Posted on 09/03/2007 3:19:20 PM PDT by antiRepublicrat
Today was an eventful day. I drove to Cleveland, reunited with my father’s side of the family and got arrested. More on that arrested part to come.
For the labor day weekend my father decided to host a small family reunion. My sister flew in from California and I drove in from Pittsburgh to visit my father, his wife and my little brother and sister. Shortly after arriving we packed the whole family into my father’s Buick and headed off to the grocery store to buy some ingredients to make monkeybread. (It’s my little sister’s birthday today and that was her cute/bizare birthday request.)
Next to the grocery store was a Circuit City. (The Brooklyn, Ohio Circuit City to be exact.) Having forgotten that it was my sister’s birthday I decided to run in and buy her a last minute gift. I settled on Disney’s “Cars” game for the Nintendo Wii. I also needed to purchase a Power Squid surge protector which I paid for separately with my business credit card. As I headed towards the exit doors I passed a gentleman whose name I would later learn is Santura. As I began to walk towards the doors Santura said, “Sir, I need to examine your receipt.” I responded by continuing to walk past him while saying, “No thank you.”
As I walked through the double doors I heard Santura yelling for his manager behind me. My father and the family had the Buick pulled up waiting for me outside the doors to Circuit City. I opened the door and got into the back seat while Santura and his manager, whose name I have since learned is Joe Atha, came running up to the vehicle.
(Excerpt) Read more at newsite.michaelrighi.com ...
I don't understand why the reluctance to show your receipt.
Stores do that to prevent shoplifting.
Was thinking about putting a disclaimer somewhat like the following on that post, but I thought people would be sensible and get the point, not go off on a tangent:
"Not to equate the two in degree, but the principle remains the same, that failing to standing up for your rights is more convenient, but not necessarily the right thing to do."
Non-existent.
Nope. Only stores that have a significant problem in that regard. Most merchants don’t check receipts at the door. Those that do have to weigh their desire to limit shoplifting with the aggravation that checks cause their customers. Those who can’t will go out of business.
You may want to study the UCC a little bit.
The merchant has more responsibility than the consumer in such transactions.
BTW, technically the merchant doesn’t have to provide a receipt. The cash tendered in return for the object purchased results in the condition of materiality being satisfied.
The receipt checker is employed by the merchant, not the consumer. Consumer has not entered into an agreement with the merchant or the receipt checker to accept such a search.
Likewise, merely posting a sign in public view doesn’t prove the consumer is cognizant of such a stipulative term in entering the premises, so a sign near the entrance with lots of fine print doesn’t give the merchant carte blanche in searching the public.
I agree with you though, that it would be foolish for anybody to conduct business with merchants who lack these basic management and marketing skills.
Too bad. You missed the juicy part about him calling the cops on the employees due to them detaining him, and then him being arrested for failure to show a driver's license despite a state law that says he doesn't have to show it.
The bag check thing is debatable, as has been shown here. But to the point of the thread title, his rights were violated when he was arrested for failure to show "papers."
You cannot get out of a Costco or Sam's Club without being stopped at the door, show the receipt, and wait while the clerk checks what you just paid for 100 feet from the door. Your also checked out at Best Buy trying to get out the door also.
At Costco and Sam’s, you sign a membership agreement which I believe allows them to perform the search. At Best Buy, you can just walk on by the receipt checker, as you have entered no such agreement.
There are others in business who learn some basics about how to conduct a transaction, establish the sales floor, interact with clientèle, and conduct business without alienating good customers, while not ignoring theft and penalizing criminals.
There are enough electronic devices available at low cost today, to well document and track those who shoplift, while affording the merchant plenty of opportunity to not become legalistic or hostile.
Stores do that to prevent shoplifting.
There is nothing out there that shows it is particularly effective in loss prevention. Note that most theft is done by employees.
While I am not the poster you posed your question to, for me its a trade off of my rights against letting things go smoothly. The bag check is technically voluntary, and can not be enforced by the merchant. However most of us go along with it for pragmatic reasons. Also if I refuse, the merchant could declare me PNG, which would be an inconvenience. However, I can still refuse legally.
In this case, not standing up for your rights might not only be more convenient but also the right thing to do. There are no constitutional protections that prohibit congress from giving merchants the right to search their customers while on their premises.
If retailers feel that shoplifting or lawsuits brought by guys like the author of this article become too much of a problem, they are not above lobbying congress for such laws to be passed.
“...his life, his call.”
I guess that’s how I feel about it. There are just so many things in everyday life - petty injustices, annoying and inept beauracracies, minor and even major infringements on our rights - I could not stop and battle each one and stay healthy. You gotta pick your fights, and this one is not for me.
Allow me to translate that post:
“BE AFRAID!”
I show it because to be honest I'm lazy and can't be bothered with a possible altercation. But this thread is starting to make me think about that policy.
anyone with a brain should be very afraid of congress. Their only purpose in life is to take away our rights and freedom.
Additionally, some stores, such as COSCO, always ask to see your receipt.
In their case, I think it is a marketing ploy.
With Sams, Costco etc, you agree to the check in your membership agreement. Read it sometime
I think the story is bogus. But as far as I know...there isn’t a law in the entire US that says you must have an ID on you....unless you are a military member. If challenged as a military member...you have to present your ID.
In this case...Circuit City might find itself a bit overwhelmed with negative coverage. I might pay this character off and avoid further news on the whole thing.
Still, they have you locked away from anything when you go through the register area. What is left for you to grab? The area is fenced off, so you cannot go back to the floor except through the register area or back through the front. What do they think you did, pick up a 50 inch TV?
The lesson here is that it doesn’t pay to be a dick. Period.
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