Catch a crook, lose your job.
Since loss prevention at Home Depot is not a high priority, they must have oodles of money and don't need any of mine.
Besides, I've always hated being greeted at the door with their employment drug policy. I've wanted to bring in a specimen so they can know if I'm straight enough to be a customer. With Lowe's just as close, why should I put up with that?
Comments
Posted by: James Chang
Posted on: June 8, 2007 12:41 PM
I bet that Home Depot did not want to face some sort of lawsuit if the shoplifter really did buy the equipment, or if one of its employees tackles the shoplifter causing injury, and that person files a lawsuit.
How about saying "Have a nice day. Are you stealing that from our store? You are, good. Then here is a taser-testing demonstration."
You might hand them a cart and say everything's on the house.
Posted by: jeffrey smith
Posted on: June 8, 2007 05:20 PM
Firing the employees is not logical, but the rest of the policy is. If the store does not have ironclad proof of the theft--on video or eyewitness who directly saw the theft--they won't detain the shoplifter. The possibilities of a suit for false arrest are too great. And employees are discouraged from trying to stop the shoplifter on their own--they don't know arrest procedures and they can get hurt. Floor associates are told to simply call loss prevention, and let loss prevention deal with it.
And perhaps you don't know that shoplifting like this is actually not the major source of theft. Internal theft--by employees and those in the supply chain--is the major source. And lots of shoplifted items don't even leave the store--the rapid refunders (aka those people who take the item up to the register and say they want to return it, and they are so sorry, they don't have the receipt) want money, not merchandise.
Posted by: Jared
Posted on: January 14, 2008 03:24 AM
Maybe Home Depot should put shoplifters online at a website like this http://www.postacrime.com!