Followed round Wilko by shop security team.

[ThreeWarriors]

I was shopping in Wilko today when towards the end I realised I was being very closely monitored by a very unsubtle security team. I went to the till and paid for my shopping and told the lady at the till how obvious they’d been and how uncomfortable they’d made me feel. She did apologise. The whole thing was very unnerving.

I have never stolen a thing in my life and have no reason to.

I am a DV victim and probably come across as less confident. I also struggle to make decisions in shops so like to take my time. I think there were at least two men, definitely one. There was a lady there too but she was much less obvious.

I was mainly buying stuff to send to my DD at uni and am now thinking of returning it all and buying it elsewhere.

I don’t want to be followed around anywhere by unknown men.

I have to confess I’m not sure why so many people seem to be getting mortally offended at being followed by a security guard? Sure if they drag you off into a back room for questioning it’s embarrassing, but if they’re just walking around paying extra attention to you and you have no intention of pinching anything then just ignore them! You’re only making work for the other members of staff by picking stuff up and putting it down in the wrong place. And if you do that, like more than one person has suggested, if you come in again and are recognised you’ve clearly (to them) already been identified as a shoplifter whose attempts to steal have been thwarted so they’ll probably follow you again.

Wilkinson's don't have a " security team" they don't even have enough staff to operate the tills ffs.

How many people were in this " team"?

They might have one security guard at best.

I think most of this is in the OPs head.

I have to confess I’m not sure why so many people seem to be getting mortally offended at being followed by a security guard?

Because it’s intimidating, that’s why. For people who have anxiety or struggle to make decisions, they are making an otherwise normal shopping experience stressful. For no reason!

We all want to stop shoplifters - they make the price of everything higher for the rest of us! But it is not normal or acceptable for staff to behave like this in a shop.

I live right next to a Waitrose and I will often go in with my dd, and use the basket under her pushchair to put my shopping in until I get to check out because it’s awkward to carry a separate basket. And the security staff have never once intimidated me or made me feel like I was doing something wrong. Maybe it’s because I’m 42, now. Maybe it’s because they don’t think I look like a shoplifter.

But it’s far more likely that they realise that the majority of people are not criminals.

THIS

I second this and raise you the head office diktat that an assistant must have clear sight of every self serve transaction. Or else till marshal will face disciplinary action.

Most wilkos dont have secutity. The ones that do are subcontracted and are only there a visual deterrent only. They do have plain clothed store detectives though. And they can and will take you to floor if necessary

Looks like mumsnet has alot of untapped potential security officers. Shoplifting would stop over night as alot of users seem to think they know it all

I absolutely always get followed in Waitrose 🤣 and in Wickes we went in for a kitchen quote ready to spend £15-30K and the guy didn’t even ask me anything just walked me to the budget shelves for installing your own cheaply (£1k sort of ones). 🤣🙃 So we walked out and spent our money in Ikea who were lovely.

I guess I just give off a whiff of poor person 🤷🏼‍♀️ I don’t get it.
Maybe it’s because I don’t really wear make up and have to have comfy shoes for my fat feet after babies. (Seriously gone up from a wide fit to a EEE after 2 babies- how is that fair?)

To be fair someone said I looked like the “lady in the van” when we were sat outside a coffee shop in hat and thick coat in the winter.

Meh 🤷🏼‍♀️

But why should anyone assume that poor people are more likely to steal? I knew a guy when I was in my teens who stole for the thrill of it. He didn’t need to.

A whiff of poor person?! Wow

I sometimes think they're just bored and they do this to keep them selves entertained.

Another thing that happens in retail is aanother branch will call up and give a description of a lifter or attempted lifter so if you happen to vaguely fit that description you may get followed round a bit.

🙄

Op I’ve been followed around shops for no obvious reason. I just take longer and do weird zigzags around the shop looking at items and putting them down. I would really love to have the confidence to ask them why I look like a shoplifter.

Also went to get some quite specific items of clothing in a rough area (closest big shops). It was a last minute buy and I took photos of various options and sent them to my DP. A shifty looking guy turned up and started half heartedly looking through the rails (kid's department) and giving me side glances. It was just us in the room and I felt increasingly uncomfortable. At one point he made a beeline for me and I side stepped him and hurried off to a busier part of the shop. I assumed he was a thug about to grab my phone or something but my friend said afterwards he was probably a non uniformed security guard. Bloody awful when I already loathe shopping.

So you act suspiciously an wonder why you are still getting followed?

If I am getting followed, I act normal. Doing shit like zig zags and moving items about is not going to put a guard off following you.

What are you on?!

It happened to me a few times when DS was in a buggy in cheap shops euro giant etc.

I have no problem looking the security dead in the eye and questioning their motivation.

I know I'm privileged to be able to do that.

Security racially profile people all the time and follow them unnecessarily.

If I noticed that happening I'd call it out too.

What?

There are several posters here who say that if they are aware they are being followed, they act even more suspiciously and do stuff like move items around the store... they treat it like a game and a way to waste the security guard's time.
My sister used to pull shit like this when she was a teen. Here we have adult women doing the same. They should grow up.

xenobitch this isn’t a regular occurrence, maybe once a year, maybe less. I don’t deliberately act strange before they follow me, but yes if they can’t be subtle then why not have fun for ten minutes? And I certainly don’t move stuff, I had a shelf filling job and I wouldn’t want to give a shelf stacker extra work, why did you think I said that?

The next time it happens I will ask why they’re following me.

xenobitch maybe a 6ft 3 security guard shouldn’t obviously follow a small middle aged woman around? It’s not my fault if they’re bad at their job.

If you notice you are being followed then turn to them and say since you are following me, make yourself useful and carry my basket would you? Then hold it out

Or start chatting to them. your day, what you're buying, whether they think Tampax is better than always for a heavy flow etc etc.

For no reason!

But just because they’re not shoplifting doesn’t mean it’s not for a reason? I mean, the security people have their reasons but might be wrong?

We have a lot of ‘trust your instinct’ on this forum but suddenly when it comes to other people having probably incorrect instincts about you it’s wrong and they should leave you alone because you don’t like it?!

They're just people like the rest of us. And they got it wrong. I'm genuinely sorry that some find it intimidating for whatever reason. But shops still have to balance the cost of hiring people to do this job against the cost of losses and have clearly found it beneficial in the long run.

I get this every time I go into my local One Stop shop. The same female member of staff appears down every aisle I go down and keeps asking me if I can find everything I'm looking for. She actually leaves her till to follow me around the shop. I have never stolen a thing in my life, I am a 54 year old woman and I, personally, think I look respectable enough. Each time I answered her politely but I now say to her "you've asked me that already" I once rang their Head Office and they were very apologetic, asked me to describe her and said they would have a word with her. It still happens but I it's a convenient shop for me and I don't see why she should drive me away.

This is the way to deal with it. Pay it no mind. You know you’re not shoplifting so nothing is going to happen. This woman clearly thinks you’re a wrongun for some reason though! Maybe you look like her best friend from school who pinched her best pens and then refused to give them back