And we wonder why.......

[warnie]

......kids are growing up with no respect for themselves or others.

After school from 3.15-4pm the shop gets rammed with kids, which is great but some of them have sticky fingers. We try to get to know a lot of them on a personal level which seems to work but there's always one which pushes their luck every now and then. Today was one of those times and as we only had 2 serving instead of 3 we were getting overrun.

We have 2 tills at the front of the shop and 1 at the back for Ice Cream and slushes. The one at the back wasn't manned so a young girl of 11 decided to empty bits of my hard earned stock into her pockets as she cued up near that end. I could see her doing it out the corner of my eye whilst I was serving but waited for her to get to me.

She came to the till and just asked for a slush, with no mention of her pocket full of sweets. I took her up the back of the shop to do the slush and gave her another opportunity to come clean. No chance! the little bugger eventually emptied her pockets of nearly £4 of sweets and still pleaded that she was not a thief!.

Anyway I get the school involved which leads to her parents coming to the shop. Her dad walks in and I'm sitting down looking for upgraded cctv equipment, he starts having a go at me saying his daughter is never a thief and I have it wrong and so on, getting more and more threatening as he went along. The guy was your typical scum of the earth, thick as pig ****!. By then I'd had enough put my laptop down and stood up, not bragging here in any way shape or form but, I'm 6ft 4 and have spent the last 16 years at the gym keeping fit and pushing heavy metal around. He could tell I was more than pissed off, so he gets out the shop as quick as he came in shouting that his kid will never step foot in here again and sends his wife in, the bloody wimp!

She then comes in shouting the odds with less teeth than him. Again same story daughter can do no wrong, absolutely no remorse as it's all my fault for not giving her enough time to pay for the sweets Daughter throughout this lying through her teeth saying that she intended to pay all along. I told them to get out and come and see me tomorrow, as unless their attitude changes then I'll be getting the police involved as well as the school.

I feel for a lot of these kids, as they have no chance in life due to the way their parents bring them up. They end up exactly the same way and so do their kids. Just rinse and repeat with very few of them doing anything worth while in life. Just stuck on the council estate, generation after generation all with the same hard done to attitude and very few of them willing to take responsibility and give their children a better life than they had.

Little rant over, and by the way it's not the loss of stock that is bothering me it's the way society is going that's my problem:|

 

[JonathanSEO]

Euthanasia is the only cure. Or castration.

 

[gr9ce]

I empathise. I once had a girl that worked for me and owed me money. As she became uncontactable I visited her address (large expensive property) only to be told by her mother that it was my fault for employing her as I should have realised she was unreliable!..... The girl had legged it at my arrival and was hiding 2 streets away! There was no offer of clearing her debt.

Another girl that owed ignored my calls then I finally got through, her father answered who threatened me with ABH if I dared try contacting his daughter again about what she owed me!

I would be mortified if anyone in my family was in debt and would not allow it to persist. Times change sadly.

 

[Mayor]

Old duffers all of you - they are victims of the society that we created !!

Or some old bollox like that.

We get the same - mutts breeding mutts, with no chance of a way out. We can't change society for the better, we just have to set a better example and hope for the best.

(I was a nightmare as a teenager - if my parents were still alive, I'd spend the rest of my days apologising, how very sad.)

 

[Doodle-Noodle]

I agree that there are many kids who, thanks to bad parenting, are problematic, but in order to redress the balance slightly, here's a more heartwarming story for you!
Couple (probably grandparents to be fair) came in with 2 kids (1 boy aged about 9, girl aged about 11) came in.

They spent some time mooching around before deciding on a birthday gift, during which time both kids had clearly gotten a bit bored and were wandering around looking on their own. the girl was looking a sparkly jewellery, the boy had spent most of his time looking at the beads in our bead garden which are displayed in open perspex cubes - bit like a pick and mix - we sell them individually.

After about 1/2 an hour, purchases were selected and paid for and off they went.

Later that afternoon, the by was dragged in (very reluctantly) by the couple who were clearly furious with him - they came straight to the counter and told me that the boy had "something to say" to me. By this time, the boy was in floods of tears, with full-on nose-bubbles, dribble and barely able to get any words out. He put his hand in his pocket and produced a bead which he'd nicked earlier (retail cost 30p) and just about managed to get an apology out between sobs.

The couple were clearly mortified and expecting me to say something useful, so I gave him a stern talking to saying that I although could report him to the police and he would be in very serious trouble I wouldn't on this occasion provided he could assure me he would never steal anything from any shop ever again, which of course he did. And off they went.

The next day when I came in, a card from the boy had been pushed through the letter box, hand written in childish scrawl, thanking me for being so understanding, apologising again for having taken the bead, and promising to never do it again.

I actually felt really sorry for him - he'd probably cried himself to sleep and will be reminded of this for years to come, but he will have learned a very valuable lesson thanks to the actions of the parents/grandparents who ensured he did the right thing rather than just got away with having done wrong.

 

[mhall]

Times have changed, If we had a shoplifter years ago, the stern talk from Hubby about what the shop lifters Mother would feel like when neighbours pointed at her for having kids that steal worked a treat.

Nowadays, the Mother doesn't care - and neither does the child and in some cases, the Mother/Father is encouraging it all. The Police couldn't care less and totally miss the point - a visit to the cells now will save an awful lot of time and money in the future.

We need a few "zero tolerance" police initiatives, especially at this time of year ( 89 Sleeps to go !)

 

[herewegoagain.]

I really feel for you, I have had 'people' (I use the word loosely) 'try it on' more than once in my shop...

You can take the scum out of the slum...
but you cannot take the slum out of the scum !

A lot of people out there have no respect for themselves, the 'parents' - again I use the word loosely, hardly seem like 'role models' !, possibly the girl was in shock because she saw someone working !!

If they are problematic, you could always dob em in to the social ! lol

Plod on... that is all we can do !

 

[herewegoagain.]

As an aside, on a serious note - one thing I do not tolerate, at any time, is a member of the public coming into my shop and 'shouting the odds' - they get told, and put in their place - point blank, they are not customers, they are bullies.... I am not that desperate for their few pence !! - I do not want people like this in my shop - neither should you !

Some people on here will say, well thats not the way to treat customers, - well they are not customers, they are trouble, - with a capital T !! if it is a case of them or me - it is not going to be me !! - I love my shop, and offer great service, but do not put up with any crap !!

My shop - my rules...

 

[warnie]

Thanks for the reply's

I've not heard from the child or parents so I contacted the police just to give her a little frightener, but alas they can't do anything as she didn't leave the shop!

I've brought a new 6 camera security system at the cost of nearly £500, which has already made this mornings school rush much less stressful. So money well spent there. We've also stuck one camera outside the shop, so again it brings peace of mind as I can view the camera's at any time via my mobile, which is bloody handy with staff as well when I'm not there!

 

[warnie]

I agree that there are many kids who, thanks to bad parenting, are problematic, but in order to redress the balance slightly, here's a more heartwarming story for you!
Couple (probably grandparents to be fair) came in with 2 kids (1 boy aged about 9, girl aged about 11) came in.

They spent some time mooching around before deciding on a birthday gift, during which time both kids had clearly gotten a bit bored and were wandering around looking on their own. the girl was looking a sparkly jewellery, the boy had spent most of his time looking at the beads in our bead garden which are displayed in open perspex cubes - bit like a pick and mix - we sell them individually.

After about 1/2 an hour, purchases were selected and paid for and off they went.

Later that afternoon, the by was dragged in (very reluctantly) by the couple who were clearly furious with him - they came straight to the counter and told me that the boy had "something to say" to me. By this time, the boy was in floods of tears, with full-on nose-bubbles, dribble and barely able to get any words out. He put his hand in his pocket and produced a bead which he'd nicked earlier (retail cost 30p) and just about managed to get an apology out between sobs.

The couple were clearly mortified and expecting me to say something useful, so I gave him a stern talking to saying that I although could report him to the police and he would be in very serious trouble I wouldn't on this occasion provided he could assure me he would never steal anything from any shop ever again, which of course he did. And off they went.

The next day when I came in, a card from the boy had been pushed through the letter box, hand written in childish scrawl, thanking me for being so understanding, apologising again for having taken the bead, and promising to never do it again.

I actually felt really sorry for him - he'd probably cried himself to sleep and will be reminded of this for years to come, but he will have learned a very valuable lesson thanks to the actions of the parents/grandparents who ensured he did the right thing rather than just got away with having done wrong.

Great story!

And may I just add that we have had the same thing happen many times, so it is true that the good far outweigh the bad, and long may that continue.

I also see this morning that the long term unemployed are going to be made to work for their benefits. About time too

 

[MASSEY]

The paper shop i worked in during my late teens used to limit the amount of children that would enter to avoid this. It worked well. But you need make sure you have enough staff so that one can stand at the door limiting the flow in.

I was in the papershop one time, as a a school kid not a worker, before they introduced the limitations, and i witnessed mass theft It was funny at the time but i do feel sorry for the shop owners when profits are so tight.

 

[Doodle-Noodle]

The paper shop i worked in during my late teens used to limit the amount of children that would enter to avoid this. It worked well. But you need make sure you have enough staff so that one can stand at the door limiting the flow in.

I was in the papershop one time, as a a school kid not a worker, before they introduced the limitations, and i witnessed mass theft It was funny at the time but i do feel sorry for the shop owners when profits are so tight.

Our local Tesco Express and Co-Op do this too .... kids have to leave their bags at the door and are only allowed in to the shop in pairs.

 

[Root 66 Woodshop]

Euthanasia is the only cure. Or castration.

Good grief Man!! Give poor Warnie a break, he's only working hard and wants to pay his Gym Fees!! Castration is a bit OTT!!!

 

[Faevilangel]

Our local Tesco Express and Co-Op do this too .... kids have to leave their bags at the door and are only allowed in to the shop in pairs.

Our local Tesco Metro hires a security guard only for when the kids are around e.g. 3-9, there is no sign of one any other time.

We have 2 large secondary schools and 2 colleges on the edge of the town so our town ends up getting swamped with around 5,000 kids from 3pm

 

Maybe its related to the scum at the top of the ladder setting a bad example to those at the bottom.

 

[CD2 Solutions]

I agree. Most of the world is starting to go this way im afraid, hopefully we can sort it out before the entire world becomes one giant mess of disrespect and nuisance.

also, respect to everyone who stands up to these disrespectful people.

 

[Talay]

Put something in the water at the poor school / job / asbo centre and stop them breeding.

There is no way out. No way out for us that is.

 

[MBE1]

I agree. Most of the world is starting to go this way im afraid, hopefully we can sort it out before the entire world becomes one giant mess of disrespect and nuisance.

also, respect to everyone who stands up to these disrespectful people.

Maybe I see things a bit differently, there were plenty of thieves around in my youth, and my grandparents time as well, it's always happened, youngsters have always shoplifted throughout the years, nothing new.

To put something else in the mix, youngsters these days do more for others via charitable work etc than they ever did in my youth, so it's not all bad. Maybe it's more that most on this forum are growing older and taking on their grandparent/parent roles.

 

[mhall]

Maybe it's more that most on this forum are growing older and taking on their grandparent/parent roles.

Or perhaps it's just that most on this forum are having their stock pinched and are getting no support as shoplifting is seen as a victimless crime.

At least our Grandparents had the local Bobby to clip the little runts round the ear

 

[14Steve14]

Or perhaps it's just that most on this forum are having their stock pinched and are getting no support as shoplifting is seen as a victimless crime.

At least our Grandparents had the local Bobby to clip the little runts round the ear

Agree with this. The only trouble today is that if the police do something the courts dont.

 

[warnie]

Maybe I see things a bit differently, there were plenty of thieves around in my youth, and my grandparents time as well, it's always happened, youngsters have always shoplifted throughout the years, nothing new.

To put something else in the mix, youngsters these days do more for others via charitable work etc than they ever did in my youth, so it's not all bad. Maybe it's more that most on this forum are growing older and taking on their grandparent/parent roles.

I've pinched in the past when growing up and have been caught. The difference is when I was caught I **** myself! and was genuinely sorry and thought twice about doing it again. I also got a good hiding of my dad as well.

Some kids these days though are brought up with a hardened attitude, by being forced to grow up too quickly. They see and hear too much of what they shouldn't at their age, a lot from their own parents who as I've said before have no respect for anyone else and just do as they please. So when they are caught it's almost like they've been there and seen it all before so are not fazed one little bit.

Shame really.

 

[warnie]

The paper shop i worked in during my late teens used to limit the amount of children that would enter to avoid this. It worked well. But you need make sure you have enough staff so that one can stand at the door limiting the flow in.

I was in the papershop one time, as a a school kid not a worker, before they introduced the limitations, and i witnessed mass theft It was funny at the time but i do feel sorry for the shop owners when profits are so tight.

Good point but it's a road I don't want to go down as most of the children we know well and overall we don't have that many problems. Another problem is, that with a sweet shop there's over 200 jars to choose from, then you have the pick n mix and counter stuff. The time some kids take the que would still be there after dark