Loss prevention on steroids?

[proud2BlibKansan]

A friend of mine works part time in a retail store. It's a national chain. Yesterday when she got to work, the manager handed her a list of newly adopted corporate policies that are addressing 'loss prevention'.

First one says every time an employee leaves the store they are to be searched. Purse, coat pockets, etc. If they are going out for a break or getting off a shift, they get searched when they walk out the door.

As if that isn't bad enough, the other policy says every time they leave the store they have to clock out. Even if they are helping a customer carry packages to their car. And that happens a lot. They have a lot of elderly customers and they are in a mall so they often help customers carry stuff to their cars.

Yesterday my friend sold a lady in a wheelchair $400 worth of merchandise and went to help her out to her car and the manager told her don't forget to clock out. My friend said no. The customer then called her husband who was shopping in another store at the mall and he came and helped her with her packages. She and her husband were really angry and said they would call corporate offices to complain.

Are other stores doing this kind of loss prevention crap?

[Vanje]

1. Horrible. I would NOT want to shop there

What store is it?

Does it feature a yellow smiley face mascot, and start with a W?

[proud2BlibKansan]

2. No it's a women's clothing store

I don't want to mention it by name online since it's not my story. If you want to know I will PM you.

[47of74]

3. The clocking out part I do not think is legal

Mind you, I'm not a legal expert by any means, but I don't think that clocking out when leaving the store as part of their jobs is legal. If it was me I would be filing a complaint right about now with every agency I could think of at the city, county, and state level including animal control and the water department.

[Vanje]

4. yep

starting with the State Dept Labor.
I would make noise, and not stop.

[proud2BlibKansan]

8. I told her I didn't think that was legal

Not a labor expert but I don't believe that is a legal policy. She was going to look into it and file a complaint if she could.

[TheWraith]

5. Giving this a kick and rec for an apalling policy.

Somebody really needs to take this to the Department of Labor.

[Trekologer]

6. Helping a customer out to their car is still work

And the company must pay the employee for that time. They cannot tell the employee to clock out and continue working. Working off the clock is illegal and for ethical companies should be agaist policy, not be the policy. Your post says that the employee was handed a list. So it is in writing. Take the list to you state's department of labor. Talk to a lawyer. If the employee is forced to work off the clock for 1 minute, he/she might not have to work again for a while.

[Dreamer Tatum]

7. I would make sure the story is correct. Leaving the store does not equal clocking out

And if pilfering is a problem, then searches might be necessary. Part of the cost of having a job these
days.

[proud2BlibKansan]

9. Oh I am sure it is correct

They put it in writing. Idiots.

[47of74]

13. If the company was that stupid to actually put it in writing

Then the company deserves whatever fines, back pay, and other remedial action a government takes against them.

[proud2BlibKansan]

14. It gets better

Today the manager asked for those memos back. :)

[47of74]

15. I'd be like, too late, I've already sent copies to the dept. of labor, the newspaper, etc, etc...

...and the original is some place safe where you cannot get at it.

[Trekologer]

16. The employee might want to return the original

Just make many, many copies of it. You don't want to have some sort of adverse action taken because the memo isn't returned.

[proud2BlibKansan]

17. But she threw it away!

;)

[Deja Q]

10. At waht point are the proverbial costs too expensive?

For pilfering products, I won't deny the validity of that task (I wonder if customers might be slipping by the cameras instead. Maybe the powers that wannabe should think about them too.)

[Dreamer Tatum]

11. When you decide not to work there

In my younger days I was searched from time to time, as employees were knocking the place blind. Since I wasn't a thief, I didn't mind.

[Warpy]

12. If they're helping customers, they are NOT off the clock

and the store needs to stop that shit right now.

As for the routine searches, I remember that when I was temping at department store offices in the 60s and 70s. That's nothing new, alas.

A complaint has to be filed with the state labor commission about clocking out repeatedly while doing store business.

This is clearly intolerable and will have to be stopped.