I can't believe this happened to us

[trishka]

thanks for the kind words.....still no response ...I private messaged them through facebook.....should I write to them again through their website or post it on fb?

Post on their wall and also indicate that you sent a private message but have not received a response.

[theweave3162]

Couponconfusion:

Here is my take on what happened. The woman happened to be watching the surveillance camera at the exact time that you or your husband was handling the coupon on the milk. She was probably aware that there were no stickies on the bags of milk and in seeing what she saw, thought that the coupon was be put on the bag instead of being on there already. As stores record it live, she no doubt didn't rewind it to check if it were already there. She came out while you were still in the store.

I think it was an honest mistake. She was probably convinced that she was right. Was she right? No she wasn't, but I look at it from that point of view and can see how she would have thought that. At least the police didn't get involved and you were detained and inconvenienced in that respect. You were innocent, you know that you were and so was your husband. Enjoy your shopping. Hopefully it got reviewed later on and cleared up. Maybe the person who told you that they were on the wrong thing told her later.

I would still go to Shoppers, if that is the best one for you to go to, keep on going!

[luckbealady]

Post on their wall and also indicate that you sent a private message but have not received a response.

I second this. Definitely post it on their FB wall - they will respond much faster.

[couponconfusion]

posted on fb....

[couponconfusion]

theweave3162.....I want to think positively too...but this incident has made me feel so small...I don't even feel like going out. That sdm was my favourite store and I even have a sdm credit card. One day I will gather enough courage and go there again. All I really want is for that woman to realize that she was truly wrong. Otherwise every time she sees us she'll think "there go the thieves".

[theweave3162]

Chin up girl, no one is perfect (well maybe me but nevermind!). People make mistakes, lord I know that! I don't think she will think you are thieves or anything. It might be forgotten if she realized her error. I would not worry about it, you have nothing to hide. Now if you go in there and your PICTURE is on the milk cartons saying "WANTED", than you might have issues!

Other than that, don't worry.... If I didn't go to stores where they gave me grief, I could not shop anywhere anymore!!!!!! LOL

[Momof3girlies]

Whoa... that manager was way outta line. I would of told her where she could put the milk sticker!

I hope you get answers soon, and DON'T back down - don't let anyone treat you like garbage. That manager needs to go to a customer management training program.

GL & keep us updated

[Shwa Girl]

theweave3162.....but this incident has made me feel so small. One day I will gather enough courage and go there again.

No. You should not feel small. You have the money. You are the customer. Without good customers, the company and employees don't make money.
When you have the courage to go back, maybe go back when she is not working that time.

[theweave3162]

No. You should not feel small. You have the money. You are the customer. Without good customers, the company and employees don't make money.
When you have the courage to go back, maybe go back when she is not working that time.

If there were no managers watching surveillance cameras, do you realize how much we would pay for stuff? Shoplifting cost stores over $1 Billion a year! Guess who pays for that? Yes, we do!

The manager would be in a lot more trouble IF her husband was a thief and she did nothing and he got away!

[Shwa Girl]

The manager would be in a lot more trouble IF her husband was a thief and she did nothing and he got away!

I don't think that this applies here.

Hiring plain clothes loss prevention staff is more effective. Managers have a lot of other things to do to run the store efficiently.

[theweave3162]

I don't think that this applies here.

Hiring plain clothes loss prevention staff is more effective. Managers have a lot of other things to do to run the store efficiently.

Why would that not apply? If they don't have plain clothes working there. SDM may not spend the money to have someone doing that all the time. I am not saying the manager was staring at the screen all day. As a matter of fact, I believe I said she looked quickly at it and thought she saw something that she did not see. That is why I am saying that she made a mistake.

I do not think the woman should be nailed to a cross like I think some posters on here want her to be. Is SDM supposed to apologize for a person making a mistake while doing their job, and who knows if it is not her job or not. It might be her responsibility in that store. Is SDM supposed to come out on Facebook and post that the manager was wrong.... think about it. People are so quick to judge. It was a mistake, yes she was wrong, couponconfused knows she was wrong. Do you think the manager will admit they are wrong when security is at stake? No she won't. But at the end of the day, she is human, it could happen elsewhere and we never hear about it.

As for Facebook etc. Be careful what you post, SDM may not be too slow to pull the trigger on the lawyers that sit in their head office... than it is a lot lot bigger situation!

[luckbealady]

Why would that not apply? If they don't have plain clothes working there. SDM may not spend the money to have someone doing that all the time. I am not saying the manager was staring at the screen all day. As a matter of fact, I believe I said she looked quickly at it and thought she saw something that she did not see. That is why I am saying that she made a mistake.

I do not think the woman should be nailed to a cross like I think some posters on here want her to be. Is SDM supposed to apologize for a person making a mistake while doing their job, and who knows if it is not her job or not. It might be her responsibility in that store. Is SDM supposed to come out on Facebook and post that the manager was wrong.... think about it. People are so quick to judge. It was a mistake, yes she was wrong, couponconfused knows she was wrong. Do you think the manager will admit they are wrong when security is at stake? No she won't. But at the end of the day, she is human, it could happen elsewhere and we never hear about it.

As for Facebook etc. Be careful what you post, SDM may not be too slow to pull the trigger on the lawyers that sit in their head office... than it is a lot lot bigger situation!

My opinion of the OP's post is that the situation was NOT handled correctly.
Was a mistake made on the manager's part? Sure. That does not mean that the manager has a right to confront the customer in an aggressive manner (which of course is left for interpretation, but given that the OP used the word accost, and that her husband has English as a second language it is my feeling that the manager did over step her boundaries).
You have to balance security with customer service - if you're accusing and scaring customers away in the name of security, then you have an issue. Sounds like more training is needed.
How does a store know that training is needed? By a customer contacting HO and letting them know there is an issue.

Of course, I particularly know what the OP experienced. Not to jump on your thread OP, but just to explain why I'm saying all this:

A few years ago I attended my cousin's wedding, and stayed in my parent's room for the night. The next morning, while my parents were at breakfast, I answered a knock on the door to be faced with 3 smirking women. They asked me if I had fun last night - I was confused and asked if I could help them. They then informed me that I had broken the ice machine in the hall (it was broken when we got there, as my DM had tried to get ice and couldn't) and that I was going to be charged for it, and the room of some people who left the night before because of noise. It was very scary and intimidating (I was in my early 20s, and I have rarely stayed in hotels). I told them they were going to have to talk to my parents - once they found out I had stayed in the room with my parents their attitude changed, and they said (pretty snarky) that they'd check out my story and they left. Never got an apology.

What happened next? Well it turns out they went next door and confronted my SIL and said the same thing - my DB had already left because he had to work. They threatened to charge their credit card - my DB and SIL were in the middle of buying a house, and the charges would have hurt their ability to get a mortgage. Luckily my uncle stepped in, and told them they had to go through him - they could charge his card and he'd deal with them personally. My SIL was in near tears and just as shook up as I was. When my uncle asked to speak with security about the people who left, and why no one was ever asked to quiet down - he was told the people just left, that security never looked into it.

theweave3162, you can say this whole incident was done to mitigate loss - but there is a proper way to handle issues, and this is NOT to attack people (and that is exactly how we felt). If the manger had spoken to us about the incident and her concerns, this situation could have be resolved, or at least approached, in a much more cohesive manner. Instead, she immediately accused us and self righteously informed us that we were guilty, and it left everyone angry and a lot of bad reviews of their hotel online, and me afraid to actually stay in a hotel again.

[theweave3162]

Lukbelady,

I am not saying it was not handled correctly, but it also must be kept in context. Things do not translate into print very well, none of us was actually there to witness how it was handled. I agree that a report should be made so it can be looked into. I just do not think it is something that has to be posted on FB. I know that SDM monitors that page, that is good. But this is an issue that is beyond FB.

I have no idea of how the cameras work in SDM, do they have new hitech ones or ones that are black and white? Hard to say. Some cameras can be very detailed now, but they are also very expensive. I do know a bit about surveillance cameras though. I suspect it was a brief glimpse on the screen, maybe her husband came on the screen right when he was handling the coupon. Maybe it was there one second and on to another camera the next second. The manager sees what she thinks she sees, and acts on it. Again, was it handled the right way? No probably not. Would she handle it again the same way again? Maybe but maybe not.

I had one occasion where I was at a casino playing blackjack. It was at the casino where I had worked previously for eleven years. I knew all the staff there. The table was a rowdy table as I was up a couple thousand at the time. The pit manager comes up and tells me that I a few hands earlier I was paid twice on a blackjack. Surveillance had called and said I owed $112.50 ($75 blackjack). Because it was the last blackjack I had gotten, I told him no, I got paid once and pointed to the 2 $5 chips in front of me. I gave the dealer the $2.50. If I were paid twice, I would have 4 $5 chips in front of me. Pit says, "Sorry that is what they said." I told him, "I don't care what they told you, I am telling you that they are wrong and I got paid only once." This was a $25 minimum table, and the chips are green. I was not betting red chips, just for tipping.

The pit and I go back and forth, with even the dealer saying I was right. Finally the pit says to me, "So you are refusing to pay it back?" I said yes I was. He walks away. Now normally the next person to the table would be security and the shift manager, who would tell the person they had to pay it back or leave the casino and never come back. If you want to see the tape, the OPP will arrest you and you will see it in court (that is what I heard when dealing a number of times).

Twenty minutes later, nothing. No one came back. I saw the pit on the phone for like ten minutes, maybe talking about me because he kept looking our direction. Finally I went up to him and asked what the verdict was. The answer he gave was "The tape was inconclusive they said." Huh? So one minute they clearly see me paid $112.50 twice, than they really can't tell? Either I did and I owe it, or I wasn't and they are wrong! So I asked him,"I was right wasn't I?" He didn't say nothing, he just nodded his head up and down.

So I know that people watching cameras do not get it right all the time, and I know you don't hear they made a mistake. That is the whole point. I am not defending the WAY that it was handled, but on the other hand, I can see why it was handled that way. Sometimes words come out wrong. It happens, we are human.

I just hope the situation gets rectified. A happy ending is all we are asking for!

[torontogal12]

Shoplifting is a huge problem but the issue here is the baseless accusation. In basic customer service training you are told to NEVER accuse people. Even plain clothes loss prevention officers cannot accuse people until they leave the store. Then they go over tapes and call the police. This situation was not handled the way people are trained to do.

If there were no managers watching surveillance cameras, do you realize how much we would pay for stuff? Shoplifting cost stores over $1 Billion a year! Guess who pays for that? Yes, we do!

The manager would be in a lot more trouble IF her husband was a thief and she did nothing and he got away!

[theweave3162]

I am sorry but I do not see this as a "baseless" accusation. Was it one which was wrong? Yes absolutely. However, I am sure that the manager didn't feel at the time she was wrong. I think the accusation was more of switching tags then of theft. We should not speculate on what training was used or not used. We simply do not know all the facts and circumstances behind it.