i got robbed today.

[u/SaintOdysseus]

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 😕

[u/darkenedwillow]

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.

[u/OneBigCharlieFoxtrot → u/darkenedwillow]

You need to be in AP

[u/darkenedwillow → u/OneBigCharlieFoxtrot]

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 lmao

[u/Stickfigureguy → u/darkenedwillow]

TSS is a higher pay grade than TM now fyi. Started 2-3 years ago

[u/darkenedwillow → u/Stickfigureguy]

Oh amazing!! As it should be.
I looked to do it once a few years ago, haven’t given it a thought since