Walmart loss prevention stops shopper who paid for all her items and accuses her of theft.
Walmart loss prevention stops shopper who paid for all her items and accuses her of theft.
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Walmart loss prevention stops shopper who paid for all her items and accuses her of theft.
“My job is to stop people who steal.”
“You stole this.”
“Just leave, I don’t have time for this.”
Flawless logic there.
Fuck… why can’t people just be nice and have some respect?
Is “hey… can I check your receipt because there may have been a scanning error” too hard?
If you act like a power tripping asshole then of course you’re gonna receive attitude.
I like the cut of her jib. Whew!
“Am I going to cussing jail?”
Nice.
What happened here was she went through self check out and he didn’t see her scan the toy.
What is more concerning is that he was told he could look up the price for an item using his phone, which you can not do because Walmart.com and their stores have different prices (and Walmart won’t price match it’s own website when they started allowing third party sellers to sell goods on their website)
He runs to hide in the office once he realizes he fucked up. Also, she should have demanded to see the store manager right then and there.
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Wow, if this keeps getting attention, that guy is going to have a bad day tomorrow.
In my head, that women is Joan Cusack. Makes the video even better.
She was dropping some good comments on him.
Cussing jail then guilty conscience. He felt like a real douche you can tell.
Hell be fired soon enough, fucking up is one thing. Fucking up at that level they wont be having it.
This was handled incorrectly on a few levels, but the simplest thing that he didn’t do that would’ve taken half a second was check the UPC on the box and match it to the receipt.
I feel like I give more leeway than most when I see stuff like this because I work in this environment, but a simple apology and an admission that he was incorrect would’ve gone a long way here.
I’ve been to cussing jail, it’s a horrible place. Of course, back in my day it was called “Time out” and I was 5, but sitting alone in that corner hearing the other children laugh and play was a terrible time. The worst. 🙁
well this guy got fired.
He screwed up, and doesn’t even have the common sense to simply apologize, instead more concerned about his hurtful pride.
The new kid’s made a few big busts lately. You ask me, beginners luck. He didn’t see that case of Modelo cans that man was trying to hide in between two thirty-bricks of mountain dew. He just went in on a hunch. I told him the first day he was here…never go in on a hunch kid. You’ll just end up looking like a real asshole on the intenet. Just a gigantic, class A asshole. Good lord kid, don’t ever get filmed being that much of an asshole. Christ kid, just tell me that if you ever do it…you’ll realize it at some point and just start apologizing. Listen to me kid…
next day I see some video on reddit. Kid didn’t listen…
Why’d he have to be such an ass about the whole thing though? Why not approach it with some tact?
If someone accused me of stealing I think I’d be livid too.
I don’t understand why he kept insisting on looking for $15 on the reciept, instead of looking for the name of the item. Seems that would have cleared up the pricing discrepancy.
I was curious. This appears to be the Lion that’s in the video. It’s $15 on Walmart.com but at most stores it’s reduced to $7 or as low as $5., which is also shown in the app.
https://m.imgur.com/a/DvIDI
When some people get the tiniest amount of power, they just stop questioning themselves. That little voice that says “are you sure this is a good idea?” just disappears.
This guy let a shitty job at Walmart go to his head. How sad.
I have experience in Loss Prevention and this is something that is referred to as a ‘Non Productive Detainment.’ In most retailers, such as Bloomingdales, Macys, Nordstrom, Sears, Target, etc – this would result in everybody involved in the stop on the LP/AP team having their ‘rights’ to make calls regarding arrests revoked and the person who led the case or called the arrest would either be put on an extended period of revoked abilities or simply get fired.
This is a lawsuit waiting to happen. Almost all changes in policy regarding to how we would tackle cases was due to a lawsuit
EDIT: Lots of replies regarding LP personnel making apprehensions and the legality of such actions.
1. It is NOT a 4th Amendment violation. Your Bill of Rights is protection against the government, not private parties.
2. LP personnel make citizen’s arrest and have the same powers of arrest as security guards, bouncers, and other private titles that are not peace officers. Making an arrest when you have probable cause that a crime has occurred – whether it’s petty theft, grand theft, a burglary or otherwise – is completely legal if your State allows it. Peace Officers, for example, do not make arrests on misdemeanors that occur without their presence or them witnessing it. This is when a private party would have to press charges. A felony, however, allows for Officers to make an arrest without actually being there to witness the offense take place. This is NOT the case for private parties, who have to have certain evidence to establish probable cause that a crime has occurred. LP would then arrest an individual, detain them until Law Enforcement arrives and then press charges. This is perfectly legal – given that it’s done properly. If Police are taking too long to arrive and you have to detain an individual for a prolonged period of time, you can contact Law Enforcement and they can ask you to continue to detain the individual. This happens if the subject has no forms of ID or if they match someone on a BOLO with a felony warrant.
3. I never worked at Wal-Mart, but this form of behavior at any of the retailers I mentioned above would get you sacked real quick. I encourage the individual that was detained to pursue legal action. All the teams I worked with were very professional, but then again this is Wal-Mart! Most of us pursued a career in either Law Enforcement or within the Department of Corrections. The LP personnel in this video should probably stay away from both since they can’t seem to handle one case of petty theft and then sink their peckers deeper into the mud right after.
Source: Worked in LP for over a year w/ a Degree in Criminal Justice
Seems like Wal Mart might need to have a far better loss prevention method for the future.
Attacking and accusing middle aged women isn’t going to win you any P.R. battles. Even if this woman DID steal something, there’s a right way and a wrong way to handle the situation. This guy went nuclear right off the top.
He should’ve handled her and matched her level. Told her he was there to ensure that the transaction went through and that he’d need a minute of her time to verify her purchases.
I mean if he can’t fucking do that, he has no business in that position. If she goes out of control then yes, you increase your level of defiance and make it clear she’s not leaving with the merchandise. But that’s not what happened, and then when it was proven that he was wrong he didn’t apologize ? Why because he was embarrassed ? Holy shit, that guy is going to have a lot of problems in life.
This happened to me in the parking lot of my grocery store. It was after dark and I had just put a bag in my trunk and the security guard comes up and checks my receipt and items. After they left, the cart boy tells me “yeah they’re some racist assholes in this store”
I’m white. It was a very confusing trip to the grocery store.
Talk about a power trip. I’d hate to see someone like this in a police uniform.
Ahhh the dreaded “bad stop”. Did LP for years. Gotta make sure you are 100%, then check again, then once more before you make the stop. So much liability with no protection.
Similar even happened to my dad at an Albertsons a few decades ago. He went to go buy a couple groceries but realized half way he forgot his wallet in the car. As he was leaving the LP stopped him and had started to accuse him of shoplifting. He called for the Manager and when the LP explained that he hadn’t actually seen him take anything the manager instantly started apologizing and let my dad go. The LP got a very public chewing out.
This guy was a complete douche and wouldn’t be surprised if he got canned instantly. There are so many better ways of going about a search without being a complete dick about it.
I work in security and he fucked up BIG TIME. Arresting shop lifters is super simple and you only need 5 simple things 1. See selection of the item 2. See concealment (may not be needed in grab and run) 3. See no attempt to pay for item (this is for a shopper who may be looking for a till and not realize they have exited the store it is normally obvious and quickly re enter the store) 4. See them cross the lease line and 5. The most important thing is maintain continuity. You lose someone for 10 seconds and you have to assume that person doesn’t have that item.
Comparing the price of an item based on your website and comparing it to there receipt is the dumbest thing I’ve ever seen. What if an employee tagged something wrong. What if the website hasn’t been updated.
I’d recommend if you’ve ever been in a situation like this to look into your local State or Provincial laws. In my province refusing to let someone leave even if you don’t directly say your under arrest is still arresting them. She could have a case of false imprisonment (I know it was only for one minute but still).
Once while checking out at Walmart in St George, UT the cashier apparently didn’t ring up everything properly. They were scanning things too fast I guess and a permanent marker didn’t get added to the receipt. I didn’t know, I didn’t check the receipt or know exactly how much everything was going to cost. It was a semi full cart. I just paid and was on my way. On my way out a large angry lady with short spiked hair damn near tackled me then stood in front of me and blocked me in. Then 2 others came and they told me I had to go to their office and accused me of theft. I was already way embarrassed and didn’t want to make more of a scene on myself. They said they watched me take the goods to the cash register and “knew” what I was trying to do. At this point I had no idea wtf they were talking about. They made me wait an hour for a cop to show up and wouldn’t let me leave. I was pissed. They refused to accept fault for the cashier not scanning the marker. A MARKER. They then banned me from Walmart with paperwork and such. They refused to pull up the videos that show everything like how the cashier just didn’t scan the marker properly. The police did nothing. I was finally “released” and they gave me my bags back (with melted popsicles) and sent me on my way. And now I wish I had called a lawyer.
After that encounter, I’m surprised she didn’t try to find a manager; I would have. And after talking to the manager, I would have taken that cart straight to customer service and gotten a refund.
I’m working on an out-of-state move right now, and one of the things I’m looking forward to is that the city I’m moving to has Target and Costco; I don’t have either where I’m at now, and I despise Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club.
The trouble with giant companies.
Loosing her as a customer? Walmart doesn’t care.
Having to fire this employee? Walmart doesn’t care.
But a video spreading around the internet that makes them look like the giant, uncaring, money sponge they are? You bet your ass they care!
Up voting this all day!
Walmart AP here. This is a classic example of a bad stop. The guy had zero of his elements and still makes a stop. This is at least a coaching but honestly probably more. Which is deserved.
Hi. Former LP Manager here to add a bit of insight.
There is a whole slew of things wrong with this “Bad Stop” which is what people in the LP industry generally refer to this type of situation.
First off, if he alleged that the customer stole an item solely based off the evidence of “not finding it on the receipt,” he has been woefully trained improperly.
In order to properly and legally attempt to detain a subject due to theft, the LP agent MUST prove “intent.” In a general shoplifting case (where someone just pockets an item and tries to leave with it) there are several rules to follow (usually set forth by the company) for an LP agent to even attempt a stop. These rules are set to protect, not only the company but, the employee from lawsuits.
With this particular case, even if I give him the benefit of the doubt… there are still several questions I would have about the judgements he made during the case.
In order to begin a loss prevention case on a subject… you must first observe suspicious behavior being portrayed by said subject. This is typically behavior that no reasonable shopper inhibits such as selecting several items at once with no regard to size or price, feeling around for security sensors, and so on. Although this behavior is a reasonable justification to begin a surveillance… it is NOT proof that they are a thief.
So my first question would be… why did you begin observing this subject? From what information I gathered from the video… it seemed like this woman shopped as a reasonable person and then paid for (at the very least) all her items except for one.
The second thing needed to stop a subject for theft is “intent.”
If the LP Agent alleged the subject intended to steal the stuffed lion… what is he basing that assumption on? Did he observe her during the transaction? Did he watch as she hid the item intentionally from the cashier? Or did she self check out and purposefully not ring out the item? I ask these questions because without one of those situations… he had zero proof of her intent to steal the stuffed lion.
I was trained and subsequently trained my employees to have a rock solid case before even attempting to approach a subject to possibly detain them. When it comes to law enforcement… its not what you “think” is going on… its what you can “prove.”
I don’t know what happened during this case because the video only shows one side of the story… but it seems like it’s possible that this agent attempted to make a detainment based solely on whether or not all the items on the receipt matched the price quoted for them at Walmart.com. He didn’t seem to do a simple item count (as in… there are five items on the receipt and five items in the cart) because if he did… he would have been able to refute her explanation on the spot. He didn’t seem to observe the transaction because if he did… he would have already had the proof of intent recorded and wouldn’t have needed to argue with her about the price of the item in question.
LP can be a rough job sometimes. No company will admit it… but you get quotas or “goals” and your employment is sometimes threatened over it. Its easy to see how the stress will lead some to try and skip around rules to try and achieve those goals. But as I said before, those rules are there to protect the LP agent as well as the company.
In this case, when you combine his behavior and his attitude during the stop (“I don’t have time for this”), this probably isn’t the first time this guy has bent the rules to get a stop… this is just the first time he got unlucky. He definitely deserves to be terminated and the customer has a real good opportunity for a lawsuit against Walmart.
More info here: http://photographyisnotacrime.com/2017/07/23/wal-mart-loss-prevention-stops-shopper-paid-items-accuses-theft/
**Fun fact:** Unless a store has a membership policy *(such as Costco or Sam’s Club)* which specially mentions receipt checks, you are not required by law to show them your receipt or your purchases.
The stores are also not allowed to detain you without hard evidence of you shoplifting. If they try to detain you without evidence, they can be charged with false imprisonment.
Finished shopping at Walmart and don’t want to wait in that long ass receipt check line? Just walk past them.
The walmart in my town makes customers show their receipt before they leave. They tried to get me to wait in line so they could “check” my receipt. Nope. I told them I already waited in line. It’s good they didn’t pursue the matter cause I don’t know how much bail is in cussing jail.
There was a [great story](http://www.tampabay.com/projects/2016/public-safety/walmart-police/) in the Tampa Bay Times about how the local Walmart stores call the cops for shoplifters on an average of 42 times a day, or about four times as much as area Target stores. The story goes on to explain how WMT stores invite more theft by design, and the store simply uses the local police to subsidize their security.
Fuck them.
WalmartBro couldn’t have gotten any redder at the end there.
Speaking from personal experience, I worked for ASDA (Walmart in UK) and I was accused of theft 2 days before Christmas and was fired. I appealed the decision and myself and my union went after Walmart (because i didnt steal anything and thought I was being set up)
After a year of waiting and rescheduling and ‘losing my records’, ASDA admitted negligence and fired the store manager, the regional manager, my manger, offered me a year’s salary and my old job back. I declined the job offer and took the year’s salary.
Fuck ASDA and Fuck Walmart
Reddit empowered me to nope out of the Walmart receipt check. I haven’t really had any problems except one of the first times I did it and a tactically uniformed security guard tried to stop me by jumping in front of be cart. He grabbed the front and I just moved over to the side and walked around him. He asked me, “What’s your problem?”
I responded, “What’s *your* problem.”
If you are going to accuse me of stealing, do it; but I paid for my shit and I’m not going through an evaluation after spending all that time checking out.
Loss prevention guy unable to prevent loss of his job.
Poor bastard was only 45 years from retirement, too.
Clearance sticker
http://i.imgur.com/UwjVyeL.png
You can also barely hear the other guy say ‘it says so here” @ 1:32 probably pointing to the sticker. That’s when he says ‘im not doing this anymore’