No Turn On Red

Just two quick links for today:

In regards to today’s earlier entry about the perils of catching a shoplifter, I came across another recent story on the same topic. Last week, a shoplifter tried to stab a Home Depot security guard with a screwdriver he just stole.

Then there’s an article from the Billings Gazette about how retailers and others are recruiting teenagers to fill Summer jobs. Good look at a local American Eagle Outfitters location and how the manager there goes about recruiting new employees, as well as some of the methods used by others to fill other, non-retail, jobs.

Did you find this post helpful? Then, you should also view these posts:

• Shoplifter pulls knife on Best Buy employee (2)
• 6/4/06 Retail Notes (0)
• Wal-Mart security gaurd taken for a ride (0)
• Teen sues JC Penney for false imprisonment (0)
• Target, Home Depot, Best Buy Donate to Gustav Relief Efforts (0)

From the Asbury Park Press, a reminder of one of the dangers the retail employees do face and need to be cognizant of:

Police arrested a 21-year-old township man on shoplifting charges, and also charged him with pulling a knife on the store employee who confronted him.

Police charged Arthur A. Montague, 21, who has been living at the Holmdel Motor Inn on Route 35, with robbery, shoplifting, possession of a weapon, and possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose.

On Saturday, at about 4:58 p.m., township police received a report of a male suspect who had just shoplifted a lap top computer from the Best Buy in the Holmdel Commons on Route 35. The suspect was seen leaving through the rear service bay of the store by a Best Buy employee, police said.

When approached by the employee, the subject took out a chrome knife and started waving it toward the employee, advising him to stay away, police said. The incident was also witnessed by a store manager.

I am happy to hear that everyone is safe and the suspect was caught. More on this story from the Asbury Park Press.

Sometimes retail workers can forget that they are surrounded by hundreds of thousands of dollars of merchandise and large sums of cash. Unfortunately, there are people who will want their hands on this stuff and will do anything to get it. Even a shoplifter with a $15 shirt may turn out to have a weapon on them and will want to use it.

I’ve seen a shoplifter attempt to run over associates with his car after he was stopped with less than $200 worth of merchandise because he had outstanding warrants and didn’t want to get arrested. I know people who have been on the receiving end of armed robberies and smash and grabs.

While the vast majority of people who walk through the doors of a retailer are normal shoppers, there is always going to be that small small small percentage looking for something else. This is why employees need to be aware and remember that it is not worth getting injured, or worse, when trying to apprehend a shoplifter. This is also why most retailers have such strict policies as far as who can make an apprehensive and how it has to be performed.

Did you find this post helpful? Then, you should also view these posts:

• Express Lane for 6/25/2007 (0)
• Wal-Mart security gaurd taken for a ride (0)
• Teen sues JC Penney for false imprisonment (0)
• Shoplifters’ choice: public humiliation? Or juvenile detention (1)
• Attention, Shoplifters (2)

A county store in Custer, Washington has come up with one novel way to curb shoplifting – shoplifters who are caught have the choice of getting taken away by the police or working 26 hours in the store, to pay off a $200 fine, while wearing a bright orange t-shirt that reads “I stole from the Custer Country Store” (see: Shoplifters’ choice: public humiliation? Or juvenile detention).

Typically, I don’t think public humilation is an effective deterent to future crimes. But in a town of 300 (like Custer, WA), where I’m sure everyone knows everyone’s business, public humilation may just work here. I guess time will tell.

Did you find this post helpful? Then, you should also view these posts:

• Attention, Shoplifters (2)
• Teen sues JC Penney for false imprisonment (0)
• Wal-Mart security gaurd taken for a ride (0)
• Shoplifter pulls knife on Best Buy employee (2)
• Express Lane for 6/25/2007 (0)

First off, I know I haven’t been around much the past week and I apologize for that. Some things had come up that have kept me busy and away from the interweb for the past few days. I’ll be able to explain more later, as some are personal and some are professional. But now I am back, or at least I believe I am.

I am a geek at heart and I am a child of technology. I am really fascinated by technology and, since I am heavily involved in the retail industry, I am very interested in how retailers are using technology to improve or change business. Businessweek has an article about uses of technology in the field of loss prevention (see: Attention, Shoplifters). From RFID to emerging video technologies, this article has a good low down on some of the behind the scenes technology that effects every customer, when they walk in, and out, of the doors.

I came across this link because of a posting on Slashdot, and you can read the comments there for some more discussion. Although, as normal with most articles on Slashdot, there is a high amount of garbage being posted, there are some good nuggets of information buried in there.

Did you find this post helpful? Then, you should also view these posts:

• Shoplifters’ choice: public humiliation? Or juvenile detention (1)
• Teen sues JC Penney for false imprisonment (0)
• Wal-Mart security gaurd taken for a ride (0)
• Shoplifter pulls knife on Best Buy employee (2)
• Express Lane for 6/25/2007 (0)

Oops:

PALMDALE A 13-year-old Palmdale boy has filed suit against J.C. Penney, claiming he was wrongfully detained for three hours because he was suspected of stealing a pair of pants he had gone to the store to return.

The suit, filed by Marquis Chapman against the store and two employees, claims false imprisonment and infliction of emotional distress. Officials at J.C. Penney’s home office in Dallas said they do not comment on pending litigation.

While the youth was handcuffed and lying face down in a bed in the security office, his mother frantically looked for her son in the store, the Antelope Valley Mall, and by driving her car in the surrounding neighborhood, the boy’s attorney said.

More from the LA Daily News, Teen sues JC Penney.

Did you find this post helpful? Then, you should also view these posts:

• Shoplifters’ choice: public humiliation? Or juvenile detention (1)
• Attention, Shoplifters (2)
• Wal-Mart security gaurd taken for a ride (0)
• Shoplifter pulls knife on Best Buy employee (2)
• Express Lane for 6/25/2007 (0)

From the Asbury Park Press:

STAFFORD — A security guard sustained minor injuries Tuesday when he was dragged through the parking lot of Wal-Mart by a car as he tried to stop a shoplifting suspect, township police reported.

Store security personnel at the Wal-Mart on Route 72 tried to stop a black male who took a 32-inch high definition LCD television set and DVD player and left the store, police said.

The guard struggled with the man as the man sat in the back seat of a gray Pontiac
Aztec with New York registration. The driver, a black female, pulled away, police said.

The vehicle stopped in front of a nearby Pathmark, and the man and the guard fell to the ground. The man re-entered the van, which drove off, police said.

The guard sustained minor injuries to his hand, and the merchandise was recovered, police said. The two are being sought for strong-armed robbery and shoplifting, police said.

Did you find this post helpful? Then, you should also view these posts:

• Teen sues JC Penney for false imprisonment (0)
• Shoplifters’ choice: public humiliation? Or juvenile detention (1)
• Shoplifter pulls knife on Best Buy employee (2)
• Express Lane for December 1: Black Friday & Cyber Monday Edition (0)
• Express Lane for 6/25/2007 (0)

First in maybe a weekly column? Hopefully.

Some quick retail notes for this lazy Sunday:

I hear that the new Abrecrombie & Fitch Back To School Preview floorset is this week. The seasonal transition at A&F is very impressive and seamless. Sales will be strong but it will be tough for A&F to compete with themselves and the high comps they had with BTS 2005 (June, July & August had comps of 38%, 22% & 24% in 2005). Look for solid increases in the gross margin with decreases in markdowns and sales for this upcoming season. This will be another great season for A&F.

Two quickies from the Loss Prevention blog: Cop kills man in grocery store shoplifting and Kroger manager jumps on hood of shoplifter’s car. I have nothing to say about the unfortunate shooting, but I’m sure Kroger’s corporate management doesn’t look fondly on employees jumping on cars to apprehend shoplifters. There has to be more to the story than that.

Last week, the Chicago Sun-Times ran an article showing where some of the former Sears executives have gone: Life After Sears.

And finally, a story from Starbucks showing how a good idea from worker, combined with the support of co-workers, the corporate office and customers can lead to a very positive outcome: Starbucks worker brews plan to get java to GIs in Afghanistan. A Starbucks employee from Maine organized a campaign where her co-workers donated their weekly bag of coffee they recieve as a benefit and, with corporate approval, solicited donations from customers. The result? 106 pounds of coffee sent to troops in Afghanistan. [via Starbucks Gossip]

Did you find this post helpful? Then, you should also view these posts:

• Retail roundup – Q1 results, Abercrombie & Fitch (0)
• Five ways you, as a customer, can improve customer service (2)
• Retail Roundup: Abercrombie, American Eagle, Kohl’s, Wal-Mart (0)
• Retail roundup – Q1 results, Target (0)
• July Retail Sales Disappoint Everyone (0)