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mall day haul w my 🏋️‍♂️ bestie

I just read a post about how a lifter here conceals hangers (I literally just read it and then now I can’t find it, sorry) by pinning them to her back.

I just want to warn everyone to check hangers thoroughly. I was at a store that i frequent (for actual shopping) not to long ago just browsing, and I happened to pick up a shirt and look it over. For some reason I decided to take a peek at the hanger (shouldn’t have done this on the floor but curiosity got the better of me) and I noticed a small hole in the bottom of this wooden hanger. The thicker plastic ones had them too.

For some reason it struck me as odd, so I looked closer and there was a very faint flashing light inside the hole. I ended up taking it to try on so I could look closer. The fitting room was dark so I took the opportunity to ask the attendant why the hanger was flashing. She was okay talking to me because I always chat people up and make friends with atrendants.

IT’S A GPS TRACKER. It’s like those little tags you can get to put on your things and use an app to find where they are!! Not only will it set off the alarm, but they can pull up a program to see where it is.

Then she said they are working towards getting more discreet ones that are basically undetectable. They’re expensive but they have helped catch more people.

I left after chatting with her and got curious. I went into several other stores and 5/7 of them had some kind of security device on the hanger. Whether it was just a soft tag or a full on GPS tracker.

It’s becoming more common in my mall because it’s near a few high schools so the theft rate is really high.

Hi guys! so im kinda risking it all making this post, but recently a “friend” 🤫 of mine got a job where they had to take a four hour long ŁP training course. Here’s what my “friend” learned!

Here is what łp is tràined to LOOK for when trying to spot lïfters.

1. Carrying a large bag that LOOKS empty, but its clearly stated that genuine shoppers also use large bags, so to not judge someone for this. They mainly judge people using duffle bags or backpacks. A tip for this is to use a structured purse if you have one, since you cant tell if its empty or full, ŁP can’t tell either.

2. Leaving a trail of empty hangers, if you take every item off the hanger when shopping, łp is trained to watch you for this.

3. Emptying packages, if you empty packages on camera or infront of workers (even if you didnt cönceal it yet) łp is tràined to watch you. So don’t empty packages! Just take off a security sticker if there is one, this is harder for ŁP to notice.

4. Selecting more than one of the same item in ONE SWIPE. What this means is if you pick up multiple of the same item without looking at prices / sizing, we are told this is very suspicious. What you can do to seem like a geniune shopper is pick up an item, then pick up the same time that is a different size or color, we are told this isn’t suspicious.

5. Not looking at prices. I am super guilty of this.. if you don’t look at prices and just quickly pick up items, we are told to watch you.

6. Lingering in high - theft area for a long time (example being in jewelry section for 20 minutes without buying anything) this is seen as very suspicious. what you can do to avoid this is pick the item you want then go to your blindspot. (example of what you should do: picking up makeup, then walking to the tampon section to conceal it)

7. Watching customers or sales associates. This one is hard to tell, since we are told some customers may just have anxiety. To avoid this i recommend looking with your eyes, and don’t stare at employees, just glance with your eyes.

8. Lingering near an exit with a cart full of stuff. I feel this one is self explanatory. If you want to do a wàlköut, don’t linger near the exit, just go!! You’re less likely to be noticed this way.

What employees / managers are trained to DO when they SEE a shoplïftîng.

- We are trained to cūstomēr sèrvice, we are NOT allowed to accuse people, we are also not supposed to be rude to them. If you just concealed something, and a worker walks up to you right after you concealed it and says something like “How may I help you?” Chances are they saw you conceal and you should leave as soon as possible. If you haven’t concealed yet and workers come up to you, don’t worry, we are trained to greet every customer. Or if they come up to you about five minutes after you concealed, also don’t worry, they most likely didn’t see. Only worry if they come to you a few seconds after you concealed.

- We are told that if we chase a shoplïfter out of the store we will be fired for risking our safety. We are supposed to wait for them to leave, THEN contact łp if we saw them (example: If you witness a wàlkout, you shouldn’t confront them or chase, wait for them to leave, then email łp what you saw.) But be warned, if ŁP happens to be there, they are allowed to confront you.

Other things I learned -

1. NOT ALL LOCATIONS OF RETAIL STORES HAVE LP ASSIGNED TO THEIR LOCATION. I actually never knew this. If a location is considered “löw shrink” (not a lot of thèft) they just won’t assign any ŁP to the location. This does not go for every cômpany, but I assume a lot of them.

2. If a store happens to have ŁP, they most likely have rēgional ŁP. this means ŁP wont be there everyday, they go to a different location every shift. So ŁP will only be there once or twice a week. You never know when they are there though, so still be careful.