Pops has moved instances!!!Jan 27, 2019

Godddd stop spreading the propaganda that entry-level retail workers are punished for other people's shoplifting. They aren't! I've worked retail for 4 years at 5 different places (Walgreens, Target - at 2 locations, Sam's, and 2 local places) and have never heard of this happening. Shrinkage is considered part of expenses, entry-level employees aren't expected to stop shoplifting (and are more often explicitly told not to), and this is definitely against company policy at any big chain

I'm sure it does happen under the table or at small businesses, but people talk about it like it's guaranteed every time you nick a drink. It's fucking not, and by saying this every single time someone talks about theft you're doing exactly what the capitalists - including the ones who enact this policy - want. They're holding workers hostage and you're giving in to their demands

Boosts appreciated

Show threadAlexis [moving]Jan 27, 2019

@socalledunitedstates >entry-level employees aren't expected to stop shoplifting (and are more often explicitly told not to)

Can confirm, about the only training I got for my first job (at Mervyn's, may it rot in piss) was "if you see someone stealing, don't try to stop them."

Show threadPops has moved instances!!!Jan 27, 2019

@LexYeen And it's obvious why. Just imagine what would happen if these companies told their employees, "you will be punished if anything is stolen, so keep an eye out and call out anything suspicious"

In every single location you'd have employees following and probably yelling at black customers, guaranteed. It'd be a PR nightmare. No big company would make that policy

Show threadAlexis [moving]Jan 27, 2019

@socalledunitedstates And what if an employee got in a fight with someone and there were injuries? It's a liability thing for them, too.

Just for laughs? I went digging in my closet and found my employee handbook. Since Mervyn's died years ago, I figure it's safe to share part of the contents, so here's the entire section on "shortage" - theft, in other words.

(hastily-taken photos of an outdated employee training manual covering "shortage" and how Mervyn's handled it)

Show threadAlexis [moving]Jan 27, 2019

@socalledunitedstates Particularly noteworthy is the clothing subsection of the "Theft: Behaviors to look for" section - never mind the fact that clothing literally cannot be a behavior (WORDS MEAN THIIIINGS) - notice how they also list *visibly worn shoes* as something to look for to identify Scary Potential Shoplifters.

And this was in the late 90s and early 2000s. It can't have gotten any better since then.

Show threadan Even Eveier EveJan 27, 2019
@LexYeen @socalledunitedstates isnt visibly worn shoes like the target demographic of shoe sales?
Show threadAlexis [moving]
@jackofallEves Yup. Plus the quality and wear level of someone's shoes is often considered a good indicator of the wearer's social status and thus wealth in American society, so there's also a layer of "we don't want The Poors in our store" too.
Jan 27, 2019 at 2:49amWeb