The Five Finger Discount

[RaiKai]

I watched a documentary last night on CBC about the secret life of shoplifting. Here are some interesting facts (these are from the US..though it was a Canadian show and they estimate it would be similar here):

- 10% of the population are REGULAR shoplifters

- 80% have shoplifted at least once in their lifetime.

- There are an equal number of male and female shoplifters.

- 25% of shoplifters are children.

- On average, an individual shoplifter only gets caught once for every 48 of their thefts.

- Most shoplift at the SAME time they buy something.

- Most do not intend to shoplift before going into the store.

- It costs billions of dollars every year which of course is passed on to consumers. An average increase of $400+ more for each consumer over a year. A very small store owner may lose on average a $1,000 a month.

There are course lots of reasons people shoplift...but very few of them do it "professionally" (i.e. as "boosters"). Some have an addiction or compulsion, others do it for the thrill, others do it for something they just can't buy. I mean look at Winona Ryder...certainly she did not NEED to shoplift, right?

So, fess up if you want! What about you? Have you ever taken anything? What was it? Why did you do it?

I will confess....as a young kid (as in during my elementary years) I took a few candy bars from stores. I loved chocolate. My mum busted me one day trying to take Mini Eggs from a discount department store and threatened to report me to the manager and the police. I was in tears, and never shoplifted again! I knew the entire time it was WRONG and felt a sense of fear about getting caught...and a sense of relief when I didn't. If I could go back and kick my own young butt though I certainly would.

I did know LOTS of girls when I was a teenager who would steal everything from lipstick to CD's to bras though. Many of them got busted. Also having worked in retail a few times as a teenager and while going to school....I can attest that people will do the oddest things. Like take two batteries out of a package, or two cookies out of the bag. Most were "small time" things...but now and then I was in retail stores where loss-prevention was a serious business (i.e. people would try and walk off with tools, equipment, electronics, etc). A friend of mine worked in a drugstore and said condoms and pregnancy tests were always hot ticket items (though it is always the razor blades that I see locked up!).

 

[Bleed Burnt Orange]

I''m too much of a rule follower.

 

[princesss]

My name is princesss and I''m a goody two shoes.

 

[decodelighted]

Nope never. Even when I worked as a cashier at the local ice cream store, I always paid for my snacks beyond the soda & single ice cream item we were allowed every day. No one would EVER have known ... but I was scrupulous about "honor system" type deals. And it''s been a blessing in my life. I''ve had to take lie detector tests twice for various jobs and can HONESTLY claim to be completely crime free! They testers are often amazed because the little stuff gets almost everyone. (Your 80% number seems right). One told me I was the most honest person he''d ever tested.

What''s that saying ... ethics is what you do in front of people, morals are what you do when there''s no chance of being caught? Can''t remember it exactly but I think that''s close.

 

[RaiKai]

Date: 4/30/2010 11:49:37 AM
Author: princesss
My name is princesss and I'm a goody two shoes.

The funny thing is that for the most part I was too when it came to school and similar things (and put a lot of pressure on myself to be perfect in a lot of areas which may be part of the problem). But I acted out in many ways over the years too out of insecurities. My poor mother. And she really did not even know 1/4 of it (despite being a very intelligent and observant woman!).

Seriously, remembering how *I* was as a kid and a teenager is what has me still not being 100% ready to have my own!

I can quite honestly say now though....never. I work in a profession (and have worked in others too) where high ethics is a MUST despite the opportunities and have a lot better sense of my own values (and a more positive sense and understanding of self than I did then!).

 

[elrohwen]

No, I'm also a goody two shoes.

Though, when I was very young, I was playing in a playhouse at a store that we set up to keep kids entertained. It had some cheap junky toys and I took one. I don't really think it was shoplifting since it wasn't even for sale and I'm sure they expected kids to take them, but I felt really bad for taking this $0.25 toy! I eventually confessed to my dad and he seem amazed that I felt so guilty about it and told me it was no big deal. I think I was 3.

 

[CurlySue]

I don''t mind ''fessing up. It''s actually sort of a funny story.

When I was a kid, I had a friend who lived two doors away. She was a year older than me. She was the youngest of five kids and the only girl. I was the oldest of two girls and a bit naive. Suffice it to say, she is someone who helped to toughen me up a bit - taught me how to smoke, gave me my first drink of alcohol, etc.

Anyway - I think we were in middle school when we made a trip to the mall. I was wearing an over-the-head poncho type of thing. I remember it was navy blue and had a big zippered pocket in the front. While we were in Claire''s Boutique, she came up to me with a barrette in her hand. She stuck it into my poncho pocket and said, "I''m going to steal this." I said to her, "No, you''re not. That''s crazy." She grabbed my hand and dragged me out of the store, and the deed was done. After we walked away, she pulled out the barrette with a smug smile on her face, and I remember feeling like she was such a rebel!

Of course, it was *I* who stole the barrette, since it was in my pocket, but that did not register in my brain at all at the moment, because *she* said *she* was stealing it. Duh. Not one of my brighter moments.

Anyway... that was my only shoplifting experience. We (or I) didn''t get caught.

 

[RaiKai]

Date: 4/30/2010 11:58:57 AM
Author: decodelighted
Nope never. Even when I worked as a cashier at the local ice cream store, I always paid for my snacks beyond the soda & single ice cream item we were allowed every day. No one would EVER have known ... but I was scrupulous about ''honor system'' type deals. And it''s been a blessing in my life. I''ve had to take lie detector tests twice for various jobs and can HONESTLY claim to be completely crime free! They testers are often amazed because the little stuff gets almost everyone. (Your 80% number seems right). One told me I was the most honest person he''d ever tested.

What''s that saying ... ethics is what you do in front of people, morals are what you do when there''s no chance of being caught? Can''t remember it exactly but I think that''s close.

Employee theft is one of the biggest areas of course. I never took anything as an employee....though I have worked as a cashier many, many times.

I have never had to take a lie detector test. Just those situational ethics sort of tests.

 

[RaiKai]

Date: 4/30/2010 12:02:14 PM
Author: CurlySue
I don''t mind ''fessing up. It''s actually sort of a funny story.


When I was a kid, I had a friend who lived two doors away. She was a year older than me. She was the youngest of five kids and the only girl. I was the oldest of two girls and a bit naive. Suffice it to say, she is someone who helped to toughen me up a bit - taught me how to smoke, gave me my first drink of alcohol, etc.


Anyway - I think we were in middle school when we made a trip to the mall. I was wearing an over-the-head poncho type of thing. I remember it was navy blue and had a big zippered pocket in the front. While we were in Claire''s Boutique, she came up to me with a barrette in her hand. She stuck it into my poncho pocket and said, ''I''m going to steal this.'' I said to her, ''No, you''re not. That''s crazy.'' She grabbed my hand and dragged me out of the store, and the deed was done. After we walked away, she pulled out the barrette with a smug smile on her face, and I remember feeling like she was such a rebel!


Of course, it was *I* who stole the barrette, since it was in my pocket, but that did not register in my brain at all at the moment, because *she* said *she* was stealing it. Duh. Not one of my brighter moments.


Anyway... that was my only shoplifting experience. We (or I) didn''t get caught.

That reminds me of a Degrassi High (the older version..not the new one) episode!

 

[Haven]

I''m definitely not a goody two shoes, and I usually don''t care much for rules, but I never shoplifted.

My grandmother was EXTREMELY superstitious, and thus, so is my mother. When I was a toddler I once pulled a Snickers Bar off the shelf and later that day my mother saw me eating said Snickers Bar. She freaked out, took me back to the store, and tried to pay for the candy bar. The guy at the counter thought it was cute and said to forget about it, and she DEMANDED to pay, because of course, if she didn''t, I would choke and die on that stolen candy bar. He let the crazy woman pay.

SOOOOO, I suppose I once inadvertently tried to steal something, but my mother paid for it. To this day I''m still a bit worried that if we accidentally get something for free we''re going to die using it. A Target cashier forgot to ring up two of my Ravinia lawn chairs last summer, and much to DH''s dismay, I brought them back and made them charge me. I was convinced that whoever sat in them would be swallowed up and would drown a horrible death in canvas and metal.

 

[RaiKai]

Date: 4/30/2010 12:09:42 PM
Author: Haven
I was convinced that whoever sat in them would be swallowed up and would drown a horrible death in canvas and metal.

Hilarious.

 

[joflier]

Me and some friends took some candy bars from our school store on a few occasions when we were teens. Got caught after a couple times and never did it again.

 

[lightningbug]

When I was 7 I stole a pack of Lifesavers from a drugstore. I felt so guilty and scared that I ate half the pack as fast as I could and tried to give the rest away. I wasn''t very smart, though. When I gave some to my friend, she said, "Hey, where''d you get this? Your mom doesn''t let you eat these." My foggy little grades school brain thought it would be good to tell her that I FOUND the lifesavers on the street. She freaked out that I was giving her candy that was probably poisoned by a kidnapper, then she ran off and told her mom, who told my mom.

Epic fail.

Yeah.... I never stole anything else.

 

[decodelighted]

Haven,
Heh! I have a bit of the same superstitious angle as well. My idea of *karma* seems to be that it will swoop in with the viciousness and fangs of a rabid wolverine.

 

[iota15]

Date: 4/30/2010 12:02:14 PM
Author: CurlySue
I don''t mind ''fessing up. It''s actually sort of a funny story.

When I was a kid, I had a friend who lived two doors away. She was a year older than me. She was the youngest of five kids and the only girl. I was the oldest of two girls and a bit naive. Suffice it to say, she is someone who helped to toughen me up a bit - taught me how to smoke, gave me my first drink of alcohol, etc.

Anyway - I think we were in middle school when we made a trip to the mall. I was wearing an over-the-head poncho type of thing. I remember it was navy blue and had a big zippered pocket in the front. While we were in Claire''s Boutique, she came up to me with a barrette in her hand. She stuck it into my poncho pocket and said, ''I''m going to steal this.'' I said to her, ''No, you''re not. That''s crazy.'' She grabbed my hand and dragged me out of the store, and the deed was done. After we walked away, she pulled out the barrette with a smug smile on her face, and I remember feeling like she was such a rebel!

Of course, it was *I* who stole the barrette, since it was in my pocket, but that did not register in my brain at all at the moment, because *she* said *she* was stealing it. Duh. Not one of my brighter moments.

Anyway... that was my only shoplifting experience. We (or I) didn''t get caught.

That''s such a cute story, CurlySue.

 

[Shoopy]

When I was 13, there was a man that owned a very small convenience store in the corner. I used to go there all the time with friends and we would chat about different things with him and buy junk food.

One night we hung out with some boys from our apartment complex and one of them (who I had a HUGE crush on) dared me to steal a candy bar for him. I did and didn't get caught.

The next day he wanted me to do it again so I did. This time the man says 'I didn't say anything to you the first time but put it back.' I was mortified and the guilt was awful. I felt so bad that I had done that to this man that was always so kind to us.

Anyway, because the store was literally right across the street from where we all lived, he knew some people that lived there. One day he was walking towards my building and I almost died. I thought he was coming over to tell my mom. So I ran over to her and said 'mom I stole two candy bars from the guy across the street, he caught me and now he's coming here to tell you. I'm so sorry mom" and started crying.

He never came to our apt. I don't know where he went. My mom was disappointed and she grounded me for a week. I never did it again (both steal and do something that stupid for a guy I liked).

 

[laine]

I once stole a soda from a convenience store by accident when I was about 18. I was with a big group of friends who were taking a while, so I started drinking it, then got tired of waiting for them, so I went outside to talk to the friend waiting outside. Once I got out there, I realized I never paid for the soda in my hand, but was too embarrassed to go back in and pay for it.

 

[luckystar112]

When I was realllllly young my mother refused to buy me bubbles at a corner store, so while she was talking to the cashier I sticked the bubbles in my bag.....then forgot about them. As soon as my mom saw them she marched me right back down to that corner store and made me apologize for taking them.

When I was in high school I had friends who did some shady things. For example, if there was a gym class going on we would sneak into the girls'' locker room and swipe a random purse. Then we''d run to the bathroom to see what we got. There was only one time that I physically took the purse (rather than just being lookout), and it just so happened to the the purse of the biggest nerd-girl in our school. I think she had chapstick, pokemon cards, and nothing else. We''d ditch the purses in the bathroom after we took what we wanted. One time my friend took a particular purse and we later saw the victim bawling her eyes out because it was stolen. That made me feel AWFUL. I didn''t participate after that.

Then there were times when I would go to the mall with some friends and they would steal clothes like you would not believe. They would go in, put the clothes on underneath their clothes, and walk out. Took all of 3 minutes. One of the girls was our principal''s daughter and I remember thinking that she must be crazy! I was 18 while this was going on, so I didn''t participate. I wouldn''t even go in the store with them. Looking back now I''m sure that if they got caught I would have been in trouble too.

 

[Shoopy]

Oh and when I was a Manager at a girl''s jewelry/fashion store, I used to catch girls stealing all the time! I have some crazy stories.

One time I had left the store to grab a bite to eat. When I was walking back to the store, a girl standing right outside of it starts saying "look what I just stole from Store." So I signaled for the security guard and escorted her back in to the store. She had every single pocket full of jewelry, makeup, and other little things. It totaled around $200 which was a lot for a store that sold things for $3-$5 on average.

There was also a time where a girl stole something, I saw her put it in her pocket, and when I stopped her outside of the store she denied it. I told her to check her pockets but little did I know that as we were chatting she managed to drop it on the floor. Well, this man passing by goes "excuse me miss you dropped this" I laughed so hard after.

A lot of teen stealing also has to do with the parents reactions. The mother of the girl that tried to drop the bracelet came running in the store and yelled at her. I think she was more afraid of the mom than the cop. There was another time where a girl stole and when her dad came in, he flat out denied that his daughter could do it. Even with her saying that she had stole he got in my face telling me that I was a liar and then pushed me to the ground so hard I had black and blues. At that point the police were there so they took the man outside and shut down the store. Then the cop asked the girl if she did steal, she said yes (because at that point she felt really bad), and he made her go outside and tell the father that she did in fact steal. He started crying. Even though he knocked me over and was very aggressive towards me, I felt so bad. It was obvious that his world shattered at the thought of his daughter doing something "bad."

Anyway, when the kids would steal the store policy was that they prosecute but we teamed up with the local police (who would hang out at the mall on the weekends because of the amount of traffic) and they would either let them go with a warning or enter them in a police explorer program. It really depended on the police officer. There was one that would handcuff the kid and take them to the station and make the parent pick them up there just to teach them a lesson. And others that would say "all this for $7?" Eh.

 

[princesss]

I worked a lot of retail jobs and would catch people who were planning on stealing sometimes (ummm, ma''am, would you like me to start a room for you so you don''t have to stash all of those t-shirts without anti-theft tags in the very bottom of your stroller?).

When I was at Build-A-Bear around Christmas a lot of our display animals would get stolen (the Rudolph with light-up antlers was stolen pretty frequently). My manager''s attitude (and general company policy) was "It''s kind of sad that somebody feels the need to steal a $20 Christmas gift. It cost us, what, 60 cents? It happens. I hope it makes some kid happy on Christmas." After all the seminars on loss-prevention from my old company, it was a relief to not have to be on pins and needles anytime something went missing from your section.

 

[Bella_mezzo]

Between my parents and "the law" I was way WAY to concerned about the consequences, no way jose for me...

 

[VegasAngel]

Date: 4/30/2010 1:12:18 PM
Author: princesss
I worked a lot of retail jobs and would catch people who were planning on stealing sometimes (ummm, ma''am, would you like me to start a room for you so you don''t have to stash all of those t-shirts without anti-theft tags in the very bottom of your stroller?).

When I was at Build-A-Bear around Christmas a lot of our display animals would get stolen (the Rudolph with light-up antlers was stolen pretty frequently). My manager''s attitude (and general company policy) was ''It''s kind of sad that somebody feels the need to steal a $20 Christmas gift. It cost us, what, 60 cents? It happens. I hope it makes some kid happy on Christmas.'' After all the seminars on loss-prevention from my old company, it was a relief to not have to be on pins and needles anytime something went missing from your section.

I didn''t realize how much/often people steal until I worked shortly at a silver jewelry store. They don''t care about security cameras, mirrors, shoplifters will be prosecuted signs etc.. We had to pretty much stalk people at this store & they would still manage to walk out with stuff. I''ve never shoplifted.

 

[Steel]

It is very easy to walk away from a store and realise later (or at point of sale) that you did not pay for an item; a sachet of butter, a second pack of hair bands etc. Are you folks really telling us that you have never walked away from a diner and realised you didn't pay for your refill coffee or leave a shop with the newspaper tucked under your arm or return the extra pack of gum that managed to get it's way into your store packed grocery bag even though it didn't show on your receipt? I find it difficult to believe that in a lifetime a body manages to always pay for everything every time everywhere.

RaiKai, posted that many instances of theft occur when another transaction is taking place which suggests to me that there could be confusion (or misdirection

) and error.

I think there are many legitimate instances where a consumer ends up with more than they paid for and all those instances could be documented as theft.

I believe we are all thieves, we just may not have been aware of it.

 

[Lady_Disdain]

Date: 4/30/2010 1:48:49 PM
Author: Steal
It is very easy to walk away from a store and realise later (or at point of sale) that you did not pay for an item; a sachet of butter, a second pack of hair bands etc. Are you folks really telling us that you have never walked away from a diner and realised you didn''t pay for your refill coffee or leave a shop with the newspaper tucked under your arm or return the extra pack of gum that managed to get it''s way into your store packed grocery bag even though it didn''t show on your receipt? I find it difficult to believe that in a lifetime a body manages to always pay for everything every time everywhere.

RaiKai, posted that many instances of theft occur when another transaction is taking place which suggests to me that there could be confusion (or misdirection

) and error.

I think there are many legitimate instances where a consumer ends up with more than they paid for and all those instances could be documented as theft.

I believe we are all thieves, we just may not have been aware of it.

If I placed the item on the conveyor belt or handed it to the cashier and they didn''t charge it, I do not consider it shoplifting at all. It is a clerical mistake and doesn''t reflect on me. If I notice it (I don''t check the receipts often, specially in supermarkets), I will alert the salesperson and pay for it, though.

I know I haven''t walked away with something, simply because of the way I organize myself: tiny purse and nothing in my hands. So I certainly notice if I am holding something (because I certainly didn''t leave the house that way!) and my ourse is way too small for something to have worked its way there.

 

[radiantquest]

I have stolen, but both times I was inebriated. Both have been within the last 5 years. I never stole as a teenager or kid.

The most recent time was like two weekends ago. Me and my BFF met up with some other friends for lunch and I had one too many margueritas. My BFF drove us over to the mall. She went into claires to get some of thos fashion bobby pins and as she was standing there paying for her stuff there were those cheap CZ stretchy tennis bracelets. I put one on and was acting silly. Next thing I know I am 40 minutes from the mall and it is there on my wrist tags still on. I obviously didnt want or need it, but I stole it.

The other time that I stole was when I was drugged from being afraid of the dentist. I went to Kohls and bought $400 worth of merchandise. I didnt sober up until about 2 hrs after I got home and had no idea where the stuff came from. I had to find the receipt and match it up. There was a $12 ring on my thumb with the tag still on and not on the receipt.

Thank goodness I have never been caught. Not only would I be busted shoplifting, but also being drunk in public or something.

 

[Karl_K]

ummmmm actually yesterday but not intentionally, but I did end up paying for it but was embarrassing.
long story short, didn''t grab a cart found some stuff on sale so grabbed an armful putting a can of soup in my pants pocket.
Paid for stuff in my arms forgot about the soup until I was getting in my car and said ouch when I sat down.
Walked back in and paid for the soup.
I go to that store at least once a week, they thought it was funny.

 

[oddoneout]

I''m not surprised about the high level of shoplifting. I have never done it myself.

 

[Kaleigh]

YES, guilty of being dumb and stupid. As a kid, we rode our bikes to the local store. I stole a candy bar... On the way home we heard sirens...

I was like they are surely after me and my friends...

I turned around, my friends kept going.. ( after the whole thing, my friends said you were sooooo dumb for doing that... ) I said well you live in my head, I was scared to death.

I walked into the store and said , Sir I stole this and am so sorry.

He didn't give me a lecture, I think he saw I was shaking, and was scared to death...

I swear I can still hear those sirens to this day, thinking, Oh god I am in big trouble!!!!!

He took my money and said don't ever do this again!!!

I was like Sir, I have learned my lesson..

Thank you...

Then I rode my bike home in record speed.

I fell fast asleep, and was saying please let this nightmare be over!!!

 

[iheartscience]

I''m not a shoplifter and never have been. I don''t even think I stole a candy bar when I was a kid, actually. I''ll have to ask my mom. I have a very guilty conscience and I would never be able to use/enjoy whatever I stole, so what''s the point?

I used to bust people all the time when I was working retail. The weirdest shoplifter we had at the store I worked at was this regular customer (college age) who was shopping with her mom. Her mother was super sweet and totally loaded, and would buy her anything she wanted. Yet while she was shopping WITH HER MOM she stole a $100 sweater! She was SUPER obvious about it and the girl working the fitting rooms followed her out of the store and asked to look in her bag. She opened it up and there it was! Her mother was horrified and so embarrassed. She was like "I can''t just pay for it, can I? I mean I''ll make her pay for it..." I felt awful for the mom, but it was the store''s policy to call the cops on every shoplifter, so that''s what we did.

A few weeks after that the girl''s mother saw another one of my coworkers at a second job she had at a restaurant and started crying because she was so upset and embarrassed. And the mother said she had seen me at a local grocery store the week before and hid from me because she was mortified. But of course they hired a lawyer for the girl and she got out of it. I''m betting the girl had a shoplifting problem because she had absolutely no reason to steal and was well past the rebellious teenager years.

 

[Cehrabehra]

I was going to say that there was only one thing I ever stole but then the workplace started being discussed and there''s actually two - sort of. The second I think is borderline... I bought two mollies and I additionally took a little baby fry molly that was about 1/4" long. Seriously not big enough to sell, not counted in inventory at all, no one there even knew it existed but I wasn''t sure if my boss would try to make me pay full price for it (I seriously don''t think he would have - but I didn''t ask either). I babied him for about 6 weeks and he died the first day in the main tank at the jaws of another fish so I guess in that sense karma ''bit'' back. I was 22.

Other than that, I only stole something once when I was 15. My mom had divorced my abusive alcoholic stepfather and moved us back to california where the pace was tossing me around and after a year she moved in with another a-hole who lived in a very wealthy area where I started high school. So I went to school with kids dropped off in a conga line of mercedes benz and my mom drove a datsun B210. Her boyfriend wanted her to stay home and take care of him and so she had NO money. My father liked to be poor - made the choice to be a haight/ashbury hippy 10 years previously. Anyway, the reasons behind me stealing something were two-fold. One was because it was a challenge. One was because I had absolutely no money. My only lipstick was being fished out of the bottom of the barrel and I had asked my mom repeatedly for a new one and she only said she couldn''t afford it. I started thinking about how I could get one and I thought of this ingenious way to steal one and I wondered if it would work. So one day I did it. I got a wet-n-wild cheapo lipstick and my feelings afterward were mixed. On the one hand I instantly felt guilty and tried to justify it that I "needed" that lipstick or I was too poor and the store should want me to have it... and on the other hand I felt like I had just completed a science experiment and it was a rousing success. I never stole anything again except perhaps for the aforementioned fish, which I think was more a case of don''t ask don''t tell...

Now that almost 2 decades has passed since even the fish incident I can say that now I''m completely paranoid about doing anything like that - not about being caught by police but knowing that the big eye in the sky is ready to smack fairness into my life should I imbalance the system.