Best Buy Employee Fired for Stopping Laptop Thief

reply to post by travisisnotdead


Just saw your response after posting . . . I agree with everything you've said, except the grey area. It is a pretty black/white situation.

Originally posted by optimus primal

Originally posted by captaintyinknots
reply to post by jjkenobi

 

They DO have loss prevention agents in the store, whose only job is to prevent shrinkage. What would have happened if this shoplifter had pulled a knife and stabbed this employee who was doing something outside of his job description? The store would be open for lawsuits. Unfortunately, in the sue happy society we live in, businesses have to protect themselves.

I rarely defend corporate america, but they are right in this one.

while you didn't outright say all, you certainly never said most. the tone of your post implies you mean all stores. as someone who works in the retail environment i was correcting that misconception.

You cherry picked the only post of out a succession of mine which didnt use the word 'most'. The point was made quite clearly.

You didn't correct any misconception, and the point stands.

Originally posted by captaintyinknots
Most retail employers now have employees sign an agreement stating they will not attempt to apprehend thieves. I am fairly certain Best Buy does.

When you break a written agreement with your employer, you are fired. Thats just the way it is, and it is why stores have specific loss prevention agents.

you mean this one, where it has nothing to do with whether they have lp's at all?

cause the very next post after this one was what i was responding to. kinda hard to cherry pick off of two posts. especially when i fully quoted it, and now the other one.

Most loss prevention agents are strolling around the store in street clothes. I worked for a MAJOR retailer for a very long time and know this as fact. The cameras are for gathering evidence. Generally speaking there is not someone there sitting and watching them all the time. You are right, most shoplifters get away the first time or two. They generally get caught because they get recorded, and a file is started on them. They are usually issued "no trespassing" notice and are caught when they break that notice. The majority of shoplifters are not arrested for shoplifting. It is usually for trespassing.

how bout this one? oh wait it's talking about what most prevention agents do, not whether most stores have them.

not true. Like I said before, most major retailers require their employees to sign a document saying they will not attempt to apprehend a shoplifter. They are supposed to offer assistance, remember details about the shoplifter, and report it to a loss prevention agent or a manager.

or this one....oh wait again that's talking about signing documents.

man for some reason i just can't find where you said most best buys have lp agents

is that cherry picking?

i realise this post is slightly hostile, however you're accusing me of lowbrow debate tactics in which i have not participated. do you concede you never said most best buys have lp's?

Walmart has similar rules. For example, if you see someone shoplifting, you can notify the AP associate or manager, but neither you or they can pursue the suspect. If you do, you will be fired.

I can't remember where exactly, but a guy tried to rob a Walmart and was thwarted by three associates. The next day the three associates received awards from the police department and then were fired by Walmart when they showed up to work.

reply to post by DarthChrisious


Its amazing how Ignorant a job-place can be even though the law is in place to protect them from what they are afraid of..or mabe they are being smart...not intentionaly ignorant but just trying to make sure none of the 10000000s of loop holes in the justice system arnt used.

reply to post by Solsthime331


It's all about liability . . . Shoplifters, just like home intruders, have sued and won when touched by those who they are stealing from. Don't blame the company for protecting themselves . . . blame the court system that let's this happen. It is far cheaper for Best Buy to let two laptops walk than pay court fees and a possible settlement because a thief skinned his knee when tackled!

reply to post by optimus primal


No, what I'm accusing you of doing is derailing a thread for no good reason, especially as it has already been confirmed by someone in this thread with knowledge of the SPECIFIC company we are talking about that Best Buy has LP in EVERY SINGLE STORE.

I worked retail for a very long time, I know the inner workings. I know that not every store has LP, as many stores it would cut their profits too greatly. However, even in those store, LP duties fall onto the managers, and not the sales people.

So yeah, i guess I am accusing you of being lowbrow, in an attempt to make yourself feel smarter in this thread, by n itpicking a small detail that has NOTHING to do with the topic at hand.

I'm not sorry if this post sounds hostile, as I don't have patience for those who wish to derail a thread in an attempt to make themselves feel somehow superior.

Originally posted by captaintyinknots
reply to post by optimus primal

 

No, what I'm accusing you of doing is derailing a thread for no good reason

that small detail is pretty relevant to the thread. and not a derailing at all. i've worked in retail myself for quite some time, almost a decade in fact in various positions. that you're getting so heated that i put forth that not every store has an lp is pretty incredible and humorous.

also the detail that every best buy has one at all times was not put forth until after i had made my points. and quite clearly i said it may not be true if it works like other retail stores. in that regard i was wrong. however once again you've accused me of doing something i have not.


the points stand. not every retail store has lp people. you did not say what you claimed you said.
best buy does and i admit i was wrong when i said they may not. none of this has been derailing as it's quite pertinent.

Used to work at Best Buy..

They are strict on EVERYTHING. I am kinda glad I got laid off

reply to post by WillNiendick



well just about every retailer is strict on shoplifter etiquette . what we all really should be doing is advocating changes in the law so that criminals can't sue if they get hurt while committing a crime. and protecting employees who seek to deter crime in their workplace, so long as they can show that there was a crime being committed.

Originally posted by optimus primal

Originally posted by captaintyinknots
reply to post by optimus primal

 

No, what I'm accusing you of doing is derailing a thread for no good reason

that small detail is pretty relevant to the thread. and not a derailing at all. i've worked in retail myself for quite some time, almost a decade in fact in various positions. that you're getting so heated that i put forth that not every store has an lp is pretty incredible and humorous.

also the detail that every best buy has one at all times was not put forth until after i had made my points. and quite clearly i said it may not be true if it works like other retail stores. in that regard i was wrong. however once again you've accused me of doing something i have not.


the points stand. not every retail store has lp people. you did not say what you claimed you said.
best buy does and i admit i was wrong when i said they may not. none of this has been derailing as it's quite pertinent.

Sweet merciful crap, I have never seen someone fight so hard to defend what was their own misunderstanding. A quick lesson for you:

Did you happen to read the post that I was responding to? The one which SPECIFICALLY names Best Buy as the topic of the statement, and thus, the topic of my response?

Do you know the difference between IMPLYING and INFERRING?

What was IMPLIED by my post was that Best Buy (again, the subject of the original post, and thus, the subject of my response) has LP in all stores.

What you INFERRED was that my post said that ALL retail stores have LP, which is a silly thought in it's own rights.

You have since defended your INFERENCE (which was wrong) in, what, at least 3 subsequent posts.

Truly sad my friend.

Now I'm done.

Click here for more information.

Originally posted by captaintyinknots

Do you know the difference between IMPLYING and INFERRING?

Now I'm done.

well if you knowingly implied something then you are just letting everyone ASSume what your point is ... so FAIL on your point...

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Originally posted by DarthChrisious
Walmart has similar rules. For example, if you see someone shoplifting, you can notify the AP associate or manager, but neither you or they can pursue the suspect. If you do, you will be fired.

I can't remember where exactly, but a guy tried to rob a Walmart and was thwarted by three associates. The next day the three associates received awards from the police department and then were fired by Walmart when they showed up to work.

As a Former Assistant Store Manager for Wal-Mart I can verify this is true. Associates and Management are NOT to apprehend shoplifters, only Loss Prevention is allowed to. I have seen fellow Assistant Managers chase shoplifters trough parking lots and apprehend, most of the time it is over looked by upper management, but it is Wal-Mart Policy to only allow specially trained loss prevention Associates apprehend shoplifters.

nevermind

This is kind of crazy isn't it...This man is fired for doing something and the people at McDonalds were fired for not doing something....lol.....What are you suppose to do? Run to the bathroom or go take a smoke break.....