# Dear Costco, Fry's and Target: I am not a thief, and I resent the implication **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [November 24, 2001, 9:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-costco-frys-and-target-i-am-not-a-thief-and-i-resent-the-implication/95010 "2001-11-24T09:24:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![amarinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3be4f8/32.png) [@amarinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarinth)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2001, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-costco-frys-and-target-i-am-not-a-thief-and-i-resent-the-implication/95010/41 "2001-11-25T01:37:38Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by August West \* > **I am pleased when an employee keeps my card and compares the signatures. I even intentionally leave my card on the counter, sig side up, while signing the receipt. Having been the victim of credit card fraud, I encourage retail employees to be more observant, getting rid of fraudulent charges can be a real hassle.** I hate it. It isn’t seriously as though the employee is going to catch anyone unless the signatures are really really off (and I would think that if I were to try and pass someone else’s credit card, I’d practice their signature a few times first.) Also, I used to be the only one who got checked (though now it has moved more so that everyone is getting checked) it’s one thing when they treat everyone like a thief, it’s quite another when I’m singled out for theft treatment (especially when it’s followed by lame excuses from the clerk doing it). That general pissed-off-ness has stuck. ---
**Author:** ![IzzyR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/2acd7d/32.png) [@IzzyR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IzzyR)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2001, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-costco-frys-and-target-i-am-not-a-thief-and-i-resent-the-implication/95010/42 "2001-11-25T02:28:47Z")
**Biggirl** , I wasn’t commenting about any specific instances - some of these may have been quite insulting, as you suggest. My comments were in reference to the suggestion by the OP and others that having security check all shoppers was somehow an implication that they consider the individual shoppers to be thieves. There is no such implication. As for the “minority neighborhoods” issue - I’m quite sure this is very real. But is in response to the equally real fact that these neighborhoods have high rates of shoplifting, as you are undoubtedly aware. I would imagine that it is a socio-economic phenomenon rather than a racial one. My understanding is that even relatively well-dressed, middle class Blacks tend to get extra attention from security - this is indeed quite unfortunate. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2001, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-costco-frys-and-target-i-am-not-a-thief-and-i-resent-the-implication/95010/43 "2001-11-25T02:39:52Z")
**IzzyR:** _I would imagine that it is a socio-economic phenomenon rather than a racial one._ Hmmm, I’d guess that most likely it’s a socio-economic phenomenon **as well as** a racial one. _My understanding is that even relatively well-dressed, middle class Blacks tend to get extra attention from security - this is indeed quite unfortunate._ In fact, this is indeed a goddamn outrage. ---
**Author:** ![Spiritus\_Mundi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c68b51/32.png) [@Spiritus\_Mundi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiritus_Mundi)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2001, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-costco-frys-and-target-i-am-not-a-thief-and-i-resent-the-implication/95010/44 "2001-11-25T03:00:10Z")
> [@](#): > > My understanding is that even relatively well-dressed, middle class Blacks tend to get extra attention from security - this is indeed quite unfortunate. Indeed. And I agree that this is an outrage. One solution might be to require exactly the same measures of all customers–oops, I guess some people find that outrageous, too. I shop at Costco, and I no more feel an implication of dishonesty when they check my receipt than I do when I walk through the electronic sensors at blockbuster or when the kid at the movieplex asks to see my ticket before I go in the theater. I also don’t think it is calling me thief when cashiers insist on my handing them each item to ring up instead of trusting me to tell them what I have in my cart. **Biggirl** , you have a real point about the issues of retail in depressed neighborhoods, but the phenomenon of checking receipts is not a minority-only issue. The Costco that I shop in is in a good neghborhood of one of the wealthiest counties in the country. They still check receipts. Airlines search everyone’s bags. Theaters ask for everyone’s ticket. for that matter, I lock my doors when I go out of town. If my neighbors are offended that I am implying they are burglars, I sincerely hope they get over it soon. ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2001, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-costco-frys-and-target-i-am-not-a-thief-and-i-resent-the-implication/95010/45 "2001-11-25T03:04:24Z")
And my point is that it is demeaning and insulting. . . no matter what color you are. Also if, as a customer, you find the practice insulting and demeaning _say something!_ Complain about it. Don’t do as **Cheesestake** suggests and I did when I was younger-- go whimpering away with your tail between your legs. ---
**Author:** ![IzzyR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/2acd7d/32.png) [@IzzyR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IzzyR)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2001, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-costco-frys-and-target-i-am-not-a-thief-and-i-resent-the-implication/95010/46 "2001-11-25T03:08:28Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Spiritus Mundi \* > One solution might be to require exactly the same measures of all customers–oops, I guess some people find that outrageous, too. As I understand it, a lot of the problem is not (just) different procedures being used, but rather that security tends to watch them more carefully, hover over them as they shop, and the like. These don’t lend themselves to codification. **Kimstu** , my comment about it being a socio-economic phenomenon was in reference to shoplifting, not security. (You appear to have misunderstood this). ---
**Author:** ![Monster104](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Monster104](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monster104)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2001, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-costco-frys-and-target-i-am-not-a-thief-and-i-resent-the-implication/95010/47 "2001-11-25T03:09:41Z")
I’m going to disagree strongly with the OP. I work at my local Best Buy, and it suffers a HUGE amount of theft from EXACTLY this method (it is not uncommon for people to slide CDs or DVDs into their bags after purchasses, for example). Thousands of strangers go through the store every day. We lose money due to thieves among those strangers. Fuck, people! You can’t even show a LITTLE respect and even acknowledge the difficulty of preventing theft? It’s not as if they’re branding an identification tag to show you’re not a thief. They’re not invading your life, they’re not conducting background checks, they’re not fingerprinting you…they’re making sure you don’t have what you didn’t pay for. In Best Buy, each store is budgeted money to take care of expected losses due to theft. 70% of the leftover money is divided among the employees, and the rest goes back to the company. Whenever someone steals from my store, they’re stealing from ME. FUCK YOU if you steal from my store. Also, the receipt checks aren’t even primarily designed to prevent theft. It’s to make sure you have what you paid for. You’d be surprised how often employees give customers the wrong product, while they paid for something else that looks similar. “WAH WAH WAH, I DON’T WANT TO BE INCONVENIENCED! WAH WAH WAH, I DON’T WANT TO BE INSULTED!” Buncha fucking whining babies. ---
**Author:** ![croaker67](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/439d5e/32.png) [@croaker67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/croaker67)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2001, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-costco-frys-and-target-i-am-not-a-thief-and-i-resent-the-implication/95010/48 "2001-11-25T03:13:20Z")
Methinks you all doth protest too much. Demeaning?? Get real. If you don’t agree with their policies, DONT SHOP THERE!! They won’t catch every one of you, but don’t bitch because they want to protect themselves…SHEEESH ---
**Author:** ![Kayeby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9de0a6/32.png) [@Kayeby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kayeby)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2001, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-costco-frys-and-target-i-am-not-a-thief-and-i-resent-the-implication/95010/49 "2001-11-25T03:18:20Z")
Security is so crap at a department store near me that my friend _accidentally_ stole something. The hanger for the top half of a bikini attached itself to her bag when she brushed against it so we set off the alarm when we walked out. Of course, we didn’t make the connection, and got about 100 metres away before we noticed what was hanging on her bag. Went back in and replaced it then walked out again with security never even noticing. ---
**Author:** ![Spiritus\_Mundi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c68b51/32.png) [@Spiritus\_Mundi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiritus_Mundi)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2001, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-costco-frys-and-target-i-am-not-a-thief-and-i-resent-the-implication/95010/50 "2001-11-25T03:26:18Z")
> [@](#): > > As I understand it, a lot of the problem is not (just) different procedures being used, but rather that security tends to watch them more carefully, hover over them as they shop, and the like. These don’t lend themselves to codification **IzzyR** , this was my point exactly. Such variances in monitoring and security procedures have been alleged many times, and more than one court has found the complaints valid. What the OP complains about, however, is a procedure that is universally applied and thus greatly lessens the potential for abuse of discretion on the part of the security personnel. But some of the same folks who complain about bias in retail security are also complaining about this tactic. I’m still locking my doors and letting airport security check my bags. I won’t even complain when they tell me my nail clippers are too dangerous to take aboard. (Though I will roll my eyes and jingle my key ring.) ---
**Author:** ![Stoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stoid/32/272_2.png) [@Stoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoid)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2001, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-costco-frys-and-target-i-am-not-a-thief-and-i-resent-the-implication/95010/51 "2001-11-25T04:54:28Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Monster104 \* > \*\*FUCK YOU if you steal from my store. > > … > > “WAH WAH WAH, I DON’T WANT TO BE INCONVENIENCED! WAH WAH WAH, I DON’T WANT TO BE INSULTED!” > > Buncha fucking whining babies. \*\* Wow, Monster, you seem to be pissed off at just about everybody…thieves, non-theives, people that don’t like being treated like theives… There are other ways. Asking me to \* prove \* to you, by demanding a receipt and rifling through my bags, that I paid for what I have in my bags is insulting. I don’t agree with you that it is MY job as a consumer to protect YOU and YOUR COMPANY from theft by submitting to an insulting search. Bullshit, bullshit, bullshit. I’m honest, I paid, it’s not my problem. stoid ---
**Author:** ![Monster104](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Monster104](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monster104)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2001, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-costco-frys-and-target-i-am-not-a-thief-and-i-resent-the-implication/95010/52 "2001-11-25T05:03:06Z")
> [@](#): > > that I paid for what I have in my bags is insulting. I don’t agree with you that it is MY job as a consumer to protect YOU and YOUR COMPANY from theft by submitting to an insulting search. Bullshit, bullshit, bullshit. I’m honest, I paid, it’s not my problem. We don’t KNOW if you paid for what you have in the bags. It isn’t YOUR job to protect US and MY COMPANY, we protect OURSELVES, which is EXACTLY why we check the receipts! Tough shit if YOU think it is insulting to be searched, but I find it fucking DISGUSTING that we even have to check receipts! You think I’m not insulted when people steal from MY money? Just have some fucking respect and common sense to realize that if we let them, people WILL take every advantage they can. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2001, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-costco-frys-and-target-i-am-not-a-thief-and-i-resent-the-implication/95010/53 "2001-11-25T05:12:07Z")
You know I like you, **Monster** , but… > [@](#): > > We don’t KNOW if you paid for what you have in the bags. Isn’t that kinda the point of having cash registers and people checking people out and collecting money? If stores are worried about grabbing something on the way out, perhaps they should reconsider where they place the checkout lines. ---
**Author:** ![Nymaz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/d9b06d/32.png) [@Nymaz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nymaz)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2001, 5:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-costco-frys-and-target-i-am-not-a-thief-and-i-resent-the-implication/95010/54 "2001-11-25T05:26:03Z")
Well, to those who feel victimized by store security, I hope this little story will brighten up your day: Back in my teen days, I was fully punk - spiked hair, torn clothing, chains, combats… etc. Obviously, the second I went into a store, security was all over me. If I didn’t have at least one person following right behind me, I’d at least have the whole store’s attention. After all, looking like that, I had to be a thief, right? Well, of course while all this was happening, a friend of mine who looked like the all-American girl-next-door was busy grabbing things by the ton. We kept this up for a year before I moved out of town. Never once did she get a second look from security… :wally ---
**Author:** ![Stoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stoid/32/272_2.png) [@Stoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoid)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2001, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-costco-frys-and-target-i-am-not-a-thief-and-i-resent-the-implication/95010/55 "2001-11-25T05:28:53Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Monster104 \* > \*\* > > Tough shit if YOU think it is insulting to be searched, but I find it fucking DISGUSTING that we even have to check receipts! You think I’m not insulted when people steal from MY money?\*\* Sorry, kiddo, you are still making it my problem. Your attitude is terrible… “I’m getting screwed, so EVERYONE has to pay!” I ain’t buying it. > [@](#): > > \*\* Just have some fucking respect and common sense to realize that if we let them, people WILL take every advantage they can. \*\* You are kidding, I know you are. “Have some fucking respect”??? For whom? For what? What about the respect for ME? Where is the \*\* respect for me \*\* for doing \* absolutely nothing wrong except bringing you my business? \* And what you believe is right there in that quote… that pretty much everybody is a thief. The implication I feel is right on the money. Monster, your attitude is rotten. And if anything, it makes me feel even more insulted, and less inclined to be sympathetic to the hassles of being a retailer, seeing as you seem to lack any respect at all for the customer. stoid ---
**Author:** ![Spiritus\_Mundi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c68b51/32.png) [@Spiritus\_Mundi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiritus_Mundi)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2001, 5:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-costco-frys-and-target-i-am-not-a-thief-and-i-resent-the-implication/95010/56 "2001-11-25T05:38:42Z")
A punk and a petty thief. And now you hope that others, who are upset at the measures stores take to counter amoral assholes like yourself, will be comforted by your uplifting tales of larceny. Hey, I have made plenty of mistakes in my own life. I try to overcome them, though, not hold them up for admiration. :wally indeed. ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2001, 5:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-costco-frys-and-target-i-am-not-a-thief-and-i-resent-the-implication/95010/57 "2001-11-25T05:48:13Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by IzzyR \* > \*\ ***Biggirl** , > > I wasn’t commenting about any specific instances - some of these may have been quite insulting, as you suggest. My comments were in reference to the suggestion by the OP and others that having security check all shoppers was somehow an implication that they consider the individual shoppers to be thieves. There is no such implication. > \*\* > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Monster104 \* > \*\* > Just have some fucking respect and common sense to realize that if we let them, people WILL take every advantage they can. \*\* Well **Izzy** , here’s one testimonial from a store owner. I believe this attitude is pretty representative. I’m sure you’ll disagree. ---
**Author:** ![Monster104](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Monster104](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monster104)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2001, 6:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-costco-frys-and-target-i-am-not-a-thief-and-i-resent-the-implication/95010/58 "2001-11-25T06:15:04Z")
> [@](#): > > If stores are worried about grabbing something on the way out, perhaps they should reconsider where they place the checkout lines. Like I said earlier, the primary intent is not to prevent theft-it’s to prevent customers from getting what they didn’t pay for. Most of the time, this is simply an honest mistake (either on the part of the customer, or on the part of an employee who rung up the wrong item). Manufacturers tend to put all their products in identical packages for similar products, with slightly different model numbers as the only difference. For example, we might have 27" Panasonic TVs with identical packages, with model numbers 27RS400 and 27RS480. It is NOT difficult to mistake one for another. The placement of the checkout lines really has nothing to do with it. > [@](#): > > Sorry, kiddo, you are still making it my problem. Your attitude is terrible… “I’m getting screwed, so EVERYONE has to pay!” I ain’t buying it. If you aren’t buying it, then you can’t bring it out of the store. 😃 I’m NOT getting screwed. I get $180 extra in my next paycheck because we managed to prevent some loss/theft. However, I COULD have been getting up to **$1500** if there wasn’t any loss (which is unrealistic, sure, but the point is that I could have gotten a lot more than I will be if we were able to do more to prevent loss). I think my attitude is absolutely fine, and YOUR attitude is terrible. Gee, we have differing opinions. > [@](#): > > Where is the respect for me for doing absolutely nothing wrong except bringing you my business? They don’t necessarily have to do business with you, and you don’t necessarily have to do business with them. > [@](#): > > And what you believe is right there in that quote… that pretty much everybody is a thief No, my belief is that everybody who walks into the store is a POTENTIAL thief. Slight but significant difference there. > [@](#): > > And if anything, it makes me feel even more insulted, and less inclined to be sympathetic to the hassles of being a retailer, seeing as you seem to lack any respect at all for the customer If that’s the case, you lack respect for my desire to protect my money. _Shrug_ Darn, we won’t do business with you. > [@](#): > > Well Izzy, here’s one testimonial from a store owner. I believe this attitude is pretty representative. I’m sure you’ll disagree. **Biggirl** , I’m not a store owner, and your belief is ill-founded. People WILL take advantage of lax security. Not everyone, but people will. That is what I was saying. ---
**Author:** ![PhiloVance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e19adc/32.png) [@PhiloVance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhiloVance)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2001, 6:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-costco-frys-and-target-i-am-not-a-thief-and-i-resent-the-implication/95010/59 "2001-11-25T06:28:11Z")
[total hijack] > [@](#): > > an Amex card Your Amex card may be the problem. A few links you might browse: [http://www.ctyme.com/amex.htm](http://www.ctyme.com/amex.htm) > **[EJacking.com is for sale | HugeDomains](https://www.hugedomains.com/domain_profile.cfm?d=ejacking&e=com)** > > Since 2005, we have helped thousands of people get the perfect domain name. [http://www.elliott.org/technology/1999/amexsequel.htm](http://www.elliott.org/technology/1999/amexsequel.htm) [http://hemos.net/index.pl?node=experiences%20with%20quicken&lastnode\_id=105](http://hemos.net/index.pl?node=experiences%20with%20quicken&lastnode_id=105) [http://www.visamediacenter.com/av/doj/releases/statements/000714b.asp](http://www.visamediacenter.com/av/doj/releases/statements/000714b.asp) I was with Amex, the blue Optima Card, not the green one. Very happy very good relationship when out of the blue they stomped on me. It was a few years ago, but I doubt if things have changed much. To make a long story short, Amex hires only obtuse, deranged imbiciles who use fake names and pass you to other phone numbers or addresses. They will never allow you to speak to anyone higher up; everything that is bad is automatically your fault, etc. etc. I really believe in former times (about 10 years ago) Amex was a good company, but they got into the CC bizness before anyone else and when Visa/MC came along and made some cool changes that people liked, Amex could not catch up and has been behind ever since. Sorry for the hijack, but I seethe anytime I think of them. :mad: [/total hijack] Back to your regularly schedule rant. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Stoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stoid/32/272_2.png) [@Stoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoid)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2001, 6:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-costco-frys-and-target-i-am-not-a-thief-and-i-resent-the-implication/95010/60 "2001-11-25T06:32:59Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Monster104 \* > \*\*People WILL take advantage of lax security. Not everyone, but people will. That is what I was saying. \*\* Yes. People who are thieves. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-costco-frys-and-target-i-am-not-a-thief-and-i-resent-the-implication/95010.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-costco-frys-and-target-i-am-not-a-thief-and-i-resent-the-implication/95010.md?page=4)