Do you resent being "watched" in stores?

I worked as a "watcher" at a department store that went under back in about 1972/73 called Grants. This one was located in a really bad area. All I did for four hours every day was walk around the store in the departments that had the most thefts; household goods, toys, cosmetics, and women's clothing are the ones I recall. Today it would be electronics, probably. As a watcher, I didn't tackle any thieves or suspects. I didn't even detain them, or even talk to them. I had to go to the nearest register, squat down, and notify a manager from a walkie-talkie. He would spot the suspect and then go stand near the register area to see if the suspect paid for the item that was slipped into his/her pocket, or whatever. I once saw a lady stick a 3-pack of baby's socks down into her baby's overalls. The baby was about a year old, I'd say, sitting in the seat of the shopping cart. I didn't call it in. She was a young mother, and she looked like a nice person. I figured she was probably just going through a hard time. All she had in the cart was diapers and some milk. I saw her pay for that stuff. She just couldn't afford the little socks, I guess.

I didn't last very long there. :p
 

Oh, and a Post Script; after 3 months working as a "watcher" (official title: "security shopper") at Grants, I got a Grants credit card - all employees did - with a credit line of 2 or 3 hundred dollars. I still owed something like $120 when they went out of business, but the bills stopped coming the month after they closed. Apparently no entity or bank took over collecting on those employee credit cards. So in the end, I, their security shopper, ripped them off for 120 bucks.
 
It would be extremely embarrassing if I got caught but I'll admit to sampling A grape or A cherry at the grocery store prior to purchasing to see if they are sweet or sour.......it's wrong, it's stealing and I shouldn't do it.
 
IKE said:
It would be extremely embarrassing if I got caught but I'll admit to sampling A grape or A cherry at the grocery store prior to purchasing to see if they are sweet or sour.......it's wrong, it's stealing and I shouldn't do it.
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Go easy on yourself, IKE. Trying one is ok. The people in produce see it all the time; they expect it. Now, if you pick up a "bunch" of grapes or a bag of cherries and start eating them, then you're gonna have trouble.
 
In the case of grapes and grapes only, when they are on sale, sometimes it's because they are sour. I have no problem with nibbling a grape or two to make sure they're edible.
 
RadishRose said:
In the case of grapes and grapes only, when they are on sale, sometimes it's because they are sour. I have no problem with nibbling a grape or two to make sure they're edible.
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They just don't like people squeezing certain ones, like tomatoes especially. I worked in one store that had some signs in the produce section: Food Fights will NOT be Tolerated!!! :playful:

I've lived in some rowdy neighborhoods.
 
It doesn't bother me. I understand why they do it, and I figure it kind of makes the places safer, particularly the parking lots. I'd a lot rather have the cameras than some guy lurking behind the kumquats watching. That's creepy.
 
Butterfly said:
some guy lurking behind the kumquats.
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BF for some reason the line (along with my mental picture) "some guy lurking behind the kumquats" gave me a chuckle this morning......just chalk it up to my warped sense of humor I guess, thanks. :D
 

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