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News: Ask me anything you want about the Loss Prevention Department.
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Tittle says it all. Ask me anything you want to know about this department.
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I wish Loss prevention would shake me down going out the store so I could file a lawsuit.
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jw: I wish Loss prevention would shake me down going out the store so I could file a lawsuit.
Im sure you would, unfortunetly the "Courtesy Associates" that are
placed at the entrance and exit door know that if a customer refuses to show there reciept that theres nothing they can do but call it in on the radio to the LPO's who in turn will get a camera face shot of you in case you make a habbit of this. As far as associates go, when you sign the employee handbook contract at the end of the booklet you are required per company policy to do the ready/complete. As far as having some fun with the CA's. Pay for your merchandise, go back out to the sales floor, remove previously purchased merchandise from you bag and run out the exit door. Obviously make sure you have your reciept on you, cause if the LPO's do try and grab you than you can sue for false arrest. -
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CommentAuthorGuest 20313
- CommentTimeFeb 10th 2010
Why do some LPO act like real cops? -
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Guest: Why do some LPO act like real cops?
You give someone some power over another person, even as small as it is and in some cases it goes to their head. Your probably having to deal with someone that wants to feel powerfull all the time and can only do so by obtaining a LPO position. The truth is, 9/10 salesmen make 50% + than your average LPO, and have better oppertunities for advanceing.
On a side note, they may think that by acting like a real cop it will help reduce internal shrink caused by Fry's employees. A sort of "scare tactic" if you will that may work on the minority of your Fry's associates who dont know much about how much authority they really have. Im sure you have heard of Fry's Associates who were "caught" stealing. The truth is that about 7 times our of 10, a Fry's Associate self incriminates themself along with any other friends/associates he may know to be stealing. They yank you into the Loss Prevention Office and or Managers Office and claim this and that and try to get you to crack. You have no obligation to answer any of those questions they ask you. Anything that seems like you can get a free pass or even keep your job is just a hoax to get you to talk. After you do talk, the next thing they do is get you to write a statement. Obviously your a dumbass if you write a confession that incriminates yourself. Lastly they ask you to sign a statement of admission which again is a statement that says you admit to stealing, and a civil demand notice which means you agree to pay an undetermiend amount of money. Basically like writeing a blank check. Best advice, If they acuse you of stealing, or say another associate says your stealing, you no longer work their, answer no questions, DO NOT sign anything, and get a lawyer if they do get the police involved.
The truth is, that the loss prevention officers can only detain people on probable cause after having met a strict set of steps designated by the company. The only extra power that they really have is the "Merchants Detention Law" which allows them to detain people on probable cause. -
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CommentAuthorGuest 20313
- CommentTimeFeb 11th 2010
How much does a LPO make a year on average? -
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Guest: How much does a LPO make a year on average?
Trust us - you don't want to work for Fry's. -
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CommentAuthorGuest 8834
- CommentTimeFeb 11th 2010
what store did you come from? I worked at store 7 and the lpo's would just walk around all day saying strap this do that. Good thing i don't work in that shithole anymore
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CommentAuthorGuest 20313
- CommentTimeFeb 12th 2010
I only asked how much a LPO makes a year because there was one guy in store 10 who thought he was big shit because he didn't go to school and had twin kids. -
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Guest: I only asked how much a LPO makes a year because there was one guy in store 10 who thought he was big shit because he didn't go to school and had twin kids.
Someone told me between 9.50 and 18.00 dollars an hour, and that the average raise was one dollar every year, except do to the recession its been reduced to 5% of your base salary. In addition to hourly pay, they can make $500 per internal. -
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CommentAuthornotparistexas
- CommentTimeFeb 17th 2010
Per internal? What's an internal? -
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notparistexas: Per internal? What's an internal?
An "internal" is an associate who was caught stealing, or is being watched because they are believed to be stealing. -
How long does an internal investigation last before a bust happens?
what is the process of an internal investigation? -
asdf: How long does an internal investigation last before a bust happens?
what is the process of an internal investigation?
Someone once explained this too me, so i will try and paraphrase her to the best of my ability.
To answer your question, I will break it down for ease of reading and comprehension.
To answer your first question : "How long does an internal investigation last before a bust happens?
A: It takes as long as it takes for the Loss Prevention Officer heading the investigation to research all possbile aspects of the person. Most internal start with another associate tipping off the Loss Prevention Department. After this happens, the LPO manager will evaluate the credibility of the person who is informing and the person being accused. Once a full on investigation is under way, several things happen.
B: The LPO team will watch this person 24/7. They will obtain his schedule and let the entire LPO team know when the person comes in, goes to lunch ETC. You know when you enter the Loss Prevention Office sometimes and the second door to the surveillance room is closed, or they only partially open the first door and they do not have a shoplifter in custody? Chances are they are watching an internal or reviewing tape in relation to a possbile internal incident.
C: This brings me to my next point, they keeps a record of all its cameras recordings for one month, the exception to this are any special circumstances that they would retain video footage. Something as small as an employee taking an ireggular number of bathroom breaks, or an employee does XYZ to attract attention to themselves. Basically anything that might establish intent later in the future or give the LPO's an idea of how a person is stealing.
D: The LPOs can research your movements and actions in many ways. Through the POS system and other various computer systems the LPOS can try and link you certain things. Like i said earlier they can review a monthes tape. But ultimately they will try and catch you in the act. If they do fail to catch you in the act, their are some other things they will do.
E: Much of the time, an employee is caught stealing after having done so for monthes if not years. Thats right ladies and gentlemen, chances are you know someone if not several people who steal on a regular basis. The mistake these associate make if they are caught is to admitting to anything includeing things they have stolen. They bring you either into the Loss Prevention or Managers office, sit you down and begin to "interview" you about what you have stolen. They way they start out these conversations is to leave every possible aspect open. By this I mean they want you too know that they know your stealing, and than try and get you to talk about people who steal with you, people who know your stealing, etc. What you have stolen in the past. They give you a false hope that by admitting to things and talking that this is beneficial to you. They might say thignins that sound like you may keep your job, or that they wont get the police involved this is all lies. 99.9% of the time, an associate incriminates themselves and others. You have to understand that once they acuse you of stealing, the police are going to get involved regardless, and you NO LONGER WORK there. They will ask you to write a statement, you have no legal obligation, they will ask you to admit to theft in writing, you have no legal obligation, Infact, if they acuse you of stealing, say nothing at all. Tell them if there going to get the police involved to go ahead and do it. If they say that they do not intend to get the police involved, immediately leave the property, Your already fired.
On a side note, if your buddy does get accused of stealing and throws your name into the mix, they will probably imply that they have vidence on you ETC your buddy is in the other room ratting on your etc, please understand that LPOs are not the police, your have no obligation to sit and deal with them. Once again, once accused of stealign you no longer work there. If they say you can not leave there not done talking to you, ask them if they are placeing you under arrest. If they say no you can leave regardless of what they say. If they say yes were detaining you to investigate XYZ, sit there patiently, answer no questions, DO not sign anything. If they do not get the police involved you have an excellent case for false arrest. Even if the police do get involved, answer no question given by the police, plead the 5th, sign nothing, only give the police your information for identification.
Feel free to ask me more questions if i missed something. -
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CommentAuthorGuest 54477
- CommentTimeMar 19th 2010
I don't understand why you're telling people how to get out of being arrested. This is not insightful to honest people, but only to criminals. -
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CommentAuthorGuest 8834
- CommentTimeMar 19th 2010
"I don't understand why you're telling people how to get out of being arrested. This is not insightful to honest people, but only to criminals."
This..
You're a fucking dumbass that probably got fired for stealing. This isn't information like mr. x is giving that is helpful for associates and customers. -
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CommentAuthorfrysemployee
- CommentTimeMar 19th 2010 edited
This isn't a way out of getting arrested. He is telling people who DO NOT understand the fundamental rights we are given as Americans. If you really did steal then they have proof and doing the things Rick is telling you to do would not effect that. If you are not innocent they will bring charges and get the police involved. Ricks information just prevents you from self incrimination. -
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frysemployee: This isn't a way out of getting arrested. He is telling people who DO NOT understand the fundamental rights we are given as Americans. If you really did steal then they have proof and doing the things Rick is telling you to do would not effect that. If you are not innocent they will bring charges and get the police involved. Ricks information just prevents you from self incrimination.
Exactly. -
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CommentAuthorGuest 28195
- CommentTimeApr 13th 2010
Also by keeping your trap shut it will keep you from uping your charge. They might just have you for pocketing a pen but if you spill your guts and cop to an IPOD or anything bigger they thats what you will go to jail for. but if you just shut up you would have only lost your job. -
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Can you describe some of the things that LP can do to research your movements and actions through POS? Do you mean like when and where you log in at, things you pull up, ect.?
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nfl: Can you describe some of the things that LP can do to research your movements and actions through POS? Do you mean like when and where you log in at, things you pull up, ect.?
For those who may have some interest in a Loss Prevention Career or is interested in what goes on in this field: Once again this is paraphrasing from someone who once told m about this. )
All POS systems involve a history database that tracks back to when the POS system was created. From the day you started work and created a password you leave a digital fingerprint in everything you do, from credit cards, warranties, returns, gift cards, quotes, inventory counts, employee discounts, EVERYTHING. They can see when and where you logged in and at what time. With all the information available their are several fatal flaws. The POS system is not set up to cross reference information and this task can be time consuming for the person doign the researching, lasting from several minutes to several days depending on the level of importance and information available. Second even given a time and place where such a digital event took place, you still have to tie the person to the action. Passwords get stolen all the time, and depending on the quality of cameras a good defense attorney wouldnt have much trouble establishing reasonable doubt. This brings me back to my dedicated emphasis on peoples rights. As has been mentioned 99.9% of the time an employee self incriminates themselves. You have no obligation to sign any documents presented by the Loss Prevention Department or anything that admits guilt, says you agree to pay XX money, etc. You also have no obligation to answer any questions about theft and if accused you have to understand that means your termination is already final. -
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CommentAuthorGuest 8464
- CommentTimeApr 14th 2010
From another LPO that I use to know, he has said that LP has voice recorders in some places. Where would those places be? -
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Guest: From another LPO that I use to know, he has said that LP has voice recorders in some places. Where would those places be?
I would have to say that your friend was more than likely trying to scare you and spread a rumor. That being said, you can never exclude the possibilty of an ambitioius LP team going outside of standard policy and procedure to produce a result. This could be the use of audio monitoring equipment or even just failing to mention something in a report. When looking at some of the detterent methods used, you need to break things down into two catagories.
1. The first catagory is what you can physically see or mentally accept to be true, IE cameras in the ceiling, LPOS monitoring cameras, and all other physical security measures. These are important in establishing the second catagory.
2. The second catagory is what you cant see, but are either willing or unwilling to accept as fact or actual based on other sources of information. A good example of this is your LPO friend who told you they use voice recorders. Because you know and have seen them useing surveillance cameras, the majority of people and this may include you, are willing to beleive and accept the idea that they also use voice recorders or know XYZ. This is just another method of deterence called disinformation. Most people are willing to accept something that is intangible to be true, especially when the reward does not out way the consequence.
This goes back to the fact that employees are willing to trick themselves into thinking that someone acuseing you of theft is on your side. Dont be stupid. -
That's what the SM from store 23 would do. When she would question someone about something, a lot of times she would threaten to play back the "audio"... I've got to say, it works really good.
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Haha, when has that happened?
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I don't want to name names and get anyone in trouble, but it was usually when a salesperson would give her a completely different story of what a cutomer was told compared to what the customer was saying. If you know anyone like that there you can probably put two and two together.
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CommentAuthorGuest 38664
- CommentTimeMay 2nd 2010
I dont know what state yall are in but in texas alot of loss prevention officers are real police officers too. -
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Guest: I dont know what state yall are in but in texas alot of loss prevention officers are real police officers too.
Oh rly? I find that hard to believe considering LPO's make anywere from $9.00-18.00 dollars/hour, most makaing around 12.00-14.00 and cops who do work on the side start at $25 + an hour. Also doesnt seem likely any police officer would work retail. A cop who gives up hours working as an actual cop would be kicking himself in the balls to work loss prevention. -
That's what I figured too.
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Im just curious about what kind of numbers you guys are pulling a month at fry's...
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Rick:
jw: I wish Loss prevention would shake me down going out the store so I could file a lawsuit.
Im sure you would, unfortunetly the "Courtesy Associates" that are
placed at the entrance and exit door know that if a customer refuses to show there reciept that theres nothing they can do but call it in on the radio to the LPO's who in turn will get a camera face shot of you in case you make a habbit of this.
Really? I make a habit of this, literally every single time. They still cant do anything, but they might have some shots worthy of my facebook profile.Superhero! -
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CommentAuthorThe Assassian
- CommentTimeMay 6th 2010
As a former door Nazi i can tell you i was trained to NOT stop people who refused to show their receipt. And ayahu is right, unless the get you on camera stealing there is nothing they can do. -
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CommentAuthorGuest 9295
- CommentTimeMay 6th 2010
Wow I never knew anything about this! A friend I work with just got in trouble for stealing and she signed the confession paper and everything and now she has to pay like $500. But now she's looking for another job and she's scared it will show up in her records.. Will they put that in your employment history records or somewhere that a future job can see?? And are you suggesting that she shouldn't have said anything?? Would it have ended up going to court and through the legal system if they had proof she really was stealing?? -
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AyaHu:
Rick:
jw: I wish Loss prevention would shake me down going out the store so I could file a lawsuit.
Im sure you would, unfortunetly the "Courtesy Associates" that are
placed at the entrance and exit door know that if a customer refuses to show there reciept that theres nothing they can do but call it in on the radio to the LPO's who in turn will get a camera face shot of you in case you make a habbit of this.
Really? I make a habit of this, literally every single time. They still cant do anything, but they might have some shots worthy of my facebook profile.
Yup, whats even better is when you see a group of people waiting in a line to have merchandise they now own checked by someone. -
Guest: Wow I never knew anything about this! A friend I work with just got in trouble for stealing and she signed the confession paper and everything and now she has to pay like $500. But now she's looking for another job and she's scared it will show up in her records.. Will they put that in your employment history records or somewhere that a future job can see?? And are you suggesting that she shouldn't have said anything?? Would it have ended up going to court and through the legal system if they had proof she really was stealing??
To answer the first question, yes if she is found guilty of theft in a criminal court, she will have a criminal record of theft and when her future employers check her criminal background, which they have a right to do, they can see that she has stolen in the past.
As far as me personally suggesting what course of action your friend should have taken, Im afraid I have to remain neutral as far as giving any specific advice. However I will go to say that no one, includeing your friend has any obligation to sign any documents of any kind provided by their employer, or say anything regarding their situation to their employer. If you read some of my previous posts, I say time and time again, that the Loss Prevention Department does everything in their power to give the illusion that if you cooperate that they will not get the police involved and may even let your keep your job. This of course is a LIE and only works on people who dont know their rights. Dont be fooled, once you are accused of theft, or any form of criminal activity, you no longer work for that employer and I recomend that you take every precaution in defending yourself to include, saying NOTHING, signing NOTHING, and if the police to come only give them your information. Do not admit or deny anything until you get a lawyer. The Loss Prevention Departments goal is to get you to admit to XYZ, this includes innocent people who are just scared of losing their jobs or getting in trouble and get taken for a ride.
To answer the last part of your question:
The Loss Prevention Department may claim to have XYZ evidnece on someone in an attempt to scare them into admission, however as ive said before, sometimes they have nothing and are only able to make a case becuase the person admits to something because they are so terrified that they may lose their job or get punished that they admit to something they never even did in hopes that they can keep their job or avoid XYZ. In summary, regardless of wheter they have ANY evidence against you, it does not help a person in any way shape or form to admit to or sign anything the acuser/employer wants you to sign. Sometimes they will even go as far to say that you have to sign this XYZ document. Dont be stupid, take the time to educate yourself. -
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CommentAuthorGuest 9295
- CommentTimeMay 8th 2010
But if they said that there would be no court procedures if she paid it off will they still take her to court? -
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Guest: But if they said that there would be no court procedures if she paid it off will they still take her to court?
I could not say for her specific situation and would very much recomend gettiing a lawyer.
On that note, someone that is acused of doing something criminally generaly would need to go through the process of being convicted criminally before being pursed for a civil matter (IE money, or anything of monetary value). There have been cases where people are found not guilty criminally, but were than found guilt in civil court for the exact same thing. Most notably is O.J. Simpson who was found not guilty in a criminal court for murdering his wife but was than found guilty in a civil court for the murder of his wife and was sued for millions of dollars. One of the main difference between a Criminal and Civil court is how each party is found guilty. In a criminal court your must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that that person is in fact guilty as opposed to a Civil court, where all you need is a prepondarance of evidence, which is equal to saying "more than likely" that person is liable for XYZ monetary value. -
Is it me, or does this sound like extortion? [oh yeah...this is Fry's we're talking about]. As Rick's noted, especially with stealing (petty or grand theft) there must be a criminal conviction. Fry's appears to be circumventing the process (most likely because they either don't want to go through the time/expense involved in a criminal proceeding, or that there really isn't enough evidence to prove in a court that the employee theft actually occurred).
Unfortunately, guest's friend caved in immediately to avoid criminal prosecution. To answer the question, can Fry's say anything about the alleged employee theft? Nope (especially in California). Employment law only allows an employer to verify start and end dates and nothing else. Rendering an opinion about the employee (good or bad) can get a former employer in trouble.
Suffice to say, guest's friend may or may not have been guilty of theft, but they're definitely a victim of extortion (IMHO). -
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CommentAuthorGuest 16702
- CommentTimeMay 22nd 2010
Got to see a couple of LPO's in action today as I approached the entrance, a stocky person wearing a football jersey walked out of
the building briskly and two LPO's quickly caught up to him on each side. Then a Fry's employee in white got in front of the suspect's
face and right in the middle of the parking lot there was a struggle and the suspect was taken down. Out came the cuffs and I thought
they were about to hogtie him with the way they were bending this legs back in an attempt to subdue him. But they just cuffed him
and escorted him through the entrance towards the left, where there was door near the returns area. One of the LPO's had a badge
that hung from his neck like a necklace, I'm not sure if that's normal but I haven't seen anything like that before. After some
customers put away their phone cams, collectively we all slowly walked past the podium where we could hear a rather enthusiastic
"Welcome to Fry's!" voice that was an eerie soundtrack to what seemed to be an eventful morning. -
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CommentAuthorGuest 8188
- CommentTimeMay 25th 2010
Wish I had seen this earlier. If theres an investigation, and lp finds out that managers are not following procedures, and aware of price reductions (encouraging it) and they have proof, will they ever investigate the managers, or are they strictly trying to get rid of the peons, that make little money, worked their ass off for years, and followed direction based on what they were instructed to do (no matter how dumb it seemed at the time) Is it better to get out when they are telling you to just lie if asked why your not going to be at work for a couple days, or just sit and wait it out, and hope you get some kind of vindication. Thanks. -
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The answer to this and all other questions is 42.
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CommentAuthorGuest 3717
- CommentTimeMay 28th 2010
I just have a quick question in some retail store theres loads of cameras, but in an LPO's office there is a computer and a tv screen divided into 12 or 9 sections not all the cameras are on the screens.... so where else can they be filming ie, zellers / wal mart .... -
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Guest: Got to see a couple of LPO's in action today as I approached the entrance, a stocky person wearing a football jersey walked out of
the building briskly and two LPO's quickly caught up to him on each side. Then a Fry's employee in white got in front of the suspect's
face and right in the middle of the parking lot there was a struggle and the suspect was taken down. Out came the cuffs and I thought
they were about to hogtie him with the way they were bending this legs back in an attempt to subdue him. But they just cuffed him
and escorted him through the entrance towards the left, where there was door near the returns area. One of the LPO's had a badge
that hung from his neck like a necklace, I'm not sure if that's normal but I haven't seen anything like that before. After some
customers put away their phone cams, collectively we all slowly walked past the podium where we could hear a rather enthusiastic
"Welcome to Fry's!" voice that was an eerie soundtrack to what seemed to be an eventful morning.
Yes, this happens on ocassion. Honestly theres probably a 50/50 chance they will either get him or he will get away. You would be surprised how fast someone can run on adrenaline. -
Guest: Wish I had seen this earlier. If theres an investigation, and lp finds out that managers are not following procedures, and aware of price reductions (encouraging it) and they have proof, will they ever investigate the managers, or are they strictly trying to get rid of the peons, that make little money, worked their ass off for years, and followed direction based on what they were instructed to do (no matter how dumb it seemed at the time) Is it better to get out when they are telling you to just lie if asked why your not going to be at work for a couple days, or just sit and wait it out, and hope you get some kind of vindication. Thanks.
Hmm, if you can, give me more specifics because im having trouble understanding a few things, but I will attempt to answer your question:
,
Yes and No. Sometimes LPOS will investigate managers doing things like irregular price reductions. Its not hard for a manager to cut his buddy a deal and than reap some of the profit later. (If thats what your talking about)
On the other hand, some managers will tell you "oh dont worry about changeing the price" and than use you as an "out" if they get in trouble with the SM/ASM, or set you up to get fired. The way they tell you to handle that situation is to confront the SM/ASM about it, but we all know how that will play out. This is where the office politics and manager BS comes in. In my experince most Managers are buddy buddy, so even if you go to the SM/ASM, there goign to tell you "thanks for bringing this to my attention we will investigate this matter" blah blah blah, and than a few weeks later your being fired for something else like taking your lunch early even though your sup 1 told you too. The way I would handle that situation would be to skip everyone at store level. Fill out a "Tell Randy" or one of the other complaint forms, so that you have a documented complaint for XYZ. And dont just fill out one, fill them out as they happen. That way if they try and 5 day you, you have an extremely good defense that shows that Manager A and the ASM/ SM failed to adress the problem and they cant put the squeeze on you. Also never count on any of your statements/ rebutals making it to corporate, just make copies and send them via certified mail or fax with fax verification. -
Guest: I just have a quick question in some retail store theres loads of cameras, but in an LPO's office there is a computer and a tv screen divided into 12 or 9 sections not all the cameras are on the screens.... so where else can they be filming ie, zellers / wal mart ....
There is a device called a multiplexer that allows VHS/CDS/DVRs the ability to record multiple cameras at a time. So just because there not watching that specific camera does not mean it isnt being recorded. The screens are normally divided into 4 or 9 sections of the cameras that are watching important merchandise/high risk areas. -
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CommentAuthorGuest 8188
- CommentTimeMay 31st 2010
Rick, I was the guest that mentioned wishing I had seen this earlier, I was called into lp office, not voluntary. I was intimidated, told to write down why stuff was rung up reduced. Had to sign a confidentiality paper, told they were doing an investigation, I wasn't fired, but they had me go back get my purse and leave and wait to hear back. They told me to lie if anyone asked and say I was out on family matters. Same thing with another employee I later found out, still not sure if the managers are going thru this also, been there 2 years, always did a great job, and never missed work, so of course even my manager called me to find out what was happening and I told her I couldn't really tell her anything. After sitting in limbo for a couple days, I thought maybe its better to just quit, so I gave a short notice using the reason lp told me (family illness)and never heard anything back. I did get my last pay-check thru direct deposit, so thats good, but I hate that I felt I had to leave. I didn't want my name dragged thru anything illegal or fraud related. When the managers and store manager knew about the markdowns all along. I gave lp proof from an old reciept that I wasn't the only one ringing up reduced items, and that the other dept been doing it since as far back as oct 2009. So I backed up what I told them originally when asked. Anyway, thats it, I still liked my job and wonder if I did the wrong thing. -
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Guest: Rick, I was the guest that mentioned wishing I had seen this earlier, I was called into lp office, not voluntary. I was intimidated, told to write down why stuff was rung up reduced. Had to sign a confidentiality paper, told they were doing an investigation, I wasn't fired, but they had me go back get my purse and leave and wait to hear back. They told me to lie if anyone asked and say I was out on family matters. Same thing with another employee I later found out, still not sure if the managers are going thru this also, been there 2 years, always did a great job, and never missed work, so of course even my manager called me to find out what was happening and I told her I couldn't really tell her anything. After sitting in limbo for a couple days, I thought maybe its better to just quit, so I gave a short notice using the reason lp told me (family illness)and never heard anything back. I did get my last pay-check thru direct deposit, so thats good, but I hate that I felt I had to leave. I didn't want my name dragged thru anything illegal or fraud related. When the managers and store manager knew about the markdowns all along. I gave lp proof from an old reciept that I wasn't the only one ringing up reduced items, and that the other dept been doing it since as far back as oct 2009. So I backed up what I told them originally when asked. Anyway, thats it, I still liked my job and wonder if I did the wrong thing.
Sounds like they were trying to intimidate you to admit too knowingly and purposefully ringing up items at a reduced price, and attempting to find an angle to pin a theft on you or see if you had any involvement with other people in the act of theft/fraud etc. Or your Sups/Managers needed an "out" from pressure via corporate or even the Loss Prevention Dept. As far as signing a confidentiality paper, you have the right to request a lawyer any time you sign something like that. Obviously it may look somewhat weird; however you really didn’t know what you were getting yourself into. Anytime they “interview” you like that it’s being recorded, sometimes even audio. If they were in fact intimidating you, you need to immediately file a tell randy, or whatever corporate complaint forms you can, making sure to give a detailed picture of your innocence in the situation and the physical and physiological stress that is normally placed on someone in that kind of situation. Make sure to make a copy of the receipt that shows other people did it, and if they won’t let you than, if it’s yours just keep it. Take a picture with your camera phone if you have to. As far as them telling you to lie and not firing you, they undoubtedly didn’t have any compelling evidence against you, but wanted you to stick around in case another associate had information that could lead to your conviction. Once the investigation is done, if they find other people who say you did this and that, and they feel that they have enough evidence to convict you, they tell you to come back to work and then attempt to process you.
On a side note, you should know that regardless of whether or not your inocent, that there are LPOS who dont care. If they feel they can pin a theft on someone and get away with it than there are those who will. $500 dollars (the reward LPOS are awarded in the conviction of an associate case) is compelling enough for some people to twist the truth or "frame" people, if not for other unkown reasons. -
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CommentAuthorGuest 8188
- CommentTimeJun 2nd 2010
Thanks Rick. Well I know my direct manager had no clue thats why she called me to ask about my family and if they were okay. She knew it wasn't like me to just not show up to work or leave early all of a sudden. A lady I know there told me a couple weeks ago that another employee is "off" on family illness. So they are working on the investigation, just dont understand why if we are all under the impression that it was okay with upper store managment and my direct manager, why they didn't question them, or most likely they will or have, I just dont know about it yet. Is there a time limit on investigations? Or do you think we just got used as scapegoats. And since my reason on my short notice was what lp told me to say if anyone asked why I wasn't there, when this is all done, is it possible go get my job back if I wanted to. I dont know all the legal stuff, probably should just talk to a lawyer. This just seems so wrong to me. -
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To the guy who said he saw LPO's struggle with a shoplifter in the parking lot....I hope these folks know what a "no-no" this is....even when with a "guy with a badge". Store security are not police officers, and set themselves up for a myriad of lawsuits when doing this. Walmart, probably the the largest loser in the country to shoplifters, has a "do not confront" policy.....and with good reason.
"What if". What if the guy in the "football" jersey cocked back, and broke an employee's nose when confronted? What if he stabbed the employee? What if he got spooked, and slipped the merch back onto the shelf before exiting the store? The "what if" list could go on for days.... -
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CommentAuthorGuest 41185
- CommentTimeJun 3rd 2010
Store security under the law have the right to use reasonable force to subdue a shopliter who resists arrest. Many times suspects are charged with robbery if they fight while being detained. Walmart doesn't use force anymore, but plenty of companies do. -