I was in Lowe’s and they paged that there was a “Code 75 for all associates not helping a customer”. Anyone know what was going on? Was there a gas leak and the store was about to blow up, or did they just need some help unloading a truck?
Any retail workers want to share any other “top secret” codes?
I worked at Disneyland years ago. Suspected shoplifters are referred to as “customers” (as opposed to guests). So when calling a manager or alerting security to observe a particular person we would let them know that we needed help with a customer.
Code 3 is collect shopping carts off lot, so there’s that
My WAG would be that they needed help on the front registers. That was the most common request over the walkies at Target, and “everyone not helping a customer*” was a common modifier. Was the store very busy?
There wasn’t a code for that there. Since we weren’t supposed to use the PA system when the store was open, we just said most things over the walkie in plain language. The only codes I remember from Target are “code red” for “the store’s on fire” and “code green” for “someone is badly injured.”
*Yes I know Target doesn’t have “customers,” they have “guests.” I didn’t care about the distinction when I worked there either.
“code blue” = “all managers level 3 and above report to Corporate’s beach conference center”
“code yellow” = “someone peed on the floor”
“code salmon” = “all staff remain alert for something fishy”
“code pink” = “the gay pride parade is clogging up Housewares again”
“code scarlet” = “we are out of window curtains”
“code aquamarine” = “Toys for Tots is over for this year”
Most every time I go to Lowe’s they page all employees not helping customers to shopping cart retrieval duty.
I think “Code Adam” is pretty common for when a kid is missing.
ETA: Sorry, I don’t know what the Lowes code means.
Also, when I worked at a hospital, we had a long list of color codes for announcements. I remember Code Black was a bomb threat.
I was CVS today. It was pretty quiet I was standing in line with maybe three other people. All the sudden the speaker came on “Security immediately to the front door” As I was standing about 10 feet from the front door I took some interest. Nobody had come in for the three minutes I was waiting and nobody came in, or started to come in after the announcement. In fact nothing at all happened. The cashier never reacted, nor did any security go to the door.
I had a momentary giggle thinking that since serious events have innocuous sounding codes, maybe “Security immediately to the front door” is the code for when the break room coffee pot is empty or something.
I worked for Safeway for a dozen years. Whenever we saw or suspected a shoplifter we were taught to make a call that didn’t make sense, e.g. call for customer assistance to an aisle that didn’t exist. The main store I worked at had 13 numbered aisles, and if we saw someone stuffing batteries into their pants, we might call for help on “aisle 19,” and that was the signal for anyone who wasn’t helping a customer to move toward the exits. Those in management would monitor and decide further action.
I once heard that at Disney World, when cleanup is called for a child having vomited, it was called a “protein spill”.
And in many places Code Brown is a tornado/other very severe weather.
Unless you’re a nurse. 
At my old hospital, Code Purple was for a violent incident. The weirdest thing about those was that most of them were in the OB department. 
When I worked at Target in the early 1980s, they had a code for all male employees to come to the front of the store immediately. I could count on one hand the number of times it happened while I was there, but it was something to watch. It was done for an incident that had turned violent, or had the potential to do so. The one that I had anything whatsoever to do with involved a couple who came through my lane, and absolutely nothing seemed remarkable or interesting about them, until they brought them back in this manner. The woman had shoplifted a 13-inch TV by carrying it out between her knees! :eek:
I heard about another shoplifting incident where they were concerned because the woman had a cast on her arm, which of course she could potentially use as a weapon. She got as far as her car, and when one man grabbed her keys, she started screaming “Rape! Rape!” in broad daylight.
I have a friend who works at Lowe’s. I should ask him. I’m guessing it’s something along these lines.
My brother worked at Kmart around the same time that I worked at Target. He said that people would periodically make pages saying things like “Security to zone 4” and it was funny to see people look around, wondering if they were in zone 4. :o
At the hospitals around here, Code Gray is a request for security to deal with a violent person.
Ultimately there’s no real national standard for codes. I’ve been at some hospitals that use phony names instead of colors for everything other than the universal Code Blue. A page for Dr. Pyro or Dr. Firestone rather than a Code Red will bring people running with fire extinguishers and a page for Dr. Leo brings security, as LEO is a common acronym for Law Enforcement Officer.
This policy just seems like a law suit waiting to happen.
From the really really old movie, “Save the Tiger” (Jack Lemon), the classic throwaway line in the background in the Hospital waiting room announcements:
“Doctor Jones to Emergency, please. Doctor Jones to Emergency…” [Pause] “…never mind, Doctor Jones.”
What happens if Dr. Leo really does join the staff?
I believe Dr. Firestone was code for a flat tire on an ambulance…
Please tell me that there’s a code using the page “Calling Dr. Howard, Dr. Fine, Dr. Howard!”
Looking forward to retirement: for my last day on duty in the hospital I have been tempted to do an overhead page for “Dr. Howard, Dr. Fine and Dr. Howard - report to Neurosurgery ON THE DOUBLE!” “Woob-woob-woob-woob-woob-woob!!”
Well, maybe not.