I think stores would only stop someone for shoplifting if they actually left without paying, not before. In a general sense (I hasten to add) if someone is stopped BEFORE they leave a store then hopefully the guard can have a bit of discretion in otherwords he or she will be reasonable if there is a valid reason. It doesn't seem like that was so in your case. Complain to the company's head office as you are already doing. They will probably close ranks around him but at least you will have done so.

Your comments about people judging you say a lot about human nature in a wider sense. It is very unfortunate but in modern society, appearance does count for a lot. I went to work for the past two days in a suit and tie because I was dealing with external visitors. My boss, who is a convert to going in every day in a suit and tie, commented on how I looked. I told him how funny it was how someone is exactly the same underneath but if they are "suited and booted" then they're treated differently. Speaking from a personal perspective, as I was teased and bullied a lot when I was younger and generally don't have a wonderful self-image, I have taken it as my "mission" in life, if you will, to never judge someone out of hand, just because they look different.

Hopefully all of that sounded coherent but just my two cents worth...

I would totally write a letter. I can see how they might have need to question you, but the way you were treated sounds lame.

Being a manager at a grocery store, and having received Loss Prevention training (looking for and stopping shoplifters), it sounds as if he screwed up bad.

The "suspect" has to conceal the item(s).
and/or
The "suspect" HAS to pass the registers, or avoid them and attempt to leave the store with the item(s), without paying for that/the item(s) (that of course includes leaving through a fire exit).
The person making the accusation HAS to know where the items are, and in general at least, know what they are (makeup, candles, cough syrup, not the actual item, such as eyeliner, lipstick, deylsum or robitussum cough syrup), that the "suspect" is trying to steal, he/she can't ask you to just empty everything out of purse/bags/pockets just because they THINK you might have hidden something somewhere.

And while you are right, that they shouldn't accuse you because you have pink hair or piercings, he may have only been told that they have a shoplifter who has pink hair. No other identifying features. Fat/skinny, white/hispanic/black, tall/short... You shouldn't get too bent out of shape about it. Even in the big cities, pink hair is pretty rare, and it is a choice. You weren't born with it, so, unfortunatly, you do open yourself up for suspision if, sadly, someone else with pink hair does bad things. I'm not saying you should lose the pink hair, but I am saying, you need to be prepaired for this kind of suspision because of a few bad apples.

Not much you can doother thn write a letter. Its your word against his and in the end the store usualy listens to the employee. You have pink hair like a person they are looking for so that may be why he was watching you. I dont remember you saying anything about your piercings, so tyour piercings may have not had anything to do with this. But thats besides the point.

Anyway chalk it up to a bad experience. Call and let the head honchos know what happened but like I said most likely nothing will come of it.

write a letter then go in there and shoplift the ass off that store. id be more insulted that they thought you were dumb enough to try and shoplift like that, there are soooo many better ways. lol

Kick their ass verbally darling

Well When I look at it his way, it did look like I was shoplifting, my friend had put items in the stroller and I closed the things so they were hidden, but it still makes me angry just thinking about it, being accused of it when I wasnt trying to steal anything. I plan on calling head office and calmly explaning what happened. I don't know what I should say if they ask me what I want done about it? For the manager to say he is sorry? What? OMG Im just so angry everytime I think about how he was talking to me, like I was a criminal.

I would say "I understand how that could look like shoplifting, but is it protocol to come up to customers and search thier things like that? If so I don't want any more business with this store."

on a randomly related tangent, im about to make two complaints to my phone provider and tesco. Its stupid little things and im not even that pissed off with it, but im going to see what i can get out of them for their staff being ignorant idiots.

i was called strange by my phone company for not liking sports and i was recently asked if my hair was a wig by some till jockey in tesco. Time to go in for the kill

It might seem fishy to be putting stuff in a stroller but until you actually pass the checkout lanes it isn't stolen.

I would make sure to use the word "discrimination" a couple of times.

What the hell, throw in that you are a lesbian too A ONE ARMED LESBIAN WITH HERPES!!! they will cower in fear

ok...so....i went a little overboard. in all seriousness though, kick their ass darling. Any shop ive worked in we arent allowed to approach them unless we have seen them put something in their bag and then try to walk out the store. The dude was in the wrong regardless of however many pink haired fiends he has to deal with. also mention that having pink hair isnt exactly the most sensible way to make yourself inconspicuous and that he has insulted your intelligence and you would hope he doesnt think that all women are that idiotic

KILL!!! KILLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!!!!!!!!!!!!

Are you sure your friend wasnt planning in shoplifting? Why would she put it in the stroller and hide it. I can understand if it was to heavy for the top, but to hide it seems weird.

Anyway did you call? If they ask what you want done you can say nothing...I just wanted tomake you aware of the situation and how your security is acting.

This reminds me of where I work. I work in an area which is considered an area where druggos and alcoholics and struggling young families live. Every second young girl is pregnant, smoking, and pushing a pram. It's kinda gross seeing lots of drug users too, you can tell straight away. And as soon as people who look like that come in the shop, I secretly watch them a whole lot more and become skeptical, because usually those shady types are the ones who will try to steal.

But then there are the days where someone like that comes in, I'll be on alert, then when they come up to the counter to buy something they are really friendly and not what I expected from first impression - so it just goes to show you can't ALWAYS judge people by their outer appearance at all.

To be honest the most frequent shoplifters are the innocent-looking old grandmas!!!

She wasnt hiding it, it was in plain view at the baby's feet, I just didnt see it until the guy made me open it back up.
I did call, the woman was an idiot, was very monotone and didnt seem to give two about what I was saying. She did say "well, it does sound like you were trying to steal." Ill probably write a letter, but I don't think it will do any good, a letter is easy to ignore.

Ok so I wrote the letters, and wanted to know what you guys think.

November 22nd, 2008
Sobeys Vaughan Harvey Boulevard Moncton

Dear Sir/Madame,

On Thursday November 20th, 2008 around 10 pm, I was shopping with coworkers in the Sobeys on Vaughan Harvey Boulevard.
As we were only picking up a few items, we did not use a cart or basket to hold our merchandise Instead, we put the items on the top of my coworker's baby's stroller. As we were shopping, my coworker got more items than she expected, so she opened up the top of the baby stroller and put her groceries by her baby's feet. I was looking at something else while she did this, so I didn't see where she put it, and then she told me she was going to talk to her boyfriend in another aisle. I took what I was looking at off the shelf, put it in the cupholder on the top of the stroller, and I closed the top of the stroller (thinking that the baby was trying to sleep, and the light might be keeping her awake) before turning around and heading in the direction of where my coworker went. I didn't even make it two steps away before someone stopped me (I am going to assume he was following me since we got in the store, because he stopped me almost right after I closed the carrier top.)
He proceeded to accuse me of using my coworkers baby to shoplift from his store. I was surprised when I opened the carrier and saw the items there, I must have thought my coworker had taken the stuff with her or put it back. I told him I did not know they were there, and he continued to accuse me, asking what was in my bag over my shoulder (My laptop bag with my laptop and other computer accessories.) and asking me what was in the little compartments all over the baby's stroller (which were filled with baby items that were bought and paid for well before this incident) He then told me that they had recently caught someone on surveillance camera, stealing from them, and this person had pink hair. So for some reason, because I have pink hair, he was targeting me for a crime I was not intending to commit.
After he was done looking through my stuff, and not finding anything, he told me to put my stuff down and get out of the store.
The problem I have with this incident is that for one, I was targeted for having pink hair, and for another, that I had not even attempted to leave the store with the unpaid merchandise. If they had waited for me to finish shopping, they would have seen me pay for my purchases. I do not appreciate being treated like a criminal because of my appearance, or someone else's crime.
I later found out that the man who had accused me of stealing was the manager of the store, Kevin Gallant. I find it to be ridiculous that a manager would treat a customer the way he did, not waiting to see if I actually was trying to steal from his store, or simply making an honest mistake. I suspect this might not even have happened if I was not discriminated against at the moment I stepped foot in the door because of my appearance.
All I ask is that it is acknowleged that what was done was not right, and I would like an apology. Not only to me, but my coworkers who were made to leave the store as well as myself. I was embarassed in front of the other shoppers in the store, and made to look like a thief. At the very least, I can hope that in writing this letter, maybe this might not happen to some other poor customer who does not fit the mold appearance-wise of a "decent, honest customer."
Thank you for your time,

Sincerely,

*Melmo* (real name removed)

You live in Canada so I dunno if it's the same there as in the States, but was this a big corporation like Superfresh or Giant? If so, I'd complain majorly to corperate. A little thing like this they usually get off thier asses to try to fix. Doesn't cost them money to yell at someone lower down.

Yea it is a very big chain, The store is called Sobeys.

Really? Almost everyone I know has either shoplifted or knows someone who has which means we all know someone who was caught. There have been a quite a few people who were just witnessed putting the items in their purses, pockets, backpacks, etc. Instead of legal action the malls have just banned the person for a year or more. I always just figured it was like when the police search you - like if they have reason to believe, or whatever.

I always learned if someone, police especially, is trying to search you without a warrant you say, " you, arrest me." I guess if police can get in trouble for it...

"I didn't know there was stuff in the stroller."

That really sums it up. From what you describe, there was unpaid for stuff in the stroller? You didn't know that, but it doesn't change the fact. The security person was extremely rude. There was, however, reason to question you. Mistakes were made all around.

Yes, I agree he had reason to be suspicious if he saw stuff in the stroller, but he should have waited til I at least tried to get out of the store without paying.

But, if he waited until you got out of the store, they would have been obligated to arrest you? At that point, knowingly or not, you would have committed a crime.

Giving you grief inside the store gave you an opportunity to "fix" things before a crime was committed. If anything, it sounds like you were being given a break?

At the stores I've worked at, once you get PAST the register is when someone comes up and says something like "Excuse me, but I believe you forgot to pay for those items. Come over to my register and I'll help you out." If you run, then our security beats ur ass.

When I worked at a retail store if anyone saw some one concealing stuff they could stop them at any time in the store. They did not have to pass the registers to be stopped or questioned. Because once outside they had to arrest the person and they also put themselves in danager.

Usdually the manager or security if they were around would approach the person and ask if they needed help. They would also ask if they needed a cart forthe items they had put into their coats, purse etc. By that time the person would be walked to the register to pay or the person would leave.