Something pretty bad happened to me the other week that ended up being pretty cool, and speaks well to the quality of customer service at my local Burlington Coat Factory.Our purchases have fortunately never disappeared, despite presenting thieves with ample opportunity thanks to our near-criminal absentmindedness. Lars and his wife handled the situation like pros. If your shopping vanishes, always have a chat with the store manager and, if the goods are valuable, call the cops.I bought a couple of shirts and a sweater there, and after which went to continued shopping. Upon returning to our car, my wife and I noticed that our doors were unlocked and that the sack of clothes from Burlington were missing. Someone had reach their apparently skinny arms into the crack we left in the window and unlocked the passenger side door.
My immediate reaction was, "bummer, but at least nothing else was missing and no one got hurt." My wife, with over a decade of retail experience, knew that our best chance of getting the stuff back was to go back to the store and ask them to look out for someone trying to return the items. A security employee named Justin took my information and said he would give me a call if anything came up.
Sure enough, 8 PM that night, Justin called and said that my items were back in the store after someone, who was still in the store, had attempted to rerun them. Since I had used a credit card, he couldn't get cash, so he was trying to find something he wanted in exchange. Justin also informed me that they had called to Police.
Great! So, what happened? Sure enough, the supposed thief tried to book-it out of the store once he saw the cop, and was apprehended. After a short and pleasant phone conversation with officer Rutherford of Clackamas PD later that night to corroborate my story, I was informed that I could come retrieve my clothes the next day.
Has one of your shopping expeditions ever ended with a loss? Tell us what happened and how you responded in the comments.
(Photo: aturkus)
]]>I went out and noticed there were wires where a MP3 head unit should be.
I notified the security company that monitors the parking lot, as well as the police department (who has a precinct on the other side of the building!), and notified the manager of the security department at my company.
I got less than sympathetic replies from pretty much everyone.
I can only hope that the thief got shot (or severely maimed at the very least) when he tried to sell it because it was already broken anyway! Jokes on him! (True story.)
]]>I'm tired of hearing that victims are in any way to blame for the actions of another. If a woman with a nice ass has a close fitting pair of jeans on, is it her fault when she gets raped? Even just a little? Of course not. If someone breaks your window and robs your house, is it your fault for not having bars on the windows? Of course not. Neither is it your fault if you leave a door unlocked or the window down. Sure, it's legitimate to say you could have made certain decisions that would have reduced your risk of becoming a victim, but that in no way makes you responsible for what some criminal did to you. Period.
]]>I always just throw my bags in the trunk. There's more space and thieves can't see it if they wander by.
]]>Always put a few scorpions in each shopping bag.
]]>You want to "hunt down" crooks? How exactly should we do this?
]]>Some damn thief managed to pickpocket said basket while it was on her arm - got the shirt, tickets, and a souvenir she'd bought. We told security, and the front office replaced all the stolen items. Way to go, Bristol!
]]>I took my 8 year old daughter to a kids park and saw a family distressed that their car had been broken into. the thieves had watched the wife put her pocketbook in the trunk then when the family went inside, they broke the small window in the back and opened the door and popped the trunk. a few cop friends of mine said this is common and they deal with it all the time. if you are going to put things in the trunk do it before you get there.
]]>Sadly crime like this is everywhere....While in the town of Kapaa, on Kauai, we stopped on the local main street to do some shopping. We found a few shirts and some shorts to help make it through the long weekend and decided to catch a quick bite. So we put the bags into the trunk of our rental and walked about 50 feet to the local diner....afterwards when we came out and opened the trunk...we found that our bags were gone. Someone had opened the rental car trunk (No key needed thanks to the handy dandy keychain remotes they all use now days) and taken everything. We went back to the store where we'd bought everything...and let the owner know to be on the lookout...she just shrugged and said, "Yeah, that happens here alot lately...there's a meth problem on the islands." We never did hear from her or see our things again. The outcome of that incident...we don't buy anything on Kaua'i anymore and we don't put anything in the trunk. The sad part to us was that the locals acted like..."Oh well, nothing to be done about it".
]]>Had my skis, boots and a keg tap stolen out of my garage overnight a few years ago. The next afternoon called a few "Play It Again Sports" (they buy and sell used sports stuff) stores. The second store I called had my skis and as is standard they had a photocopy of the sellers drivers license.
I called the police non-emergency line and by the time the volunteer cop-helper dude showed up, I had the name, address and DL# of the guy who took the stuff. Citizen On Patrol called a Deputy and that was that.
I never did get the keg tap back though....which ironically I used more than the skis at that time.
]]>This is quite a difference from the Burlington Coat Factory I remember of late. Yes, the same store that would not return any merchandise, for any reason, even with a receipt. Screw you Burlington, I'm still not shopping there.
]]>As for the "blaming" of the OP, the OP himself stated it was partially his fault for leaving it out in the open. We all make mistakes and the better of us can admit when we do...
A few years back I caught a douchebag breaking into my neighbors shed. I tagged him in the face a coupl o'times good before he started swinging a wrench at me (a big ol' 18" one.) He came within millimeters of my face, and took off running. I ran and got my baton, but I lost him. Sure felt good though, and I caught him breaking in before he did any serious damage to the shed door, so I looked at it as a win... :)
]]>I won't shop at the local UltraCheap during certain hours, and when I do shop there I lock my purse to the cart.
]]>Last month, I had a woman scream at me for half an hour because she was trying to return something with a credit card that totally did not match the numbers on the receipt. When I explained that this policy was to prevent someone from stealing her bag and trying to return it for a refund, she called me a word that rhymes with witch plus a few other nice names.
]]>There aren't that many SMART criminals, honestly. My husband had a defendant up on charges of drug dealing who when he showed up in court for his arraignment, was trying to deal in the hallway outside the courtroom in front of the bailiff. They ain't into a life of petty crime because they're geniuses.
]]>I think this a minor instance of the damn fool theory.
]]>Blaming the customer here is totally unnecessary: I'm sure they learned a lesson. They probably considered what could have happened and what to do in the future. It contributes nothing.
@rellog: Do you have home or renter's insurance? My renter's policy is $8/month and covers things stolen out of my car. I decided it was a good idea after the apartment next door burned to the ground.
]]>@corrosive: Could've been a hatchback. My Impreza doesn't have a trunk, though I tend to keep things in the back covered.
]]>if he had tried to return it w/o a receipt for store credit, seeing it was paid for w/ credit card, then this wouldn't have had a happy ending (unless you're the crook)
]]>@Morticia: I agree. I've had my locked car's windows smashed when a thief decided to steal my cd player. This was in a locked garage, as well.
]]>I'm impressed that the store staff even bothered to pursue the theft at all, and that they had enough internal communication that worked and staff that paid attention so they were able to notice when the stolen items were being returned. That's amazing. I can't see a Target or Walmart being that on top of things (mainly due to their larger size).
Also, I'm totally impressed w/ your wife's reaction -- I honestly never would have thought about the returning items for money bit. Proves two things: I don't think like (some) thieves, and I haven't worked in retail.
]]>We've got a Burlington Coat Factory near us and it's a nice place to shop. Good clothing at good prices.
]]>@corrosive: Because this was obviously the consumer's fault??
]]>That was a smart idea to go back to the store and let them know the items were stolen. I suppose the return potential had more incentive than the items.
]]>If the window hadn't of been down a crack then they would be dealing with a smashed window as well. Let's face it, if a thief wants to take something then not a lot stands in their way. Probably the lesson here is to keep items out of sight, but even then you don't know who is watching you put things in the trunk of your car.
Good teamwork from customer and staff. I'm glad they got the little bugger.
]]>Also very lucky they only had clothes stolen and not the car itself. Leaving your windows open, even a crack = asking for it.
]]>