Posted on 09/02/2002 3:02:49 PM PDT by Sparqi
Recently I was stopped on my way out of KMart by an employee asking to see my receipt and contents of my bags. I asked if I was suspected of doing something illegal to which he replied, "No, it's just our policy to match purchases against your receipt." I told him that unless he had reasonable cause to believe that I'd done something illegal there was no way I was going to let him inspect either one. To his credit, he did not press the issue and allowed me to leave.
The practice of door-checking seems to have started at either Fry's Electronics in California or perhaps at PriceClub/Costco. In the latter case they can enforce the inspection policy because there is actually a clause in the Costco membership agreement which specifically states that a condition of membership is granting them the right to inspect as you leave. (This is why I don't have a Costco membership.) Fry's has been doing inspections for some time, giving rise to the perjorative term "Door-Nazis". Many people such as myself simply walk by the checkpoint and refuse to stop, since Fry's is not a membership store. Essentially they take advantage of your good nature and ask you to voluntarily waive your freedom (and your dignity) to help them control their shrinkage.
Until recently the Fry's policy was really a local issue, confined to California and some western states; so I never really pursued any activism against them...aside from personally advocating to other people that the practice was an insult and explaining that while Fry's can of course *request* that you stop and allow inspection that they cannot *force* you to stop if they don't have probable cause. Now that KMart is doing this, I think it's national enough to warrant a Freep. Here's what I'm proposing:
1. Make it a point to not be cowed into consenting to the search. If they ask to inspect your purchases, ask them if they suspect you of doing anything illegal. This establishes that they do or don't have cause to stop you. Remember; once you've paid for your purchases and they've accepted the payment, you are carrying personal property and they have cannot search you unless they have probable cause such as evidence of shoplifting.
2. If they admit that they don't have cause, tell them you don't consent to being searched and leave. If they press the issue, remind them that the Fourth Amendment guarantees your right against illegal searches. (Sometimes this is hard to explain, because the checker is not an American citizen.) If they try to restrain you, don't fight them or put up a physical struggle. Ask to speak to the most senior manager of the store immediately. Point out to him or her the illegality of the situation and ask if they're prepared to defend their actions in a court of law.
3. Instruct your friends/family/co-workers on the issue. Make sure they understand that what KMart is doing is an insult and a violation of their basic rights.
...dtw
But what about our Constitutional right to fill the neighborhood with rats and vermin?
That didn't work for Lestor Maddox (later governor) in Atlanta, Georgia, years ago at his chicken resturant, because the feds found out-of-state license plates on cars in the parking lot and said he was engaging in interstate commerce.
If I refuse to allow you to shop in my store because you won't allow me to check your plastic sacks or shopping cart before you leave and compare it to the receipt, I am discriminating on the basis of....what?
Personally, I'd let common sense dictate my actions, and act accordingly... but maybe that's just me ;0)
Ummm... not in THIS state - they have to see you select an item from within the store and conceal it. Then, and only then, could they detain you. At that point, if you refuse to turn the item over, they would be forced to call the police and THEY would perform the search...
The cost of living has skyrocketed and the entire area has turned into a cross between Berkley CA with hippies and South Florida with retirees. Most of the jobs in the region are low paying service jobs catering to the implants. The only people that don't 'fit' in are Southerners that were born and raised in this state. The area has never been a dump, but yes there may be a car or two out in the yard being worked on.
News flash!!! This is the South, we work on our cars out in the yard, we listen to country music, and by God we might have a fishing boat somewhere in the back. If you don't like the way it's done, I suggest YOU move. But don't tell others how they can live in a place that they grew up in. It's bad manners, heck it's downright northern.
I know this is off topic of the thread and try not to do that, but your response, sad to say, is without knowledge of the situation in western NC
4. Quit yer bitchin' and get over it.
Nearly every day. :)
I make sure to be VERY open about it. I figure that the worst that can happen (and it hasn't yet) would be for someone to ask me to leave the unpurchased items on the "unpurchased" side of the register, but that's never happened. I have on a couple of occasions had someone call out to me (when my current bearing was straight for the door), but I stated my intention and they indicated to go ahead.
BTW, do you have any answer to me other question re someone who is caught (or better yet, videoed) tampering with an anti-shoplifting tag, UPC code, or other such item? My thinking would be that the act of tampering is criminal in and of itself, independent of any effort to take the item from the store. As such, the store would (especially if it had reasonably clear video evidence) have the right to detain the "shopper" when he tried to leave the store and have him searched. Since there'd already be probable cause for his arrest and prosecution, there'd be no problem if a search turned up nothing. Of course, if the store waits until he's ready to leave it may be able to nail him on a much stiffer charge.
My brother worked at a Home Depot in the Dallas area. They told him that he was catching to many thiefs. He quit.
2. They conceal the item...
Once this occurs, you must maintain visual contact with that individual 100% of the time until they leave. If you don't, you could not stop them (they may have "dropped" it on another shelf when they were out of site...)...
Arizona may be the only state that has a specific law against concealing an item inside a store, then leaving without it. It was passed during a fad for the practice you descdroibe a few years ago.
Shouldn't this be breaking news?
Some just don't seem to realize this....Cashiers working with bogus customers is a billion dollar business........
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