Charges Dropped Against Papers Please Michael Righi Circuit City

[RamboLiberal]

Mentioned in a business article about stores checking receipts at the door - the balance between trying to prevent loss and pissing off customers...and the legality. Interesting article IMHO. BTW I think both sides in this one were idiots!

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Mr. Righi's case may not be one that resolves the consumer/retailer relationship problem since his arrest came after he left the store and the police officer involved ended up charging him with obstruction. His lawyer said yesterday the criminal matter had been resolved and charges would be dismissed.

His decision to take a stand, as others have done in the past, brought a mixed response from online readers.

On the one hand, people empathized. "Kudos to you," wrote a blogger identified as J.H. "You've done what I've thought about doing every time I've stood in line to have my receipt glanced at and marked with a highlighter. It is no wonder that I do most of my shopping online."

Then there were those like the contributor who used the user ID "Required." "I'm not going to candy coat this. You are an idiot. You're on PRIVATE PROPERTY in a store which sells lots of expensive stuff. They didn't demand a strip search, they wanted to SEE YOUR RECEIPT AND LOOK IN YOUR BAG."

A Circuit City spokesman reached last week declined to get into specifics on this case but said organized theft rings often target consumer electronics retailers. The company assigns associates to check bags and receipts when stores, such as the one in Brooklyn, Ohio, experience high theft rates.

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07262/818584-28.stm?cmpid=business.xml

[RamboLiberal]

1. Giving this a kick since a lot of DU sure were interested

in this story recently.