Is it normal for security guards to follow you around?

[Fabank]

Has anyone ever had problems with a security guard? there is one that works at my local coop and he use to follow me and my children around all the time, every time I went in and make me feel so uncomfortable, he didn’t try to hide it and he made it obvious he was following me. The final straw was when I was reading the ingredients on an item (we are vegetarian) to see if we could eat it and he came over and said don’t touch anything unless you are going to pay for it. I mean how else are you meant to read the ingredients! It’s normal to pick things up and look at the ingredients/dates etc, I never went back in after that day and I assumed he probably wouldn’t work there for that long (I lived in the area for 15 years and most security change over in a year) but it’s been 6 years and he still works in there. So long story short my children are now teens and dont like that I won’t go in there anymore (it does mean having to travel by bus if I need something because it’s the only local shop) but my teens dont like not being able to go in there so they are old enough they now started going in on their own, earlier they went in and told me the security guard followed them all round the shop. He knows they are my children as he saw me with them by the bus stop. Is it normal for security guards to follow you around? Do other people get followed around? Never seems to happen in any other shops.

Why on earth haven’t you put in a formal complaint about him?

Complain about what? Not like they are going to sack him and it’s my word against his.

There's one in my local Aldi who would follow me whenever I went in, it became very unnerving. Everytime I turned around he was there.
I was thinking about complaining but he suddenly stopped doing it (this was after about a year). So I thought maybe somebody else had complained.
I wouldn't let it stop you shopping there if it's convenient, especially if it means a bus ride somewhere else. You aren't doing anything wrong, and you could always speak to the manager. They won't want their customers being scared off

Telling you not to pick things up is ludicrous, the manager should definitely be informed about that

There’s no way I’d go in there again, just annoyed that he is now following my teens around they went on and on about it this evening how uncomfortable he made them so must have been pretty bad as normally they don’t notice things

Harassment and it will be all be on cctv, every supermarket has it!

There used to be a local hardware and homeware store near me. It had long, narrow aisles with very high shelving. I suppose it would have been easy to steal stuff. I used to love just browsing the all the homeware, as they had quirky stuff. But the owner....oh my. He would follow me or always be peeking round the corner...I mean, I get it, but I was a regular. I never even used to touch the stuff unless I was putting it in my basket. Not that touching stuff is bad, I just meant that the stuff was usually large enough that I didn't need to touch it if not buying. He was very obvious and it did make things uncomfortable. I think he did it to everyone. He was SO suspicious that I really think he was in the wrong job.

I don't know what the answer is.

I do know that that security guard was CRAZY to tell you not to touch a grocery item whose ingredients you were clearly reading!!!

You could just ignore him. That's what I did with the hardware guy.

Anyone catering for someone with severe allergies absolutely has to pick food up and scrutinise the ingredients.
Funnily enough, I went through a phase of being followed around different shops by security guards.
I had bought myself some very cheap trainers, and when I was doing voluntary work with the homeless, one of the men noticed I had the same trainers as him, and joked that I was his wife.
This left me convinced that the security guards were looking at my cheap trainers and following me around because my clothing was on some sort of checklist they use to identify potential shoplifters.

certainly not normal and most likely racial profiling.
honestly if it was me; i'd be saying hello, asking his name and suggesting i give him my list and he does the shop.
i would speak to the store manager and let them know that he is making you feel uncomfortable and potentially buying less/leaving the shop sooner due to the level of discomfort.

A friend of mine similarly and inexplicably targeted by security guard in local Tesco beckoned him over and said since he was there he could make himself useful by reaching up to a top shelf to get an item for her then by carrying her heavy basket. 🤣 He did too. !!

Not experienced as an adult but remember it happening all the time as a teen. Id love it I'd feel like a celebrity having my own security

Used to happen to me in almost every shop. I think it's because I'm autistic and don't make much eye contact, I'm just looking in quite a fixed way for what I need. Since being perimenopausal I'm much less shy about calling them out and assuring them I can in fact afford to pay for my shopping.