Re: 14 Year Old Accused of Shoplifting Even Though Product Was Still on the Shelf
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too bad no one asked her or her grandmother how old she was.
Why would anyone be obligated to do so? She's clearly over the age of five, which is when the vast majority children have gained the understanding that you don't take what it not yours, and you do not open products in stores.
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My daughter lives a very sheltered life
So, unshelter her. Do your job, Parent, and teach her about actual life. It isn't Loss Prevention's job to stop a teen and waggle their finger at her, it's their job to drag her back to the LP office and write the incident up as theft. It isn't my job as a shopper to keep an eye on YOUR kid and teach her right from wrong - it's YOURS. The rest of us are busy with our own children, meeting the responsibilities we signed up for when we made them. "She's very sheltered" is not going to pass muster with the court, and in my jurisdiction, that would get you QUITE a lecture on your responsibilities as a parent.
You say you want input and insight, but it's clear that what you really want is sympathy and validation. That's not what we do here. We tell you the truth, usually without the thick crust of sugar that so many people expect. Legal truth is here, tea and sympathy are a block and a half west.
Re: 14 Year Old Accused of Shoplifting Even Though Product Was Still on the Shelf
To sort of close out this thread: I was able to have a meeting with the manager today- whether he was placating me or not really doesn't matter, but did tell me that he had viewed the surveillance tape as well as having read through the report and felt the L/P officers should have handled the situation differently than they had. He stated that he could not see any evidence that she had attempted to hide something she knew to be wrong, in fact was clear by the tape that she had walked roughly 5 aisles from where she had tried the lip gloss on and appeared to look in her purse then returned the lip gloss.
The manager agreed to drop the proceedings and I paid for the lip gloss which my daughter has since paid me for.
On another note, to those feeling she should have known this to be wrong; I was also having problems understanding why she would have assumed it to be ok- until my wife gave a little insight. My wife explained that she has always taken our 2 girls (the 14 year old is the youngest of our 3 children) to boutique salons, Sepora(?) being the most common and apparently you do sample everything before you decide if you want to buy it- so our daughter appeared to be following what had already been established as acceptable.
Though I would have preferred her not going through the fear she experienced, I do think she has learned a lesson she will carry the remainder of her life.
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Law, you made the statement, "You say you want input and insight, but it's clear that what you really want is sympathy and validation. That's not what we do here. We tell you the truth, usually without the thick crust of sugar that so many people expect. Legal truth is here, tea and sympathy are a block and a half west."
If you had read the thread, you would have seen that I thanked Jk for his/her post and that my reply, "No disagreeable, her grandma did have money to pay for the items that she bought- I had hoped to get some insight here, but with your comment I can see this as being no different than had I posted on Yahoo or the like" was directed solely to disagreeable which I would assume you would have a likewise impression unless you felt the comment, "It does have a nasty smell. It reeks of poor parenting. I suppose grandma had no money and she was going to trot out to the car, grab some cash and buy the merchandise she used" was somehow above the juvenile rantings one would read on Yahoo and likewise boards.
Re: 14 Year Old Accused of Shoplifting Even Though Product Was Still on the Shelf
Just a little lesson:
Sephora, Kohls, Macy's - those store have cosmetics counters where a clerk will offer a makeover, a sample on a q-tip....product they have opened, and which are locked up before and after the clerk is done. Unopened product is offered for sale to the public.
Walmart, Kmart, Target....do not offer samples. If it is not opened, don't open it until you have paid for it.
Re: 14 Year Old Accused of Shoplifting Even Though Product Was Still on the Shelf
I am glad things worked out for her, even though you are not willing to own up to a prior parental responsibility issue, you certainly parented up, to assist her in solving the issue. Kudo's for that. As parents, we are sometimes negligent, hence the saying children grow up in spite of their parents.
Re: 14 Year Old Accused of Shoplifting Even Though Product Was Still on the Shelf
Luckily that is not one area with which I have to familiarize myself; my wife derives pleasure from shopping so has always taken the kids shopping and also buys whatever it is she feels that I need (whether I agree or not :-P)
Re: 14 Year Old Accused of Shoplifting Even Though Product Was Still on the Shelf
You are fortunate that the store chose to drop the matter as they certainly did not have to. I have seen similar situations result in arrests, and in one instance resulted in a parolee returning to prison (though, clearly, he intended to do what he did).
I do hope she has learned a lesson that a store is not merely a huge personal dressing room.