After reading many of these posts I am wondering or actually concerned about these databases. I had my own run in with LP back in Dec of 2009 that caused me to lose my part time big box retail gig.
First let me say that I understand LP's job and I further understand that employee theft is a major issue at retail organizations. I can say that in my two years at this retailer (auto repair / tire sales/ retail sales) I assisted in catching a couple guys with their hands in the till and not just for chump change either - that said when it happened to me for something really stupid it really opened my eyes to how out of control some of these places can be (though I can understand how it got this way!)
First let me say that I have been in the workforce over 30 years and have never had an issue with any employer let alone for theft. I have regularly passed deep background checks for the military and employers including regulatory checks in the insurance industry - never an issue - not a thief.
But! In '09 like many folks I was out of work for 9 months. I actually worked PT at this retail place for two years previous to my layoff to help my two kids with their college expenses. I started my new full time job in Sept 09 and the issue occurred in November and LP interrogating me just before XMAS 09. I mention this because they dictated what I should put in the document about unemployment etc.
At the store we didn't have a departmental manager for 5 months and the assistant manager knew for months that he wasn't getting the job so he didn't care one bit what was going on. We had daily lines of very irate customers about their car repairs, durations / lateness, all manner of things and typically one person on the counter to sell, advise, cash out customers etc etc. It was a mess and hectic.
In Nov09 I faced this situation when I was alone on a Saturday afternoon but notnormally not an issue for me. But I had a customer that I cashed out and I was in the process of processing an instant $75 Visa Rebate card for him for a tire purchase when he proceeded to ream me that the work took 30 minutes longer than promised (f-bombs the works). It was shocking, sudden, loud and then he just got up and left leaving me holding the card in my hand wondering what just happened. I was swamped with customers and didn't have anyone to give the card too, the managers office has no lock so I couldn't just put it there, in the end I put it in my wallet to set aside and went about my business with the next customer. Yep - stupid - should have just thrown it in the register or something.
Anyway, working P/T I seldom saw the assist manager and at night the store manager was never around so out of sight out of mind I guess. Then in late December I was with my wife at at the mall and on the way out we went through the store and she picked up inexpensive boots for a trip we had scheduled after the holidays. I reached in my wallet, grabbed my Visa card, paid for the boots ($40-ish) and went on our way. Yep, I had grabbed the gift card, not my own Visa (same color and everything.)
The next week on a Saturday I was led up to LP and given the news and quite frankly it was a bit of an unnerving experience. Real thug-ish Gestapo kind of stuff including the interrogator and a guy sitting behind me that never said a word but you could hear him breathing. Nothing I said mattered, nothing I showed them mattered, the fact that my full time job paid nearly 6 figures and I certainly could live without the $40 bucks didn't matter either. Guilty period. I mean this is really pre-Miranda stuff you always hear about in history classes.
I went to the ATM, paid them on the spot and signed their document or else they were going to call the cops. In hindsight, had I known about these databases I would have dialed the cops myself and taken them on but that was then and this is now. The store manager said that no one would know about this, that they were not going to call the cops or do any civil actions (they didn't) but with these databases I wonder if I was lied to in the end.
Anyway, I am very concerned about future endeavors or job changes given what I now know about these databases - most concerning is the possibility of abuse and lack of an avenue for review, appeal, or to state your case. While I understand the need, there is something really wrong with these things.
First let me say that I understand LP's job and I further understand that employee theft is a major issue at retail organizations. I can say that in my two years at this retailer (auto repair / tire sales/ retail sales) I assisted in catching a couple guys with their hands in the till and not just for chump change either - that said when it happened to me for something really stupid it really opened my eyes to how out of control some of these places can be (though I can understand how it got this way!)
First let me say that I have been in the workforce over 30 years and have never had an issue with any employer let alone for theft. I have regularly passed deep background checks for the military and employers including regulatory checks in the insurance industry - never an issue - not a thief.
But! In '09 like many folks I was out of work for 9 months. I actually worked PT at this retail place for two years previous to my layoff to help my two kids with their college expenses. I started my new full time job in Sept 09 and the issue occurred in November and LP interrogating me just before XMAS 09. I mention this because they dictated what I should put in the document about unemployment etc.
At the store we didn't have a departmental manager for 5 months and the assistant manager knew for months that he wasn't getting the job so he didn't care one bit what was going on. We had daily lines of very irate customers about their car repairs, durations / lateness, all manner of things and typically one person on the counter to sell, advise, cash out customers etc etc. It was a mess and hectic.
In Nov09 I faced this situation when I was alone on a Saturday afternoon but notnormally not an issue for me. But I had a customer that I cashed out and I was in the process of processing an instant $75 Visa Rebate card for him for a tire purchase when he proceeded to ream me that the work took 30 minutes longer than promised (f-bombs the works). It was shocking, sudden, loud and then he just got up and left leaving me holding the card in my hand wondering what just happened. I was swamped with customers and didn't have anyone to give the card too, the managers office has no lock so I couldn't just put it there, in the end I put it in my wallet to set aside and went about my business with the next customer. Yep - stupid - should have just thrown it in the register or something.
Anyway, working P/T I seldom saw the assist manager and at night the store manager was never around so out of sight out of mind I guess. Then in late December I was with my wife at at the mall and on the way out we went through the store and she picked up inexpensive boots for a trip we had scheduled after the holidays. I reached in my wallet, grabbed my Visa card, paid for the boots ($40-ish) and went on our way. Yep, I had grabbed the gift card, not my own Visa (same color and everything.)
The next week on a Saturday I was led up to LP and given the news and quite frankly it was a bit of an unnerving experience. Real thug-ish Gestapo kind of stuff including the interrogator and a guy sitting behind me that never said a word but you could hear him breathing. Nothing I said mattered, nothing I showed them mattered, the fact that my full time job paid nearly 6 figures and I certainly could live without the $40 bucks didn't matter either. Guilty period. I mean this is really pre-Miranda stuff you always hear about in history classes.
I went to the ATM, paid them on the spot and signed their document or else they were going to call the cops. In hindsight, had I known about these databases I would have dialed the cops myself and taken them on but that was then and this is now. The store manager said that no one would know about this, that they were not going to call the cops or do any civil actions (they didn't) but with these databases I wonder if I was lied to in the end.
Anyway, I am very concerned about future endeavors or job changes given what I now know about these databases - most concerning is the possibility of abuse and lack of an avenue for review, appeal, or to state your case. While I understand the need, there is something really wrong with these things.
