Posted on 10/19/2020 7:53:14 AM PDT by RightGeek
After months of seeing its shelves repeatedly cleaned out by brazen shoplifters, the Walgreens at Van Ness and Eddy in San Francisco is getting ready to close.
The last day is Nov. 11, Walgreens spokesman Phil Caruso said.
The drugstore, which serves many older people who live in the Opera Plaza area, is the seventh Walgreens to close in the city since 2019.
All of us knew it was coming. Whenever we go in there, they always have problems with shoplifters, said longtime customer Sebastian Luke, who lives a block away and is a frequent customer who has been posting photos of the thefts for months. The other day, Luke photographed a man casually clearing a couple of shelves and placing the goods into a backpack.
I feel sorry for the clerks, they are regularly being verbally assaulted, Luke said. The clerks say there is nothing they can do. They say Walgreens policy is to not get involved. They dont want anyone getting injured or getting sued, so the guys just keep coming in and taking whatever they want.
...
When a clerk was asked where all the goods had gone, he said, Go ask the people in the alleys, they have it all.
Homeless encampments are common in the neighborhood, including two just across Eddy Street.
No sooner had the clerk spoken than a man wearing a virus mask walked in, emptied two shelves of snacks into a bag, then headed back for the door.
As he walked past the checkout line, a customer called out, Sure you dont want a drink with that?
...
Under California law, theft of less than $950 in goods is treated as a nonviolent misdemeanor.
(Excerpt) Read more at sfchronicle.com ...
lol - The source is the San Francisco Chronicle
Private “NATIONAL” security guards. A couple of guys wouldn’t cut it Id bet.
The articles suggest that private security guards are the only solution..
No, they arent.
L
This proves Walgreens is RACIST!
Who are these 'brazen shoplifters'?
what is a private security guard going to do when someone just comes in, scoops up a bunch of stuff, and walks out? Private security guards don’t have the power to arrest. The cops won’t do anything because of the laws. So they’re just mannequins.
They say Walgreens policy is to not get involved. They dont want anyone getting injured or getting sued, so the guys just keep coming in and taking whatever they want.
I’ve heard many retailers have similar policies. So the criminal element know that nothing will happen to them. So what happens? They become more and more brazen in their crimes. In the absence of any opposition, they get bolder and bolder.
It is not just San Francisco. The Walgreen’s half a mile from my house, just off an interstate highway exit, closed for the same reason here in Phoenix. I was told the culprit was the Greyhound Bus Station across the street.
In SF, I think they are the closest thing to a legal solution... and even that won’t work.
If I were homeless, San Fran. would be my choice of locales. You can steal with virtual impugnity and suffer no great consequences. Gotta love it! /s
National recall vote of all Governors/mayors is needed.
Thou shalt not steal.
If the stolen item carries a 10% profit margin the store needs to sell nine of them just to break even. Eventually they collapse under the weight of the math.
Perhaps they should go back to the old method used over 120 years ago.
Like a bank, you go in and up to the counter and tell the clerk what you want. He then sends a boy into the back to fetch it. You pay for it and leave. You never get to go back into the stock room.
“private security guards”
If they try to stop the looters, walgreens gets their butt sued off and/or the marxists will burn the store down.
It’s what San Franciscans voted for - and presumably will continue to vote for. No sympathy.
Feral descendants of the California gold miners again.
If shrinkage losses were no longer tax deductible, retailers might grow a pair.
Even easier: Close retail area of the store, go internet only, use an Amazon Locker type pickup in the front of the store, with the lockers loaded from the back. No cash on site, no clerk to threaten over a counter.
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