So, I was leaving Best Buy yesterday...

[Squatch]

after buying a CD, and the guy in front of me was pulled aside by a store employee, seemingly at random, as asked permission to search his bag, his personal belongings, and his winter coat. The man submitted to the search, taking off his coat and standing there while two Best Buy employees looked through his stuff and even patted him down.

This occured before he passed through the anti-theft detection thingies located at the exits, so it gave me pause. I started running through responses on how I would decline permission to search me and how I would react once the situation would, invariably, escalate with the store security personnel calling law enforcement. Then, things would have gotten kinda weird, because I carry, as per my rights as a licensed citizen of Virginia, a concealed semi-automatic pistol.

I think I'm going to stop shopping at that store, because their sense and application of security is bordering on illegal, if you ask me. Even when the guy submitted to the search, a Best Buy employee is not a qualified law enforcement person and is opening the himself and the store to allegations of unlawful detention, unlawful search and seizure, etc.

So, anyways, just wanted to pass along my observations.

[demnan]

1. Did you happen to see this thread?

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x2509209

[Squatch]

2. Yep, I sure did, which is why I wanted to start this thread.

[LynneSin]

14. Don't treat the guy in the other thread as some sort of hero

He wasn't - he was an asshole. And yes, I read the whole story.

[bullwinkle428]

58. Are you sure we're talking about the same thread?

I think the original one was referring to the incident where the woman customer was tasered by the female security guard inside the store...

[Mika]

75. Tased AND arrested. For being upset about a false accusation of a fraudulent credit card.

:wtf:

[ixion]

3. don't protest too much, or you'll get tasered...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x2509209

[Sugar Smack]

4. I NEVER get that kind of attention at Best Buy.

:cry:

[Tyler Durden]

17. Would you like a nice "search?"

OOOO the bad thoughts I'm having.

[Sugar Smack]

24. Heh.

That's because you're a dirty old man, Tyler, with the most fabulous username EVER.

:D :yourock: :hug: :P :* :loveya: And your posts are freaking wonderful, btw.

[Tyler Durden]

77. Oh Pshaw.

But it is well accepted around here that I AM a dirty old man...

And the search offer still stands. Hey, that duel for your "charms" hasn't happened yet. Of course Tyler (the dirty old man, remember?) can't remember who he's supposed to FIGHT...

[flvegan]

25. You would if you were

wearing those jeans from your pic the other day.

mwrowr.

[Sugar Smack]

31. OMG. HAHAHAHAHAHAHA

:rofl: I freaking love you.

[Aristus]

36. A Sugar Smack jeans pic?

Um...can I see? :popcorn:


Me :loveya: me some Sugar Smack!

[flvegan]

43. Not JUST

a Sugar Smack jeans pic, but a close up of her ASS in tight jeans pic.

I pulled a *right click, save* on that. I'll share is Sugah says it's okay.

[Sugar Smack]

45. I can't believe this sub-thread, but here you go.

:rofl: :patriot:

[Aristus]

46. ...

:wow:

[LynneSin]

50. Sugar - thanks for making this the most sensible part of this thread

Although I didn't necessarily need to see your ass

[Sugar Smack]

53. Aristus did. That's what counts. BTW, I saw

a couple of Best Buy guys smoking a J in front of the doors of the store the other day. They were passing it back & forth & giggling. It was kind of cute. :D

[LynneSin]

60. You know, I think MorrisonGhost figured out the patdown

Most stores will patdown their employees and bag search before they leave.

[Sugar Smack]

62. We don't get a pat-down

at Stein-Mart, but we get a bag search.

[underpants]

61. and a MERRY CHRISTMAS to you too!!!

:bounce:

Niiiiiiiiiiiiiiice

[Sugar Smack]

64. This has got to be

the craziest subthread I've ever known. You are one of my favorite people here. M. Xmas to you, sweetheart.:hug: :pals:

[underpants]

66. PM is OPEN

;-)

:bounce:

Thanks really I really appreciate that

[flvegan]

84. Any more?

If they're too racy, my PM box is in it's usual place.

:evilgrin:

:popcorn:

[Aristus]

154. Mine, too.

B-)

[no name no slogan]

94. NOW PUT THAT AWAY

You should use your ass only for good, not for evil :evilgrin:

[Sugar Smack]

97. OK, mister smart-guy.

:smoke: After a brisk patdown, I discovered no weapons & decided to let myself go.

[no name no slogan]

105. Heh. You let yourself off light

I would've detained you indefinitely.

[Tyler Durden]

102. 10.0, 10.0, 10.0, 9.0

(The 9.0 came from the ex-East German judge. Who let THAT jealous twitch in here?)

Honey, we should send pictures of that to every soldier, sailor, airman or marine, just to let them know what they are REALLY fighting for in ANY conflict.

Nice skin on the back, too. I hereby issue you one IOU for what has been described by every female who let me do it as the "...best back massage I ever had, including the ones I PAID for..."

[Guava Jelly]

103. ..

yummy

[LeftyMom]

106. OMG, you posted your butt in GD.

Dang, you have a nice butt.

[Sugar Smack]

108. Oh, sweetheart.

Thank you. :D I also posted a kitty thread in GD. That was a nice moment. B-) :bounce: :toast:

[sasquatch]

123. I knew there was a reason why I got out of bed this morning

:D

[Crabby Appleton]

132. I'd love to search you for contraband, nice - ahh - pants

/this is the only sensible thread I've seen in GD today.

[Zech Marquis]

145. good god!!!

i like big butts and I cannot lie :evilgrin: Girl you got it going on :evilgrin: I'd search you myself just for the hell of it!!! :rofl:

[ellenfl]

67. perhaps you don't fit the profile? eom

[Sugar Smack]

71. My father does, believe it or not.

I look like your average hooligan & my dad like a retired professor (which he is). He gets searched at airports. I get let by immediately. :silly: I don't know what that's about. He has a sense of humor about it.

[Atman]

5. Okay, here's what I find puzzling about your story...

You were buying a CD?

:hi:

.

[Squatch]

8. Yeah, I know...I need to get with the times.

My wife has put the kabosh on my purchasing any new toys after I bought a $10K motorcycle, so the MP3 palyers, LCD tvs, etc, are going to have to wait.

[BOSSHOG]

20. I can't find

eight-tracks anywhere.

[boricua79]

47. hahahah...

you made me almost spit out my coke. Wasn't expecting your question.

I'm so BUSTED on that charge...I have over 50GB of downloaded music. Come and get me RIAA!!!! Screw you!

[zabet]

6. Two days ago...

I went threw a police road block
in a small town. My inspection
sticker was dead. The cops ended
up searching my vehicle. I consented
simply because there was nothing in
my vehicle and I did not want a confrontation
with 5 cops. I think the search was
because I was cutting through a known
crack dealing area. Needless to say,
I will now drive 17 miles to go to the
next nearest town before I will do business
there again.

[LynneSin]

11. How about just getting your inspection sticker renewed

That would solve alot of problem.

[zabet]

29. Did that right after the ticket

and the search. I had no idea
it was dead. It was not even 6
weeks out of date. The whole issue
with me is that I took it as racial
profiling. I was a white person driving
through an African America neighborhood
that is known for crack dealing. I live
in the country and cutting into town this
way cuts 3 miles one way off of my trip.
I had no issue with the ticket. The
search of my vehicle just because is what
I had an issue with.

[Sock Puppet]

109. they profiled you because you are white

must suck.
i hate how the white people are profiled in this country.

[zabet]

114. geeeez

depending on the area,
any race can be profiled.
Profiling is not race exclusive.
:eyes:

[Sock Puppet]

138. perhaps i am ignorant here,

but i kind of thought profiling is acceptable, even necessary for police work. where it becomes a problem is when they start targeting people because of the color of their skin. suddenly you're in trouble for DWB - driving while black.

i guess i am just saying - a white person got pulled over for looking out of place in a black neighborhood? i guess maybe it's about time.

[LostinVA]

117. You got a ticket because of the sticker, not your race

And, states don't give you any leeway on those inspection stickers, for good reason. How in the world can't you know the inspection sticker is expired???

[zabet]

121. First off...

The ticket is not the issue. The search is
the issue. As for not knowing, I am disabled
and homebound the majority of the time. I had
not moved that vehicle in 2 months. My daughter
usually does the 'running errands' thing for me.
I just happened to feel well enough to get out and
do a few things.
Again, the ticket was not the issue. WHY SEARCH
my vehicle over an expired inspection sticker? I
had legal DL, proof of insurance, registration and
current tags, yet THEY STILL wanted to search my
vehicle. WHY????

[LostinVA]

127. Because it's illegal to have a car with an invalid inspection sticker

On the road. I've lived in four states, and it has been the law in those states. I'm betting there's a good chance it's the law in all states that require stickers (I know parts of FL didn't used to require them). Thus, it gave them a legal reason to search your vehicle. You weren't searched because you're white, you were searched because of the invalid sticker. YOU'RE the one that said you were being racially picked on because you're white, and you don't seem to like those of us who don't agree with you.

Even though I know it doesn't keep all messed up cars off the road, at least car inspections help a lot. When I lived in Florida for a year, the amount of junked up cars with busted brake lights, etc. was appalling... especially when they would slam on their brakes while going 70 in I-4. This is a real public safety issue for me.

[zabet]

130. I will discuss it...

this is a common occurance in this
area. Whites being stopped simply
because they are white driving through
a known African American crack neighborhood.
I sat there and watched them ticket another
man for dead tags and did not ask him to
search his vehicle. He was African American.

edit to add: not a junker, a 2002 vehicle.
If I had showed my ass and got tazed I would
have gotten sympthy and support from here.

[Sock Puppet]

140. here again.

i don't think white people have ANY right, not for a couple centuries maybe, to complain about being TARGETED by police in AMERICA because they are WHITE.

[LostinVA]

143. Yup

[High Plains]

147. Why not? It happens...

...in precisely the same sort of circumstances this person is talking about. And it's a reflection of racialist thinking by the cops: Any white person down here in n*town must be a crackhead.

[zabet]

153. Thank you.

:hi:

[zabet]

152. So racism is OK as

long as it is only
directed at whites.
:eyes:
FYI - look white, am
half white, half Native
American.

[High Plains]

146. That is ridiculous.

Why should having an expired inspection sticker necessitate a search of the vehicle?

It was a fishing expedition, plain and simple. You're apologizing for police state practices.

If the police are asking your consent for a search, they have no probable cause to do one. If they did have probably cause, they wouldn't be asking your permission.

[NightWatcher]

7. if they ASK you to stop for a search, tell them no thanks. If they persist tell them that you want a

refund and let them know that you are never coming back. But if you are a shoplifter, the first rule is NEVER STOP WALKING. A store employee does not have power to lay hands on you. Once the cops get there, they can do whatever they want, but a store clerk cannot do shit. I used to be in loss prevention in college and I laughted every time I could convince someone to walk back to the security office. Once they got back there, the cops were en route. Then the cops would lay hands on them.

[Vickers]

9. I don't mind showing them a receipt, but if they want to pat me down

they can kiss my ass.

[LynneSin]

10. Did you ever think that perhaps they saw something on the store cameras....

...that made them suspect the person was attempting shop-lifting?

Unless they were frisking everyone I suspect that the people at the door just doing their job based on what camera security saw.

Perhaps you need to get over your paranoia - geez, what the hell does anyone need to be carrying a semi-automatic into Best Buy in the first place?

[Squatch]

12. Not paranoid at all.

I carry a pistol with me everywhere permissible by law. I don't expect to ever use it, but I relish in my ability to exercise my rights when and how I see fit.

[LynneSin]

18. Well personally I think your thread is pretty out-of-whack

You make assumptions that the Best Buy people just randomly pat down people.

Now as a frequent shopper at Best Buy I've never seen that done. But as someone who has worked retail I have seen it down when there was suspicion on security cameras of someone shoplifting.

Before you go making crazy assumptions thinking you're some kind of crazy hero posting this stuff here at DU - you're not. If the security cameras see someone acting suspicious they have the right to check. When you enter a store most of them have a sign that you're under video survelliance. Nuff said.

[Sugar Smack]

86. Frequent shopper! Dude, I thought you only bought vinyl!

:P

[truebrit71]

23. If that was the case they should have specifically told the person what it was that was "stolen"..

...and where on their person they were concealing it...other than that submitting to random pat-downs at an electronics store is waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay out of line...

[LynneSin]

35. You're just going to assume what this poster said was the truth

Once again we'll go ape-shit ready to boycott a store based on a random vision of one person.

Perhaps the security people did say that to the person they patted down? Did the OP say they heard that or taped the conversation?

I don't know what is scarier - random pat-downs & receipt checks at our local electronic store or the fact that DUers will jump off a cliff like a bunch of lemmings with any random post about the "little guy getting screwed by the corporation" thread that we read.

[Squatch]

39. You can't read to well, can you?

"Did the OP say they heard that or taped the conversation?"

From my OP: "...and the guy in front of me was pulled aside by a store employee, seemingly at random, as asked permission to search his bag, his personal belongings, and his winter coat."

And, I'll thank you not to accuse me of lying. It's not becoming of you.

[LynneSin]

48. And if was a court of law you'd be easily disqualified

This is what you heard - what did everyone else hear? Did you hear the entire conversation.

Personally if you feel you need to go through life carrying a semi-automatic weapon on your person then perhaps you should start investigating online shopping.

You have nothing here except a sad attempt to get people jumping off the cliff like a bunch of lemmings.

I'm not questioning what you said is the truth or not the truth. I'm questioning a bunch of people replying without once asking any questions or realizing that there are 2 sides to every story and then there is the truth.

[karlrschneider]

81. Actually you are precisely questioning the OP's truthfulness and you wouldn't have said a fucking

word if he hadn't mentioned having the gun.

[LynneSin]

89. Actually I would have

I've seen these 'BOYCOTT THIS STORE BECAUSE OF SOME RANDOM THING I SAW & HEARD PARTIAL INFORMATION ABOUT'

As for the gun - yeah, learn about online shopping!

[Squatch]

92. Yep, I's pretty good at using the internets.

I actually bought my gun online. :thumbsup:

[karlrschneider]

110. he he

;-)

[truebrit71]

54. I have no issue with receipt checks...but random body searches? No thank you..

..or perhaps you like the idea that the pigs could do that to you in the street as well?

[LynneSin]

68. I'm starting to believe that the body search probably wasn't a customer

Probably was an employee.

[truebrit71]

72. If that is the case then all bets are off and cavity search should have been administered...

...employees have ZERO rights....

[TheFriendlyAnarchist]

111. The former is scarier. N/T

[DFW]

118. He didn't say he was carrying the gun to protect him from the people in Best Buy

I'm sure he was carrying it to protect himself from being
jumped by the sales personnel at the Victoria's Secret next door.

J/K!!!!!!!

[Tyler Durden]

13. You might want to check stickers on store doors.

In MICHIGAN, CCW is limited by private property laws, ergo, any store that wants to can post saying "concealed weapons not permitted on premises."

Guess who started that here? Walmart.

[Squatch]

26. That's the first thing I look for.

I also scanned the huge Best Buy policies placard behind the registers for firearms prohibitions. They have none.

[JohnnyBoots]

15. You know I see the day in the not too distant future where corporations will

hire private security contractors (Mercenaries - All those Blackwater guys will need work once the war is over, if it ever is) to protect their own interests and to take the materials and labor they need from lesser countries. 50-100 years from now countries will become like the monarchy in the UK, a quaint old relic just for show. Corporations with thier own private armies will rule in new age of fuedalism.

[LiberalFighter]

40. The old Pinkerton = new Blackwater

[BleedingHeartPatriot]

16. My Best Buy story from 1998. I see things have only gotten worse.

I wrote a check for some items, during the Christmas rush. I was in a line with probably six or seven people behind me. The cashier entered the check information and then loudly declared,"Your bank declined the check."

I was pretty stunned and said something to the effect of "how could that be?". He then told me that it was probably because I had insufficient funds, loudly enough for the rest of the line, who were already becoming impatient because of the delay, to hear.

I went ballistic, the manager was called and he promptly corroborated what the kid was saying.I finally stormed out, frustrated and furious. I called my bank and the Best Buy credit confirmation number, which the manager gave me, to prove his point, and it turned out the kid keyed in the wrong check number...:mad:

I went back and gave an earful to the manager who seemed not in the least concerned that a customer had been treated so shabbily.

Thus began my personal Best Buy boycott. I see I haven't been missing much. I guess I should consider myself lucky the cops weren't called on me back then. MKJ

[MikeNearMcChord]

76. Or if you did it today, you would be Tazed, Bro!

:evilgrin: Sorry but it was in me when I saw this.:evilgrin:

[BleedingHeartPatriot]

79. LOL!

:spray:

Yep, that manager would have done it himself, happily.

:rofl:

MKJ

[karlrschneider]

112. Why would the check number have anything to do with its negotiability?

??

[truebrit71]

19. I would have told them to fuck off....

Unless you are directly accusing me of stealing something, and can tell me what it is I allegedly stole, and where on my person I have deliberately concealed it, you can kiss my hairy ass...

[NightWatcher]

21. whatcha packin?

[DS1]

27. three stolen Enya CDs

:D

[Squatch]

33. Enya is sooo last week for me.

[boricua79]

49. if you said that...

they'd probably tell you... "move along Mister...you're doing us a favor...take the CDs...Take them!!!!"

[Squatch]

30. Sig 229

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

22. I don't shop at Best Buy

and haven't since they ripped us off on a rebate. We correctly jumped through all the hoops, sending in the original receipts, etc, only to be told that they needed the original receipts. They wouldn't acknowledge that we'd already sent them in. Glad to know that there is another reason not to go there.

[Morrisons Ghost]

28. Actually

As a former BB employee. What you may have witnessed was the LP checking out an employee.As shocking as this may be it is standard practice at BB for all employees to be searched and their bags checked{they don't exactly "frisk" you,more they pat down the pockets of your jacket.

[LynneSin]

59. This is the first logical reply I've read (other than Sugar Smack)

And this has been standard practice for most retail stores. It's very easy for employees to walk off with inventory. Many of them are around product that hasn't had security tags added yet.

We were patted down each time we left back whenI worked at Victoria's Secret in the late 80s

[madinmaryland]

70. OMG! You worked at a Victoria's Secret?

[LynneSin]

87. Yep!

At LostinVA's wedding there were 3 of us all sitting right next toe each other that happened to do quality time working at a Victoria's Secret

[Tyler Durden]

104. Since we've seen some of Sugah SMACK (albeit in jeans)...

...will be be getting any VG samples..?

LORD. I have WAY too much circulating testosterone for a 55 year old guy.

[LeftyMom]

115. You neglected to mention that you were all grabbing each other's boobs. nt

[PVnRT]

149. Pics or it didn't happen

[madinmaryland]

126. ..

[riverdeep]

133. Yeah, people are surprised that empolyees account for the bulk of theft.

But it's true. Having worked a long time ago in Sears, I can tell you it was rampant at that store, at that time.

Here are some employee theft fun-facts:

Some other common examples of employee rationale for theft include:

* I am underpaid and I (sic) only taking what I deserve.
* Everybody does it, besides, they can write it off.
* The company makes a large profit and I deserve some of it.
* The company angered me and I got back at it.

More often than not, it is very difficult for a manger to accept the possibility that employees he/she hired, trusts and works beside are capable of engaging in such disloyal and dishonest activity. Consequently, it is easy to understand how management embraces misconceptions about the problem. Some of these misconceptions about employee theft include:

* Most theft is caused by non-employees.
* Well-paid and/or senior employees are trustworthy/loyal and don’t steal.
* Honest employees can be counted on to report employee theft.
* Employee theft is conspicuous and can be detected in its early stages.
* You don’t need to formally inform employees that theft will not be tolerated.

-Other studies estimate that nearly one-third of all bankruptcies are caused by employee theft and it takes approximately $20 in sales to offset every $1 lost to theft.-

http://retailindustry.about.com/library/uc/uc_case1.htm

[Dorian Gray]

32. They patted the guy down?

I've seen them check out the shopping bags (that's pretty normal), but search through purses and pat the person down?

I'd say no to that! And I wouldn't even have to find ways to word it. I'd just say, "If you think that there is a problem, you can call the police. But I have done nothing in order to deserve a pat down by store employees. I'll happily wait for the police, however, if you would like to call them."



ETA: Of course, I don't shoplift, so there wouldn't be a problem for me.

[Tesha]

74. Add one thing to your statement...

> I'd say no to that! And I wouldn't even have to find ways to word it.
> I'd just say, "If you think that there is a problem, you can call the
> police. But I have done nothing in order to deserve a pat down by
> store employees. I'll happily wait for the police, however, if you
> would like to call them."

Add one thing to your statement:

"And when I am proven to be correct, my next phone call will be to
my attorney to discuss how much we will sue you for. Or are you
ready to stop detaining me now?"

Tesha

[Lex]

34. That place completely sucks is why I don't shop there.

Nevermind the search/pat-down BS.

[SecularMotion]

37. I was stopped by a mall security person once and he wanted..

look in the shopping bag I was carrying. I told him he making a mistake and that he could check my bag only if his supervisor and a store manager were present to witness his error. I was taken to an office in the mall and waited until the managers arrived. When I let them look in my bag and they found my purchase along with a receipt, I informed them that it was the last time I would shop there.

[boricua79]

51. excellenty done...that's how you handle that situation

You make THEM look bad, and lodge your complain with the right people.

[truebrit71]

56. Nicely done.

..

[0007]

38. FUCK Best Buy! I've had nothing but confusion with the stupid

people they hire. I won't go near that goddamn store.

[boricua79]

41. Unless it's something stupid...

like my recently bought item flips on the scanner alarm, I don't let them check me. If they want to check my recently purchased bag, that's ok with me. But, I'm not allowing them to check my coat or anything else. For that, they'll HAVE to call security. And once they find nothing, I will ask to see a manager and lodge my complaint, write a letter to the company telling them how humiliated I was, and NEVER shop there again.

Never had to go through that, though.

[lpbk2713]

42. Profiled?

At this time of year the big box stores hire off duty LEO as store security.

[Morrisons Ghost]

98. All retail stores

Profile no matter what they say.Good shoplifters will tell you they are sucessful at it because they walk into stores dressed very nice and look like they have the money to buy anything in there. Teenagers in oversized coats are a dead giveaway and they will be scrutinized very closely.

[LynneSin]

44. You people are a bunch of fricking lemmings

Here's the formula to one crazy thread: Little guy in corporate location gets 'beat-down' in someway and that random happening is posted here at DU. Then all of DU just goes ape-shit crazy ready to jump off the damn cliff over something that everyone assumes is 100%.

You people just buy any crap posted here at DU and it's freaking scaring.

This was a random siting that a poster saw. Did the poster hear all of the conversation between the Best Buy employees and the person being patted down? Did the poster see any video surveillance camera feed that may or may not have shown reason as to why the store clerks did what they did.

No, what we have is a poster who saw something that 'looked' bad but has absolutely no other proof except what he saw. In a court of law this witness would pretty much be torn apart easily as unreliable.

Use your damn brains and stop being a bunch of lemmings. Ask questions first before assuming. If this is the best reason to stop shopping at Best Buy then that's really really sad!

[Morrisons Ghost]

52. Went back and read the op again

I am pretty convinced this was an employee and it is standard procedure at BB. Which is why the person didn't object.FWIW

[LynneSin]

55. Employee as the person who was patted down?

Yeah, even back in the late 80s early 90s when I was an employee at Victoria Secrets - we were searched everytime when we left. Employee theft is probably one of the easiest ones to get away with. I could see that with the pat-down, but in the 10+ years shopping at Best Buy, I've never seen them do it to a random customer.

[Morrisons Ghost]

63. Thats

Because its not done. No retailer in their right mind let alone the largest electronic retailer in the world would randomly search customers.Unless they have incontovertible proof that said customer stole something and even then BB LP procedures would politely ask the customer to accompany theLP to the LP office.It wouldn't be done out in the store.

[LostinVA]

83. That's because, in at least most states, you'd be sued to hell and back if you did that

I managed a big box bookstore for several years. NO WAY we would do that.

However, when I worked for Virgin (and I was a salaried, admin employee, not floor personnel), we were wanded and searched every time we left work. I agree with the other poster: this is an employee theft thing.

[LynneSin]

85. At Victoria Secret they would random ask to see our bra strap

I think they should do that to all Best Buy Employees

[LostinVA]

100. You probably weren't even wearing one!

[Morrisons Ghost]

93. Absolutely

Even with being searched and bag checked employee theft was still 50-75% of your shrink depending on the locale of said store.Employees know where all of the blind spots are in any store and some of them take full advantage of that knowledge.

[LostinVA]

99. I fired more than a few for it...

[Morrisons Ghost]

107. Me too

As much as it bothered me to do that it also bothered me because I owned stock in the company.

[dysfunctional press]

120. i worked as a store detective at two different ends of the retail spectrum-

Zayre & Marshall Field's...and at both places- employee theft was a bigger problem than actual shoplifters. especially when you get a few employees working together- they can rob you blind.

[LostinVA]

78. Exactly -- I don't shop at Best Buy, because I only buy 100% organic TVs

[Sugar Smack]

80. .

:D

[AlCzervik]

101. !!!!!

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

[PVnRT]

150. LostinVA just won the thread

[trotsky]

82. Dammit, LynneSin...

I was all ready to CALL CONGRESS RIGHT FUCKING NOW!!!!!1!!one!!! and you go and add some common sense to this thread.

[LynneSin]

88. I THINK YOU SHOULD CALL CONGRESS RIGHT FUCKING NOW FOR SOME COMMON SENSE

Because LynneSin and Common Sense are not close personal friends!

[Sugar Smack]

125. Hey, Lynn? Could you check your PM?

:-) Thank you. :hug: :loveya:

[LynneSin]

128. Sorry - was on lunch break shopping at Best Buy

Damnit, I was expecting a good time and got shit

:cry:

[Sugar Smack]

129. LOL!

:rofl:

[LynneSin]

131. Check my new thread out in GD

I'm such a trouble maker

Come visit me and see my new place :D

[Sock Puppet]

113. I love this rant

You go, Lynne!! :applause:

[Phillycat]

136. But wait...

Did you read the WHOLE article?

:)

[Kansas Wyatt]

57. I would become very pissed and loud.

Then I would demand to have the store manager brought to me, so I could chew off part of his ass and leave him a nervous wreck. Wanna call the police? Fine, let's go for the glory and you can make the evening news too.

Then again, nobody ever suspects me of doing anything wrong, and nobody ever challenges me either.

[LynneSin]

65. Read MorrisonGhost's post

More than likely it was a store employee. And common retail practice is a bag check when employees leave the store. The OP said the person in question had their coat on so no way of knowing if it was an employee or customer. I just think there is more to this story than what the OP knows or saw and that all of us perhaps should find better reasons to boycott Best Buy than over something like this.

[Kansas Wyatt]

69. I just wrote about how I would react if that was done to me.

Why? Because there is never any reason to do that to me, and I would be very offended by it.

[Morrisons Ghost]

73. Wow!

Cool for a minute there I thought I was on mass ignore:hi: Maybe its the post count.

[depakid]

90. I've encountered serious assholes at Best Buy- probably part of their corporate culture

So I basically don't go there anymore.

[AlCzervik]

91. what the hell, i must blend because i never get searched and hardly ever get asked

to show my receipt. I feel so boring.

[Morrisons Ghost]

95. You

didn't get searched because 1} you don't work there 2}they don't search customers unless customers have stolen something and even then its done behind closed doors with a police officer present.

[AlCzervik]

96. i used to work in the back office of a large retail chain, our bags always got checked

on the way out, didn't bother me a bit.

[dysfunctional press]

116. i used to be a store detective, so i know my rights and the laws of our state.

they can't just randomly force you to submit to a search- the store security person has to know WHAT they are looking for, and know WHERE you have it concealed.

most people don't know their actual rights, and have become accustomed to just giving them up when asked to by just about any person with even a modicum of authority.

[AngryOldDem]

119. That makes me uneasy as well

But you never know when someone will just walk out with a wall-size plasma TV. :eyes:

I always make a big deal out of stuffing my receipt in my bag as I leave checkout, and looking in my bag as if to make sure everything's there. What I don't get is at Best Buy the checkout lanes are practically in the parking lot, plus they have a Fort Knox security system there at the door, which should make the "greeter" redundant.

What I don't like is the fact that I can't browse the CDs or DVDs without some employee coming up to me every five seconds asking if I need assistance. I feel like I am under a presumed suspicion of shoplifting, and it pisses me off. Leave me the fuck alone. I know where the "assistance" is, if I so choose to avail myself of it. But when you need them, they're often nowhere to be found -- probably up front searching the guy for the plasma TV in his pocket.

[LostinVA]

122. The employee is MADE to ask you for assistance

If they don't, they can be fired. Most retailers make employees greet customers within X-feet of them. Anyone of those customers could be a secret shopper, someone from Corporate, etc. It has nothing to do with thinking you're a thief. The employee is trying to CYA.

And, as many other people have stated, the guy in the OP was probably an employee. It's illegal for employees to frisk customers. It is NOT illegal to search employees, if the employee agrees to it as contingent on their employment. I've worked two place where they did that -- no big deal. Employee theft is crazy -- usually close to 75% of shrink.

[Gormy Cuss]

137. It's probably not a good practice to leave the impression that it;'s a customer being searched.

It does set the tone that the store treats all customers like thieves.

Thank you for mentioning how much shrinkage is employee theft. It's one of those little things that people outside of retail don't know -- the garden variety shoplifters aren't the biggest problem. That's why smart stores focus less on them and more on employees. Same thing with identity theft -- it's not so much about strangers picking through your mailbox or garbage as it is about employees of stores, banks, and other credit issuers stealing.





p.s. Hi!

[LostinVA]

142. I had no idea myself until I became a retail manager

A little of it is money, but that's harder to go unnoticed. It's mainly product, and it happens ALOT, on all levels: from the PT clerk to a full-timer, to a a manager, to a company truck driver, to a VP. It's insane. You're right: "regular" shoplifters are a drop in the shrinkage bucket.

PS Hi!

At Virgin, we had to always leave the back door. Who knows in this instance, but I'm betting it wasn't a customer.

[Morrisons Ghost]

124. Its called "power serving"

And BestBuy does that for two different reasons 1]to help the customer 2]To control shrink Cds and dvds are very easy to steal and BestBuy makes very little on either one.

[riverdeep]

134. I wish I would get power served once in a while.

Or even just served. Whenever I've gone in there, they avoid eye contact and make a hasty retreat.

[Morrisons Ghost]

139. Talk to a manager

The employee who doesn't do this will be dealt with.

[DutchLiberal]

135. Why do you wear a semi-automatic pistol? I thought the days of the Wild West were over.

[Kucinich4America]

141. All they do at the local Best Buy here is reciept checking.

If they have ever done more than that, they never tried it with me, but then I'm bigger than anyone they have had working the door, and there aren't tazer-happy cops hanging around.

Personally, I think the receipt checking is a little ridiculous, when they can see who's coming directly from the check out line and who isn't, but it's no more intrusive than what they do at Costco, where you could (theoretically) roll out the door with a full shopping cart for free if they didn't have someone at the exit door.

[Zech Marquis]

144. as a Best Buy employee

this time of year, we do step up our watch for any shoplifters. Even I have to be searched and jacket patted down before I leave. But unless you were seen on camera as looking sneaky, al you have o do is simply show your receipt and open your bag. So while I can see how this can be seen as something disturbing, as a fellow DUer I can honestly tell you all that this is only to keep people from ripping us off.

[krispos42]

148. And this is why the receipt guy had a point

If you consented to be searched at Best Buy and told them about (or let them find) your pistol, there is a good chance that either the employee would freak or call over the store manager, who would, on the side of caution and liability, call the cops.

If you didn't consent to be searched and it got into a verbal argument, then the cops show up to the disturbance and it turns into a big furball. You probably won't go home for hours, and only after a trip to the local police station to "sort things out".

[Virginia Dare]

151. They search you and pat you down before you enter...

a professional football game, a concert, etc. I guess it's a similar thing. I'm really not sure how I'd react in that situation, but I'd be tempted to throw the shit down and walk out.