Over a year ago, an article appeared in the WSJ; I read it and it stuck with me. Laura Landro, a WSJ reporter, was accused of theft in a Kmart store. The article is well worth reading. In short, here's what happened:
Landro went to Kmart with her kids and bought a bunch of stuff (hundreds of dollars worth). Among her purchases was a pair of flip flops. When Landro was shopping and found the pair she wanted amongst the messy shoe display, there was no box. So, she put the flip flops in a random available shoebox and put them in her cart.
Turns out that the shoebox she chose was ticketed for a cheaper pair of shoes, so at the register, the shoes rang up for $16.50 instead of the actual $24.50 price. Security guards had been watching Landro and accused her of stealing $8.00 from the store. Despite her protestations of innocence, a humiliated Landro was banned from making future visits to the store. Offical word from Kmart indicated that they stood behind their security team, though it was "unfortunate" that Landro had this experience. She was still banned from the store.
As a shopper, I was horrified when I read this article. How could a good customer be treated this way for a simple mistake?
As a retailer, I was conflicted. Shrinkage is a huge problem and shoplifters cost retailers billions of dollas a year. Loss prevention teams at stores work hard and follow firm processes to stop theft.
Of course, as a merchant, I was irritated that a messy shoe display was the real cause of this mishap.
In the end, I concluded that it was sad for everyone that common sense couldn't prevail in retail. And, as an e-commerce advocate, I also concluded that Landro should have just shopped online and avoided this whole mess.
I was reminded of this article last week when I found myself in a near-miss situation as an accidental shoplifter.
It was the day before Thanksgiving and I had to do the unthinkable: make a stop at the grocery store. I just needed two things: flowers for my holiday table and a few votive candles. After arriving at Whole Foods and selecting my flowers, I headed to find the candles. The store was packed. The candle display was a nightmare, as you might expect on a busy day. Hundreds of candles in boxes, out of boxes, in the wrong boxes, stacked irregularly in a very narrow aisle. It took me almost twenty minutes to find the right number of candles in the right colors, which involved crouching on the floor and reaching for the sky. At one point, a couple of kids came barreling through the aisle with a shopping cart. As I moved to get out of the way, candles tumbled everywhere. Fortunately none broke. I recovered the scattered boxes and managed to get them all back on the shelf ( as a retailer, I instinctivley started fixing the display). To my relief, there was no "clean up on aisle 4" loudspeaker announcement. I headed for the checkout.
After I paid for my items, I looked down as I put my wallet back into my purse. I was horrified. In the outside pocket of my rather large handbag were two votive candles. Now, I know that it's a cliche' for a shoplifter to say "they must have fallen into my purse...." but in this case, they really DID fall into my purse. It must have happened when the kids ran through the aisle and all of the candles fell.
Embarrassed, I handed the candles to the cashier and said "I'm so sorry, these must have fallen off the shelf. I guess this makes me look like a shoplifter, not exactly a title I'm eager to have!" She looked a bit taken aback, but thanked me and took the candles out of my hand. As if on cue, a supervisor-ish looking person appeared behind her and offered to put the candles back on the shelf.
Now, I have no idea if I was on camera or if I was ever suspected of shoplifting at Whole Foods. But it almost happened. As I walked to my car a bit shaken, I could see the headlines: " 25 year retail veteran and e-commerce leader caught shoplifting " . Talk about a career killer. I have no idea what would have happened if I had walked out of the store with the candles. Would they have believed me when I told them it was a mistake? Would I blame them for doing their jobs and catching a thief? Would I have wound up banned from my neighborhood grocery store, or worse?
So, as if I needed one more reason, I'll be doing my holiday shopping online this year. Those messy shelves in the stores are more than an annoyance; they can lead to an unintended life of crime. If you're shopping brick and mortar, be careful out there.
your blog rocks. man, you write some great stuff these days. very enjoyable.
Posted by: Harry Joiner | December 05, 2008 at 11:23 PM