I'm angry with Waitrose

Totally agree ! Total over reaction! Shame on waitrose

As I was leaving the supermarket this morning the security man was at his station next to the exit.
I asked him if that particular branch suffered much. He said that it did and sometimes he was able to stop trolleys from being pushed out.
He also told me that he has to pay £600/year to keep his training( I think it was training but it could have been insurance) to enable him to keep working. Shouldn’t that be a cost met by the employer?

The person you are talking about is a security officer.

That is his role and different to the person who was told not to apprehend but tried to do so anyway.

My Waitrose takes a different view, clearly. Another customer and I were able to point out a car to the security men who were chasing shoplifters. The layout of the car park meant they could block their exit and apprehended them. The head of security came back and thanked us and said he had reached the end of his tether with shoplifters. He is still there working so it may be that it is up to the individual store manager how they deal with such an incident. A long overdue stand has to be taken to stop this. It's reached epidemic proportions.

As soon as I read the story in the Guardian, I emailed Waitrose regarding their unfair decision to sack this worker.
The employee apologised but it fell on deaf ears and two days later he was marched out of the back door.
Shoddy treatment.

Can I just interject another aspect of the 'shoplifting' (actually theft) scenario. One of my sons is a policeman. Some years ago when he was a uniformed constable many shop managers would call the police having apprehended a thief. They wanted the police to proceed with a prosecution. When it became apparent the manager would be required to attend court as a witness suddenly their time was too valuable for that. Then they had the audacity to object to the police not pursuing the offence. It seems they'd rather their honest customers covered the losses.

Family members have long retail careers. Initially they were not only allowed but encouraged to apprehend shop lifters, chasing across car parks if necessary. That message changed some years ago. It became far too dangerous for staff to attempt to stop a thief because of the prevalence of knives, staff have also been threatened with syringes. Staff are no longer permitted to intervene, the store has a duty of care to them and to customers. Were Waitrose right or wrong? My head says they went by the book, my heart says an alternative way could have been found.

RosiesMawagain

I seem to remember that years ago when D did her M&S management training at Handforth Dene, three criteria had to be observed before action could be taken on shoplifting
1 ) opportunity to take without paying
2) intent ( I suppose like not just accidentally dropping into a basket )
3) possession - on leaving the store.
Have I got that right?
It has become so blatant nowadays and forms part of organised crime.
Who pays for it? We do of course in higher prices, trimmed costs and possibly staffing cuts. No wonder he “snapped”

I wonder if the losses from shoplifting in that store meant that the manager was told he had to lose a member of staff to cover the costs?
Job done!

I seem to remember that years ago when D did her M&S management training at Handforth Dene, three criteria had to be observed before action could be taken on shoplifting
1 ) opportunity to take without paying
2) intent ( I suppose like not just accidentally dropping into a basket )
3) possession - on leaving the store.
Have I got that right?
It has become so blatant nowadays and forms part of organised crime.
Who pays for it? We do of course in higher prices, trimmed costs and possibly staffing cuts. No wonder he “snapped”

Granatlast007

butterandjam

Allira

NotSpaghetti

I wouldn't be emailing them!
We don't really know what has happened behind the scenes.

Why not?

It will be interesting to see what Waitroses's reasons are, if they respond of course.

Waitrose are not going to publically discuss or reveal the employment disciplinary history of Smith (or any other employee present or past).

No, but Waitrose are fussy about their image and would be influenced by a good number of customers writing with concern about this case and the treatment of the employee.

I read that the chap had spent years watching people get away with shoplifting and it was a last straw moment. I get that and to start musing about his mental health is dismissive.

You're not a Waitrose store manager by any chance are you butterandjam ?

There are a lot of other jobs which are not customer-facing in supermarkets.
Walker Smith could have been transferred to one of those on the same pay.

I worked in a supermarket (admittedly only for a short time) and never saw a customer at all.

friendlygingercat

Many years ago I walked around a well known book shop with an expensive art book under my arm. I was trying to work out whether I could afford it by juggling bills until my student grant arrived. Eventually I decdided I could not afford it, put it back on the shelf and left the store with a cheap SF novel.

The manager came chasing after me and told me that he KNEW I had intended to steal the book and only put it back becaue I was aware I was being watched. There was a very robust exchange between us which ended in my reporting him to the CEO and threatening legal action. I got a grovelling letter back and a £10 voucher. £10 was quite a lot in the 1980s.

Two weeks later my grant cheque arrived and I again visited the store to purchase the book, handing in the voucher as part payment. I was hoping the manager would be around so I could give him the side eye. I have visited the shop many times since and never seen him.

Legally you are not allowed to challenge a customer until they step outside with the goods. Until they actually leave the building they have to be given the opportunity to pay for the goods or put them back on the shelf. If they leave the store without them then you cannot charge them with an offence.

Ideally one should observe selection and concealment of goods as well as non payment.
You can challenge once the person has walked past and ignored the last opportunity to pay ie the last till available before leaving the shop.

In my retail experience shoplifters were stopped just before they left the shop- apart from one memorable occasion when a store detective pursued a shoplifter along Tooting High Street into the garden of a private house.
After a short struggle the thief fell against the house window, breaking it and cutting his hand.

Unfortunately the cost to sort that lot out far outweighed the value of the stolen items.
That was about 25 years ago, back when shoplifting was taken seriously.

butterandjam

Allira

NotSpaghetti

I wouldn't be emailing them!
We don't really know what has happened behind the scenes.

Why not?

It will be interesting to see what Waitroses's reasons are, if they respond of course.

Waitrose are not going to publically discuss or reveal the employment disciplinary history of Smith (or any other employee present or past).

No, but Waitrose are fussy about their image and would be influenced by a good number of customers writing with concern about this case and the treatment of the employee.

I read that the chap had spent years watching people get away with shoplifting and it was a last straw moment. I get that and to start musing about his mental health is dismissive.

You're not a Waitrose store manager by any chance are you butterandjam ?

butterandjam

Allira

NotSpaghetti

I wouldn't be emailing them!
We don't really know what has happened behind the scenes.

Why not?

It will be interesting to see what Waitroses's reasons are, if they respond of course.

Waitrose are not going to publically discuss or reveal the employment disciplinary history of Smith (or any other employee present or past).

Well, I do realise that.
I'm not completely stupid.

Nevertheless, as I said, as a customer I would like to know the exact reasons why a partner was sacked.

They will, if they reply, send me the official version which will be no different from what is communicated by their
Press Office to the media.

Allira

NotSpaghetti

I wouldn't be emailing them!
We don't really know what has happened behind the scenes.

Why not?

It will be interesting to see what Waitroses's reasons are, if they respond of course.

Waitrose are not going to publically discuss or reveal the employment disciplinary history of Smith (or any other employee present or past).

Boz

What we are seeing is the bitter side of self-service; people think they can just take if they need/want.
I can see a time when entry to shops will be monitored -high price goods tagged (already here) and exits controlled.

I don't remember any supermarkets until I was about 10 - it was all counter service, no self-service, I think that came from the States.
At the time I think some shopkeepers were worried people would just walk out with things, but we were more honest than they anticipated, back then.

It would be illegal for Waitrose to disclose reasons a partner was sacked.

🤔

As a customer I would like to know the exact reasons why a partner was sacked.

Because they can't talk about it can they!

NotSpaghetti

I wouldn't be emailing them!
We don't really know what has happened behind the scenes.

Why not?

It will be interesting to see what Waitroses's reasons are, if they respond of course.

I wouldn't be emailing them!
We don't really know what has happened behind the scenes.

Allira

I've emailed Customer Services and hope other people are doing so too.

To read their blurb online about their ethos and treating employees as partners rather than just workers you'd think they were really caring.

Only towards shoplifters, it seems.

I was thinking of emailing a protest too. Waitrose are our local supermarket and I often get little Customer Service surveys about a shop I've just done and I thought I would answer it in terms of just how many shoplifters get away with it and how much extra do we shoppers pay as a result.

I was annoyed at the report, how can it be that the UK now shrugs at people shoplifting and they just get away with it!!

I must say that I was shocked when I read what happened to the employee!! Disgraceful action by his superiors.

I remember back last year Tory police chief, Thames Valley, quite rightly faced a backlash over suggesting the public should stop shoplifters, very unwise advice and potentially dangerous The job of the police surely? and no the Tories didn't tackle shoplifting either.

Now the the shadow home secretary Chris Philp has called on Waitrose to reinstate Smith, accusing the supermarket of acting “disgracefully”. In a letter to Waitrose managing director posted on social media, Philp called for Smith to be paid a bonus “for his bravery and initiative”.

He said: “Staff safety must come first. But dismissing a long-serving employee in these circumstances sends entirely the wrong message. It penalises those who act, while offenders are left unchecked. Of course, the police and this failing government must do more to tackle shoplifting. But store staff and the public should be supported and encouraged to intervene as well. Otherwise, shoplifting will continue to surge unchecked.”

Obviously Philp has seized the opportunity to weigh in to score political points. The conservatives had 14 years to ry and tackle the shoplifting problem in addition. But most of all I don’t think its very sensible of him to encourage shop workers and the general public to intervene and tackle shop lifters- they may be carrying weapons and also may be under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol. He also may be encouraging them to break the law themselves....

Many years ago I walked around a well known book shop with an expensive art book under my arm. I was trying to work out whether I could afford it by juggling bills until my student grant arrived. Eventually I decdided I could not afford it, put it back on the shelf and left the store with a cheap SF novel.

The manager came chasing after me and told me that he KNEW I had intended to steal the book and only put it back becaue I was aware I was being watched. There was a very robust exchange between us which ended in my reporting him to the CEO and threatening legal action. I got a grovelling letter back and a £10 voucher. £10 was quite a lot in the 1980s.

Two weeks later my grant cheque arrived and I again visited the store to purchase the book, handing in the voucher as part payment. I was hoping the manager would be around so I could give him the side eye. I have visited the shop many times since and never seen him.

Legally you are not allowed to challenge a customer until they step outside with the goods. Until they actually leave the building they have to be given the opportunity to pay for the goods or put them back on the shelf. If they leave the store without them then you cannot charge them with an offence.