Sorry to hear about that unfortunate ordeal. Home Hardware always seems to be a bit of a paranoid cluster-- very xenophobic and their management seem to be vetted for that ultra-small town "everyone's out to rob you" mentality that must be trickling down from the top. I'd refrain from patronizing their business.
Police were called, I was shoplifting!
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My thoughts now:
This is a small-ish town. What is the 'word' of what happened in the store?
I have been in busness here for 27 years, many of my clients are very elderly or people that trust me in their homes while they are away at work. My work and reputation for many years has been only by word of mouth.
Could the owner be claiming I was cought stealing?
How best can I find out.
Yesterday I was kind of amused by the incident, this morning I am beginning to feel angry.
This is a small-ish town. What is the 'word' of what happened in the store?
I have been in busness here for 27 years, many of my clients are very elderly or people that trust me in their homes while they are away at work. My work and reputation for many years has been only by word of mouth.
Could the owner be claiming I was cought stealing?
How best can I find out.
Yesterday I was kind of amused by the incident, this morning I am beginning to feel angry.
Originally Posted By: expat
My thoughts now:
This is a small-ish town. What is the 'word' of what happened in the store?
I have been in busness here for 27 years, many of my clients are very elderly or people that trust me in their homes while they are away at work. My work and reputation for many years has been only by word of mouth.
Could the owner be claiming I was cought stealing?
How best can I find out.
Yesterday I was kind of amused by the incident, this morning I am beginning to feel angry.
I would do nothing. You got the reputation by some hard-work and by being who you are.
If you get wind of anybody badmouthing you, then you deal with them. Keep the two receipts.
Also I think the guilt is 85% hyper-bunny-owner and 15% keep-my-mouth-shut sales assistant.
My thoughts now:
This is a small-ish town. What is the 'word' of what happened in the store?
I have been in busness here for 27 years, many of my clients are very elderly or people that trust me in their homes while they are away at work. My work and reputation for many years has been only by word of mouth.
Could the owner be claiming I was cought stealing?
How best can I find out.
Yesterday I was kind of amused by the incident, this morning I am beginning to feel angry.
I would do nothing. You got the reputation by some hard-work and by being who you are.
If you get wind of anybody badmouthing you, then you deal with them. Keep the two receipts.
Also I think the guilt is 85% hyper-bunny-owner and 15% keep-my-mouth-shut sales assistant.
Originally Posted By: expat
Back in the store the owner is mouthing off saying how I am stupid and "DO..YOU..NOT..UNDERSTAND..ENGLISH" (As it happens, I am originally from England)
Wow that's a crazy story. When you wrote this, I immediately thought of this scene in Rush Hour.
I once had a guy jump in the bed of my pickup to escape a mugger with a knife in East Los Angeles. That was interesting but I'll not derail your thread.
Back in the store the owner is mouthing off saying how I am stupid and "DO..YOU..NOT..UNDERSTAND..ENGLISH" (As it happens, I am originally from England)
Wow that's a crazy story. When you wrote this, I immediately thought of this scene in Rush Hour.
I once had a guy jump in the bed of my pickup to escape a mugger with a knife in East Los Angeles. That was interesting but I'll not derail your thread.
It sounds like the owner was having a bad day, but also it sounds like he has many bad days that are mostly self inflicted...
In hindsight it would've been probably best just to wait the brief time in line. I live in a small town too and waiting in lines at all is a bit annoying, but it happens rarely, so I try to keep my cool.
I do like my local home hardware though, the customer service is off the scale compared to any other box store, and often the prices on quality old stock are much better than the new garbage at walmart.
It's too bad your store owner doesn't get what it means to have a store in a small community.
In hindsight it would've been probably best just to wait the brief time in line. I live in a small town too and waiting in lines at all is a bit annoying, but it happens rarely, so I try to keep my cool.
I do like my local home hardware though, the customer service is off the scale compared to any other box store, and often the prices on quality old stock are much better than the new garbage at walmart.
It's too bad your store owner doesn't get what it means to have a store in a small community.
So if I read it right, you came into the store to make an even exchange, but left before taking care of the paperwork because the store was too busy for you, with the "exchanged" part.
Was there any conversation with the associate who was helping you with anyone who would be responsible for "security" prior to you leaving, or even after?
Of course you don't know because you left.
I'm not forgiving the actions afterwards by the manager, but it isn't hard for me to see where someone would assume you decided to shoplift since you didn't take care of the paperwork end of things... until after the fact.
Misunderstandings happen. Probably doesn't hurt to look in the mirror sometimes to figure out where the misunderstanding took place.
Was there any conversation with the associate who was helping you with anyone who would be responsible for "security" prior to you leaving, or even after?
Of course you don't know because you left.
I'm not forgiving the actions afterwards by the manager, but it isn't hard for me to see where someone would assume you decided to shoplift since you didn't take care of the paperwork end of things... until after the fact.
Misunderstandings happen. Probably doesn't hurt to look in the mirror sometimes to figure out where the misunderstanding took place.
Originally Posted By: expat
There is a long line at the checkout (and it isn't moving), and after a few minutes the assistant says he is going to leave me.
I tell him (nicely) I am busy too, I have left an old lady in a house with little heat (the power is off) there is nothing to be paid, please sort it out, I am leaving.
I leave the store, get in my truck and drive off.
Did everyone skip over this part? Yea that manager sounds like a nut, but why was your time more important than others in line? If this was a news article posted on here everyone would be blaming "entitled millennials". You were effectively returning an item, in exchange for another. There is a process to follow.
There is a long line at the checkout (and it isn't moving), and after a few minutes the assistant says he is going to leave me.
I tell him (nicely) I am busy too, I have left an old lady in a house with little heat (the power is off) there is nothing to be paid, please sort it out, I am leaving.
I leave the store, get in my truck and drive off.
Did everyone skip over this part? Yea that manager sounds like a nut, but why was your time more important than others in line? If this was a news article posted on here everyone would be blaming "entitled millennials". You were effectively returning an item, in exchange for another. There is a process to follow.
Originally Posted By: expat
For the record, I am Caucasian with an English accent, he is (possibly Turkish or Persian ancestry.
Possibly wherever he is from demands that kind of behaviour. There are a whole lot of people in my neck of the woods who have recently (within a generation) arrived here from unfriendly and less-developed places and are still getting used to the whole "treating each other with some civility" thing. Humans are adaptable creatures and if your environment demands that you jump in people's vehicles and scream at them routinely, that's what you'll become. Adapting as an adult to less harsh environments may be a more difficult adjustment.
Maybe it'd ease your own mind and anger to go meet the guy under less adversarial circumstances? If he understood your point of view and you his, it could be a game-changer.
Originally Posted By: expat
While the police was there he started ranting and getting close to a racist slur,
Store Manager: "... and then, officer, HARRY POTTER over there walks out with a thermostat!"
For the record, I am Caucasian with an English accent, he is (possibly Turkish or Persian ancestry.
Possibly wherever he is from demands that kind of behaviour. There are a whole lot of people in my neck of the woods who have recently (within a generation) arrived here from unfriendly and less-developed places and are still getting used to the whole "treating each other with some civility" thing. Humans are adaptable creatures and if your environment demands that you jump in people's vehicles and scream at them routinely, that's what you'll become. Adapting as an adult to less harsh environments may be a more difficult adjustment.
Maybe it'd ease your own mind and anger to go meet the guy under less adversarial circumstances? If he understood your point of view and you his, it could be a game-changer.
Originally Posted By: expat
While the police was there he started ranting and getting close to a racist slur,
Store Manager: "... and then, officer, HARRY POTTER over there walks out with a thermostat!"
Originally Posted By: tmorris1
Originally Posted By: KGMtech
Amazing. I'd of threatened to sue them!
For what? Being an idiot?
False arrest. Store owners can't just go around detaining anyone they feel like just because they think they might be stealing. There are severe consequences if they are wrong.
Originally Posted By: KGMtech
Amazing. I'd of threatened to sue them!
For what? Being an idiot?
False arrest. Store owners can't just go around detaining anyone they feel like just because they think they might be stealing. There are severe consequences if they are wrong.
You are a victim of circumstance. Because the sales assistant abandoned you for reasons unknown is no excuse for walking out without paying. I understand your frustration and the mgr's reaction was a little over the top too. In order not to provoke a ripple, I would grumble. But I wouldn't have left. Next question. 27 yrs as a local tradesman. Merchant selling stuff even if wares were cruddy. You never got a chance to resolve warranty issue. I would go back and try to leave the guy with a better understanding of what a nice guy you really are. Why fight with your fellow townies? I have never lived anywhere else and at 27, you're a relative newbie.
Might have brought this on a bit by leaving once you were in line. Could look like a theft. But over reaction and bad handling by the owner. The assistant could have offered to clear this with the register operator and let you go on your way.
Originally Posted By: JLTD
Jumped in your bed? I'd have been tempted to hit the gas. Hard.
Never know when a carjacking starts....
Gas hard, then brakes hard.
Originally Posted By: JLTD
Jumped in your bed? I'd have been tempted to hit the gas. Hard.
Never know when a carjacking starts....
Gas hard, then brakes hard.
4WD
$50 site donor 2024
Originally Posted By: JLTD
Jumped in your bed? I'd have been tempted to hit the gas. Hard.
Never know when a carjacking starts....
Wow … that dude is sharper than a bowling ball …
What could that part even be worth … not a broken limb …
Jumped in your bed? I'd have been tempted to hit the gas. Hard.
Never know when a carjacking starts....
Wow … that dude is sharper than a bowling ball …
What could that part even be worth … not a broken limb …
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Originally Posted By: dnewton3
In Indiana, as most states, you can make a civilian arrest for a felony (which theft is). So the store owner could have taken custody of you. But once he did, he's responsible for the arrest. AND THE CIVIL LAWSUIT FOR MILLIONS AFTER THE DISCOVERY THAT NO THEFT ACTUALLY OCCURED.
Plus, jump in a truck around my area and start blabbering in a panic and you're likely to get, well, ventilated.
WRONG!
Petty theft is a misdemeanor, not a felony.
You also probably know as much about the applicable statutes in Canada as I do.
I also don't think that Canadian civil law is nearly as accommodating of ridiculous civil actions as is the case in most US states and even in this country, a plaintiff has to show actual injury measurable in dollars to recover anything since there is otherwise nothing to recover and no basis for claims of pain and suffering or punitive damages.
In Indiana, as most states, you can make a civilian arrest for a felony (which theft is). So the store owner could have taken custody of you. But once he did, he's responsible for the arrest. AND THE CIVIL LAWSUIT FOR MILLIONS AFTER THE DISCOVERY THAT NO THEFT ACTUALLY OCCURED.
Plus, jump in a truck around my area and start blabbering in a panic and you're likely to get, well, ventilated.
WRONG!
Petty theft is a misdemeanor, not a felony.
You also probably know as much about the applicable statutes in Canada as I do.
I also don't think that Canadian civil law is nearly as accommodating of ridiculous civil actions as is the case in most US states and even in this country, a plaintiff has to show actual injury measurable in dollars to recover anything since there is otherwise nothing to recover and no basis for claims of pain and suffering or punitive damages.
Originally Posted By: HemiHawk
There is a process to follow.
It's just bad customer service all around. expat shouldn't even be there, but the stocked product was apparently tampered with or defective. He now has to dedicate his own personal time to correcting this problem. Happens, no big deal. If it was a straight exchange with the sales associate and expat had netted no more parts than a complete unit, then he really doesn't need to stand around for the sake of Home Hardware's "system". The practical aspect of the exchange has already occurred, any more inconvenience due to apparent inadequate staffing should NOT BE HIS PROBLEM, unless Home Hardware wants to cut him a check for his time. He's totally right the sales associate's time is no different than his, if the associate wants to leave because he has things to do, it should be incumbent on him to process the transaction to reflect in the system at his own paid convenience. As soon as the associate left me in line and has been advised of his responsibility, I'd be right outta there too. Clerk is profiting from his time, expat is sacrificing his- and then the rest of the story with the cops, pursuit, confrontation and jumping in my truck etc is just OUTRAGEOUS. All because of an incomplete set?
There is a process to follow.
It's just bad customer service all around. expat shouldn't even be there, but the stocked product was apparently tampered with or defective. He now has to dedicate his own personal time to correcting this problem. Happens, no big deal. If it was a straight exchange with the sales associate and expat had netted no more parts than a complete unit, then he really doesn't need to stand around for the sake of Home Hardware's "system". The practical aspect of the exchange has already occurred, any more inconvenience due to apparent inadequate staffing should NOT BE HIS PROBLEM, unless Home Hardware wants to cut him a check for his time. He's totally right the sales associate's time is no different than his, if the associate wants to leave because he has things to do, it should be incumbent on him to process the transaction to reflect in the system at his own paid convenience. As soon as the associate left me in line and has been advised of his responsibility, I'd be right outta there too. Clerk is profiting from his time, expat is sacrificing his- and then the rest of the story with the cops, pursuit, confrontation and jumping in my truck etc is just OUTRAGEOUS. All because of an incomplete set?
While it is an even exchange for the customer, it is not for the store.
Essentially, they need to document why the exchange was needed, pull another unit from the computerized inventory, and have the bad part set aside for return to the manufacturer/wholesaler, with the documentation as to why it was bad, so the store gets credited for the bad part. While its entirely possible this can be handled by an associate behind the scenes, its clear the OP never got that reassurance from the associate - he merely told the associate to take care of it. Maybe the associate is the one who made the manager aware?
On top of that, no idea if its the case at this particular store, but stores do track returns and exchanges and can identify suspicious behavior from these histories.
Again, I'd be looking in the mirror if I wanted to figure out where this whole issue started - walking out the door with merchandise that was not cleared at a register is generally not a great idea...
Essentially, they need to document why the exchange was needed, pull another unit from the computerized inventory, and have the bad part set aside for return to the manufacturer/wholesaler, with the documentation as to why it was bad, so the store gets credited for the bad part. While its entirely possible this can be handled by an associate behind the scenes, its clear the OP never got that reassurance from the associate - he merely told the associate to take care of it. Maybe the associate is the one who made the manager aware?
On top of that, no idea if its the case at this particular store, but stores do track returns and exchanges and can identify suspicious behavior from these histories.
Again, I'd be looking in the mirror if I wanted to figure out where this whole issue started - walking out the door with merchandise that was not cleared at a register is generally not a great idea...
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Some businesses seem to feel like they're entitled to be in business and that really irks me. From self check-outs to servicepeople's reliance on customer tips to make a whole wage, they seem to have all the blatant inconsiderations and tricks to milk us out cumulative bits of labor for the sole benefit of their operations back end.
If the associate told the manager, or if the associate threw expat under the bus upon inquiry from the manager to cover up him tooting off and leaving expat in line, that only makes it worse on behalf of HH
If the associate told the manager, or if the associate threw expat under the bus upon inquiry from the manager to cover up him tooting off and leaving expat in line, that only makes it worse on behalf of HH
Originally Posted By: MNgopher
While it is an even exchange for the customer, it is not for the store.
Essentially, they need to document why the exchange was needed, pull another unit from the computerized inventory, and have the bad part set aside for return to the manufacturer/wholesaler, with the documentation as to why it was bad, so the store gets credited for the bad part. While its entirely possible this can be handled by an associate behind the scenes, its clear the OP never got that reassurance from the associate - he merely told the associate to take care of it. Maybe the associate is the one who made the manager aware?
On top of that, no idea if its the case at this particular store, but stores do track returns and exchanges and can identify suspicious behavior from these histories.
Again, I'd be looking in the mirror if I wanted to figure out where this whole issue started - walking out the door with merchandise that was not cleared at a register is generally not a great idea...
Until the exchange was approved / rung up in the register, I would consider it theft if someone just left and assumed it was all good. That is not a smart idea.
While it is an even exchange for the customer, it is not for the store.
Essentially, they need to document why the exchange was needed, pull another unit from the computerized inventory, and have the bad part set aside for return to the manufacturer/wholesaler, with the documentation as to why it was bad, so the store gets credited for the bad part. While its entirely possible this can be handled by an associate behind the scenes, its clear the OP never got that reassurance from the associate - he merely told the associate to take care of it. Maybe the associate is the one who made the manager aware?
On top of that, no idea if its the case at this particular store, but stores do track returns and exchanges and can identify suspicious behavior from these histories.
Again, I'd be looking in the mirror if I wanted to figure out where this whole issue started - walking out the door with merchandise that was not cleared at a register is generally not a great idea...
Until the exchange was approved / rung up in the register, I would consider it theft if someone just left and assumed it was all good. That is not a smart idea.
How is it theft if he has left the store with nothing more than he paid for? This is what's wrong with the world.
OK I should not have left the store. But I had my reasons.
1)Old lady in an unheated house on our coldest day of the year.
2) Merchandise bought and paid for, return item checked and replaced at customer service.
3)Long line at check out till.
4)No reason given why I should need to be at check out till (Credit Card not needed)
5) Assistant had other things more important to do, and so did I!
I explained this in a friendly manor before leaving with the merchandise I had paid Initally for. Strangely, I would have stayed IF he had stayed with me. I guess I wanted some commitment from the store.
6) Store slogan 'Neighbours helping Neighbours' this is not a big box store. I like to support local businesses. I have known some members of the staff for over a decade! But the owner is new.
1)Old lady in an unheated house on our coldest day of the year.
2) Merchandise bought and paid for, return item checked and replaced at customer service.
3)Long line at check out till.
4)No reason given why I should need to be at check out till (Credit Card not needed)
5) Assistant had other things more important to do, and so did I!
I explained this in a friendly manor before leaving with the merchandise I had paid Initally for. Strangely, I would have stayed IF he had stayed with me. I guess I wanted some commitment from the store.
6) Store slogan 'Neighbours helping Neighbours' this is not a big box store. I like to support local businesses. I have known some members of the staff for over a decade! But the owner is new.
I cant fault the guy. I do the exact same thing on occasion when the lines are long. It is not my worry, or care, that the store receive credit from the vendor. If I see a long line, I'm self exchanging and walking out as well. The item IS paid for. You already paid cash for a working item. The fact that its missing pieces, or defective, is the stores problem, not mine.
Just last week I bought 4 PVC pipes that were supposed to be 8 feet long. I get out to the truck, and notice that one pipe is about 6 inches shorter than the rest. Someone cut off a 6 inch section of pipe, and put it back on the rack. W T F? I walked right back in, saw the huge line at returns, put the short pipe back on the rack, and walked out with MY merchandise, that I already paid for. A store clerk or manager can get bent out of shape if they want, but its MY merchandise, that I have already paid for. Time is money, and the store is not compensating me for my 15 minutes of time to stand in line so that their computer inventory is accurate. That's not my problem.
As to receipt checkers at door, I routinely walk right past them as well (with a smile, have a nice day). If money has exchanged hands, the item belongs to me. You can request a receipt, but I can respectfully decline to prove that I own said item. Someone walking out the door with merchandise is not probable cause to detain them.
Just last week I bought 4 PVC pipes that were supposed to be 8 feet long. I get out to the truck, and notice that one pipe is about 6 inches shorter than the rest. Someone cut off a 6 inch section of pipe, and put it back on the rack. W T F? I walked right back in, saw the huge line at returns, put the short pipe back on the rack, and walked out with MY merchandise, that I already paid for. A store clerk or manager can get bent out of shape if they want, but its MY merchandise, that I have already paid for. Time is money, and the store is not compensating me for my 15 minutes of time to stand in line so that their computer inventory is accurate. That's not my problem.
As to receipt checkers at door, I routinely walk right past them as well (with a smile, have a nice day). If money has exchanged hands, the item belongs to me. You can request a receipt, but I can respectfully decline to prove that I own said item. Someone walking out the door with merchandise is not probable cause to detain them.
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