The other day CCB and I went to Walmart. To be honest I can't remember exactly what it was we were looking for but we were in the automotive/tool section. We split up and ended up on different ends of the aisles. Before long I look up and can no longer see CCB. So I start down the center aisle looking down each side aisle to find him. What do you suppose I saw? A shoplifter! Shoplifters make me angry. They rip off the store when the rest of honest schmucks lay down our hard earned money or do without.
So I stop short. I see CCB at the other end of the aisle and so does the shoplifter. He watches CCB but pays no attention to me. I crossed my arms and stared at the man. When he turned around I could see all the color leave his face. He tried to look calm and nodded his head in a greeting to me but I was unmoved. He pretended to compare the other item in his hand to something on the shelf. About that time CCB came up and stood next to me. He asked what I was doing and I told him I caught this thief. CCB convinces me to leave but I wanted that shoplifter to know he'd been caught. In my loudest non-yelling voice I say,"I saw him put that stuff in his left boot! He's stealing!" Then an employee comes around the corner and we tell him what I saw. Of course I had no idea what clothes he had on (CCB did) and I didn't know what the item was exactly. I could describe the packaging and where he put it but that was it. I knew it wasn't enough for the guy to get nabbed but my hope was that the employee would linger in his presence and scare the crap out of him.
I knew better than to approach the guy. You never know what some people will do when they get caught. Years ago when we first got married my husband worked for loss prevention for a major drug store chain. My father and many of our friends had similar jobs. People can get crazy when cornered. CCB had a gun pulled on him once! I hated that he did that job but I understand now why he enjoyed it so much. It's a rush to catch someone who's trying to be sneaky! I was amped up when we left the store!
4 comments:
wow! I used to work at a bank and was always scared that I'd be robbed some day...thank God that never happened because I would have passed out. I don't know what I'd do if I caught someone in Walmart...you did the right thing though!
I thought only crazy celebrities shoplifted. I can't imagine stealing something from a store. Unless it was condoms because they are embarassing to buy. Or at least they were when I was 18.
You should be a bounty hunter! You could replace DOG the Bounty Hunter, just drop the D and add an O;) Don't you just wanna yell "Gotcha!" when you catch a crook in the act? Or is that just me?:)
Well, you let the guy know that he had been seen, hopefully that made him nervous enough to put it back later. You can not actually "apprehend" the guy while he is still in the store. He has to exit the store before it is actually called stealing. Hopefully, the fact that he was now being watched will make him feel guilty enough to put the item back......
Glad that you weren't hurt...
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