Several years ago the city we live in passed RV parking restrictions where it is nearly impossible to park an RV in front of your house for more than a few hours.
Honest folks are being penalized due to dishonest folks. Yesterday I went to Sam's Club and stood in the check out line behind two customers. The first customer transaction completed so now I was second in line. The customer in front of me had a basket half full of stuff and two slips of paper which she handed to the cashier. One slip was for the new Hobbit Movie DVD and the second was for some other product that required a manager to come get the slips and then go in the office to bring back the DVD and the other product. In the meantime I had to wait because the cashier could not finish ringing up the order until the manager came back with these two secured items in case they were out of them. It only took a few minutes but I felt cheated due by the need for this extra step of security due to theft.
I left Sam's Club and went to a grocery store to get some additional items. At the register the cashier took her scanner gun and bent down and scanned a tag on the front of the cart. Then she rang up my items I had placed on the conveyor belt. She bagged up the items and then bent down and scanned the tag again. I asked her what the scan was for and she said it was to confirm that she had looked at the bottom of the cart to make there weren't any items there.
I guess theft has gotten so bad that the retailers have to put in these extra security steps, but it sure makes me wonder just how many thieves live in our city.
WestWardHo said
11:31 AM Apr 9, 2014
We were recently in Murietta, CA having a satellite antenna installed on our rig. I asked the service advisor if I should remove laptop or anything else during install. He smiled at me and said we've never had a problem here like you do in the city. We didn't either but his attitude was refreshing.
FYI Costco checks you out with those slips then you go to customer pick up and you wait there rather than holding up a line.
It is sad that so many don't have decent values. It's a lot happier life with them.
Sherry
MarkS said
05:06 PM Apr 9, 2014
Costco will also walk up the line with a scan gun scanning everything in your basket so when you get to the register all you have to do is count out the gold pieces.
Bill and Jodee said
06:41 PM Apr 9, 2014
I wonder how many of the fancy schmancy security checks are done just because they now have the technology to do them - rather than as the result of actual increased theft. There are thousands of security companies who make their living off "just in case" scenarios they sell to retailers, home owners, corporate offices, etc. Does a neighborhood with security system signs in every yard have a higher crime rate, or just better salespeople?
Admittedly prevention is preferable to loss in the long run, but the flip side is that we are bombarded with the negative messaging of "sorry for the delay but your fellow citizens are thieving bastards and we have to protect our/your stuff." It seems like I saw a lot more busted shop-lifters, waiting sheepishly with some security guard for their parents or the cops to show up, 10 years ago than I do now. Or maybe the scanners are working. Or maybe they're vaporized when they attempt to make their get-away .
I know our jails and prisons are full, and I don't wear rose-colored glasses (not with every outfit anyway, they just don't work), and I'm sure some of the added security is necessary in some situations. I live in Los Angeles County, not Oz. And while I'm not ready to give up on my fellow humans yet, I too am soooooo tired of big city living for loads of reasons ))))
Jodee
Geez, sorry, I didn't mean to get off on a rant!
Terry and Jo said
08:27 PM Apr 9, 2014
Jodee,
Having worked in retail, I can assure you that the security measures are needed, and then some. For a while, I was a manager of a store for a "major electronics" store and one of the Loss Prevention fellows came through to check us out. After doing all their required checks, we visited for a while and he began to relate many of the things that thieves do to take advantage of either the store or the store's customers. I was absolutely astounded at the creativity that thieves have. Too bad they don't apply that creativity to doing something honest and useful.
Terry
Bill and Jodee said
09:33 PM Apr 9, 2014
This morning we were driving south on Interstate 5 where the new construction already has graffiti everywhere. We were discussing what commitment it takes to get up on those walls on a major interstate in the middle of the night and, like you, thought it was too bad "they" weren't applying that same commitment to a positive creative endeavor instead of defacing public property.
Alas, there will always be those who would rather take than earn....
Jodee
Dave and Denise said
07:58 AM Apr 10, 2014
For the past year we have maintained two homes, one in Orlando (big city) and one in Stuart, Florida (small town). The differences are amazing and each visit takes an adjustment. We are having quite a bit of remodeling/construction done at our Stuart home and much of it is done on little more than a handshake. The other thing I notice is at a checkout lane if someone only has a couple of items almost everyone who has a basket or cart full will ask them if they would like to go ahead. Unlike yesterday in Orlando where a lady with a full cart almost knocked me down trying to get to a newly opened checkout lane. My work took me away from a small Ohio town when I was young and I am so glad to be able to finally return to one now in Florida.
Several years ago the city we live in passed RV parking restrictions where it is nearly impossible to park an RV in front of your house for more than a few hours.
Honest folks are being penalized due to dishonest folks. Yesterday I went to Sam's Club and stood in the check out line behind two customers. The first customer transaction completed so now I was second in line. The customer in front of me had a basket half full of stuff and two slips of paper which she handed to the cashier. One slip was for the new Hobbit Movie DVD and the second was for some other product that required a manager to come get the slips and then go in the office to bring back the DVD and the other product. In the meantime I had to wait because the cashier could not finish ringing up the order until the manager came back with these two secured items in case they were out of them. It only took a few minutes but I felt cheated due by the need for this extra step of security due to theft.
I left Sam's Club and went to a grocery store to get some additional items. At the register the cashier took her scanner gun and bent down and scanned a tag on the front of the cart. Then she rang up my items I had placed on the conveyor belt. She bagged up the items and then bent down and scanned the tag again. I asked her what the scan was for and she said it was to confirm that she had looked at the bottom of the cart to make there weren't any items there.
I guess theft has gotten so bad that the retailers have to put in these extra security steps, but it sure makes me wonder just how many thieves live in our city.
FYI Costco checks you out with those slips then you go to customer pick up and you wait there rather than holding up a line.
It is sad that so many don't have decent values. It's a lot happier life with them.
Sherry
Admittedly prevention is preferable to loss in the long run, but the flip side is that we are bombarded with the negative messaging of "sorry for the delay but your fellow citizens are thieving bastards and we have to protect our/your stuff." It seems like I saw a lot more busted shop-lifters, waiting sheepishly with some security guard for their parents or the cops to show up, 10 years ago than I do now. Or maybe the scanners are working. Or maybe they're vaporized when they attempt to make their get-away
I know our jails and prisons are full, and I don't wear rose-colored glasses (not with every outfit anyway, they just don't work), and I'm sure some of the added security is necessary in some situations. I live in Los Angeles County, not Oz. And while I'm not ready to give up on my fellow humans yet, I too am soooooo tired of big city living for loads of reasons
Jodee
Geez, sorry, I didn't mean to get off on a rant!
Jodee,
Having worked in retail, I can assure you that the security measures are needed, and then some. For a while, I was a manager of a store for a "major electronics" store and one of the Loss Prevention fellows came through to check us out. After doing all their required checks, we visited for a while and he began to relate many of the things that thieves do to take advantage of either the store or the store's customers. I was absolutely astounded at the creativity that thieves have. Too bad they don't apply that creativity to doing something honest and useful.
Terry
Alas, there will always be those who would rather take than earn....
Jodee
For the past year we have maintained two homes, one in Orlando (big city) and one in Stuart, Florida (small town). The differences are amazing and each visit takes an adjustment. We are having quite a bit of remodeling/construction done at our Stuart home and much of it is done on little more than a handshake. The other thing I notice is at a checkout lane if someone only has a couple of items almost everyone who has a basket or cart full will ask them if they would like to go ahead. Unlike yesterday in Orlando where a lady with a full cart almost knocked me down trying to get to a newly opened checkout lane. My work took me away from a small Ohio town when I was young and I am so glad to be able to finally return to one now in Florida.