Wal-Mart Gets Tough With Kids On Shoplifting

The policy also allows store employees to stop suspected shoplifters inside the store rather than waiting for them to exit. The policy change allows employees to stop shoplifters approaching an exit door or just beyond a cash register.

Store employee’s should only report suspected thefts to their loss prevention people.  Stopping criminals is very dangerous and Walmart (or any retailer) is not worth being injured or killed.
It is only employee’s job to report, not to arrest and detain criminals.

R E M E M B E R
J O N Q U I E R E
Q U E B E C
Home of Walmart Worker Abuse

R E M E M B E R
J A C K S O N V I L L E
T E X A S
Home of Walmart Worker Abuse

The policy also allows store employees to stop suspected shoplifters inside the store rather than waiting for them to exit. The policy change allows employees to stop shoplifters approaching an exit door or just beyond a cash register.

Store employee’s should only report suspected thefts to their loss prevention people.  Stopping criminals is very dangerous and Walmart (or any retailer) is not worth being injured or killed.
It is only employee’s job to report, not to arrest and detain criminals.

R E M E M B E R
J O N Q U I E R E
Q U E B E C
Home of Walmart Worker Abuse

R E M E M B E R
J A C K S O N V I L L E
T E X A S
Home of Walmart Worker Abuse

Here is an example from the papers:

Wal-Mart theft confrontation
Samara Kalk Derby — 7/04/2007 7:59 am

Wal-Mart theft: Three Madison suspects were arrested Monday evening at an east side Wal-Mart after a retail theft turned into a confrontation with store employees.

According to Madison police, officers had been investigating an armed robbery at a UW Credit Union across the street when they responded to a call about a woman with a knife at the Wal-Mart.

The woman, 20-year-old Laqueta Amos, was accompanied by two people who are also suspects in the incident. Store employees told police that Amos, 23-year-old Horatio Garner and 23-year-old Bernice Amos confronted several employees after they were stopped for attempting to steal hundreds of dollars’ worth of merchandise, including women’s underwear and men’s clothing. The younger Amos displayed a knife and a Wal-Mart employee was struck in the head with a curtain rod during the incident.

Walmart should not expect employee’s other than loss prevention to be involved in this sort of confrontation.

R E M E M B E R
J O N Q U I E R E
Q U E B E C
Home of Walmart Worker Abuse

R E M E M B E R
J A C K S O N V I L L E
T E X A S
Home of Walmart Worker Abuse

As long as the customer is still inside the store and hasn’t went out the second set of doors they cannot prosecute the customer.  The reason Wal Mart’s profit is going down is because their prices are getting to high and I was in the Sikeson, MO supercenter lastnight and they only had 2 cashiers working, I will not use the self checkouts unless they are going to pay me for my time to do their employees work.  The self checkouts is a way to get people to work and get paid for it.

A year ago, Wal-Mart, the world’s largest retailer, gave store managers the option...

Let me begin by saying this is not an action on Wal-Mart’s part but rather a reaction; an attempt to smooth over an upper-level management blunder of biblical proportions.

The “option” referred to in the article was contained in Wal-Mart’s extensive Asset Protection Awareness(06) policy revision.

As soon as we received our ‘leaked’ copy* at the Anti Wal-Mart Bunker, our crack team of Spinmeisters went to work to tear it apart. Unfortunately, they came away scratching their heads.

It was good policy change! It addressed a structural weaknesses in the old LP policy by removing the invisible quota and placing the focus where it belongs, on dollar amount**.

But, alas, as we all know, the devil is in the details, and in this case the devil was implementation. Through inept communication, the new policy was misinterpreted by associates and managers alike. Instead of seeing it as a change in focus, in many instances it was seen as a “license to steal”.

This public proclamation is merely Wal-Mart playing catch-up.

* In the middle of page 4, in small print: This page is intentionally blank. Huh?

**The best number we get from our operatives buried deep within the belly of the Beast is Wal-Mart’s shrink for ‘06 was somewhere in the neighborhood of $4 billion.  Not bad as a percentage of sales (1.19%) but fully a third of last year’s profit.

Two days ago I shopped at my local Walmart Supercenter.  Two items were too large to go into bags, a 12 pack of Red Dog Beer and a toliet seat.  Pushing my cart toward the exit door I noticed that three people ahead of me exited the door to the store.  A female employee saw the toliet seat and stopped me from leaving the store demanding to see my receipt.  I showed her the receipt with the toliet seat listed and told her I didn’t like being singled out to be harassed by her.  Another female employee joined her and said that the first female employee was only doing her job. The beer cost more than the toliet seat and she wasn’t even concerned about that.  I got onto Walmart Stores website and sent a complaint about their employees illegally detaining me and violating my civil rights.  I can see why a few employees of Walmart have been assaulted at the exit doors when they decide to play eager store cop.  They also violate Texas Penal Code 20.02 by restraining customers.  Dial ‘911’ and get the cops to come and arrest these door Nazis.

Section 20.01 of the Texas Penal Code gives the definition of “Restrain” means to restrict a person’s movements without consent, so as to interfere substantially with the person’s liberty, by moving the person from one place to another or by confining the person.  Restraint is “without consent” if its is accomplished by: (A) force, intimidation, or deception (B) any means, including the acquiescense of the victim. 
So Section 20.02, “Unlawful Restraint”, A person commits an an offense if he intentionally or knowingly restrains another person.
In Texas these door police are playing with fire.  Whip that cell phone out and dial ‘911’.  These want to be door cop employees need to know that restraining a customer who has paid for their items is not a thief and doesn’t need to be treated as one.

Do you Suppose?<

...”This page is intentionally blank. Huh?”

Maybe Wal-Mart was inspired by Richard Nixon’s infamous 18.5 minute gap on his White House tapes.

Your First Mistake John D was...

“...a 12 pack of Red Dog Beer and a toliet seat.

Two essentials in life!  I’m sure you couldn’t have found these any place else.  Your FIRST mistake was to shop at WM in the first place.

“I was busted buying beer and a toilet seat at Wal-Mart.” Do you suppose there’s a Country hit song waiting to be written?

The post by John Driskill, is an example of the attitude of the anti Wal-Mart people!!  Here we have a case where a customer was asked to show their receipt for items not bagged, a simple procedure, but, that simple thing, was described as DEMANDING, being DETAINED and HARRASSED!!  How long could this process have taken, 30 seconds?  So, according to John D., if this happens to you, you should call 911 and call the police, like the police have nothing better to do than respond to an ignorant customer!!

Then, he says, “These want to be door cop employees need to know that restraining a customer who has paid for their items is not a thief and doesn’t need to be treated as one.”, when it is clearly a case where the person at the door, is just trying to make sure you aren’t a thief and is asking you to show that you indeed paid for the items you are taking from the store!! 

Guess this is part of that TEXAS ego!!  I think that Section 20.01 of the Texas Penal Code against restraining people, would require it to be longer than a minute or two!!

I Have To Ask You John...

“The post by John Driskill, is an example of the attitude...”

The last post by RDS is “an example of the attitude” of the kinds of people who will defend Wal-Mart no matter how illogical their arguments are, and is typical of the kinds of people you’ll find shopping at Wal-Mart.

Which side would you rather be on?

In RDS’ case, if he can’t come up with an illogical quip or comeback, he’ll just come up with something, so that he can “get in the last word” on any given blog topic.

And thats a fact.

“I think that Section 20.01 of the Texas Penal Code against restraining people, would require it to be longer than a minute or two!!”
RDS attempts to explain the law

Perhaps the homicide of suspected petty thief Stacey Driver in Texas by wanna be cops jacked up on the WalMart attitude will make some sense to you RDS. Or the $750,000 paid out by WalMart to his family for killing him. But then again the requirement of a conscience will never make its way through RDS WalMart worship.

WalMart- We do psychological profiling on our hires. We screen them out for conscience and anything not in line with low wage no benefits bastardization of the human landscape.
You remember Sam’s attitude-

“I pay low wages. I can take advantage of that. We’re going to be successful, but the basis is a very low-wage, low-benefit model of employment.”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Criticism_of_Wal-Mart#_note-
iswalmartgood

“Is Wal-Mart Good for America?” PBS. November 16, 2004.

Group these people together in store employment and wait until they begin to take it out on each other if they stay long enough. Shrinkage from employees is the first culprit. Nobody wonders why. 60 -70% turnover rate, nobody wonders why. But it gives whole new meaning to Asset Protection.

...people who will defend Wal-Mart no matter how illogical... or illegal!

Pay no attention to RDS, John Driskill in Alvin, Tx.  He’s in a snit because I wondered what would happen to his precious state of Arkansas if Wal-Mart moved it’s home office to China.

(Nothing worse than a relocated hillbilly:o)

There is ONE exception, Ken...

“(Nothing worse than a relocated hillbilly:o)”

Unless that hillbilly is RDS and he relocates from Wisconsin to Arkansas!  That would be a GOOD thing!

I was at the beloved Costco over the weekend. The lady at the door stopped us, asked to look at our receipt, looked at our items, marked the receipt with a highlighter, smiled and said “Thank you very much. Have a nice day!”

I think my rights were violated. Any ambulance chasers out here who want to BUY my testimony? (That’s right-BUY).

Apparently, there are several plaintiff’s attorneys who have convinced “plaintiffs” to file lawsuits against doctors and corporations over the last decade, in return for cash from the lawyers. Why would they do this? Because lawyers have to have a victim to sue someone. They find a victim, bribe him, file a suit and take their 40%.

Plaintiff’s attorneys (and for that matter, all attorneys), create nothing but unemployment, produce nothing but paperwork, manage nothing but the destruction of a doctor or company and invest in nothing but themselves. They are much like the government in that they are leeches who produce no new capital but, instead, take it from productive people using shady methods, a broken legal system and a jury pool or class envy/victicrats.

SDV,

Talk about being illogical, comparing someone asking to see your receipt, with someone dying in the parking lot!!

Isn’t this great, first you guys critize Wal-Mart for being too tough on shoplifters, Wal-Mart changes it’s policy and then, you come back with a “license to steal” and how they should get tougher, now, Wal-Mart changes it’s policy again and you complain about having to show a receipt, as being detained, held hostage, harrassed, call ‘911’!!  It’s the old ‘damned if you do and damned if you don’t’, with you guys!!

Sam!s Costco can ask you for a receipt because you pay to join but Wal-Mart target etc have no right to do this, Wal-Mart does because they think they can when I do for some reason have to shop at Wally World I do not stop and show them my receipt no one has ever stopped me.

Once you pay for it it is then your property would you let some one check your car going out of parking lot, same thing what you brought is now yours. I know that in the State I live in they can not stop you for shoplifting until you walk out the door .

“Isn’t this great, first you guys critize Wal-Mart for being too tough on shoplifters...”
RDS missing the point again on a homicide-

“tough”, try insane and exponentially criminal because of the WalMart attitude to bastardize society. Bentonville policy jacked up these Loss Prevention lost conscience types as part of the WalMart corporate culture. The ‘love of money’ slobs in NW Arkansas still cannot figure out the right policy. They have precluded themselves from being able to deal successfully with this shrinkage problem. Other retailers have far better success on this issue with intelligent policy. WalMart can never match that because of the polluting manner of corporate psychopathy.

---------------------

“I was at the beloved Costco over the weekend.”
Nick-

My plan is working.

The rest of your comment attempts to sell disingenuous portrayal of the exit door problem. You were not assaulted, killed, injured, harassed nor did anyone involve the police or compel you to produce anything other than a receipt. I do understand however your need to make some sort of extended remark on the internet of your non-problem.

WalMart- We are interested in beating the crap out of our customers occasionally.

I figured that someone like RDS, a mid level drone from Walmart, sitting in their cube in Bentonville, Ar. would be assigned to watch this site to defend his or her employer, Walmart.  Well RDS, the Alvin, Texas Walmart practices selective enforcement for a policy that is not posted anywhere for customers to see.  I can shop in chain stores like Target, Kroger, Home Depot, Office Depot, Sears, Auto Zone, etc. and no one is going to detain me by grabbing onto my shopping cart wanting to see my receipt because I didn’t look good due to the lack of a shave.  Now there is a large chain store that has a posted policy at the exit door.  Fry’s Electronic stores check every customers receipt and their bags.  Thats everyone RDS!  Its not selective enforcement.  Also RDS, once I paid for those items, they became my property.  Your low level counter jumper in the Walmart store had no right to detain me for any amount of time because she didn’t like my looks.  Three people pushed their carts out the exit door ahead of me and were not stopped by this door Nazis.  I for one am not going to worry about Walmart for much longer.  Most of their stuff comes from China anyways.  The Walmart line about Made in The USA is just a little fable that they like to proclaim all the time.  My money will spend just as well at other stores.  If you look closely, you can find better bargins elsewhere.  You can get tires cheaper at Discount Tires or NTW.  Computers and electronics can be found cheaper at stores like Fry’s and others.  The myth of get it all at the big blue and white box just isn’t so RDS. 
Walmart hides behind layers of lawyers.  Say bring local law enforcement in for a disturbance is not what RDS wants to hear.  They just might have to bail one of their door jockeys out of the local slammer.  But then Walmart is cheap, they would let them sit it out for time served.

I see Nick and SanDiegoView are back, which is good, as from what I’ve seen, this board would be practically dead without those two around.

Regarding Stacey Driver—plain and simple, the man committed a crime, and he paid a very high price for his crime.  End of story.

I don’t blame the unfortunate outcome of his plan “to rip-off Wal-Mart” on the local store, or even the company, itself. 

Remember, this happened in Texas, and though I know I am going to catch some heat over this, he happened to come-across two hard-working, overzealous Texan associates, who obviously took their “cowboy” thing a little too far.

I am certain that Wal-Mart, like any other retailer, has specific rules on the “do’s and dont’s” on the apprehension of shoplifters on the store associate level (and physical contact of any sort is most likely discouraged).

SanDiegoView—you mentioned “Sinegal and Sol Price” elsewhere in this blog, Thursday evening.  I know Mr. Price is from San Diego, meaning Costco has deep roots in your hometown—so I am not going to argue on Costco vs. Wal-Mart.  However, I present this to you—Costco has a few holes in their loss prevention plan, as from my personal experience, my local Costco physically inspects diaper bags in search of potential store pilferage (Just between us, here, I don’t think there is a diaper bag big-enough to handle a “super-size anything”, which seems a little suspect to me).

I don’t mind any door greeter at any store checking my receipt, versus the bagged merchandise I purchased.  But, when any store has to resort to going-through one’s personal effects in search of possible stolen merchandise represents a “flaw” in the system, somewhere…

John Driskell in Alvin, TX - if you are using “Discount Tires”, “RTW”, or “Fry’s Electronics” as references...please don’t.  The majority of the people, here don’t have access to regional chains.  If you get good deals at those places, that’s great, but referencing those chains to the rest of us makes your arguments look weak.

Bill

Don’t Get Your Hopes Up, SDV

“I was at the beloved Costco over the weekend.”
Nick-

<i>”...makes your arguments look weak.”

And what is it that makes YOUR arguments look weak? (Besides the fact that you support Wal-Mart)

“...took their “cowboy” thing a little too far.”
Bill’s understatement on a homicide-

“...the man committed a crime...”
Bill as judge on a petty theft ‘suspect’ where no charge was ever brought against Stacey Driver in this case.

“...and he paid a very high price for his crime.  End of story.”
Bill sweeping the WalMart crime of homicide under the carpet-

Not the end of this story at all. WalMart paid out $750,000 to the family of Stacey Driver.

“I don’t blame the unfortunate outcome of his plan “to rip-off Wal-Mart” on the local store, or even the company, itself.”
Bill represents and defends this WalMart culture and bastardization of U.S. society even if it means killing a man over suspected petty theft. The worship of WalMart as a propaganda stink does not stop at the moral boundary of killing a man for someone like Bill. That requires a conscience Bill and you have stated in effect that you don’t have one. Nobody wonders at that anymore about WalMart and its corporate attitude and PR worship junkies.

WalMart/Bill- We don’t need no stinking badges!! And we don’t need no stinking morality or any of that social conscience crap about killing somebody over petty theft.

SanDiegoView,

You know something?  For the benefit of the argument, I was going to research some of the articles from the media (not some “do-it-yourself” blog) about Mr. Driver’s unfortunate demise, and respond, accordingly.

Unfortunately, Google and Yahoo’s first hits were only to a bunch of second-stringer blogs (however, in your defense, it should be noteworthy that Al Norman’s “Sprawl-Busters” made the top 10).

However, I was able to gain this reposted quote at the National Retail Federation’s LPInfomation.com

Store employees told investigators Driver entered the store with an item marked with a sticker indicating it had been paid for, then switched the sticker to a more expensive item and tried to leave with it.

I stand by my argument—Stacy Driver was a thief utilizing one of the oldest tricks in the book, and now he is dead.

Any would-be thief could do well to learn from this.

In closing, as you seem to be the fan of the occassional Biblical quote, I have one espeically for you to chew on for a while…

“You reap what you sow”

Bill

<strong>And on a lighter note...>/strong>

Everytime I look at the staged photo on this thread, I’m reminded of the Mae West line: “Hey big boy...is that a 15 pound ham in your pocket, or are you just happy to see me?”

You mean she didn’t say this?

I stand by my argument—Stacy Driver was a thief utilizing one of the oldest tricks in the book, and now he is dead.

what kind of a human are you Bill this is the most disgusting thing that you have every posted.

No one here likes a thief but to kill him over it,what do think should be done with child molesters rapist if you think this.

According to Wal-Msrt policies you as an associate should not do what these associates did ,you are to call Management and never chase a shop lifter out the door, I forgot were it was an Associate did just this and was fired for it.

You still want to try and justify homicide as a response to petty theft. Not surprising Bill, just like your misapplication of the Word of God.

Stacey Driver did not sow anything to be killed for. But it is typical anti-Christ distortion to use the Bible to make it appear as if he did and try to justify WalMart killing this man. The reap and sow principle has a consequence for your lying and false portrayal in another typical pollution and bastardization of U.S. society from the WalMart/Edelman ‘war room’ frauds who should be thankful that public execution on the hot pavement is no longer the penalty for such a ‘crime’.

SanDiegoView,

OK, here it is in simple terms:

1.  Mr. Driver attempted to steal from Wal-Mart—he died as a (unforseen) consequence.

2.  The people responsible for Mr. Driver’s death were appropriately terminated (and by virtue of this, these people will probably never get what you and I would call a “decent” job, again).

3.  Driver’s family sued Wal-Mart and they were/will be compensated for their loss.

Period.

Before you lump myself and “anti-Christ” in the same post, I have another quote for you.  This one’s non-biblical, but it represents my attitude towards church attendance.

“I’ve been to a few games, I’m not a season ticketholder.”~David Letterman

How about you?

I thought as much…

Bill

Bill,

Don’t you think it is kind of strange, that 138 million shoppers pass through Wal-Mart’s doors every week and these people choose to bring up an example of 1 incident that happened years ago, that was sad and unfortunate, but they fail to tell how he resisted and ran, and make it an example to claim this as standard policy at Wal-Mart stores? 

Then, we have the John Driskill point of view, that “ no one is going to detain me by grabbing onto my shopping cart wanting to see my receipt because I didn’t look good due to the lack of a shave.”, failing to mention the fact that he had 2 items that were not in bags!!  Seems he feels he doesn’t look very good, so the employees are picking on him, “because she didn’t like my looks”!!  Could be, that he has a self esteem problem!!

If a person puts themselves into a position where their receipt needs to be checked and they have some sort of attitude problem with being asked to see their receipt, it makes me wonder why, if they have nothing to hide!!  If they project that attitude AFTER the receipt check, just maybe they were projecting that same attitude BEFORE the check as well, which alerted the door person to ask for the check in the first place!!

How about this quote: “Me thinks thou doth protest too much”!!

Hey Bill- according to your junk moral judiciousness Tom Coughlin should be dragged behind a pick-up truck all around Bentonville for the other WalMart management potential petty thieves to ‘get the message’. Bill, you are a hick jingoist with the qualities of a moral imbecile.

It is your attitude towards Jesus Christ and the Word of God that matters. But you and agnostic Nick will never discover that down at the strip bar after a hard day at the WalMart worship clinic. What is important usually cannot register with propaganda psychopaths-

Who also made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life. 2 Cor. 3:6

SanDiegoView,

All I can say about “hick jingoist with the qualities of a moral imbecile” is:

Takes one to know one!

You truly are a piece of work…

Bill

Me thinks you post too much, RDS

“...138 million shoppers pass through Wal-Mart’s doors every week...”

Looks good on paper, doesn’t it?  As was pointed out a long time ago...this figure includes multiple visits to WM and it is a world-wide number.  I still would like to see some hard data on the number of U.S. visitors to Wal-Mart.  Has the number been going up or down or remaining relatively constant?  We don’t ever seem to see this quoted anywhere!

This country would see a lot less crime if we took the situation seriously. As an adult, your first theft conviction should result in a written warning. Your second should result in expert caning. Your third should result in a lost finger. Your fourth should result in a lost hand. Your fifth should result in a lost arm. And your sixth? Death sentence.

Yes, yes, I know, I am insensitive and I do not understand thieves. Actually, I spent several years trying to stop them (and vendors and employees) from ripping off grocery stores. Yes, you can assault shoplifters and yes, you can can stop and prosecute a shoplifter if they haven’t left the store. Try explaining in court why you had a filet stuffed down your pants. CONVICTED!

We coddle criminals in this country. Violent offenders, properly convicted, should be handed over the the victims’ families. Criminals should be publicly caned or hanged. Kids in school should watch executions on Channel One. First, an explanation of the crimes committed by the criminal. Then, public execution. This will help show our youth that there are consequences for bad decisions. When you choose to murder, rape, molest, rob, steal, assault or betray your country, you should be punished harshly. Why is it that Singapore has almost no crime and has had just ONE public official engaged in corruption in its’ entire history? Answer: PUNISHMENT.

One day, perhaps sooner than you think, the American people will demand law and order. Perhaps after the next Muslim attack on the civilians of America, the people will react with violence. Illegal immigrants and anyone associated with the ACLU, NAMBLA, Americans United For Seperation Of Church & State, the American Communist Party and other assorted wackos will face the wrath of an American populace fed up with the continued assaults on their traditions, their moral values and their country.

Screwedby,

“As was pointed out a long time ago...this figure includes multiple visits to WM and it is a world-wide number.”

Tell us, is a customer who makes a second trip to the store, NOT a customer, the second time?  Really, does it really matter the if number is 100 million or 138 million or 176 million, face it, it’s a lot!!  Then, when you factor in, that there are about 300 million people in this country and probably about at least 25% are children, that would leave a shopping population of about 225 million, which would mean that somewhere about half, shop at Wal-Mart!!  But, even then, what does it matter, as long as those people CHOOSE to shop there, why shouldn’t they be allowed to do so, without some nay sayers telling them they shouldn’t?  I haven’t heard one person here, tell YOU where to shop, so how do you figure YOU have some right to act as someone else’s conscience?

Has the number been going up or down or remaining relatively constant?

Yeah, Screwed, this was a classic case of Wal-Mart (and Nick) spouting meaningless numbers in the hope of fooling people only to realize how stupid it was.

According to Wal-Mart foot traffic soared from 136 million “visits” per week to 170 some million! Hooray!

Unfortunately while all these people were loitering at Wal-Mart, sales rose only a fraction of a percent.

It took a while for the lunacy of the foot traffic number to sink in to Nick, but then he scaled the estimate back to 136 million and pretty much stopped beating us over the head with it.

P.S.

Asset protection?  Who’s assets were they protecting?

In order to protect Wal-Mart from losing the price of “a BB gun, diapers, sunglasses and a pack of BBs”, employees cost Wal-Mart an additional $750,000 (plus costs).

I guess that makes sense to all you neo-capitalist subscribers of the Ayn Rand/Adam Smith-on-Crack School of Economics.

Jacob Marley here, its been lonely wandering eternity by myself.  My friend Ebenezer Scrooge escaped my fate.  I am no longer lonely, Sam Walton joined me in my never ending trek.  I have to walk slowly since he is bound dragging five miles of chain that he forged in his life of commerce.  I only have ten feet of chain to drag since I only mistreated one employee in my lifetime.  He mistreated thousands including his dog Ol’ Roy.  After eating a ton of chicken by products in Ol’ Roy dog food, he died from too much protein.  Ol’ Roy runs by, waters Sam’s leg and runs off.  Sams son John has recently joined us dragging his chains and a wrecked hang glider.  Time passes and we are waiting for the rest of the Walton family to show up dragging their chains too.

Nick brings up the next muslim attack.  In Texas alone there are Islamic terrorist cell networks like Al Qaeda, Hamas, Muslim Brotherhood, Islamic Jihad and Hezbollah.  Walmart and Costco stores like so many other stores are soft targets for terrorists. We are just victims waiting to happen.

More “logic” from RDS

“Tell us, is a customer who makes a second trip to the store, NOT a customer, the second time?”

NO!  He’d be a visitor, regardless of how often he shops.  Just because I go to a store 10 times, it does not follow that I am equal to 10 “customers.” I’m a customer...period.

Another example of RDS Fuzzy Math: “...probably about at least 25%..”

Hey Jacob Marley...give our regards to Helen Walton.

Screwedby,

“NO!  He’d be a visitor, regardless of how often he shops.  Just because I go to a store 10 times, it does not follow that I am equal to 10 “customers”

Tell us then, oh wise one, how would you estimate customer traffic, if it were not by the number of sales receipts?  Would you ask everyone at the door, if they had shopped there before this week, and let the ‘greeters’ keep a tally?

Also, I would think a ‘visitor’ would be someone who enters the store and doesn’t buy anything, you know the ones who answer “Just Browsing” and a ‘shopper’ would be someone that purchases something!!  How many repeat shoppers do other stores have, especially grocery stores, so their ‘shopper’ figures would be wrong too, right?  And, if you are only counted as a ‘customer’ once you shop at a store, does that mean that you are to be counted only once, forever?  Is a husband and wife, counted as one shopper, even though they might sometimes go to the store together and sometimes separately?  And, what happens if a single store wants to judge their foot traffic, and you stopped there to buy something, but had shopped at another Wal-Mart store before, can they count you and how would they know?

“Another example of RDS Fuzzy Math: “...probably about at least 25%..”

And, are you saying there are NO children the the U.S. or are you upset about the “about 25%”, figure?  Guess that is why I used the word “probably”, because it would depend on what age you stopped calling them “children” and started calling them “old enough to shop by themselves” and therefore a ‘customer’!!

...how would you estimate customer traffic...?

The number Wal-Mart spouts is not customer traffic, it’s “visits”, whatever that means? Counting receipts might give you an estimated customer count, but, you tell us, RDS, how do you count “visits”? And what importance is that number?

If a person puts themselves into a position where their receipt needs to be checked and they have some sort of attitude problem with being asked to see their receipt, it makes me wonder why, if they have nothing to hide!!

Sounds like the long-winded version of Wal-Mart’s unwritten approach:

If you’re not a criminal you shouldn’t mind being treated like one.

Next Walmart joke is the parking lot security that Walmart started after a female employee was kidnapped after her shift ended.  At the Alvin, Tx. Walmart there is an elderly man who is a door greeter in the morning.  At night you can see him driving a little Dodge Neon with an amber light on top of it in the parking lot.  I would hate to see what would happen if a real problem occured.  Now is this being repeated at other Walmart stores?  Maybe RDS, the self proclaimed defender of Walmart can answer this one? 
Also, how many people in the parking lot are customers, visitors or hugger muggers, RDS?

Here’s my favorite Wal-Mart ‘hugger-mugger’ story:

Police search for toe licker in Oklahoma

Tulsa, OK - An shopper in Tulsa, Oklahoma had a traumatic experience in a Wal-Mart parking lot when a stranger was caught licking her toes. She was loading her groceries into the car when she felt something strange at her feet. She assumed it was a dog, but when she looked down, discovered a man lying beneath her car, licking her feet.

Folks

By implying that Sam Walton is somehow the modern day (and real) Ebeneezer Scrooge, you cheapen your arguments and show the true liberal view towards “choice” and “tolerance”. Sam Walton took a simple concept and through hard work, intelligence, discipline, the visionary use of IT and Logistics and a bit of good timing, turned it into the retail empire we are discussing today. If you don’t like Wal-Mart, that is your right. You do not have to work or shop there. If you do shop there, it is by your own free will. And if you work there, it is also of your own free will. You should be thankful that someone gave you a job.

Wal-Mart is a legitimate company that sells legal products and attracts customers to its stores. The operative word here is CHOICE. Consumers have CHOSEN Wal-Mart and this simply drives liberals bonkers. It clashes with their worldviews and they simply cannot allow choice when the choice is not to their liking. If you work at, sell to, or shop at, Wal-Mart, you do so of your own free will. You have only yourself to blame if you are unhappy. There are a million other stores to shop at besides Wal-Mart. If you are a vendor, aren’t you losing money on Wal-Mart, anyway? Why sell to a store that COSTS you money, right? If you are an employee, get another job. If Wal-Mart is the lowest paying job in the US, that gas station down the street is a better option, isn’t it? No jobs, you say? Well, why do the Sunday Job ads in the newspaper run to 12 or 14 pages, even in an economic dump such as Pittsburgh? Why are fast food places, convenient stores and gas stations always hiring? I know of a Wendy’s AND a McDonald’s that were offering $10 per hour to start PLUS signing bonuses! If you stayed at least 6 months and worked as you were supposed to, they would give you a $600 signing bonus at Wendy’s. McDonalds’ was $800! And they can’t get employees!

If we want to talk about shady methods of earning a fortune, why not ask about the liberal icons, the Kennedy’s? How did old Joe Kennedy earn his fortune? In three ways:

1. Bootlegging during prohibition. Whether you agreed with Prohibition is irrelevant. Joe Kennedy broke the law. Today, his assets would have been seized using RICO.

2. Running an illegal racing wire. This was a back room service whereby bookies all over the country would phone or telegraph their action into a central hub owned by Joe Kennedy.

3. Real estate swindles. By bribery and the use of booze and prostitutes, as well as hired thugs, old Joe Kennedy was able to buy up a lot of valuable real estate during the Depression, at rock bottom prices. He even owned the Merchandise Mart in Chicago, as well as valuable properties in New York City and Washington D.C.

Crime. This is where the Kennedy’s made ALL their money! Funny, I don’t see anybody bashing THEM on websites! No, let’s just attack a legitimate business man who ran a legal business which attracted employees, customers and vendors on a strictly voluntary and legal basis!

More Proof!

Still more proof that Nick doesn’t know what he’s talking about!

Here he would like us to believe that Sam Walton was this great visionary who used “IT and Logistics” to build his empire.  I think you are confusing him with David Glass.

OK, I’ll Tell You, Oh Dense One

OK RDS...one last time just for you.

It doesn’t matter how a store tracks its “customers,” whether by sales receipts or some other way.  I know of some stores that have an electric eye to count “customers” coming into a store. Perhaps Wal-Mart uses this technology too.  I really don’t care.  There is no direct correlation anyway between “store traffic” and “customers” because not everyone who comes into a store leaves with a purchase.  So what is it exactly that Wal-Mart is counting?  We’ll never know will we?

But consider this scenario:  A Wal-Mart store has an electric eye at the door.  A guy walks in with his wife and 4 kids.  Did Wal-Mart just count 6 “customers?”

Or how about this one?  A customer walks into a Wal-Mart store, then realizing he forgot his wallet in the car, turns around and goes back out.  Then he comes back into the store but suspects he may have left his headlights on, so he goes back out, and then returns to the store.  Did Wal-Mart just count 3 “customers” coming into the store?

So for the last time, would you and Nick cut your crap about the “138 million customers” that Wal-Mart is claiming.

You might at least have some credibility if you referred to this as 138 million sales receipts, but sales receipts are NOT THE SAME as “customers.” Now do you get it?

J.Driskill,

“At the Alvin, Tx. Walmart there is an elderly man who is a door greeter in the morning.  At night you can see him driving a little Dodge Neon with an amber light on top of it in the parking lot.  I would hate to see what would happen if a real problem occured.  Now is this being repeated at other Walmart stores?  Maybe RDS, the self proclaimed defender of Walmart can answer this one?”

This one is EASY, have you ever heard about things called “Cell Phones” and “911”, I know it’s hard to believe, but even an OLD person can make a phone call!! 

“Also, how many people in the parking lot are customers, visitors or hugger muggers, RDS?”

I don’t know, I haven’t taken a survey!!  Maybe you can enlighten us!!  As far as parking lot ‘visitors’, all I can say, is I have never once went to visit the ‘parking lot”!!

Screwedby,

“I know of some stores that have an electric eye to count “customers” coming into a store. Perhaps Wal-Mart uses this technology too.  I really don’t care.  There is no direct correlation anyway between “store traffic” and “customers” because not everyone who comes into a store leaves with a purchase.  So what is it exactly that Wal-Mart is counting?  We’ll never know will we?”

Why are you so obsessed with this ‘store traffic’ thing?  Who cares?  Just because Wal-Mart publishes a “foot traffic’ figure, doesn’t mean they are trying to “FOOL” people, they are just putting out an estimate!!  Don’t like it, then ignore it, don’t make a ‘big deal’ out of it!!  After all, it is ‘Total sales’ and ‘Net Profit’ that count!!

“But consider this scenario:  A Wal-Mart store has an electric eye at the door.”

You are the one that said other stores use ‘Electric eyes’, not me, you don’t even know for sure that Wal-Mart does this, so why set up a senario, to cover something that may not even be happening!!  I said register receipts, which translates into a PURCHASE!!  Maybe you would FEEL better if Wal-Mart used the word “Transactions’, instead of “Visits”, but, then again, there is that repeat customer thing again, isn’t there?  So, I’ll ask again, “How would YOU count how many ACTUAL ‘one time’ shoppers there are”?  Because, YOU for some reason, seem to care about this being done ACCURATELY!!

I’m not the ONLY one...

who demands accuracy when it comes to Wal-Mart.  It’s called accountability.  This sorta goes back to Wal-Mart’s other GREAT LIE:

“Always the lowest price.  Always.”

Every day i work i find compact discs, dvds, and a lot of other packaging in my department....opened and stolen...yes they are loosing a lot of money to shoplifters and they need to go back to catching and prosecuting them....dont forget we all pay the price for shoplifters in higher prices....do you think Wal-Mart will take the hit for it? No...and they shouln’t have tto. If people see shoplifters being taken away in acruiser with handcuffs, maybe the shoplifters will start to get the message...What you are doing is illegal and punishable!

master baraxus,

Right on!!  If people see others “getting away with it”, it encourages stealing, but if they see them being “hauled away in a squad car”, maybe they will think twice about shoplifting!!

they need to go back to catching and prosecuting them...

You see what I mean about associates (and managers) misunderstanding the Asset Protection policy?

Also I feel compelled to point out, one “internal” under-ringing cashier, with the help of a cohort, can steal more in one transaction than all the CDs, DVDs, etc. that are stolen from your department, baraxus.

Unfortunately, Google and Yahoo’s first hits were only to a bunch of second-stringer blogs...

The majority “of the articles from the media” came from the Houston Chronicle:

Paper: HOUSTON CHRONICLE
Date: MON 08/08/05
Section: B
Page: 3
Edition: 3 STAR

Shoplifting suspect dies after chase at Wal -Mart /Police reviewing man’s death at store in northeast Harris County

By ROBERT CROWE
Staff

Sheriff’s deputies are investigating the death of a man who was detained by Wal -Mart employees Sunday on suspicion of shoplifting at a northeast Harris County store.
The incident occurred in the store in the 6600 block of FM 1960 East, said Lt. John Martin of the Harris County Sheriff’s Department.
Store employees told investigators that the 30-year-old man entered the store with an item and a sticker indicating he had already purchased it. “This person (allegedly) took the sticker and put it on an item of much greater value and walked out the store with it,” Martin said.
Wal -Mart employees followed him to the parking lot, where he tried to run away. Employees caught up with him and detained him in handcuffs.
“At some point they noticed he wasn’t breathing,” Martin said. “I was told they administered CPR on him until paramedics came.”
The man was taken to Houston Northeast Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Homicide detectives are awaiting autopsy results.

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Paper: HOUSTON CHRONICLE
Date: WED 08/10/05
Section: A
Page: 01
Edition: 3 STAR

Experts discourage using force in shoplifting cases /The tactics used on suspect who died put focus on Wal -Mart ‘s policy

By ROBERT CROWE
Staff

Security experts discourage the aggressive tactics used by Wal -Mart employees who struggled with a suspected thief who later died.
“Most retailers have a policy of not going into a chase or getting into a combative fight with someone,” said Joseph LaRocca, vice president of loss prevention for the National Retail Federation.
Wal -Mart ‘s corporate office on Tuesday refused to discuss its procedures for detaining and using force against shoplifting suspects in wake of the death of Stacy Clay Driver, 30, on Sunday.
Driver, of Cleveland, was chased by employees after he left the store in the 6600 block of FM 1960 East with items they said he stole. Four employees in the Atascocita Wal -Mart wrestled Driver - who was shirtless at the time - to the ground and struggled with him on the hot pavement for 10 to 30 minutes, witnesses said. He stopped breathing and later died at a Humble hospital.
“Most retailers’ policies would say that if a person becomes combative, let them go,” LaRocca added. “You can tell police, and let the police handle the investigation and follow up.”
LaRocca said he is not familiar with Wal -Mart ‘s shoplifting policies, but the chain has a large “loss-prevention” department dedicated to reducing profit “shrinkage” by shoplifters and each Wal -Mart store has loss-prevention employees who monitor and confront suspects.
Harris County sheriff’s Lt. John Martin said employees struggled with Driver for some time before they could get him under control in handcuffs. While in handcuffs, he continued to struggle until he stopped breathing, witnesses said.
The Harris County Medical Examiner’s Office has not released an autopsy report yet. Martin said the autopsy is complete, but coroners are still awaiting the results of toxicology tests.
“If they determine the death was caused by the action of employees, that would obviously take the investigation in a different direction than if he had a heart problem,” Martin said.
Jim Lindeman, an attorney for the Driver family, said the man had no serious health problems.

Continued-

Continued-

Sticker switch alleged

Store managers told investigators that Driver entered the store with items marked with a stickers showing he had purchased them, but then he walked into a restroom and placed the stickers on different items - a BB gun, diapers, sunglasses and a pack of BBs - before walking out.
When witness Charles Portz saw the employees struggling with Driver on the parking lot pavement, he did not see any of the alleged stolen items but the sunglasses.
“That’s what got my attention, the employee kicked him in the back of the leg, knocked him off balance then they just threw him down to ground,” Portz said.
LaRocca said that most shoplifting suspects, when confronted by store employees, will not flee or become combative. In most cases, suspects will turn over merchandise and wait for police.
Christi Gallagher, a Wal -Mart spokeswoman, declined repeated requests to discuss the retail chain’s techniques for apprehending and detaining suspected shoplifters or whether it permits use of force against suspects. “We don’t speak publicly about our security measures,” she said.
Ralph Witherspoon, president of Witherspoon Security Consulting in Cleveland, Ohio, said there should be less of an incentive to pursue and struggle with suspects who do not take merchandise with them.
The International Association of Professional Security Consultants recommends that retail security personnel do not strike, tackle, sit on a suspect, or engage in any contact that might cause physical injury.
Danger of asphyxia
“No merchandise is of such value as to justify physical injury to a suspect,” the association states in its “Best Practices” section of its Web site.
Witherspoon always informs his clients that struggling with combative suspects can lead to death by “positional asphyxiation.”
“This can happen when someone is on top of a suspect who’s face-down with hands handcuffed behind their back,” he said. “This prevents them from breathing, and they suffocate.”
For the past decade, the International Association of Chiefs of Police has warned against the dangers of positional asphyxia, and many police departments have re-evaluated use-of-force procedures because some suspects have died in struggles.
Witherspoon said the issue is especially acute among retail loss-prevention personnel because they don’t have the same training as police officers.
Texas law allows store employees to make a citizen’s arrest as long as they have cause to do so, said Chris McGoey, president of McGoey Security Consulting in California,
“You can use `reasonable’ force to recover merchandise or detain a person long enough to summon police,” McGoey said. “As a rule of thumb, you don’t want loss-prevention people tackling people and wrestling people onto the ground, and you certainly don’t want them chasing people into parking lots.”
He also is unfamiliar with Wal -Mart ‘s policies, but he thinks the country’s largest retailer would strictly prohibit chases and physical combat.
Going after shoplifters
The company, however, is widely known for its aggressive prosecution of shoplifters, said Sgt. Jeff Stauber of the Sheriff’s Department burglary and theft division.
Its aggressiveness also has led to a number of civil lawsuits for false imprisonment and malicious prosecution.
LaRocca said retailers lose just more than $30 billion annually to “shrinkage,” which includes shoplifting and lost products. A typical store loses about 1.5 percent of its profits as a result of shrinkage, he said.

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Paper: HOUSTON CHRONICLE
(I don’t have the date)

Answers sought in death outside Wal -Mart / Manaccused of theft begged to be let up from hot pavement,witness says

By ROBERT CROWE, S.K. BARDWELL
Staff

<i>A man suspected of shoplifting goods from an Atascocita Wal -Mart - including diapers and a BB gun - had begged employees to let him up from the blistering pavement in the store’s parking lot where he was held, shirtless, before he died Sunday, a witness said.
An autopsy for the man, identified as Stacy Clay Driver, 30, of Cleveland, was scheduled for Monday, but officials said results probably would be delayed by a wait for toxicology tests.
Driver’s family, as well as one emergency worker, are questioning company procedure, including whether Wal -Mart workers administered CPR after they realized he needed medical attention.
When Atascocita Volunteer Fire Department paramedics arrived, Driver was in cardiac arrest, said Royce Worrell, EMS director. Worrell said Monday he heard from investigators that Wal -Mart employees administered CPR to Driver, but he was not sure that happened.
“When we got there, the man was facedown (in cardiac arrest) with handcuffs behind his back,” Worrell said. “That’s not indicative of someone given CPR.”
Wal -Mart employees referred calls to the Harris County Sheriff’s Department, where homicide detectives are investigating the death.
“We’re just not able to provide any comment at this time ... ,” said Christi Gallagher, spokeswoman at Wal -Mart ‘s headquarters in Bentonville, Ark.
Jim Lindeman, a lawyer representing Driver’s family, said the family is devastated. “We’re waiting to learn the results of the Sheriff’s Department investigation,” he said.
No charges have been filed. “The determining factor will be the (autopsy) report in whether we go forward with any charges,” said Lt. John Martin, Sheriff’s Department spokesman.
Driver lived in Cleveland, where his parents own a small business, Lindeman said. Driver was a master carpenter with a 2-month-old son and was about halfway through taking flying courses to get his pilot’s license, Lindeman said.
Employees told investigators Driver had walked out the store with a package of diapers, a pair of sunglasses, a BB gun and a package of BBs, Martin said.
Lindeman said otherwise. “It’s our belief he was not shoplifting,” he said.
Houston lawyer Charles Portz was outside the store at 6626 FM 1960 East when employees chased Driver into the parking lot Sunday afternoon.
Portz said three employees caught Driver, who twisted and turned until his shirt came off and he broke free and ran.
“They chased him right past me,” said Portz, who followed the chase, then saw four or five employees hold Driver on the ground. Driver was pleading with them to let him up, Portz said. “The blacktop was just blistering.” he said.
The high temperature at Bush Intercontinental Airport Sunday was 96 degrees.
Portz said one of the Wal -Mart employees had Driver in a choke hold as other employees pinned his body to the ground.
“He was begging, `Please, I’m burning, let me up,’ “ Portz said of Driver. “He’d push himself up off the blacktop, like he was doing a push-up.
“About 30 people were saying, `Let him up, it’s too hot,’ “ Portz said. He said another employee brought a rug for Driver to lie on, but one of those holding Driver said he was fine where he was. “After about five minutes, (Driver) said, `I’m dying, I can’t breathe, call an ambulance,’ “ Portz said.
Employees struggled with Driver before he was handcuffed, Martin said.
“There was a struggle, and when they finally succeeded after getting him detained in handcuffs, he continued to struggle,” Martin said.
After Driver was handcuffed, Portz said one employee had his knee on the man’s neck and others were putting pressure on his back.
“Finally the guy stopped moving” and the employees got off him, Portz said. “They wouldn’t call an ambulance.
“I looked at him and said, `Hey, he’s not breathing,’ but one guy told me (Driver) was just on drugs. I told them his fingernails were all gray, and finally they called an ambulance.”
Martin said investigators have no indication that Driver was intoxicated.
He also said a review of surveillance tape showed that nine minutes had elapsed between the time employees “got (Driver) under control and the time EMS showed up.”
Worrell said paramedics arrived two minutes, 19 seconds after they received the call. Paramedics performed CPR on Driver en route to Northeast Medical Center Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Store employees told investigators Driver entered the store with an item marked with a sticker indicating it had been paid for, then switched the sticker to a more expensive item and tried to leave with it.

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positional asphyxia

Nothing to add, Lightning Bill?

Well they had it on the local Houston Tx. news that 3 hugger muggers are active at a north Houston Walmart parking lot.  Armed robbery as the women are headed into the store.  Your purse or your life.  Channel 2 news showed the Walmart security golf cart putting around the parking lot bravely.  At least in Alvin, Tx, they rate a Dodge Neon.  Four women have become victims in the north Houston Walmart parking lot.  Walmart parking lots across the United States appear to be totally unsafe.  Try a Google search on Walmart parking lot robberies and there are 144,000 results for it.