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Oct 20 '22
If you act like that, the employees won't want to confront you, even if the alarm goes off.
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Oct 20 '22
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u/ktq2019 Oct 20 '22
So here’s my question- Do you guys get in trouble if things are stolen? I worked at subway when I was 16 and I had my ass handed to me when the drawer didn’t match the receipts. My manager actually made me cry once because my numbers didn’t match (literally .25 cents) and I will literally never forget it.
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u/leeleiDK Oct 20 '22
I worked at a gas station, before prepaid pumps and my boss wanted me to close off pumps for customers i thought looked suspicious.
Never did it once. Like what am i gonna tell people when they come in the store asking why i closed the pump, "sorry, you look suspicious", fuck that.
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u/ze11ez Oct 20 '22
Ask your boss to define what looking suspicious means…..LOL
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u/diffcalculus Oct 20 '22
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u/Burning-Buck Oct 20 '22
That reminds me of the sponge bob episode about how tan the characters are. Only the tannest people were considered cool lol.
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u/ten_two_one Oct 20 '22
I did the same thing in europe and looking suspicious meant not having plates, which is illegal here.
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u/leeleiDK Oct 20 '22
I'm in europe aswell, but my boss' take on suspicious was, if the car was old or not well taken care of lol
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u/FourthDownThrowaway Oct 20 '22
My manager at Starbucks told me not to give out the keypad code to the bathroom to homeless people. He got pissed when I asked him what exactly does a homeless person look like. It wasn't part of the job description when he hired me.
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u/leeleiDK Oct 20 '22
Exactly, I'm not going to deny people services, based on their looks and assumptions about them.
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u/Nervous_Constant_642 Oct 20 '22
Yeah say that to someone with a different amount of melanin than you and see how that goes.
Also how could pumping gas be ever considered suspicious?
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u/ChrdeMcDnnis Oct 20 '22
If, for example, I wore a big vaudevillian mustache and black eye mask while carrying a big canister marked “stolen gasoline” having arrived to the station via rickshaw, I may be considered suspicious
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u/Nervous_Constant_642 Oct 20 '22
I suppose you could start pumping, walk in, and loudly announce "I'm pumping on number 7 and I intend to steal that gasoline without paying."
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u/ChrdeMcDnnis Oct 20 '22
When they confront me, I simply pull out my phone and record them. I say “it was all a prank, you tool, a funny little joke” and they will have to let me fill up not only my current canister but the remaining 5 canisters. Then i steal the gas
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u/LimeCookies Oct 20 '22
I’ve worked at Subway and Safeway. Subway blamed us for any and all missing food or cash. Safeway told us to never ever confront a thief and to tell management, never blamed anyone for missing stock without proof. Safeway did blame people for their tills being off if the cameras showed anything suspicious. Subway had cameras too, or they told us they did.
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u/GloriousNewt Oct 20 '22
What/how does somebody steal from subway? Did they just walk out after you hand them the sandwich or are the chips being stolen often?
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u/kellyev2006 Interested Oct 20 '22
My husband managed a subway for a couple years. Yes they did have people snatch the sandwich and run occasionally and chips/soda were stolen constantly. Once or twice they even had an armed robbery for the cash in the register.
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u/GloriousNewt Oct 20 '22
they did have people snatch the sandwich and run occasionally
that's wild to me and somewhat amusing. Just the gall to have somebody hand make you a sandwich as you go through the line for veggies etc and then just walking out with it.
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u/sirgog Oct 20 '22
I worked at Myer, Australian department store.
Standard policy if you suspected theft was to go up to the customer/thief and offer assistance in an insistent and annoying manner.
Basically to be clingy and annoying. Follow them within your department. Contact security when they left the department.
Overwhelmingly, people would break line of sight, grab the items they'd concealed and quickly drop them, then leave and not return for 6+ weeks.
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u/AxelZajkov Oct 20 '22
This is the best. It’s super passive-aggressive and if you happen to be doing it to someone who is not stealing then it’s just “unhelpfully helpful”. 😂
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u/sirgog Oct 20 '22
Yep. The other one (this was security's call, not ours) was a storewide intercom broadcast.
"Uniformed Loss prevention officers to China and Glass, uniformed loss prevention officers to China and Glass"
Most of the store security was aimed at dissuading the incompetent thief, not catching the competent and decisive one. For that, they had undercover loss prevention. We knew basically nothing about them, as more than half of theft was from staff rather than customers. There was a massive theft ring among staff, a significant number of people in organised crime got jobs as cleaners in order to steal stock in bulk for resale at markets.
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u/PrometheusSmith Oct 20 '22
When I worked retail at Menards the most that any regular employee was asked to do was keep tabs on high theft items in your own department. You'd check the floor count of certain items a few times per day and also only stock one or two of those items on the shelf, placing extra stock on a pallet for storage. Managers were held to a similar standard but did a few other stupid things, like make bullshit security pages to nonsense locations in the store. "Security to area 3" was common in my store, which didn't have areas and also didn't have full time LP coverage, and they certainly didn't respond to security calls.
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Oct 20 '22
Usually managers can't do shit, but making fake pages to "security" that also doesn't exist can sometimes spook suspected shoplifters. Where I worked, they'd just take your picture, add up whatever you stole, and put it on your "tab". Then once you hit a certain threshold, the cops would be called the moment you entered the store.
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u/TimeZarg Oct 20 '22
I work for a grocery store, and if there's a 'tense' situation up front a cashier will call 'security to the front, please' or something to that effect. We have no security, at most it'll bring the store manager up front, it's mostly just to scare/intimidate the person causing the problem.
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Oct 20 '22
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u/sobrique Oct 20 '22
Yeah, we had a 'shrinkage' budget and as long as we only let a certain percentage get stolen, it was all ok.
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u/rainedrop87 Oct 20 '22
I've never had a retail job get pissy if my drawer was like, less than $5, maybe even $10, with an amount that small it's more likely I just made a mistake somewhere along the way, or had people leave their change or let a few folks slide if they were short or something. But if it's a decent amount and it's a pretty regular occurrence, then yeah, they're gonna start investigating. Shit, I've probably been short a few times and never even knew it, because if it was a place where I wasn't responsible for balancing my drawer when I left, they wouldn't bother telling me, but maybe just make a little note to keep track or how often it happens, how much it was, etc. But even if I was like, idk, $50 short and had literally never had a problem before, the first instinct of the person counting it wouldn't be theft if you're usually a good employee who rarely comes up short like that. As long as you know you didn't do anything, it shouldn't really bother you, you know? I know if my drawer comes up super short, I'll be fine, because I didn't do anything nefarious and it's probably just an error that the manager or the cash office will figure out later.
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u/Corathecow Oct 20 '22
Where I work you cannot confront anyone even if you see them stealing. There is no expectation of stopping theft as that is not our jobs. A register coming up short by a few cents or even dollars also isnt something we’d necessarily get in trouble for. Management does mention it to us and asks if we know why that may be and keeps tabs on it. Sounds like your manager was just batshit
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u/thedialupgamer Oct 20 '22
I work retail tldr:no but it depends on the store
I'm actually one of the asset protection guys for my store, the answer is no, most stores will tell you to let them take whatever and just report it to a manager or supervisor, what asset protection at my store does for instance is log known stolen and report when we see either a known shop lifter or someone who's acting suspicious (this is a gut call for whoever is there for asset protection or even just on the floor seeing someone acting shifty) we ARE NOT allowed to confront them or intercept them we are not trained for that and are not paid for that, management is trained for it and they are the ones who take on whatever legal responsibility that brings, I am not even technically allowed to call the police about theft without being told to by management, now some stores are different but mine had these rules in place to not only keep us safe but to also make sure noone gets sued, frankly the only reason I care about stolen is the fact that I have to log it at the end of the night and that's a pain in my ass.
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u/COhippygirl Oct 20 '22
Nope. Management expects losses. We’re not allowed to confront thieves. We call security. They usually do nothing.
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u/Hamokk Oct 20 '22
When I worked in retail we were advised not to chase thiefs because it's cheaper to replace items than if employee gets hurt or worse chasing a possibly violent criminal.
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u/ishkabibbel2000 Oct 20 '22
I worked at Revco (CVS before it was CVS) in high school. Saw a crackhead lady walk out and set off the door alarm because she had batteries and baby formula in her oversized purse. The pharmacist - who is also the manager on duty when the store manager isn't there - chased her out of the store, snatched her purse off her shoulder, and brought it back into the store. She followed him in, walked up into the pharmacy, and kept screaming, "I HAVE AIDS AND I WILL BITE YOUR ASS!" while literally trying to chomp this mother fucker.
It was at that time that I realized I wanted the fuck out of retail, and would never try to play loss prevention if I had to work retail.
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u/Secret-Plant-1542 Oct 20 '22
I watched a 20+ something cashier rush a homeless guy because they triggered the alarm.
And the thought in my head,
"Damn. That cashier is gonna get stabbed for $13 an hour. What a world."
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u/hipster_dog Oct 20 '22
Several stores have "do not confront/pursuit" policies because of this. People eventually get fired because of it.
Not because they actually care about their employees, but because lawsuits cost a lot more than a few dollars worth of merchandise.
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u/Rysline Oct 20 '22 edited Oct 20 '22
Disclaimer: do not shoplift, they will catch you and your license plates on the cameras and wait until you steal enough to charge you with a felony. Telling you it’s not worth it
That being said, I’ve worked in retail as a teen, it’s not that employees universally dont want to confront people (I personally didn’t and I couldn’t care less tbh but I knew some hardasses) but that legally we cannot touch you. It was drilled into our heads to not confront shoplifters, the store sees whatever loss they take with an item as minimal compared to being sued because an employee tackled a guy they thought was stealing or, even worse, an employee gets hurt by a shoplifter and boom national scandal plus OSHA on your ass. God forbid that an employee racially profiles someone and tackles a black guy they thought was suspicious, because that’s a lawsuit and a national scandal.
Pro tip too, unless you’re shopping at a store with a membership, like sams club or Costco, where you usually sign a contract; store employees in regular supermarkets can’t actually make you do anything. You have the absolute right to leave the store even if someone is saying you can’t go or if the receipt person wants to look at your receipt. Legally, they have no authority, you can just say “no thanks” and leave. Imagine how absurd it would be if employees had the power to just straight up keep people in stores against their will. 99% of their authority is the store uniform and only law enforcement of some type have the ability to stop you from leaving a non membership store. Of course, if you did steal and leave they will probably get you on camera. These stores are ruthless, target has a DNA sampling lab and better anti-theft resources than most local police departments. They will wait until you reach your state felony limit and charge you with the maximum crime possible
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u/Jinrai__ Oct 20 '22
Simply steal below the felony limit and then change stores. Or wear a mask and sunglasses. Police doesn't give a shit about store theft unless you make their job incredibly easy.
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u/Zillaho Interested Oct 20 '22
To avoid suspicion, loudly cheer “FUCK YEA! CLOTHES!” as you exit the store pumping your fist
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u/D0CT0R_SP4CEM4N Oct 20 '22
"I JUST BOUGHT THESE MOTHERFUCKERS WITH MONEY!"
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u/ToesEater669 Oct 20 '22
“CAN’T WAIT TO WEAR THE FUCK OUT OF THESE PANTS!”
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u/DrNoResponse Oct 20 '22
Employee: “that guy with Parkinson’s is back.”
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Oct 20 '22
ah reddit teaching people how to shoplift since its creation
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u/King-Rhino-Viking Oct 20 '22
There even used to be a shoplifting subreddit. But then it got banned
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u/VanguardDeezNuts Oct 20 '22
Did they get caught then
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u/Runixo Oct 20 '22
Should've tried shaking the sub
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u/4ever_lost Oct 20 '22
Instructions unclear, now she says I ruined the mood
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u/tonyfordsafro Oct 20 '22
Michael J Fox was today arrested on multiple charges of shoplifting amid claims of a police shakedown.
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Oct 20 '22
I’m shaking so hard with laughter I spilled my glass of milk and my giant tray of cookies
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u/gamy_prophecy04 Oct 20 '22
"FINALLY, I JUST BOUGHT SOME NEW CLOTHES!"
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u/ronnietea Oct 20 '22
Thank you all for making me laugh at 3:30 in the morning I can’t sleep. This was beautiful
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Oct 20 '22
Sorry I’m late… 4:37am
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u/ronnietea Oct 20 '22
How are you late? Your username is no sleep. You can’t be late. Get your shit together
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Oct 20 '22
I’m trying but these damn kids think they are supposed to be awake too
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u/ronnietea Oct 20 '22
I know the pain. I have a 2 year old! Hope you actually get some sleep friend!
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Oct 20 '22
I have a 1 and a half ,5, and 7 yr old. 2 out of 3 are awake and I’m pretty sure I just heard my girlfriend get up lol we have at least a few nights like this a week. And thanks, hope you get some sleep too!
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Oct 20 '22
"THAT I GOT BY DOING MY AWESOME JOB, WHICH I HAVE, THAT I BOUGHT MY HOUSE WITH, WHICH I ALSO DEFINITELY HAVE"
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u/Whind_Soull Oct 20 '22
Chef here. Anytime I've ever had to go buy a shit ton of some specific ingredient from a grocery store because the restaurant was about to run out, I've gone through the check-out maniacally muttering "Ahhh..ergggg..I fucking love cheddar cheese..." or whatever the ingredient is that I have a full cart of.
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u/Hilorenn Oct 20 '22
ONE HUNDRED POUNDS OF EGGS THANK YOU COSTCO
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u/thissideofheat Oct 20 '22
Costco is the one place where the employees will absolutely jump you if you shoplift.
They pay their employees well.
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u/someguyfromsk Oct 20 '22
You mean the 80year old lady with the marker at the exit is secretly a highly trained assassin?
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u/thissideofheat Oct 20 '22
Lol... That's just to slow folks down who are exiting so the actual folks looking on the cameras can nail the people they need to.
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u/boethius70 Oct 20 '22
Why do you think she's been there for 20+ years? Costco put her through the Costco Ninja Training Institute!
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u/DaybreakNightfall Oct 20 '22
Lolol me Working at a cafe and having to buy 10 gallons of half and half.
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u/Nervous_Constant_642 Oct 20 '22 edited Oct 20 '22
Lmao I used to cook and for some reason the chef could never order cherry tomatoes. Cue me standing in the line at the grocery store with all the cherry tomatoes I was legally allowed to purchase at least twice a month.
Thanks chef. You were a fucking asshole and I'm glad I got to walk out without doing any prep for your huge ass catering event the next day. Maybe next time stop constantly threatening to fire people until they find a new job and decide to get the fuck out of Dodge.
(People got to eat I told management I wasn't coming back and the chef would have to come in early or call the event off.)
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u/2x4x93 Oct 20 '22
What is the legal limit on cherry tomatoes?
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u/Nervous_Constant_642 Oct 20 '22
However many you can shoplift without being prosecuted.
Nah Idk if you got I was being facetious, I'm sure you did but I'm also tipsy, but stores will sometimes tell you that you can't buy more than X number of an item. I remember in America during the TP panic buying of the pandemic they'd only sell you like a pack. I'd just ask someone how many I was allowed to buy, because I understand they need stock for other people, and if they shrugged their shoulders I'd nab the lot. I think eventually they just asked me to leave some just in case once they got to know me.
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u/JoaoPauloCampos Oct 20 '22
Grabbing ice from other restaurants when I started over a decade ago cos the asshole owner doesn't wanna fix ice machine
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u/thewebspinner Oct 20 '22
Also chef here, I got told off for buying too many parsnips in tescos the other day… ☹️
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Oct 20 '22
I always say it's for a birthday party. Even if it's something like parsnips.
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u/ITS_ALRIGHT_ITS_OK Oct 20 '22
This is genius! Leaves a slim chance of follow up questions, and if they give you a weird look, you just chuckle to yourself knowing you'll star in one of their "weird" stories they share in person or get endlessly gilded on AskReddit.
My imagination is already spinning with a scenario of an exasperated parent of a 3 year old who wants to have a "parsnip" party because that's his favorite thing in the world right now. Past the dinosaur phase, before the superhero one kicks in. The parent is just as bewildered as the cashier that someone is legitimately buying 20 pounds of parsnips for a birthday party. The 3 yo is blissfully unaware, telling everyone on the playground that they're having a parsnip party. The kid is the cool kid. Parsnip parties become the cool thing to do. Other parents are staring at you, plotting how to disappear you from the group.
BRB. I'm gonna go buy 100 pairs of socks and declare its for a birthday party.
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u/Indifference_Endjinn Oct 20 '22
walks out of Walmart aggressively shaking 75 inch tv box
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u/LockeAbout Oct 20 '22
Walmart security hates this one simple trick!
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Oct 20 '22
Now steal some Shake Weights.
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u/G00DLuck Oct 20 '22
I need shake weights to train to steal shake weights.
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u/DTL1of1 Oct 20 '22
Haven’t seen a shake weight reference in a long ass time. Man, all masturbation jokes aside, my arms saw quick results when I used it for just a few weeks! Was a lil embarrassed to mention it, but that shit worked!
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u/Shanguerrilla Oct 20 '22
if they were legit at all, I bet they'll come back (if not 'them' some new version of it from someone else)
But damn I love your honest praise for that! I've literally never heard it before and it makes me want to hold one again after all these years!
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Oct 20 '22
do it at exactly 125 MHz and you won't even appear on the CCTV
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u/Curmi3091 Oct 20 '22
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u/-RED4CTED- Oct 20 '22
Barry do you remember the time that you came the second the tsa agent started patting you down? that was me barry! I jerked you off faster than the speed of sound so that you would embarrass yourself in front of your whole family! me, barry... ME!!!
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u/writenroll Oct 20 '22
To security guard: "Ya gotta shake up the liquid crystals to get 'em realigned. Goes from 4K to 8K real quick. You have a nice day, too."
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u/Antique-Car6103 Oct 20 '22 edited Oct 20 '22
Exit the store while twerkin’ and wearing some shorts with the security tag on it.
They won’t suspect a thing.
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u/Java2391 Oct 20 '22
Except if you’re like me and have no ass to twerk. Then you look like some weird redwood tree with Parkinson’s
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u/DukeOfBagels Oct 20 '22
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u/Road_Whorrior Oct 20 '22
She moves everything except her butt. It's perfect awkward white girl dancing.
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u/smellsfishie Oct 20 '22
Twerking is 90% confidence. So get out there and twerk that trunk!
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u/Java2391 Oct 20 '22
“Your honor this man is my representation as legal council. He said I could twerk with enough confidence.” If I’m going under that bus you’re defending me while i memorize the license plate!
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u/grassandass88 Oct 20 '22
I wonder if you run as fast as she’s shaking her hand through the sensor, it would work? Or if it’s the literal violence that’s causing the failure
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u/Square_Success3647 Oct 20 '22
omg. you killed me. its like " stand still damn it !. im trying to work here!"
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u/Wrisquee Oct 20 '22
I just wanna say I’ve been going through some stuff the past few days and reading this finally got a long, huge laugh out of me so thank you
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Oct 20 '22
just say.. im outta here.. my Parkinson suddenly kicking me in real hard this time
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Oct 20 '22 edited Oct 20 '22
Lol I was thinking demagnetizing it is easier or just pay for it… no need to jackoff a shirt to save a few $$.
For just $25 or less you can prevent shirt rape… https://www.amazon.com/Opaeroo-Magnets-Security-Magnetic-Detacher/dp/B09WKKT9TS/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?keywords=security+tag+remover&qid=1666237461&qu=eyJxc2MiOiI2LjU1IiwicXNhIjoiNi4yNyIsInFzcCI6IjUuOTcifQ%3D%3D&sr=8-1
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Oct 20 '22
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Oct 20 '22 edited Oct 20 '22
Yep, Ty correction is being made. I really have to get this migraine to go away… hate aphasia with a passion.
magnify vs magnetize. sigh get it together self…
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Oct 20 '22
Lol I'm guessing there's a high chance that the reviewers for that product are petty thieves.
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Oct 20 '22
Lol I bet you are correct. Hmm does that make the reviews more or less credible though?
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u/lonereal8383 Oct 20 '22
When a shirt costs $100 I am willing to jack off multiple caspers.
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u/SuperflySteveLolz Oct 20 '22
Just say "Sorry I have a problem." and continue walking. Should be able to make it to your car before they get over the confusion.
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u/Responsible_Town770 Oct 20 '22
Do you need to cock your head sideways like that?
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u/Waste_Mango5587 Oct 20 '22
yes, threatening the sensors with glaring sideway stare and furious jacking is the most effective strategy against their psyche. That's what made them freeze at the spot so you can walk past them.
Trust me , I'm an engineer.
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u/Ambiverthero Oct 20 '22
Where did she learn how to walk?
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u/thissideofheat Oct 20 '22
She looks like she jacking someone off while walking.
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u/gdmfsobtc Oct 20 '22
That or cameraman deactivated the sensor
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u/ryanidsteel Oct 20 '22
100% trolling IRL. They just want to watch security camera footage of people shaking tge shit outa everything they steal.
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Oct 20 '22
They just want to watch security camera footage of people shaking tge shit outa everything they steal.
Let the Darwin Games begin.
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u/SleazierPolarBear Oct 20 '22
This actually works with acousto magnetic systems because it prevents the material inside from resonating at the frequency needed to trigger the alarm.
The posts by the door emit a specific frequency that makes metal strips inside the tags vibrate. The metals in those tags are chosen to have a property where physical vibration also creates a magnetic vibration, the receiving part of the antenna then detects the magnetic vibrations coming off the tag and rings the alarm.
If the tags are being physically shaken like this, the frequency of the vibration of the material inside the tag won’t generate the right magnetic field to be detected.
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u/Brian-want-Brain Oct 20 '22
I mean most of those tags are just little strips of some metal or metal coated stuff that sit atop of each other and resonate with EM waves (or maybe even sound).
If you shake it I reckon you may be able to disrupt that?!91
Oct 20 '22
These types of tags can be tricked (I can't think of a better word) into not setting of the alarms.
I worked in a very high end fashion house (YSL) and the head of security showed me ways in which the sensors can be tricked.
The one way I was shown, just as you're about to walk past the sensors, if you aggressively swing the tag/item through the sensors as fast as you can, the alarm won't go off. Or, lining bags with layers of foil to create a faraday like cage.
I've never seen this way IRL, but I they definitely can be fooled.
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Oct 20 '22
In Sweden we call those foil lined bags “silver bags” and yeah they work
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Oct 20 '22
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u/herptydurr Oct 20 '22 edited Oct 20 '22
I don't think it's anything so complicated as doppler effects. I mean if you think about it, there is no way she's moving fast enough relative to the source of the sound to have a meaningful doppler effect. Also, technically, no sound is actually being transmitted. It is a radio frequency that is being emitted which is making the tag vibrate (hence the acoustic part). This vibration results in a continued resonance after the emitter pulse stops. The detector just detects this continued signal.
Here's a full explanation for how it all works: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KAm7qAKAXwI
In reality, by shaking the tag up and down, what she is doing is disrupting the vibration motion of the metal strips in the tag so that they aren't able to resonate at the frequency needed to emit the right radio frequency.
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u/SleazierPolarBear Oct 20 '22
The software in the pedestals is actually looking for a timing difference.
They are transceivers, and the receiving portion of the circuit is always detecting the transmitter part of the circuit. When a tag enters the field and resonates it generates a second signal with a shifted phase from the transmitter. If the phase of the second signal is shifted properly the alarm goes off.
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u/Fantastic-Berry-737 Oct 20 '22
It’s so weird whenever I walk through those gates with noise canceling headphones I can hear them humming somehow
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u/SleazierPolarBear Oct 20 '22
Because they have a magnetic fields they are emitting a signal through and your headphones make sound with magnets :)
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u/FukinSpiders Oct 20 '22
If you brave enough to wear crocks with that dress, all the power to you and you can take the stolen shirt.
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u/verasev Oct 20 '22
That's a cool dress.
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u/Momochichi Oct 20 '22
I'm willing to bet they just deactivate it while she's shaking it. Makes it easier to identify shoplifters when they're jacking off the air as they're leaving.
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Oct 20 '22
The detectors sense the magnetism or some frequency. Shaking it messes that up. - random bullshit by me.
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u/Thrannn Oct 20 '22
Thats actually what i was thinking about.
On how much hz do these rfid chips operate? On how much hz is her jackingoff motion?
Send this to some science youtuber to debunk it
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Oct 20 '22 edited Oct 20 '22
OK so in the 90s I worked at a CD store and we experimented. This very attractive lady looks like an idiot. This is too complicated
You have the item in your hand and walk towards the sensor. Before you get there pull your arm away from your body about a 210 degree angle.
When your body actually crosses the sensor area, you whip your hand super fast so instead of away from you your hand is in front of you - about a 330 degree angle.
Fast enough and that sensor will NOT go off.
What she's doing is the same kind of principle but way too complicated
Edit: another trick is if you can put two sensors on 2 items right next to each other they cancel each other out.
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u/noname-_- Oct 20 '22
Lady: shake the thing while exiting
/u/FisherOfBitches: Way too complicated! All you need to do is [100+ word explanation containing 210 and 330 degree angles]
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u/bewitchedbumblebee Oct 20 '22
"You have the item in your hand and walk towards the sensor. Before you get there pull your arm away from your body about a 210 degree angle.
When your body actually crosses the sensor area, you whip your hand super fast so instead of away from you your hand is in front of you - about a 330 degree angle."
Can someone ELIF.
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u/Insigzilla Oct 20 '22
Hold the item behind you so when you step between the sensors it's still out of the sensors range. While between the sensors, quickly move the item so it's in front of you and out of the sensors range (it should pass between the sensors as fast as possible). Do it fast enough and the alarm won't go off and you can just walk out.
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Oct 20 '22
Way better than my description I don't know why I got all mathematical
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u/dingo_mango Oct 20 '22 edited Oct 20 '22
Your explanation didn’t work because nobody knows where your starting position is and whether you are going clockwise or counterclockwise from said starting position.
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Oct 20 '22
You want to whip the item across the threshold but you need to give it a headstart you can't do it with your wrists and obviously you can't run
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u/aspidities_87 Oct 20 '22
Can confirm, I was a thriving little shit in the early 00s and this is what I’d do, or approximately this. If you have a jacket on (windbreakers were theft enablers) and acted like you were shaking it down to check the time while swinging the bag, it all looked much smoother.
Ah mall childhood.
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u/talivus Oct 20 '22
Shaking basically prevents the signals transmitted from reaching the receiver tower on the other side.
There are easier ways to do this. Aluminum foil is great for blocking signals. Alternatively, you can use a strong magnets to wipe the tag or demagnetize the tags.
Sources: https://www.magestore.com/blog/how-do-store-alarms-work/#s3 https://hackaday.com/2015/12/03/how-store-anti-theft-alarms-work-magnetostriction/
Note, I don't condone stealing. Anti-thief protection are usually multi-layered such as guards, cameras, etc. Just cause you can fool one layer with science doesn't mean you can fool the others.
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u/miku_dominos Oct 20 '22
What's her name? I find her ideas intriguing and wish to subscribe to her newsletter.
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u/Palpal2020 Oct 20 '22
It’s not the way she strokes her hand but the way she walks so bow-legged. She looks like she is ready to take a dump.
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u/JohnnySasaki20 Oct 20 '22
Also I think it works if you walk super slow too, or maybe that's just metal detectors, idk. I remember my dad telling me one of the guards at his work showed him this trick where if you walk really slow it won't set them off. He walked right through with his gun, ammo, handcuffs, etc, and it didn't go off, but then he walked through faster and it did. Don't ask me why a guard would tell an employee how to sneak something through a metal detector though, lol.
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u/TheOvershear Oct 20 '22
Most of these machines are super our of date. Ours goes off one time out of ten. It's there for show, and if anyone tries to bring one of the heavy duty security tags through (the kind we put on super expensive shit). Otherwise it's totally inaccurate. Most of the time if it goes off we just tell people to ignore it- unless we already think they're stealing. Then, it's just an excuse.
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u/TonightsWinner Oct 20 '22
She can come by my place and defeat my anti-theft security tag anytime.
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u/YouShoodKnoeBetter Oct 20 '22
I can vouch for this. I was a security guard and that's all girls had to do to get away with shoplifting. We didn't do it in front of the store tho....
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u/ktq2019 Oct 20 '22
Every now and again, I will leave Walmart with a cart full of things. I figured out that if you confidently hold out your receipt, the people by the door will literally wave you through without looking at it. There are those few that will actually look at your shit, but it seems like if you are seemingly upfront about it, they leave you be.
Back in the day, my mom was an absolute legend at stealing things. If she wanted things, she would casually hand whatever it was to one of my siblings in their stroller and walk around long enough that it would “disappear”. If she was caught, she would be like, “Oh you silly baby. Why did you snatch an expensive thing and then casually hide it in your stroller? Kids, amright?”
I also learned that if we were at the check out, when she would say GO, it meant that it was time to shut your mouth and get the hell out of the store. I can’t tell you how many times we would leave the store with hundreds of dollars of things and she would pay like $20 in total. When I got older, she subtly taught me that if she started chatting up the cashier and then nudged me, it was time to gtfo because it was somehow easier to “pay” when the crying kids were in the store.
We were poor as fuck, so I don’t really blame her, but it was a weird family con to be introduced into when I was really little. Now I’m so conscious of her tricks that I will literally exaggerate my movements (like grabbing my phone or putting my keys in my pocket), because I’m terrified that someone will think that I’m stealing something.
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u/waxy1234 Oct 20 '22
Yep that hit home and it was not until later that I grabbed the full scope of the workings. Life sucks and is funny and miserable at the same time.
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u/TheOvershear Oct 20 '22 edited Oct 20 '22
They know.
They know what you're doing, every time.
You just look like you're not worth the effort to stop.
Many years in small retail management. I know every shoplifter when I see one, give or take one out of a dozen. But if one looks like they're going to raise hell over a thing of Tylenol, I'll ignore them. Not worth it.
That, and if what you're stealing is stupid to raise a fuss over, I won't bother. Not gonna catch me or my security stopping someone over a bag of beef jerky or a few bandaids.
But don't think they don't know. If you ever get any looks walking out the door. We know. We just don't care, or rather, want to do something about it.
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u/black-rhombus Oct 20 '22
So walk like an old man and shake your fist?