Broke Gang

So fun fact I work at cv$ and boy lemme tell ya. You do things right and you could take half the store. So here are some tips I can tell you from working there a year and a half 

*** please note that of course this varies by location and states in regards to lp and laws about chasing and who can lay hands on you. And every store has a different amount of cameras and a different layout. It would be in your best interest to go to a store in a “"nice”“ neighborhood

LP🚨🚨

- as far as lp goes, there’s almost never anybody in the store from lp or corporate unless of course it’s predictably busy. My particular store is near a stadium so when they were going to the championships, we had lp and police stationed inside the store to stop ppl from walking out with beer. 

- if there is lp, they will be plain clothes

-cameras are not monitored unless you’re being sus, but even then it’s more likely that the manager will follow you around

- we have a no chase policy but I’ve literally seen some manager ignore this and go after them in the parking lot. They also technically cannot touch you but I’ve seen this rule broken before. But I’ve also seen a guy get stopped for beeping at the door and my manager literally see two champagne bottles in his backpack, but bc he didn’t see him conceal them, he had to let him go lol.

-in my state, it’s actually legal for managers to physically stop theft from happening, but it’s against company policy. Again, this doesn’t stop some of them.

-if you wanna return something without a recipe, we scan ids. If you paid with debit, we give cash back. Ppl return expensive medicine and vitamins all the time with receipts from the garbage and merch from another store that they lifted, and we just have to give them the return. You can get a lot of money this way, just don’t do it to frequently.

SHIFTS/best times🌞🌚

- i work in a 24 hour store, so the shifts for a store like that would be something like 2 manager in the morning, along with 3 sa’s, around 7am- 3:30/4pm. Then on week days, unless it’s expected to be busy for holidays or games, another manager comes in at 3:30/4-11/12 with 2 sa’s, one leaving about 7:30-9pm. Then it’s just one sa and one manager until the night crew comes. On weekends  There’s always two manager so and 2 sa’s before 9pm. 

-the night crews are usually facing, putting up tags or shipment. This varies by store but I would not recommend going at these times bc they are bored and pay extra close attention to ppl. It’s so so sus to go at these times for anything other than wine or beer.

- on shipment days, which where I’m at is 2 times a week, is fridays and tuesdays. The truck could come anywhere between 11am to 7pm. On these days, there is obvi more staff on the floor, but the night crew handles the majority of the unloading. Still Be careful bc the truck could come early and the managers will put it up in that case. There are also more sas these days. I’d say find out the days near you by asking something like “"you’re out of this when will you get more”

- basically if you notice only one or two sa’s, And don’t see a manager around, you’re probably good to go find a blind spot. 

BLIND SPOTS/TAGS👻👻🤖

- avoid pharmacy, cosmetics, liquor, allergy and electronics. Obvi this varies by store but the best places I’ve noticed to conceal is grocery, unless it’s by the door like the one in my store, cards, hair brushes, and seasonal. Just do not let anyone see you and you’ll be good. Remember that cameras are probably not monitored, but act like they are.

-rdif tags are on some cosmetics, nails, all alcohol(along with those cylindrical tops you need a magnet to get off), expensive types of vitamins and medicines, and batteries. But sometimes the towers are old and shitty like in my current store so if you conceal it under a few lays in a bag or on your person you might not even set them off. The liquor tops will always go off tho.

- if you beep, just keep walking. I know everyone says this but for real. Don’t stop. If we don’t see you conceal it, there’s nothing we can do.

-dress normally, be kind and be quick.

- DO NOT, I REPEAT DO NOT BRING A LARGE BAG OR BACKPACK INTO THE STORE UNLESS ITS FOLDED UP IN YOUR CART/BASKET. This is an automatic red flag for us to keep an eye on you. You’re better off concealin on your body or in the restrooms. If the store has a minute clinic, then they also have a restroom. The ‘take two and put on back’ method is probably the best way to go about things.

✨✨FINALLY✨✨

- cameras are intimidating, but almost never monitored

- if you beep, keep walking

- As long as nobody sees you, and you don’t conceal on camera ( which I know sounds like genaric advice but avoiding sa’s is not hard at all bc we have to stay up at the front anyway) you can literally get away with so much.

-we do have pictures in the back of people involved in organized retail crime, but thats it. They pretty much stay there forever.

All in all, just be safe, use common sense and you’ll be sittin’ pretty. Of all the people we’ve caught in our store lifting, the one mistake they all made was concealing in front of someone. Not even on camera. If someone sees you, it’s over, just dump and go. Say you forgot the your card or something, ppl do that all the time. Again I work a 24/7 store so I can’t speak for stores that close or more suburban stores.

Finished my Bts love yourself collection. Might lift answer just to sell all three as a set. 50ish dollars?

Bts albums x2 19.99

Lea Michelle 5.00

Summer is here. Schools are out, kids are at the malls now during all hours. Be careful. Switch lifting purses to something smaller. Take less, take smaller things, even if you have to do more hits. Ten pairs of underwear aren’t worth going to jail. Neither is three highlighters. The stores are watching like hawks. There are more plain clothes around because of the traffic of school aged humans. SA’s are attentive AF right now.

This may not work for everyone. It depends on your acting skills and whether security or the store LP finds you.

I got caught and released (banned from mall for one year)

Here’s how I got security to like me and feel sorry for me

1. APOLOGIZE PROFUSELY. Sound genuine. If you can, tell them a sob story. Tell them about what kind of person you are and what led you to this mistake. If they are remotely human: humans are curious and if you’re lucky, they might be sympathetic.

2. You’d be surprised. Some of you haven’t been so lucky but in my case, I understand how to manipulate men and so I know that to get anywhere with men- you need to Appeal To Their Ego. which means: find level ground with them by being “honest”, apologetic, respectful, and quiet. Let them do what they need to so they can feel like heroes.

3. Be calm. But if you can cry on cue/if you’re an emotional anxious bitch like me- crying is easy. Don’t sob and be over the top. Crying looks submissive and again. This is about appealing to the guards ego. If they see you cry they know you’re upset. Men get very uncomfortable around women when they cry. Use this to your advantage. But don’t be loud. Don’t be obnoxious. POLITELY ask if you could please have water.

4. If you can, and if you’re detained excessively, start to shake a little. I was subtle and not over the top so that they wouldn’t think I wanted attention. You know when you’ve been really scared and nervous or hungry or just have low blood sugar, and your hands start to shake? Start there. Be consistent. They won’t say anything but they will notice and they will take pity on you.

THE MOST IMPORTANT THING WHEN YOUVE BEEN CAUGHT IS TO BE EMOTIONAL, RESPECTFUL, QUIET, AND! APPEAL TO THEIR EGO. I even thanked the guard for setting me straight since I told him I had made a huge mistake that could have ruined my life. I meant it. You don’t need to mean it but you always need to pretend they have all the power. They love that. They’ll treat you better if you’re easy to deal with. You need to make them see you as a human being who made a mistake and is sorry.

Dont be rude. Don’t be short or impatient.

I got released because the police were too busy to stop by for the 5 hours i was detained. So LP called again and said to the cops - the mall is closing. We can’t keep her. Does she have any priors?

The officer said no, she’s not in the system. LP said “can I choose what to do with her now” and the police agreed.

The guard walked me out and told me he chose to help me out of this by repeatedly calling to ask if they can just let me go. He said he knows he could have ruined my life, but felt as though I had good morals. I made him think he released me because of his outstanding sympathy

The police didn’t put anything on my record. I shredded the ban notice from the mall so nobody could ever find it.

And they never even checked my bag. I had to give them back two hair products from this bitch who told security to call the police. Fucking stupid bitch.

I got off lucky. Try to lift closer to closing hours because statistically the security will be busy doing their final rounds. And cops get busy at night and they have more important shit to do.

The best part is when I left the mall- the police station was less than 5 minutes away. Literally five minutes. That’s how lazy or busy or unbothered the police were.

I’m thankful that happened and now I’m way more careful and avoid small salons.

Love,