Corporate Shoplifting

[jackandcat]

It looks like shoplifting is increasing quite a bit at our store. I've personally seen way more thefts being pulled off right in front of my eyes than was the case 2 years ago. I'm told the District is adding more restrictions on what AP is allowed to do. We are seeing a lot of AP staff quit and go work at other places where they are allowed to do their jobs.

Is Corporate becoming more tolerant of shoplifting? What are you seeing at your stores? Is this a good thing for Target?

 

[TechNix]

From my understanding is Target is hesitant about some practices because of lawsuit risks.

 

[Captain Orca]

They can wheel a TV out the front door in a cart, AP calls them out, thief tells him/her to screw off. Free TV. Come on in, help yourself.

 

[Captain Orca]

Same with police, they sit in the parking lots and screw off for hours watching speeders and sign runners. Never stop them. No balls.

 

[RWTM]

It looks like shoplifting is increasing quite a bit at our store. I've personally seen way more thefts being pulled off right in front of my eyes than was the case 2 years ago. I'm told the District is adding more restrictions on what AP is allowed to do. We are seeing a lot of AP staff quit and go work at other places where they are allowed to do their jobs.

Is Corporate becoming more tolerant of shoplifting? What are you seeing at your stores? Is this a good thing for Target?

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[Xanatos]

Let's try not to spell out what AP can and cannot do on a public forum.

 

[Black Sheep 214]

And guess who pays for all that shoplifted stuff? We do, in cut hours and higher prices.

 

[ION the Prize]

You'd think that walking out with free merchandise would help our Net Promoter score.

 

[buliSBI]

I have personally seen small item thefts turn into wrestling matches.
There was a past Cart Attendant at one of my stores that was killed because the criminals thought they were AP.

 

[BurgerBob]

They can wheel a TV out the front door in a cart, AP calls them out, thief tells him/her to screw off. Free TV. Come on in, help yourself.

Pretty much yea.

 

[BurgerBob]

I have personally seen small item thefts turn into wrestling matches.
There was a past Cart Attendant at one of my stores that was killed because the criminals thought they were AP.

Had a coworker threatened with a hammer one night as the thieves were breaking into a case.

 

[redeye58]

In the '80s I worked for a major mall retailer & two of our security people tried to stop a shoplifter in a U-haul.
One was hanging in the window trying to grab the keys while the other was calling in the license plate; the thief gunned it in reverse running over the person behind & knocked the other off while side-swiping other parked cars.
One security person died, the other hospitalized & hundreds of thousands of dollars in damaged vehicles.

 

[Sparkle5]

Morning homeless down deoderant and oral care aisles, eye drops of all kinds, even taking the time to return empty box to shelf.

 

[jackandcat]

You'd think that walking out with free merchandise would help our Net Promoter score.

When our normal paying guests see these shoplifters stealing merchandise right in front of their eyes, I wonder our paying guests are thinking. Obviously, in extreme cases in San Francisco, normal guests who are fearful of being harmed by violent shoplifters sometimes stop shopping in that particular store location.

 

[commiecorvus]

When our normal paying guests see these shoplifters stealing merchandise right in front of their eyes, I wonder our paying guests are thinking. Obviously, in extreme cases in San Francisco, normal guests who are fearful of being harmed by violent shoplifters sometimes stop shopping in that particular store location.

Depends on what they are shoplifting.
Food, diapers, etc. I saw nothing, say nothing and care very little, except maybe that they don't get caught.

 

[NotCynicalYet]

Depends on what they are shoplifting.
Food, diapers, etc. I saw nothing, say nothing and care very little, except maybe that they don't get caught.

I feel you, but I'd add that diaper fencing is actually a thing, so less humanitarian upside there.

 

[redeye58]

Also a lot of blackmarket for formula.

 

[RWTM]

Also a lot of blackmarket for formula.

👎🏻

 

[Ringwraith917]

What AP can and absolutely will do is fire people for spilling company secrets. So be careful guys

Edit: maybe not AP but HR

 

[NKG]

3 million dollar Lawsuit or recover $500...which would target prefer

 

[BurgerBob]

Depends on what they are shoplifting.
Food, diapers, etc. I saw nothing, say nothing and care very little, except maybe that they don't get caught.

I had the same view.

 

[RWTM]

They can wheel a TV out the front door in a cart, AP calls them out, thief tells him/her to screw off. Free TV. Come on in, help yourself.

I once walked out the front of my stores doors with a 32 inch TV. AP is the one who informed me about my winnings! Raffle ticket season 21’ I felt lucky. I feel like I had a higher probability of winning because I saved all my tickets and invested like 100 into the tub…. Idk what’re the odds of that. I ended up gifting someone less fortunate than I was because it was Christmas time. So I dropped it off in the donation thing at my local gas station. Plus it was 720P.

 

[jackandcat]

What AP can and absolutely will do is fire people for spilling company secrets. So be careful guys

Edit: maybe not AP but HR

Agreed. We must avoid disclosing internal corporate secrets. IMHO the increased level of shoplifting is extremely discouraging for many TMs. Most of us who work in retail believe that stealing is not morally right. Many of us are concerned about the threats posed by criminals engaged in criminal activity, the risk these counterfeit "guests" pose to the safety and peace-of-mind of legitimate guests as well as our fellow TMs. The frequency of shoplifting has increased over the past 22 months, it looks like individuals choose to intentionally shoplift as a "side hustle" or a career choice. FYI the 22 months figure is not derived from internal Target data, it's derived from news coverage of loss-management statistics and publicly-available statistics on retail shoplifting nationwide.

 

[RWTM]

Agreed. We must avoid disclosing internal corporate secrets. IMHO the increased level of shoplifting is extremely discouraging for many TMs. Most of us who work in retail believe that stealing is not morally right. Many of us are concerned about the threats posed by criminals engaged in criminal activity, the risk these counterfeit "guests" pose to the safety and peace-of-mind of legitimate guests as well as our fellow TMs. The frequency of shoplifting has increased over the past 22 months, it looks like individuals choose to intentionally shoplift as a "side hustle" or a career choice. FYI the 22 months figure is not derived from internal Target data, it's derived from news coverage of loss-management statistics and publicly-available statistics on retail shoplifting nationwide.

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[jackandcat]

Shoplifting seems to be steadily increasing in our store. It is very demoralizing, and guests are sometimes puzzled why we can't go after the perps. Our store is in a fairly well-heeled part of town, and shoplifting wasn't a highly-visible problem until quite recently. The perps are becoming increasingly brazen and fearless.

I will concede that Target values the safety of its team members, and doesn't want us to risk being harmed by the perps.
The downside is that I've seen some AP folks quitting on short notice to take jobs at other businesses which are a bit less passive-aggressive about this.