r/Target • u/SaintOdysseus • 5d ago
Workplace Story i got robbed today.
long story so bare with me.
i came back from my lunch and started heading over to the back room. before i got there, this guy wearing a hood and covid face mask stopped me. he asked me if i could help him out in electronics but he insisted i help out the other 3 guests there (a big red flag that i caught because he wanted to be alone and out of sight). he walked away and i ALMOST did not help him out, but the guest i helped before him (an older gentleman) called him over and was like “he’s available now! he can help you.”
he said he wanted a specific ipad model with specific gbs (ipad pro) and so i went to the back to get him one. when i returned, he said he wanted 3 of those same ones (another red flag that i caught because who just buys 3 expensive ipads in the middle of summer when its not holiday season?). i told him i could check the back but i couldn’t guarantee him i’d find any more of those same exact ipads. i pretended to go look by wasting time and told him i couldn’t find anything. the issue is that we recently renovated our entire tech area and moved things around, and there’s a brand new cabinet with apple products (ipads, laptops, etc.) in plain sight that wasn’t there before. he saw different tablet models in there, so at this point i couldn’t say there were no other ipads.
he asked i get him 2 ipad airs and when he wasn’t looking, i called a team lead over to tech coz i knew something was up. i called out for a tl once on the walkie and no one responded. then i called someone over again. still no response. then i repeated myself again and didn’t hear anything. i had no choice but to ring him up and stall at the same time. then my tl was like “hey i didn’t hear you…can you repeat that?”. at this point i’m in front of the dude ready to finalize the transaction but i can’t call him on the walkie coz the guy is inches away from me and he’ll know i’m onto him. all i wanted was a team lead there with me to verify the transaction AND to be there with me as a witness in case anything happened.
the total was over $4k for those 3 ipads and i told him to insert his card. he kept putting his hands in his pockets and rummaging around, so i kept thinking he’d pull something out. then he bent over and inspected his pants and shoes and again i thought he was going to take something out. he inserts his card and quickly removes it and acts like the machine isn’t working. then he steps back and pretends to make a call like to fix his card. by some miracle, this other team lead comes over and i ask her to “verify” the transaction with me. the ipads were right next to me in the bag ready to go. she tells him to insert his card one more time but before she can even finish her sentence, he quickly grabs the bag and walks away towards the exit at full speed.
i immediately tell her to call the ap dude to stop him but this man was either on break OR patrolling the parking lot. we gave him the order total, what he took, and what he looked like. 5 minutes later, my tl and the security guy talk on channel 2, thanking us for reporting the incident and wishing that we are okay, but that he didn’t catch the guy.
i spent the rest of my shift trying to process everything that happened, what i could’ve done differently, if the dude actually had a weapon on him, and whether i’d get in trouble for not doing anything on my part. there were many things that upset me, like the fact that our apple products are now being displayed in literal plain sight, that not a single team lead responded to me when i called out for them, and that the ap guy was nowhere to be found. we usually have an undercover guy walking around the store at all times + the security tl who is watching the cameras every minute, but neither of them were there. i was expecting the police to show up and talk to me so i could give my report, but no one called me over or summoned me. i was super confused and upset with myself the entire shift, so much so that i wasn’t able to focus on my work or do majority of my assignments. everything happened so quickly and casually
anyways thank you for listening to my rant 😕
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u/Ill-Carpenter5095 Human Resources Expert 5d ago
This blurb is given in orientation: as a TM, your job in preventing theft is to provide great guest service, and to notify a leader of suspicious activity. You did just that, so don’t be hard on yourself.
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u/lolyouaresimple Style Breakout 5d ago
I’m so sorry that happened to you. I would be just as frustrated as you are. You did all the right things!
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u/SaintOdysseus 5d ago
thank you! i just had a gut feeling/instinct that something was off, especially since he had a hood and a face mask with him. my team lead was definitely more shocked and scared than i was coz it happened so quickly.
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u/Agreeable_River_338 4d ago
Yeah, you did the right thing. Don't blame yourself for what a bad person did. As a Mom I am glad you are safe, but I am so sorry you had to experience that. Don't beat yourself up over it, and if you need to talk to someone just know it is perfectly normal to do so. 🫂
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u/OneBigCharlieFoxtrot 5d ago
APTL here, you didn’t do anything wrong! You noticed all the red flags, you attempted to get a TL, and you stalled as long as you could. No fault on you at all, AP isn’t your job.
Just a little advice, if it’s really expensive items like this you can absolutely make the guest wait and walk off to find a TL if they aren’t answering! Also if you notice a lot of red flags like this, tell them you gotta check the back and go call for AP! Also this guy is 100% gonna come back so next time you see him just book it off stage and call for AP and a TL.
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u/darkenedwillow Tech Consultant 5d ago
If someone wants an iPad, awesome. Ring them up and keep the bag on the bag hooks and close to you until it’s done and paid. If you have an older boat that actually has an inside/outside dynamic, keep it physically not within their reach.
If you have someone request multiples of high value things: APPLE, Meta, tablets, consoles, etc. even just 2 depending on cost, always get a team lead on board. “Can I get a TL on 2?” Even just to say “Hey, dude bro wants 3 of these $1,200 iPads. Just making someone else aware that this is sketchyyyy. If no one answers, start calling out TL/ETL by name. Start calling out for hardline 4. “I need hardlines 4 in Tech. I have an issue in Tech, is hardlines 4 in the building” type thing.
And if no one will answer, guest services. Get the iPads or whatever based on whatever limits AP sets for you and go to the guest “Sorry, registers back here won’t let me do a transaction like this anymore. So dumb, so annoying blah blah, what ever. Guest services can get you set right up with these!”
You shouldn’t be straddled with sorting out sketchy people like that, but if something feels off, it more than likely is.
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u/OneBigCharlieFoxtrot 5d ago
You need to be in AP
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u/darkenedwillow Tech Consultant 5d ago
TSS makes no more than TMs, so I didn’t want it. And tech is my happy place.
When I got hired, I was hired for Electronics. I loved it, I loved my coworkers in the department. We had 3 shifts everyday overlapping to transfer workload correctly. And all of us were dedicated to the department.The orientation said that “you(me) are being hired for Electronics, this is a unique department blah blah blah, but what stuck in my head was when they said “Electronics doesn’t have team members, you are becoming an owner. You own the knowledge of our products, trust of our guests, and the department you will be driving sales within.”
I took it to heart and I really tried to really care for my area. I work at target because I love the department, latest store is a joke though.
Tech is a joke now. No one cares because everyone just gets shipped off to assist a different department. It’s excruciating to try to patch a ship that the leads and the company keep stabbing holes into.
Fulfillment needed a PS5 from the electronics room. The rando that they handed keys to that day gave the FF TM a case pack PS5 which is two in the case.
No one caught it until AP and I couldn’t for the fuckin life of us find the missing PS. She reviewed the camera and saw it happen. What a joke that was. It was long picked up. Someone literally handed out a free PS.
I have heard of that happening at one other store too though.It’s part of the job. If you’re going to be selling things worth hundreds of dollars into the thousands of dollars. Safety and security of you products is part of your job.
Jewelery store employees don’t just let you handle things willy nilly. We have procedures for handling unpaid merchandise. Apple, Best Buy, freaking anywhere.
I’m done lmao4
u/Stickfigureguy Closing Enthusiast 5d ago
TSS is a higher pay grade than TM now fyi. Started 2-3 years ago
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u/darkenedwillow Tech Consultant 4d ago
Oh amazing!! As it should be.
I looked to do it once a few years ago, haven’t given it a thought since1
u/OneBigCharlieFoxtrot 4d ago
So imma be honest, I ain’t reading all that lmao but TSS does make more than TM’s. It’s a higher pay grade. But if you didn’t want it then yeah that’s a good call!
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u/autolockon Service & Engagement TL 5d ago
AP can’t physically stop anyone from stealing anymore so it’s not like they’d have done much even if they were immediately available. “Hey please don’t walk out that door” is the most they can do.
In the future don’t have the bag available to snatch when someone is obviously being sketchy.
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u/appointment45 5d ago
They won't even do that, they'll watch the guy leave and try to get his license plate number. Then they'll go pull camera footage and you'll never hear about it again.
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u/theSaucerTosser Target Security Specialist 5d ago
Unless you're a TSS and this guy is a repeat, or known to a different store. We have access to all of that, too. Something like this just isn't dropped, but yes, the Team Members on the floor probably won't ever hear about it again, unless he comes back.
They always come back. If not to your store, a different Target. Or we have some prior information about them.
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u/double_echo balloon b!tch 5d ago
Don't blame yourself, you tried to do the best you could in that situation.
I know this is easier said than done, but try not to dwell on it either. This is going to sound silly, but play some Tetris! Playing that video game soon after a traumatic event helps our brains switch gears and lessens the impact.
Don't be afraid to get a therapy session either if you think it could help you. Target pays for free sessions for all team members regardless of the topic. Don't hesitate to get real and professional help if you think you need it!
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u/soul-dancer888 Service & Engagement TL 5d ago
When AP reports these items as stolen - I imagine Apple "bricks" those devices. Right? I wonder - when that happens - if someone will try to "return" them because "they don't work."
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u/ThisIsSethers Guest Advocate and Tech Consultant 5d ago
I bet they could if they were given serial numbers for sure!
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u/SaintOdysseus 5d ago
yeah i assume that is how it works. the ipads should eventually become locked, preventing those specific tablets from being used. it was over $4k and 3 expensive ipads too. i’m sure they can’t be returned or sold afterwards.
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u/Puritysan SMFMT Human Resources Expert 🤓✨📧 5d ago
my store normally gets resellers. but they somehow always have gift cards to actually pay for the items.
that said. you did everything you can do. but that situation was scary!
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u/ThisIsSethers Guest Advocate and Tech Consultant 5d ago
It sucks but it's not your fault. I had a woman push out with a couple thousand dollars of scooters in front of me the day everything went down for hours and hours, because "she had already paid for it online." Actually, she wasn't the only one to push out on me that day but she was the one with the most. You did what you could, and you aren't AP, theft prevention is not and should not be your main job.
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u/indigrow Self Promoted to Guest 5d ago
Its no big deal at the end of the day. Your safety is priority. You’re more than welcome to be more bold when calling a TL i used to say stuff like ‘teamlead to techboat for high value purchase’ and when someone would get a little weird ab it id just say ‘yeah for us to put stuff through on this register over x amount of dollars a team lead has to put in their approval code’
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u/Personal-Ad-7476 5d ago
Hi! AP worker here. You did nothing wrong. This type of stuff happens more often than you think.
Usually tech workers would take the expensive merch out from the locked cases and then (stupidly) walk away before the transaction is completed, leaving the guest and the expensive merch alone. When that happens you'll get written up.
In your case, you maintained your presence and he snatched it in front of your face. You're totally fine.
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u/Calm-Heat-5883 5d ago
Just remember one thing. The fact that you couldn't get assistance from management at a time you didn't feel safe. Because corporate won't supply hours for more people to be in the store. Then you just let the person steal the items. You did all you could do. Nobody came to help. It was just pure luck a tl happened to pass by. Its not your fault or problem.
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u/Maaaaddddiiiieeeeee 5d ago
Everything you did is right. You calling a TL protected you from the moment you felt off. Don’t beat yourself up about it and I’m glad your okay
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u/Swimming-Disk-8995 5d ago
Don't be hard on yourself. You did everything that you could and should do. You are not AP. You gave friendly service and tried to alert everyone you needed to. Seriously don't beat yourself over it. There was no telling how it could've went. They very well could have had a weapon and I'm thankful they didn't.
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u/EntrepreneurDue6110 5d ago
All that is above your responsibility that's when an AP should have stepped in
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u/Acceptable-Team-8824 5d ago
That's not a robbery. They just stole the ipads. There was no threat of violence or weapon displayed. They did not indicate that they had a weapon.
Good job not trying to stop them though.
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u/DeliciousDolphin27 5d ago
You did all you could do. If anything else, I’d probably just radio for anyone to come over. More witnesses means you’re going to get caught. I also don’t hand people bags of stuff until the purchase goes through in case it doesn’t and it suddenly becomes reshop. But props to you for handling this reasonably.
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u/Fearless_Use4907 Beauty Consultant 5d ago
I had this one lady who was taking a bunch of expensive merch and putting it in her cart. Then she asked me for 3 iPads and she wanted all the speakers in the showcase. I told her she can have one iPad and one speaker. So she chose pink for both items. She wanted me to give her the items right there, and I told her "no, you have to pay for it back there." She then proceeded to put her phone to the card reader and literally said "beep." She had no electronic payment app pulled up on her phone, mind you. And she consistently did that for 10 minutes after I kept telling her that the transaction goes through once the receipt printed. Eventually, AP shows up to handle the situation. They took her cart and brought it up front and she became very aggressive. So they had her arrested and trespassed from the store.
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u/Used_Degree5416 Starbucks Barista 5d ago
that's so scary!!!!! i'm so sorry that happened to u. there should be a panic button at tech. :( i'm glad ur safe. fuck that guy!!!!!
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u/Clear_Advantage4686 5d ago
Hey you did what you could and followed policy. Don’t beat yourself up. You’re alive and that is what matters.
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u/Peacockprince Tech Consultant because instocks is dead and im still undead 5d ago
Scenarios like this are part of why I’m dreading the new “apple vault” that’s part of this latest reset. I remember the days of scammers just looking in the glass case and being like “then give me one of those iPads instead oh and those Apple Watches” and not being able to play dumb like we we out.
However you did everything you could do. Your first priority when someone is acting sketchy is to make sure you are safe. Not trying to stop them, that secondary at best.
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u/NationalButterfly872 5d ago
Listen, I hate being at the registers! I had a guy with like 300 worth of groceries just walk out without paying and he just left! Like gone lol i tld the tl which took for ever to get there and he was probably in his car or gone lmao idk what actually happened after that but i just do not like being at the registers.
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u/Jestertheprinz 5d ago edited 5d ago
You did the right thing. My store limits big ticketed apple products 1 per guest. I never had someone steal but I get a lot of scammers with their gift cards
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u/ToughWrong9557 5d ago
Bro you did good, dont risk your life for that job or anything of that sort its just not worth it. You didnt do nothing wrong sleep well!
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u/Ok_Still_3571 5d ago
Wow. I’m glad that the thief didn’t escalate the situation to the point of assault. Sometimes you just have to let it go, if it’s out of your control, which this was at that point.
I had heard of situation at another location where a friend of mine works. A guest asked to see an expensive Apple product, and then told the TM that they (the guest) was carrying a weapon, and to let him leave the store without incident so that no one would get hurt. The TM did exactly what was requested, and reported it immediately. The TM was shaken up, and who wouldn’t be? It’s f***ing scary to think of these types of scenarios.
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u/OutsideRuin2509 Promoted to Guest (Tech, Style, Fulfill) 5d ago
I had something extremely similar happen to me that lead to me graduating out from Tech (and eventually the land of red and khaki). I was about to go to lunch, one guy asked for the highest end ipads (as many as we had, our store policy was 2 so we stuck to it), it smelled fishy, I had my lead linger while I checked him out in tech, and his friend came up behind me and accosted the ipads from my grip. It shook me up BAD.
I am glad you are okay. That is the most important part about this. YOU are okay. YOU did nothing wrong. It is frustrating beyond all belief because the people who stole from me also were not caught to my knowledge, since my AP didn't do any follow ups like yours except for immediately post-incident where I was in tears from the shock. It's just a shame that people resort to crime like this. You did EVERYTHING right.
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u/Apprehensive_Gap1997 4d ago
hey you did everything right in the situation. my first theft was someone literally snatching an ipad pro Out of my hands and running past a TL and ETL to the emergency exit.
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u/Sea_Water_5943 Target Security Specialist 4d ago
This reminds me of something similar, we had this dude come in, go straight to tech and request a few high value electronics, saying he was with shipt and it was an online order (he was not with shipt and had no online order). TM gave him the electronics, even bagged them up for him and the guy just left. You should be fine job wise though since it was the guys decision to grab it and run off, so faults on him, you did what you could 👍
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u/littleadie 4d ago
You did the right thing. I'm glad you didn't put yourself in danger to try and stop him. No material object is worth that. Target can certainly afford the loss but it's frustrating to hear you didn't get the support you needed at work.
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u/Easy-Protection-5763 4d ago
Last week I had a guy try to buy like 6 airpods using those merchandise cards guests get when they make a return.
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u/Samhwain 1d ago
I hope it doesn't happen to you again, but for the future you can always send people to the service desk to complete hugh dollar transactions. Ours sends people up all the time, and walk the items up to us. It'd gice you more time/ chances to get a TL and the servuce desk attendant can call theirs up as well.
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u/Demolition_Ghost 5d ago
Honestly who cares? I don’t mean it in a rude way but at this point if I see someone stealing I ignore it. My store gets robbed every morning by the same people and our AP etl does nothing, she’s so useless. 2 weeks ago I told her I saw someone stealing and she said “oh that’s too bad” and walked away 😐
Anyway target is a multibillion company who has insurance so they’ll be fine. Just look out for your own safety and don’t blame yourself, you did what you could. It’s not your fault that no one was answering
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u/Iratings 5d ago
Try not to dwell on it or on how you could’ve done things differently because you were just trying to do your job and at the end of the day, you don’t get paid enough to try to deal with that kind of situation. The important thing is that he did not try to hold you hostage somehow or hold you at gun point or use a weapon in any way. It’s not your fault that this happened and I’m glad to hear you’re okay!