Home Depot Employees Fired for Catching Shoplifters
 

According to a termination letter Home Depot has fired four employees because they "pursued and assisted in the apprehension of suspected shoplifters." An internal company memo forbids employees calling police or detaining/accusing shoplifters.
Midwest City Police Chief Brandon Clabes said that letters of commendation are being considered for the men for their assistance in recovering stolen stock, apprehending the suspects, and recovering a stolen car driven by the suspects.

"The loss-prevention guy at our Shields (Boulevard) store turned around and told me all we need to do is tell the shoplifter to have a good day as they leave the store. I said that just doesn't make sense."

Source: news.yahoo.com

i am sure there is more to it then this

I just farted.

Did you smell yours?

insurance money is good money

the shoplifters were hiltons.

when i was a teen all stores i worked at had this same policy
You can NOT accuse anyone of shop lifting. The Loss prevention employee's jobs are to remember who they think stole somethjing and then later they review security tape and then go to the police then.


Pretty common practice in all stors

hahhaa.. thats fucking funny.. :thumbsup:thumbsup:thumbsup

They have rules in place like that because of the shoplifters who will come back after the store for stupid things like the clerk tackles him and the shoplifter sprains his ankle.

The kids did a good thing either way ...

Only in America can you steal from someone and then sue them afterwards. :1orglaugh

So many dumb policies...

When I was applying for a job at a clothing store in the local mall many moons ago, the manager told me their policy was to ask other customers if they saw what happened. They are very likely to help, apparently. But you are not to leave your post or the store, you can only call security and tell them everything you can.

That really sounds like the nuttiest thing in the world.

It's a liability issue. What if an employee pursues a shoplifter and gets shot or stabbed in the parking lot?
Home Depot would be on the line big time liability wise.

If they don't fire the employees for doing this, then their "policy" is worthless and they wouldn't have any liability shield.

Its a liability issue not only for the employees safety but the companies what happens if a store clerk catches a shoplifter who actually isnt a shoplifter.. that 'customer' can then sue the ass off the store.

im so walking out with a bbq

personally i could give a shit less if somebody is shoplifting from my employers, they aren't stealing nothing from me, and there's no way in hell i'm even going to risk the slightest chance that something might go wrong in the name of my employer...

yeah that cant be the full story

I so agree with this last one the most, though all of the above are all correct.

hilarious buddy!!..
the policy the really sucks. they don't even dare to explain it to their employees..

Years ago in college it was the same at Hudsons (now Macy's) when I worked there. I was in the 'collections' department, and people would walk straight in. Grab Polo, Tommy etc and walk back out to a waiting car, and speed off.

:disgust

at my retail job, i always said that if anyone tried to shoplift while i was there, or rob me, the most that i would do is ask them if they needed help finding anything. :) although what these guys did at home depot is definitely admirable, i wouldn't waste my time and energy for a company that probably pays a few bucks more than minimum wage, if that. :)

"The loss-prevention guy at our Shields (Boulevard) store turned around and told me all we need to do is tell the shoplifter to have a good day as they leave the store."

So the lesson here is that you can shoplift Home Depots and they won't do shit to you. Nice policy morons. No wonder Lowes has lower prices.

thread title should say "employees fired for breaking store rules"

the store has massive liability when it comes to accusing people of theft in the US. if you are wrongly accused, its an easy "defamation of character" lawsuit among others - AND they are settled out of court, daily... all across the country. thats why huge chains have their own loss prevention specialists, undercover security guards in the store etc... they are there to deal with it in the appropriate way and have policies against employees doing anything at all other than telling someone in their loss prevention dept. a fuck up by a store employee can cost 1000s of times more than the $10.99 drill bit he saw someone steal.

When you don't get a raise or a bonus because your company don't makes as much money. Wal-mart has abonus program that's based on how much profit a store makes and losses fro shoplifting do in fact effect how much your bonus is or if you even get one. Considering wal-mart's low wages the difference between getting an extra $3000 a year and nothing is pretty big.

the lesson every time you post is that you are a total fucking idiot.

now you are criticizing policies of billion dollar companies?

... i guess thats one way to pass the time between submitting galleries
:1orglaugh:1orglaugh

Who in the fuck are you exactly?

So no billion $$ company ever makes a mistake or has bad policies. When billion $$$ companies were using slave labor in 3rd world countries they were right in doing that because they are a billion $ compnay? Wasn't Enron a billion $ company? I guess their policies were ok too.

Now fuck off sheep rapists.

we're not exactly talking about using slave labor now are we? we are talking about how MOST large chains handle shop lifting. its cool that you exposed the trillion dollar US retail industry for being dumb.

good job.

its only 5:30 PST.. you still have time to cure cancer before you go to bed.

:1orglaugh

Just imagine Elli at a store trying to stop you.
God, I would shop lift like crazy and taunt Elli just to get her to tackle me. Then I would roll around with her, grabbing, rubbing, thrusting. It would be so well worth whatever punishment followed.

Holy shit, did someone fart

thats fucking crazy.

Well, all I can say is....
If that is actually true.
Fuck me...I'm going shopping.
Gimme a Uhaul and I am loading that bitch up.:1orglaugh

Its a liability thing. 16 year old store employees aren't trained in apprehending shoplifters lawfully. One little fuck up and the store can get sued for more than they lose in 6 months to theft.

Smart thieves knowing a stores employees are vigilant and will likely attempt to arrest a suspected thief can fake a theft to set them up in a scam. They smuggle in their own items that were lawfully purchased at another store and fully documented then they pretend to steal their own shit baiting the little kids to act, then they fake an injury in the false apprehension and turn around and sue the company for a lot of money.

Leave the shit to the pros little boys, its a numbers game, not hollywood.

im scared to death of getting sued here, since I often physically defend what I feel is right :1orglaugh:1orglaugh everyone sues everyone in FL over the dumbest shit.

My wife worked in retail for many years, and managed a number of Payless Shoes and Ross Stores - some in areas I wouldn't go into at night. On more than one occasion she's chased shoplifters out of her store only to get in trouble for it afterwards. Losing $30 worth of shoes is chump change compared to a multi million dollar lawsuit from family members when a store gets sued for "failing to protect it's employees".

Also, I believe in the state of California it's illegal for any store employee to touch or detain you for any reason.

Most theft in retail comes from employees. One year at Ross my wife noticed lots of stuff flying out of the backroom but not hitting the floor during the Christmas season. Security set up cameras in the back room and outside. Turns out a bunch of employees had decided it was much easier to toss brand new items directly into the trash instead of putting them out for customers to purchase.

if you're working at a fucking walmart, the last thing you should be worried about is trying to crackdown on shoplifters in the name of your employer. for what, a measily couple hundred bonus a year? fuck that. if anything i'd be plotting ways to assist the shoplifters...

Who the hell would really care if they were fired from Home Depot.. that's like McDonalds for old people.

You are all missing the point - this is a PR disaster for Home Depot whether they were right to fire them or not. Hey, it's on an adult board already and you can bet 1000 other places have picked up on it...

With all the big American retailers and their Rah Rah attitude, this proves once again it's transparent.

If their motto about being a Team blah blah blah is true, then this should make many employees stop and think that really it's about liability, corporate BS and so on. I'll bet a grand Home Depot will (or has) fired off a memo to every single store for damage control and spinnage ... and a little Team Spirit line at the end.

Then again, a majority of full-timers who work for companies like this are so brainwashed they probably are nodding their heads.. "Yeah, they deserved it for breaking our Team Code! Infidels!"

I guess I'll be headed to Home Depot tomorrow to steal some shit...

Hah yeah but if you go to Tiffany and run out with something the security guards will prolly knock your ass out before you make it to the the door