I get that some youth like to steal things, and some of these youth are male. But just because me and my friends are male teenagers doesn’t mean that you can follow us around your store. We’re not stupid, we can see you peering down the aisles. I don’t know why you think you can just spy on us while we browse, and I don’t think you need to question our use of a cart. (We put food in it! It’s what a fucking cart is made for.) It makes us fucking uncomfortable, and it is almost humorous how you do it. You can back off, because we’re not going to steal anything. That would just conform to the stereotype about teenage boys that has already tainted your brain. —Suspect Teen
This article appears in Oct 6-12, 2011.
Ah the Crack Whore security person at the drugstore who looks like a thief? This chick followed me one day and quickly moved on when I asked which lube was better……..she’s sketchy as fuck
Why would teenagers be browsing / shopping in a drugstore….let alone need a cart? Maybe they’re looking for DIY abortion kits for their girlfriends.
You might not be a thief, but there are enough of you that are, so store clerks need to watch out, it is their job.
Perhaps if you weren’t wearing a baggy hoody with lots of pockets to put stuff, they might back off.
Try going in one day dressed respectably, in a open neck shirt and a nice pair of pants. See if it makes a difference. If you look like scum, you get treated like it.
And it may have been that you were in with a crew of people. Try shopping alone.
I’m pretty sure that they can legally follow whoever they want around the store.
I don’t feel comfortable in any store because of the lurkers that assume I’m stealing things. Although, it’s not always the employee’s fault, when I worked at a drugstore, we were told “go watch this person” and whatnot. Sometimes it was valid or they were someone who stole all the time but mostly it was just because they “looked” suspicious and that IS allowed. You’d be surprised at how many old peeps steal. One “mother” was getting her 4 year old son to take things out to the father waiting in a getaway vehicle. They were sooo smart though, they parked with their license plate facing the store directly in front of us and the “mother” had just picked up a prescription – we had alllll of their contact info.
Valid bitch, used to happen to me all the time. But to be fair, I did shop at Stitches in the early 90’s.
hear that?
newsflash everyone! petty criminals aren’t that smart!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VNINLCCZ8lg…
if not for you and orgazmatron make excellent points.
You’re being profiled and it’s not fair. But, on the other hand, it IS fair. Because as was already said, enough do it that they have to profile everyone in certain brackets. That’s the world we live in. I know you’re at an age where this probably astounds you (but you sound smart so you might get it) You’re nobody special and nobody reads your mind and already knows your intentions the second you appear. You’re just another person. (i know.. it sounds fucked but bear with me..) You are only you to you and the people who know you (and even they don’t really know you) To a stranger trying to do their job, you’re a type. It will be like this until the day you die. So might as well get used to it.
You’ve got your first taste of reality. This is how it is. Clothes make the only impression you’re able to give in 30 seconds or less so watch how you’re dressing. Shop in smaller groups. Make sure you don’t do anything retarded or obnoxious while you’re in there.
I know the clerks you’re talking about (generally not specifically) and they’re annoying as hell. I know. But they’re a part of life.
i walked into a clothing store when i was about 19 and after BUYING about two hundred dollars’ worth of merchandise (and stealing 0) i was apprehended outside the store by one of the salesgirls who SAW me make the purchase and demanded she go through my bags.
We went back in and i let her do what she had to do. Then i asked for my money back and told her her manager would be the first to know that she was the reason i was returning a huge purchase AND taking my business elsewhere next time.
Get it? You don’t have to shop there.
… *ahem*…
clothes AND tattoos AND hairstyle AND piercings.
Original Poster here. I’m looking to clarify a few things:
1. My friends and I shop at the drugstore because they sell cheap pop and candy.
2. There were only three of us. It’s not like we were a huge mob of teenagers. Just three.
3. We were dressed very respectably. We wear our pants at our waist, our clothes fit properly and we don’t cover our faces with hoods, etc.
4. We live in a safe, suburban community. Shoplifting isn’t an issue here, especially where we live.
It pisses me off because we’ve shopped there for years. We’ve never stolen anything, and it’s only a certain clerk that follows us around. The other employees treat us like normal people. I’ve even been in the same store, with the same clerk with girls/my parents. With them, nothing happens. No following, no spying, no questioning. But as soon as a three teenage boys walk in, it’s as if we’re on the most wanted list. She even watches us through the windows after we’ve left.
Anyways, I hope I’ve cleared some things up.
i once got followed by a female security guard at the sobeys on windsor and north bc i apparently look like a woman who frequents there who steals food. i kinda wondered why she was slowly walking towards me or behind me, then i realized i knew her and she knew me. we laughed. good times.
Lol sounds like that one clerk is just on a mission. Or maybe she has a crush on you?
I work at the drugstore on almon and before being there for 2 years, I always gave people the benefit of the doubt. After seeing “normal” person after person steal, I don’t trust the most honest looking people anymore.