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we have a display of little spray pens on the counter. for marking drill holes. display was new yesterday, we sold 8.
workmate noticed 5 more had gone about half hour ago. neither of us had sold one.
we have had 6 customers in this morning.
cctv camera directed on counter is pretty new, so we have just checked back today, and a customer slipped 3 of the pens into a box he had on counter whilst I was serving someone else and workmate was round the warehouse. he then took 2 more and put them in his pocket a couple of minutes later.
all this has been caught on cctv.
total price of stuff in £35+vat which is not a lot. but how long has this **** been stealing from us?
course of action?
manager has phoned him to tell him we have cctv footage.
Ask for them to be returned, or press charges.
Embarrassment may work better than prosecution.
Customer will have to have *a lot* of front to turn up and buy anythign else won't they?
Is he likely to have known what they were and there value?
A box of 'pens' on a trade counter could be mistaken for a freebie.
Ask them to return items and 'invite' them to donate £50 to charity you nominate - or prosecution.
He obviously knows it's stealing - I'd be inclined to get police involved straight away, unless that action has possible further repercussions for the business (i.e. he's a customer that buys a lot of stuff).
A box of ‘pens’ on a trade counter could be mistaken for a freebie.
display has a big label with price on it.
All the useful stuff has already been suggested so here's a song
Post CCTV footage of him nicking and returning goods on youtube in a video with a clickbait title and make millions.
Long ago an ex had a book shop. Found it was pointless accusing people of shoplifting - even if it was completely blatant. It would always end up in a shouting match with accused doing a 'how dare you suggest' routine that would drive everyone else out of the shop. The approved technique for people who had light fingers was to follow them round the shop. They soon left.
As you know who this person is don't leave them unattended. Annoying but effective. Also the more you do it, the less they come in.
Print off the screenshots from the CCTV and make some wanted posters
I like the idea of confronting them and fifty pounds to charity or be prosecuted
Some kind of pie might be in order??
Or just give him a good fisting. He (probly) wont do it agen.
Print off the screenshots from the CCTV and make some wanted posters
The garage round the corner from the in-laws has a rogues gallery of people who aren't allowed in the shop...
Shame you'd already called him. I'd have just added it to the invoice on his next trip...and waited for him to query it.
Onzadog has it.
Chop the ****s fingers off. That'll learn 'im...
Or pie.
Yes a nice donation to charity would be a just reward. I have similar experiences and a characteristic of guilt is emotional excess, so expect lots of shouting and denial. I just bill them now.
Sad it happens, some have been real surprises.
Onzadog has the reply I was going to suggest too... that’s provided he’s a regular “customer” if he is then I’d do that along with a cctv print of him nicking the stuff... fail to pay up then call employer or police (your choice) if he’s not a regular then you could still do the proposal.
Perhaps it's a cry for help/attention? Yep, a good hug is what's needed here.
do you have any really shitty jobs in the shop that no-one wants to do? clearing out a corner of the warehouse or painting the floor? get him to do that.
Get someone else to ring the customer and say to him:
"We noticed you took some stock and didn't pay for it, we are sending Tony around for the cash - BTW the price went up tenfold so have plenty of cash ready or Tony might get annoyed. I'll text you a pic of Tony so you know who's coming".
Phone the cops.
you don’t need this ****s business.
perhaps he needs to sell the stuff to pay off a pay day loan....
Or just give him a good fisting
For some people that may be a reward rather than a punishment
Assuming your trade? Just invoice them.
If they don’t pay just threaten court action for an unpaid debt, you’ve got evidence of receipt of goods. Or chop their fingers off.
Post footage on facebook page
manager has spoke to him, outcome is, pay off your account and no longer use us. or we will take it to police.
bloke has been using us for over 18 years. silly man. make you wonder if this is the 1st time, or just the 1st time he has been caught.
When I was a Saturday girl, a customer stole some children's clothing. This wasn't noticed until the culprit was long gone.
She appeared a few months later and I walked around the store within an inch if her. She was soon out of the shop.
I like the charity suggestion too.
Customer will have to have *a lot* of front to turn up and buy anythign else won’t they?
depends how many suppliers their are in the area to choose from. If they're a business customer they might not have any choice but to come back. And thats the answer really - just don't serve him in future. Whats the point of having him as a customer.
It likely enough he's nicked stuff in the past, but you can't prove that. What you can prove is too low in value to get any satisfaction from pursuing it. But if theft of stock is an issue then not having a thief in your shop, even if they are spending money, is as good a result as you can hope for.
Or chop their fingers off.
And bake them in a pie
And bake them in a pie
It'll be finger licking good.
And bake them in a pie
You're thinking of blackbirds.
It’ll be light fingered licking good.
FIFY
Were these the extra special Mrs Gnusmas charity pens that he so kindly 'purchased' for twice the price of the normal ones?
I'm sure he'd very generously cough up to stop a sign naming and shaming him to all your other customers.
In other news, there are a couple of little spray pens for marking drill holes going cheap on eBay
depends how many suppliers their are in the area to choose from.
... and whether the OP feels charitable enough not to warn them.
manager has spoke to him, outcome is, pay off your account and no longer use us. or we will take it to police.
bloke has been using us for over 18 years. silly man. make you wonder if this is the 1st time, or just the 1st time he has been caught.
Sounds about all you can do, and no, it's not the first time - well, certainly not on the balance of probability anyway, who ever gets caught first time?
Sadly for you guys, he loses a supplier - but I'm sure there are others, you guys lose an 18 year repeat customer. although it might dramatically reduce your 'shrinkage'.
Or just give him a good fisting.
Blimey.
Unless he’s prolific then the police generally don’t investigate/prosecute for value under £50.
Retail price of £35 so cost to you is probably less than a tenner, and you’ve lost a long term if somewhat shady customer over it?
Get someone else to ring the customer and say to him:
“We noticed you took some stock and didn’t pay for it, we are sending Tony around for the cash – BTW the price went up tenfold so have plenty of cash ready or Tony might get annoyed. I’ll text you a pic of Tony so you know who’s coming”.
Blimey.
This is what they mean when they refer to the 'Long arm of the law'
Retail price of £35 so cost to you is probably less than a tenner, and you’ve lost a long term if somewhat shady customer over it?
Are you for real?? Really?
How far back does your cctv go? It's worth reviewing it all.
How much stock have you lost? Have you noticed a problem with shop lifting before?
Sounds like you have let him off far too easy! If it was the first time he had stolen anything he would have just taken one or done it once. The fact he did it twice and he took 5 suggests he's a professional and good at it.
When I investigate people, I never tell them what I've got on them, I give them an opportunity to fess up, they usually tell me something else. I thank them for their honesty and ask them to try again.
By phoning him he doesn't have to face the embarrassment. You should have done print outs and ambushed him next time he came in.
Chances are he's an Antony worral Thomson and gets a buzz from it or has a problem with addiction.
Let him off easy I reckon. You should make him settle up face to face.
just caught a customer stealing. thoughts on what to do?
Choose one:
1. Ask the customer to pay the retail price of the stolen item (evidence from CCTV) then ban that customer.
2. Report to police only if they care.
3. Cause £35 damage to his property in retaliation.
4. Yakuza style punishment by cutting off the top part of the pinky finger.
5. Give them a free ticket to visit S.Arabia (then in Saudi accused them of stealing from the locals).
Retail business is very hard nowadays so everything counts.
You cannot offset your lost with the business rate set by your local council so get back whatever you can. Try owing £35 business rate to the local council then see if they come in "all guns blazing".
Retail price of £35 so cost to you is probably less than a tenner, and you’ve lost a long term if somewhat shady customer over it?
Really? So it's okay to ignore a bit of casual theft for the greater financial good?
Send Tony round..Tony Blair...tough on crime tough on the causes of crime......pay up or I will bomb you
Really? So it’s okay to ignore a bit of casual theft for the greater financial good?
Yes, literally for the greater financial good. You know who he is, keep an eye on him next time and don’t let him get away with it again. Keep taking his money and feed your children, there’s literally no benefit to ‘teaching him a lesson’.
as for all the ‘chop his fingers off’ brigade, it’s not funny, that’s how brexit started.
Yes, literally for the greater financial good. You know who he is, keep an eye on him next time and don’t let him get away with it again.
Snowflake.
there’s literally no benefit to ‘teaching him a lesson’.
I couldn't disagree more, TBH.
I'm not in the "chop his fingers off" camp, but if he's shitting on his own doorstep then he needs to learn the error of his ways. In the OP's position, no way no how would he set foot through my doors again irrespective of how great a customer he might've been. I'd be damned if I'd normalise that sort of behaviour. "Yeah, you give me a bit of trade so it's ok to rip me off when I'm not looking." **** that.
£7 + VAT each ? For something I can buy in Toolstation for £5 incl .
who are the criminals here ??
that's a joke by the way.....(but not the £5 bit 😂)
as for all the ‘chop his fingers off’ brigade, it’s not funny, that’s how brexit started.
But you're OK with the fisting idea? You didn't unequivocally state that you aren't, so you must be.
What does OP sell and what is the customer worth? If he sells sweets and magazines then chop the thieving pikey’s hands off
@giantalkali - left-handed unicorns and moments of pleasure (or something like that).
I've been taking the pencils in Screwfix lately, should I expect trouble next time I'm in.
Or just give him a good fisting.
Blimey.
Crime does pay then
these spray pens what are they?
Keep taking his money
It can be quite a good principle to 'not take money off pricks'.
The pound in my pocket worth the same as a pound in your pocket. But if someone is a prick - and you don't do business with them, then the pound in their pocket is of no value if they can't spend it.
these spray pens what are they?
they're for marking through holes through - say a batten or other thinker object - onto the wall behind so that you know where to drill. Shaped like a pen but are really a little spray can. When you push them against the the wood the spray chalk through the hole. It means you can mark through holes that are smaller than a pencil.
Snowflake.
I hope that's ironic. Deep down, I fear it isn't 🙁
as for all the ‘chop his fingers off’ brigade, it’s not funny, that’s how brexit started.
It really isn't.
But you’re OK with the fisting idea? You didn’t unequivocally state that you aren’t, so you must be.
I believe that's how Brexit ends, rather than starts
To all the ‘greater financial good’ folk, what percentage of my total spend am I allowed to steal? 5%? 10? As long as the shop is up overall?
Just so I can quote it the next time I’m in Sainsbury’s.
Wheres Junkyard when you need him?
Surely he'll be along soon explaining how somehow this is actually Tony that is in the wrong, not the guy that got caught stealing..
The fact he did it twice and he took 5 suggests he’s a professional and good at it
Not really, if he was good he wouldn't have be caught on high quality CCTV
"Greater financial good folk" are capitalist pigs with no ethics/morals. Get back to your spreadsheets you capitalist ****ers. Ban the thieving toerag, stick his picture up on the wall and tell him you've reported him to plod (whether you have or haven't).
“Greater financial good folk” are capitalist pigs with no ethics/morals.
You can't feed a child on morals.
Can’t feed them with money either. You ever tried passing a fifty pence piece?
But you can feed them with morels, though.
or morsels
You ever tried passing a fifty pence piece?
One of my friends used to wear a 2p on a string round his neck that'd passed through his digestive system. The "poo coin".
Not really, if he was good he wouldn’t have be caught on high quality CCTV
cctv camera directed on counter is pretty new,
<div class="bbp-reply-author">"Rob Hilton
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Or just give him a good fisting"
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o_0
Local industrial supply company had something very similar happen recently. They made the customer settle their account, added them to the wall of shame, banned them, sent copies of the CCTV footage round every other supplier within 50 miles with a warning (no names mentioned but footage of his lettered van van included), posted the same on their FB/Twitter pages and shared it around every FB group that'll let them.
The dick in question is well known to my joiner and is apparently suffering from a sudden spate of cancellations and supply issues (allegedly even the local Screwfix and Howdens won't have him!)
In the digital world this all took about 90 minutes effort to achieve...