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'
