the original question, I would not feel unsafe if someone else were caught shoplifting. Shoplifting is not a violent crime that would directly affect me. I worry more about carjackings, personal robberies and shootings. Each time I come home with my vehicle, personal effects, and body intact- it's a good day!

How sad that has become your POV.

@shopnyc wrote:

I don't worry about shoplifters. Or crime in general. I moved to a very low crime state and in this area people still leave their doors unlocked. I've done it by mistake a few times. Of course, we have crime, but it's mostly in areas that are not close to me. So, if I were doing a mystery shop and saw some shoplifters getting booted out a store, it would be unusual or somewhat sensational, but the incident wouldn't make me fearful. Now, if it's crazy people arguing, I'd be a little more apprehensive to be around that at the time. But not to the point that I wouldn't go back to the place where it happened.

How about the economic cost to all of us, that bother you a tiny bit?

The economic cost of shoplifting? Is a part of doing business. Shoplifting isn't new, it's not even different. Folks still shoplift all the same ways they did when I got caught as a child in the 60's. All brick and mortar stores take those losses into account before they even open the doors to the public. Shoplifters don't scare me, they aren't there to physically hurt anyone.

I too try to avoid being where the threat of violence is high. There is a gas station that I always enjoyed doing because it's a little quirky and the address is NOT where the station is. But the last two times I was there I was threatened by the man at the counter, don't know if he's an owner or not, but he is not the nice man that used to be there when I went there before. And the last time I was there a man driving past in a red Toyota truck threatened to shoot me. I signed up for the shop again this month, because it had a good bonus, but I let it drop because I just didn't feel safe going back there.

I've been in stores where folks have been violent with each other and threatened folks around them. I know these aren't the norm, and when I see a commotion I do my best to find myself in an entirely different part of the store, or back in my car until it's over. And if the police show up, I'm GONE. I don't get involved in police activity as much as humanly possible.

There are all kinds of shoplifters, and yes violence can be involved. I worked at a mall years ago, and we were told not to ever confront suspected shoplifters, but to notify security. The store and the mall both had trained security. Sometimes the confrontations got physical. Although a lot of shoplifting is pretty low level, that is not true across the board. As other noted, shoplifters do not generally go in with the same intent of violence as what would be considered violent crime. However, a certain amount of it is as organized as any other organized crime and the perpetrators will get violent if confronted. I sure do try to avoid being in the middle of such.

What people do in a store is their business. How a store handles it is their business. Doing what I went there to do is my business. So I just try to mind my own business.

Old thread, but it turns out the retail lobbying group that started the panic about shoplifting being on the rise has since retracted the claim, stating they discovered an error in their methodology.

"The National Retail Federation had said that nearly half of the industry’s $94.5 billion in missing merchandise in 2021 was the result of organized theft. It was likely closer to 5 percent, experts say."
[www.nytimes.com]

It was a ruse to distract from other issues such as mismanagement and decreased demand for products from brick-and-mortar stores, imo.

Surprisingly, the most uncomfortable I have ever felt was at an Exxon in Butte MT when the clerk to whom I had revealed wound up having a personal meltdown in the middle of the sales floor. Never know what to expect in the Wild, Wild West...

I've never felt unsafe at any place I've mystery shopped. Shoplifting doesn't directly affect me doing the shop, so I'm not concerned about the possibility.

I've been in places where there was a shoplifter that was caught or just a belligerent customer. I almost prefer those scenarios more since there is less attention on me as the shopper.