Scary experience!

[~Laura and Nick~ 5]

Just wanted to share with you a situation that happened at work yesterday.

There are only 3 Lowe's stores in Canada (So far) and there have been a ring of thief's who have been stealing thousands of dollars of wire from our stores and just going around trying to get cash refunds on the product for money for drugs.

Last night, they came to our store and wanted to return 4,000 worth of wire...and I happened to be covering at the returns desk.

The second I saw the man, I knew. I asked him for his receipt and he goes "Uh...um...hold on" and leaves for his car.

I called David in Loss Prevention immediately, he fortunately knew the man was in the store and told me to stay calm. David had been standing in Customer Service photocopying something when the man first walked in. (Nice!!)

A woman came in (perfect timing lady) and wanted to refund something, no problem. I began refunding her.

The man came back into the store, but this time he wasn't alone, he had two other men with him. So now it's little short 5'6 me with three 6'2 feet men in this little returns area with nothing between us but a wire chain. *gulp* My heart was beating soooo fast!

They were impatiently waiting for me to finish with the lady and kept saying "Is there anyone else that can refund us?" I said "Nope, sorry, it's just me here" The guy said "Man, it's dry in here, I need some water" I just looked at him. THIEF MOUTH!!!

Finally I finished with the woman and the men walked up to the counter.

"I have no reciept and I can't find my wallet"......

He wanted cash. I told him "I'm sorry but I can't refund you any money without a receipt."

"You mean, you can't give me cash?!?!"

"No, I can't. I may be able to give you a merch card for the amount, but I would have to get permission from my manager first"

"Yeah, do that"

So instead of calling the manager (who already was well aware of the situation) I called David the Loss Prevention guy again and told them they had no receipt and no wallet. He told me to stall them. Act Calm and tell them the manager is on her way. I told David that I was very very VERY uncomfortable and that I wanted him to come in there with me. David told me to stay calm, that 6 people were watching their every move and were watching me. I then understood that we don't want to raise any red flags and have these guys bolt.

So, I hang up. Tell the men that my manager, who is with another customer at the moment, will be there momentarily to authorize the merch card.

Begin 5 minutes of complete awkwardness and fear.

2 minutes in, one of them asks "Is she coming? what's taking her so long?"

Me, "Yep, she'll be here in just a minute"

At this point I was almost jumping out of my skin. My co-workers also knew what was going on. Another Head Cashier (Shelby) who is training to be a cop was right in customer service beside me, she looked at me with a look on her face like "Don't worry Laura, I've got your back, anything happens, I'm over this wood wall and I'm taking these guys out!!" LOL She helped with the fear.

Finally Debra came into returns.

The convo went down like this:

Her: "So, you are wanting to return all this wire without a receipt?"

Him: "Uh yeah, see, we work for GE (LMAO YEAH RIGHT) and my boss bought this and it's the wrong stuff and he's waiting in his truck in some parking lot for us to bring him the money but I must have left my wallet and the receipt in his truck"

Her: "Do you know how he paid?"

Him and the other dude: "Uhh...cash? Cash, yeah....cash"

LOL Right, General Electric purchases 4,000 dollars worth of wire in CASH and sends three boneheads with no ID and no receipt to refund it? RIIIIGHT!

Her: "Well, I'm sorry sir but without a receipt I can't give you a refund and with this amount of a purchase, I'm sorry but we can't give you a merch card either"

The men then start to fidgit and get all antsy and the one man tries to open up the gate because we have the wire behind the desk.

Her: "Do you know what time your boss purchased this?"

Him: "Uh about an hour ago"

Her: "Well, we can look it up in our system when a purchase of this amount went through, we can also look up on the cameras, etc"

The second she said "cameras", they wanted OUT OF THERE! B)

The man opened up the chain and began to wheel out the wire.

We can't stop them or accuse them even though we know they have stolen it. They took the wire and left.

David, the LP dude was already outside and got their license plate and has them on camera loading the wire from INSIDE our store and walking it to returns then leaving. He also has them at the Hamilton store as well, they have been doing this for awhile. The police were called and hopefully they were caught. I don't work today so I won't find out till tomorrow.

I know it wasn't terribly dangerous but hey, you never know. If I had panicked (Which I was doing on the inside!), who knows what they could have done. They could have had any weapons on them. All three of them were totally strung out. Red eyes...crazy.

Now all we have to do is catch the circuit breaker thief!!! He's a bad one!

I really don't get people at all, it's sad...very very sad.

[Krikit 1,164]

Wow! That was an interesting read, Laura. Scary stuff. Kudos to you for keeping your cool. Looking forward to hearing about the arrest!

[Allie 5]

That would be a scary time for sure. Why didn't the security guy call the cops while you were stalling them at the counter. That way they would have had em with the goods in hand instead of searching a plate # that could be on a stolen vehicle.

[~Laura and Nick~ 5]

That would be a scary time for sure. Why didn't the security guy call the cops while you were stalling them at the counter. That way they would have had em with the goods in hand instead of searching a plate # that could be on a stolen vehicle.

You know, I really have no idea.

I guess they have a whole procedure they have to follow....don't ask me. I would have called the cops if I was in charge.

Edited January 17, 2008 by ~Laura and Nick~

[athena_ny 1]

I worked at JCPenney and we got all kinds of theiving wackos. Crack addicts used to steal bras then sell them (where? I don't know) for drug money, since bras are so expensive.

Yeah just...nuts.

[MissStacey 1]

Wow- what an experience. I'm glad you are ok and I hope they catch them!

[J&K 0]

It's amazing how much stuff is stolen from places like Lowes and Home Depot...and I'm not just talking about small items. Your wire is a great example.

I was working at HD before moving down here, (I worked at the Customer Service Desk / Returns) and althought I wasnt working the night it happened, my coworker experienced first hand the pompousnous that theives have.

A guy walks in the Entrance (right beside CS /Returns) walks over to the seasonal dept. picks up two chainsaws that were on display (no plastic box cover) and walks out. My coworker, saw him, and ran after him to get his licence.

We couldn't believe it.

Another employee, found an empty tool box/cover for a Milwaukee skil saw. $400 item. Empty found in kitchens.

Managers were actually stunned at that. By the end of my time there though, nothing much like that fazed me anymore

But, I'm glad I didn't have to deal with anything like you had to go through! We did have one cashier fall for the large dollar, change scam. She ended up giving him all of his money back plus the change.

I think the scariest thing I had happen to me was dealing with a drunk and potentially violent man who wanted his Special Order....when it hadn't been delivered to the store yet.

My manager took care of that, and me. He was awesome that night.

[trailmix 77]

Wow! Scary for you Laura! What weirdos. Well I am glad you are alright and it makes me mad that stupid people have to put other people in such a scary situation.

[~Laura and Nick~ 5]

It's amazing how much stuff is stolen from places like Lowes and Home Depot...and I'm not just talking about small items. Your wire is a great example.

I was working at HD before moving down here, (I worked at the Customer Service Desk / Returns) and althought I wasnt working the night it happened, my coworker experienced first hand the pompousnous that theives have.

A guy walks in the Entrance (right beside CS /Returns) walks over to the seasonal dept. picks up two chainsaws that were on display (no plastic box cover) and walks out. My coworker, saw him, and ran after him to get his licence.

We couldn't believe it.

Another employee, found an empty tool box/cover for a Milwaukee skil saw. $400 item. Empty found in kitchens.

Managers were actually stunned at that. By the end of my time there though, nothing much like that fazed me anymore

But, I'm glad I didn't have to deal with anything like you had to go through! We did have one cashier fall for the large dollar, change scam. She ended up giving him all of his money back plus the change.

I think the scariest thing I had happen to me was dealing with a drunk and potentially violent man who wanted his Special Order....when it hadn't been delivered to the store yet.

My manager took care of that, and me. He was awesome that night.

I have never worked at a big box store like Lowe's and I am amazed at the stuff people pull and get away with.

I'm glad you weren't hurt with that drunk guy...people are crazy!!!

[SpiritAlight 1]

Dear Laura,

I commend you on staying so calm and collected under such circumstances.

:star:

[~Laura and Nick~ 5]

Thanks guys

You are all so sweet.

[Aymerlu 3]

That would scare the he$$ out of me too!

[AnewKINDofFEELIN 0]

I worked in a mom and pop hardware store and had a guy try to return a chainsaw. It wasn't even a brand we carried. So I asked him when he bought it. He said he bought it the day before. "Are you sure you bought it here?" "Yes, now give me my damn money back!"

About this time, I can see my manager standing an aisle over with a hammer, listening to the whole thing. Eddie is a bad dude, and I felt quite assure that if this guy did anything suspicious, Fast Eddie would not hesitate. So I explained to the guy, "We don't carry that brand of equipment, but the hardware store down the road does. Quite frankly, I think you stole it from them and came here to try to get cash for it, but I'm not buying it. So you can either wait here while I call them to check it out, or you can leave before the cops are called." He cursed me then left. We called the other store and he had apparently stolen it less than an hour before. Luckily, he was so pissed when he left that I still had the saw. A guy from the other store came and got it.

That said, the guy that I was dealing with was more crackhead than meth head and really didn't seem dangerous. It was probably a stupid move, anyway.

[~Laura and Nick~ 5]

I worked in a mom and pop hardware store and had a guy try to return a chainsaw. It wasn't even a brand we carried. So I asked him when he bought it. He said he bought it the day before. "Are you sure you bought it here?" "Yes, now give me my damn money back!"

About this time, I can see my manager standing an aisle over with a hammer, listening to the whole thing. Eddie is a bad dude, and I felt quite assure that if this guy did anything suspicious, Fast Eddie would not hesitate. So I explained to the guy, "We don't carry that brand of equipment, but the hardware store down the road does. Quite frankly, I think you stole it from them and came here to try to get cash for it, but I'm not buying it. So you can either wait here while I call them to check it out, or you can leave before the cops are called." He cursed me then left. We called the other store and he had apparently stolen it less than an hour before. Luckily, he was so pissed when he left that I still had the saw. A guy from the other store came and got it.

That said, the guy that I was dealing with was more crackhead than meth head and really didn't seem dangerous. It was probably a stupid move, anyway.

crazy!!!

[athena_ny 1]

That would be a scary time for sure. Why didn't the security guy call the cops while you were stalling them at the counter. That way they would have had em with the goods in hand instead of searching a plate # that could be on a stolen vehicle.

I know when I worked retail in New York (not Canada, I know, but still), they couldn't call the cops unless they had proof the items were stolen. While they all knew that these guys had stolen the wire, without evidence that would hold up, the cops can't do anything most of the time, and it would probably reduce the chances of eventually catching them. Unless they have it on video as stolen, etc. it's very hard to prosecute. A lot of the laws in the US and Canada are similar in that respect, I'd assume.

LP is VERY tricky. If I saw someone steal something, as a customer service employee I couldn't do anything other than call LP. LP could see someone pick something up and put it in their pocket but couldn't detain them until they walked out of the store. Empty hangers prove nothing other than a lead for LP to go on. Etc etc etc.