Shoplifters!!! ARGH!!!

[MosMom]

Just a vent because I am tired of dealing with shoplifters!! I work at Gymboree and we have a "ring" of shoplifters who frequent the store. It used to be much worse so I shouldn't complain but it seems to be starting up again and it ticks me off. We got one of them (the leader) arrested a few months ago and banned her group from the store but now she has found others to come in as well. They communicate on cell phones and we can hear them saying "What should I go for" or "What is worth the most right now".

Bottom line: They don't care about getting caught because they rarely leave the store with the merchandise. Most of the time there are only two of us working and they come in with a gang of 4 or 5 and spread out so we can't watch them all. Law says we have to see them put it into their bag and never let our eyes off of them until they leave the store. Often they will walk up to the register to return something they never left the store with. We can't even refuse the return. We call security but they really can't do anything either.

So the kicker is tonight we had a woman come in and actually ADMIT to us that she bought the two sweaters she was returning outside the mall for $20. I'm in shock she admitted it! Then she returned an outfit with the receipt (paid with cash) and got the cash back. Then purchased the items again with the merchandise credit she received for returning the sweaters. I don't even know what shady nonsense she was up to but it was obvious as we had "the girls" in just minutes before she came in.

I know most of this doesn't even make sense but it just makes me physically ill to watch them pull $600 worth of clothing out of their OLD NAVY bags (in all different sizes, sexes, and nothing matches) and know they never purchased it.

They've returned upwards of $1200 in a day before. I just wish there was a way to stop them. Apparently, Gymboree doesn't think security tags work and are more trouble than they are worth but at this point I'd be willing to try anything.

WHEW! I guess the part that irritates me the most is that Gymboree customers pay for it in the end, including me. Another thing that kills me is that they bring their kids with them. Their kids are dressed in rags (while they are dressed in high fashion) so I know that they are selling the clothes/merchandise credits on the street and not even spending it on their own children. *sigh* I'm done now, I just had to vent.

 

[Serena]

I hate them too. We have them every day. We have security tags on most stuff and cameras everywhere. The security people do a great job.
I shouldn't take it personally when they steal from my area, but I do.

 

[Pop Daddy]

long post

 

[MosMom]

Originally posted by Pop Daddy
long post

Yeah, knew that was coming

 

[Stepharoonie!]

I know just how you feel! It's tough having to watch for people like that

 

[mommytotwo]

I would be ticked off too if that happened to me and I knew what was going on right under my nose.

 

[Shutterbug]

Scum!

 

[robinb]

Originally posted by MosMom
JMost of the time there are only two of us working and they come in with a gang of 4 or 5 and spread out so we can't watch them all.

I just shopped at Gymboree (Gym Bucks, ya know) and I noticed that the sales people hung around the register. Is it possible that one person could staff the register while the other stayed near the front and watched the others? If you recognize this "gang" of thieves then I would see no reason why you should treat them like regular customers.

 

[Jenn Lynn]

Do you give cash back for those returned items with no receipt?

 

[MosMom]

No, she had an outfit that had a receipt - paid for with cash. She returned that for cash but then bought the outfit back again with the merchandise credit she received for the 2 sweaters she said she bought off the girls for $20. She bought some other items because the merchandise credit covered more than just the outfit. So she got cash back for the outfit with the receipt, then bought the outfit back again plus more for the $20 she paid the shoplifters for. I know it sounds confusing and shady but what she did was technically legitimate.

We're not supposed to hang around the register unless we're ringing someone up or answering the phone etc. So in our store we don't hang around the register and move around often. If we stopped them from coming into the store with no proof they shoplift, they could sue us for discrimination.

 

[robinb]

Originally posted by MosMom
If we stopped them from coming into the store with no proof they shoplift, they could sue us for discrimination.

I'm not saying that you should stop them ... just have one person on the register and the other one at the front of the store watching the rest.

 

[Jenn Lynn]

I understand. I used to work retail. So the lady who was returning was not part of the gang? The gang just sold her the stolen stuff?

I worked at a deprtment store and people would try to return and then repurchase at a clearence price. We had to put the merchandise back onto the floor before they could buy it again. And really it could take hours to get that done when we were busy.

 

[MosMom]

Both of us leave the register and follow them but since they split up into separate areas, it is hard to watch all of them like a hawk. If just a few come in, it is easy and they usually leave quickly but when they come in with such a large group...it is tough. We call security and they just stand there.

 

[Manda1219]

Ugh, went through that every day for 2 1/2 years at Kids R Us...Look how far they got! (For anyone who is unaware, they are now closed for good! ALL of them!)

Does Gymboree set a limit on how much they can return without a reciept or ask for ID?
We had to use a driver license, which got refused the third time, but they always went around it. The last year we were open they wised up and (not sure if it was the company or just my managers) decided we could refuse returns if it seemed suspicious and give them excuses why. For example, we had one man try to return 4 of the SAME winter coats with no reciept. They were stuffed in a garbage bag, and we had seen him many times before walk in with nothing and leave with bags full of clothes...hmmmm, must've visited the clothing fairy who hides in our convenient for shoplifting fitting rooms!....We weren't allowed to accept winter jackets without reciepts during this past year, so I got off easy on explaining that one.
But oh do I have stories that could form their own thread!!! Just try and keep your head up while Gymboree loses money, and hope that they don't pull a Kids R Us on you and one day you don't read the newspaper and find out you'll be out of a job in 3 months
I hope they start smartening up soon...Maybe write corporate a letter about what happened to us unfortunate souls at KRU??
hahaha Oh, and one more thing-just be thankful you have security. We didn't. I've been cursed at, threatened called a white trash racist, my managers have had hangers thrown at them, been hit, kicked, etc all for just staying within close range of someone while they stuff their bags with our clothes...and they all flee before the cops arrive.

 

[magicmouse2]

Thats awful having to put up with that!
I would write a letter too detailing how much the store is losing to shoplifters on a weekly basis. I wonder - how do Disney deal with shoplifters ? The CMs never follow you round their stores and I dont recall them having security tags on their goods.

 

[LJC1861]

...and boy did we have a problem with shoplifters!

Our store here in NYC was at 66th St. andColumbus Ave. on the street level. We had huge gass windows and 2 doors. Our gang would sit watching just outside the side door until they saw the part time security guard leave his post and one or more of us leave the front area for any reason. Then they would run in the side door, scoop up whatever they could and run out the revolving door. We would often get calls from the newsstand guy out front telling us that we had been robbed. ARRGHH!!!!!!!

We also had the usual empty bag people who would then leave with full bags. Then there were the DVD theives. They are SO eas to slip inside a coat or bag. Those were the easiest to catch, but technically we could never do anything. Because there was never more than 2 of us on the floor at any time it was physically impossible to watch all areas at once. I think this is an ongoing problem in all of retail.

Linda

 

[NeverEnufWDW]

And people wonder why there is still prejudice in the country.....

 

[JESW]

Yikes! So sorry that people are so low they would do something like that! Would Gymboree start a policy of non-cash refunds and only store credit?? I know that several stores do that now. Do you think that would stop the thefts a bit if they knew they would only get store credit and not cash??

Jill

 

[Kristi1357]

MosMom, I feel your pain! I work at a certain store run by a mouse and it happens much more than I would have thought. Why some people think they deserve a free ride is beyond me! This stuff drives me nuts.

I personally LOVE those Gymboree clearance racks!

 

[iNTeNSeBLue98]

Since neither you/your store or the mall security can't do anything without physically catching them in the act of shoplifting, can't you contact the police department? This group is still stealing and that (poor) woman, whether she knew it was wrong or not, also commited a crime - two actually - by buying the sweater outside and returning it for store credit.

Are there security cameras in your store? Does the merchandise has electronic sensor tags?

And people wonder why there is still prejudice in the country.....

What does this post have to do with this thread, NeverEnufWDW?