Robbin' shops
'In some areas of the country, somebody who's a thief and sells things at lower prices to other people, might well be seen as a 'freedom fighter' rather than a regular criminal.'
According to Professor Joshua Bamfield of the Centre for Retail Research
Does this ring true? Are we more lenient toward crime when times are tough? Can thieves ever be described as 'freedom fighters'?
Are you a shop keeper, security guard, or do you have a shoplifting story to tell? Share what you know - comment below or email us.
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Comments
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Eddie - just across the street from me there's a shop with a sign that says 'Watch batteries fitted here'. What kind of spectator sport is that..?
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Off topic, I'm afraid, but isn't that Diane Keen? When was she in Robin Hood?
Back on topic, shoplifting is hardly "stealing from the rich to [sell for a low price] to the poor." It's not Lord Tesco or Sir Fred Asda who'll be out of pocket, I imagine it'll come out of the wages of the shop staff or security guards, if not directly then by job cuts and shop closures.
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And Eddie, down our main street there is a Jewellers with a sign in the window that says 'Ears pierced while you wait'. Much the best way to get them done, I think.
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I thought that the large supermarkets take into account a certain amount of theft along with the food that they chuck out. Perhaps that could give out the food that they are going to throw away ?
As to the security guards - Can they tear themselves away from fiddling with their mobile phone or chatting up the kiosk girl.
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I related here how I used to shoplift when I was a kid and the message was deleted.
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I think the thieves at RBS, National Rock, HBOS etc probably saw themselves as freedom fighters; fighting for the freedom to lift as much cash as they could push out in a wheelbarrow each evening, from customers, shareholders and, latterly, us poor b****y taxpayers.
And now, Eddie and Nils, into a duet please:
"You say a million, I say a billion, you say a trillion, I say a squillion. Million, billion, trillion, squillion. Let's call the whole thing off ..."
(With apologies to Louis Armstrong)
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i'm afraid this all comes down to a devilishly simple economic concept: resources are finite.
every one pound a supermarket (who shall remain nameless to defend the guilty) makes, means one less pound available to the british public. as supermarkets have already made a lot of money and use said money (i.e. power) to reduce farmers to penury, starve people in the third world and torture defenseless animals; this is not a good thing. ergo, any act or action that reduces supermarkets' ability to make money is a good thing as it leaves more money available for you and me. simply ask yourself "who needs this more?" the answer is very rarely the already wealthy shareholders of the supermarkets.
and, as a further point, as supermarkets always, without exception, pay their staff minimum wage (or near enough to) they cannot pay them any less. trust me, if they could they'd already be doing so. they also run on minimum staffing levels as it is. so please do not worry about anyone getting the sack.
the sheer amount of money made by your average supermarket means they could easily afford to give a basket of whatever anyone wanted to every customer and still pull in a tidy profit. so, by all means, teef away people!
we may, just, be able to save the world yet!
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I witness this happening on a daily basis at Asda. The Express checkouts (DIY) are the ones where most of it happens.
Often items are not scanned and when the message 'Unexpected item in bagging area' is generated - the remote operator, assistant just clears the error.
Wrong items are also selected in the fruit auto weigh section. ie: expensive fruits are passed through as cheap items such as loose apples.
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D_M 5
Stolen more like. Here, have them back, the warranty's are invalid. Or, possibly stolen...
What does a shoplifter look like?
4:52pm on 19 Jan 2009
We also used to pretend that we were shoplifting. Got thrown out of several shops for that.
My friend delivered newspapers and took his delivery bag to school with him. After school, we went behind a shop and filled his bag with empty pop bottles then took them inside and got the refund.
I hope no kiddies are reading this.
This was all in the US, so beyond the long arm of the law here. Just a sec, there is someone at the door....
What does a shoplifter look like?
4:47pm on 19 Jan 2009
QL 4, Whole or mushy peas?
What does a shoplifter look like?
4:45pm on 19 Jan 2009
Speaking of the dyslexia thread, a man was recently arrested for saying he was a shoplifter. He meant to say that he was a shopfitter.
What does a shoplifter look like?
4:43pm on 19 Jan 2009
Sid 1, I discovered when I was young that if you shoplifted in pairs, it was harder to keep an eye on you in small shops. I carried a hollowed-out book with a school book cover on it. I'll admit that automobiles wouldn't fit in it, but I never got caught.
"What does a shoplifter look like?
10:25am on 20 Jan 2009
SM 13, As all of the shopkeepers I was talking about are now probably dead, there are no witnesses. And, the shops are long gone.
Whoever stole my 7 returned it."
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