Condtions of Entry to Department Stores / Supermarkets etc

• 

  obses2ion on 10/08/2015 - 12:35

  +11

  You do realise employees can't 'open' your bag for you, let alone stick their hands inside and rummage around.

  A similar scenario happened at my workplace a few weeks ago, where a guy that literally walked in, grabbed a drink by the checkout and went to pay for it asked to have his backpack checked. He made a huge fuss about the fact that he walked straight through and had a go at the poor cashier who asked to check his backpack.

  Honestly, don't make things difficult.

  • 

    scrimshaw on 10/08/2015 - 14:05

    +1

    Yeap. Remember the guy checking your bag is just doing as per protocol and if you freak somebody out by being aggressive or show abnormal behaviour, he's bound to get scared and call a manager / security for help.

    • 

      tim374 on 11/08/2015 - 12:30

      I had that happen once, walked in and bought only a banana. Was asked to check my bag. Rather than go off at the staff member I just politely declined.

      • 

        scrimshaw on 11/08/2015 - 13:38

        +1

        If you refuse to have your bag checked under NSW fair trading laws the retailer can actually ban you from entering again. While the customer has the right to refuse a bag check, the retailer also has rights too but the very most they can do is to make you leave the store and bar you from shopping there. They can't force you to open your bag.

        In OPs scenario, from the point of view of the staff member the customer did not open his bag but rather tried to provoke or force him into opening the bag (i dare you to touch my bag and I'll get you in trouble) . The staff member did just what he was trained to do and called security.

• 

  toniyellow on 10/08/2015 - 12:37

  +2

  For a number of reasons, they can't touch your stuff, you have to open your bag for them to look inside.

  Calling security seems like overkill on their part, but what led to that point? Presumably he kept asking for you to open it, explained he wasn't allowed to touch your property and you kept refusing? If you are that tired perhaps sit outside on a bench and wait for your partner.

  • 

    pointless martyr on 10/08/2015 - 13:16

    +1

    If you are that tired perhaps sit outside on a bench and wait for your partner.

    Better still, arrange to meet at a department store with bedding on display.

    Just take a nap while you wait - before you bed down, empty your backpack out and leave it open.

    This way, if any employees want to take a look, they wont have to wake you!

• 

  pointless martyr on 10/08/2015 - 12:42

  +1

  How hard is it to open your own pack back?

  If you do consider it too hard, then just wear an expensive suit and jewellery everytime you enter a store - they will be less likely to suspect you of stealing if you look like you dont need to!

  • 

    rawm on 10/08/2015 - 12:57

    +8

    Islund: 'I was tired and could not be bothered swinging my backpack off so turned around and asked him to 'Go f^& yourself you glorified checkout chick b&(& a$$!!!!'. - Fixed for accuracy I bet.

    • 

      pointless martyr on 10/08/2015 - 13:11

      He should have been stealing soap, if anything, to wash his mouth out with all that foul language!

    • 

      DeafMutePretender on 10/08/2015 - 22:08

      Islund while wearing baggy clothes, a hoody, having a druggy-addict style face and overall possessing a shady and shifty demeanour: 'I was tired and could not be bothered swinging my backpack off so turned around and asked him to 'Go f^& yourself you glorified checkout chick b&(& a$$!!!!'.

      Further fixed?

• 

  cloudy on 10/08/2015 - 12:54

  +5

  My girlfriend regularly gets asked to open her bag. It's a simple open, they take the quickest of looks (probably not worth their while, but just doing their job), and it's all done. Too easy.

  It's just part of their job, with a smile all around we can all keep the peace and not upset ourselves over nothing.

• 

  Randxyz123 on 10/08/2015 - 13:16

  +1

  How hard can it be take your backpack off open it up they look inside and you go on your merry way.

  It would have taken LONGER for him to make a fuss, get his manager and then his manager threaten or actually call security.

  The only reason I can think of for someone to refuse is if they have something to hide.

• 

  try2bhelpful on 10/08/2015 - 13:29

  +1

  It can be annoying but the person checking the bags is just doing their job. If you really must get revenge I would tuck in a pair of your girlfriends sauciest knickers and/or a more intimate appliance for next time you go into the store. Bet they won't be able to get you to shut the bag quick enough.

• 

  daalinz on 10/08/2015 - 13:31

  +1

  Why didn't you wait outside if you weren't purchasing something?
  It probably looks dodgy if you walk right in and walk right out carrying a bag.

• 

  iratepirate on 10/08/2015 - 14:09

  +6

  You don't have to show them the contents of your bag just because they put up a sign - all they can do is ask you to leave and refuse re entry.

  If they suspect you of theft then they should call the police.

• 

  bobbified on 10/08/2015 - 14:20

  +8

  Legally, you've done nothing wrong… the signs they have at the entry outlining these conditions are barely big enough to read.
  They can't force you to open your bag for inspection or detain you unless they have a witness to you stealing. Even then, they need to call the police to do the search. And if it turns out that you haven't stolen anything, you can sue them for the detention.

  I don't agree with the "you have nothing to worry about if you haven't done anything wrong" line… but sometimes, it's just easier and less fuss for everyone to give them a peep. Most of the time they seem to only pretend that they're looking.

• 

  Lysander on 10/08/2015 - 16:20

  -1

  Maybe it is beside the point but think about it this way:

  The starting position of these shops is that you are a thief/criminal unless you prove to them by showing them your bag that you are not.
  I strongly object to that.
  If that attitude is transferred to actual court trials (remember, theft is criminal law so yes it is in the same sphere), soon it will be that the accused is guilty unless he or she can prove that she is innocent. I think most people would object to that reasoning.

  I for once dislike it very much when shops view their customers all as potential thieves.
  If they want to make sure, there i nothing to stop them to set up a bag drop off at the front so people can leave their bags there (e.g. Harrods in London do this).

  Also, in other countries where bag searches are not done, theft is not more prevalent so why alienate one's customers?

  Besides, what is the point of pure looking and not touching? Any real thief knows that and puts what he or she wants to steal at the bottom of the bag, covers it with a old pullover and voila. So really, the whole exercise is a bit pointless.

  • 

    [Deactivated] on 10/08/2015 - 17:00

    Also, in other countries where bag searches are not done, theft is not more prevalent so why alienate one's customers?

    Also, in Australia employees steal more than customers:

    In Australia, internal theft accounted for 42.5 per cent of the losses, costing $1177 million to the retail industry, while customer shoplifting accounted for 30 per cent or $831 million.

    In the US, that study revealed:

    employee theft accounts for 43% of lost revenue. That’s about $18 billion, or $2.3 billion more than the cost of five-finger discounts taken by customers.

• 

  oscargamer on 10/08/2015 - 17:13

  show them your bag or not, the choice is yours

  if you refuse to open your bag, the only recourse they have is to ban you from their store, but how they do that without knowing who you are is another story

  they cannot detain you unless they have reasonable grounds to suspect you have stolen something, like cctv or a store employee saw you put something in your bag and walk past the last point of sale

• 

  grasstown on 10/08/2015 - 22:56

  Meh don't know why he got flustered. I used to see theifs with tags on gear walking out of the shop, I used to point at the tags, tell them to wait while I walked over and got my supervisor. If they waited, which they always did, I let my supervisor deal with them. If I asked them about it, they always just said they bought it earlier.

• 

  toniyellow on 11/08/2015 - 08:25

  +5

  Its a little weird that you made changes to your original post after people started voting instead of just commenting. You haven't really made yourself more sympathetic, but it is pretty strange to see new things in the original post after voting.

  • 

    [Deactivated] on 11/08/2015 - 08:33

    Changes don't seem weird. It's always b better to be concise

  • 

    Islund on 11/08/2015 - 19:52

    I was disappointed with the replies so I thought I would be exact

    • 

      obses2ion on 12/08/2015 - 20:02

      Hi :-) Just throwing my two cents in (again).

      I've worked in retail for many years, and currently still do, so I can see it from the worker's perspective in that he was just doing what he was instructed to do. I seldom see it from the customer's POV, in that it may come across as suspicious to ask to have your bag checked. In saying that, in the many years I have worked in retail, personally I have never been declined for a quick check. I've only ever had one case myself, in which a lady offered her toddler's backpack for inspection (no joke, the kid was about 3) and told me to "go ahead". I then politely told her that I wasn't actually allowed to unzip the bag, and that she would have to do it for me. She seemed a bit surprised but obliged.

      As a few people have stated up there, yes, sometimes it is just a courtesy check - especially if your manager is watching over you/cameras. If I was in the position of the worker you mentioned, I could only think of two reasons to be calling my manager over: A) to demonstrate that I am following procedures by conducting bag checks or B) because I'd be taken aback by the response of the customer. I don't think the response was intended as a "you're not opening your bag for me, you must be stealing", but more so a request for a quick check as stated at the entrance.

      I'm not sure if your comment "As far as I was concerned I was 'presenting my bag for inspection'" was intended to be sarcastic, but do spare a thought for the employee next time :-)

      No offence intended by this rant at all! Retail isn't all sunshine and rainbows, and some customers can be a real pain, so please make it easier when possible :-)

      • 

        Islund on 24/08/2015 - 13:29

        throwing my 3 cents in here. Apologies if I did not in the 1st instance.

        I look Indian and the guy who wanted to check my bag was Indian - think I could have been singled out for special attention.

      • 

        Scorpiogirl on 25/08/2015 - 06:05

        +2

        Since neither 2 or 3 cents exist anymore, can we just round that up to having your 5 cents worth please? :)

• 

  Hellfire on 11/08/2015 - 12:34

  You don't need to comply with the conditions of entry. The worst they can do is ask you to leave and ban you from future visits.

  If they do detain you they are up for false imprisonment. Assuming you didn't break the law.

• 

  [Deactivated] on 26/08/2015 - 09:19

  +1

  I don't like bag-checks. They're intrusive and irritating, one of life's tiny little minor annoyances. Very tiny though. Hardly worth making a fuss about, most of the time.

  And there's no point going off on one at the staff, not their fault. So I'll do what I can to avoid checks without being unpleasant about it.

  Headphones in, music up and slowly wander out while checking your receipt is good. If you're stopped by someone asking if you have a receipt, just answer cheerily "Yep! Sure do, thanks!" and carry on.

  Or you can always carry a couple of large errm, inappropriate items in your bag everywhere you go. Good for some laughs, but probably inconvenient.

  Most of the time, though, I just use the bag-check thing as a chance to see if you can get through to the poor bag-checker. Crack a joke or two, try and make their day a bit better. They're also human and if you can get them to see you as something other than just another faceless shopper, it's kind of a win all round and goes a long way to defusing the "us vs. them" mentality that leads to retailers assuming all customers are thieves.

  And if just being nice isn't enough for you, while they're checking your bags and having a chat with you, all the real shoplifters are getting away with it. ;-)