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Just caught a guy stealing from me!

Mark sorry to hear about this. I can't imagine how it would be to have someone you know for so long take advantage of you!
 
Sounds to me like this guy is calling out for help or a big slap on the hand. Doesn't sound like the actions of a rational human being.

I mean, I can sort of imagine someone pulling a stunt like that in a B&M they've never been to. But to do it at a place they go to regularly either means they don't have any respect for your business or they are having bigger problems. Either way, sounds like you handled it the best way you could.

Having known a few malcontents like this (unfortunately) in my life, I think the best play here is tough love. Don't let him back in until he makes it right....
 
You must be trustworthy. Most places have security cameras that cover the store and humidor.
 
If anybody else ever works with you make sure they know never to let that guy back in the shop. F'in bastard.
 
Is a small CCTV system out of the question for you?

If not I have lots of experience in that field and could point you in the right direction.
 
NorcalMark said:
I am almost certain that he made away with a couple of #35's. I didn't tell him to empty his pockets. Not sure if I could legally anyway.
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Not sure if it's relevant - asking him is very different than making. But that's not the point.

The point is that you did the right thing. You weren't rude, you weren't overly forceful. You did everything you could to get him to do the right thing. Ball's in his court from now on.

You would be fully justified in banning him from your store, even informing other BOTLs who know him of the ban (it looks like you keep A+ tabs on your customers, kudos). You would be fully justified in taking his money and treating him with total suspicion. Both of those take a fair bit of energy. I suggest wait and see - if he never comes back (which I also suspect will be the case, even if he does go back on the straight and narrow, he'll want to keep clear of his past misdeeds), problem solved.

If he comes back to ask for forgiveness, follow your conscience.

In the meantime, run his credit card for his full tab and close his account.

Like membership in CP, it takes a long time to build a good vendor-client relationship, and no time at all to ruin it. Most of the time it's the vendor, here it was the client, but it's still done and gone. If he wants it back, he's got a lot of climbing out of the hole to do.
 
grateful1 said:
Seems like a cry for attention. If he really wanted to walk...and not be noticed...he 'shirley' could have.
Ya know..looked over at you on the phone...pointed to $20 on the table and said 'cya later'.

I'm glad you didn't loose stock(too much)...and I hope he get's some help!
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LMAO @ Gary! :laugh:

Mark, he's VERY LUCKY that you didn't call the police on him as he 'shirley' would have been arrested for larceny.
 
What the heck? Sounds like you handled better then I would have?
 
I wouldn't let the crying sway you any. I know a guy that cries about EVERYTHING that goes wrong. He's worse than my sister...

I'd ban him and make sure I let every employee know it. I'd bet dollars to donuts that this isn't the first time he's taken liberties with your trust (and cigar stock).
 
100 years ago you could have shipped him off to Australia for 10 years hard labor :laugh: .
He would have done his time and ended up in parliament down here.
 
Wow that really sucks, don't know how i would've handled it. Looks as though you did the right thing although i diffently wouldn't let him out my site from now on. Those were some expensive smokes. Good luck on how you decide to move forward with this.
 
I make have a store rule never to answer the phone when waiting on a customer. It's the long time customer that you think you can trust that will shoplift. It happened a few years ago at another shop in CT.
 
WTF is up with all this "I feel sorry for him" BS? Are you serious? Crying for help? Pleeeaassseeee.... cry me a river.

The guy is a thief and the fact that it was a supposed regular who took advantage of his being a "regular" makes him a bigger douch bag. Rob said it best, he most likely was a long time thief instead of a long time customer. I would have called the cops and pressed charges. I wouldn't care who it was. A theif is a theif.... period!
 
I hate to see people being taken advantage of. People like him can ruin the B&M experiences that we all look forward to. With the majority of my purchases done online, a trip to any shop is a special experience. I would hate to have that ruined because the shop owner was breathing down my neck the whole time because people have stolen from him in the past.
 
When we were in high school, a bunch of my friends always thought it was funny to steal little things from some of the local stores. I think I might have done it once or twice, but to be honest with you, I was just too damn scared. Well one day as we were walking to the exit, I didn't know but one of guys with us had put a $600 GPS in his pocket. The manager stopped, told the kid to empty his pockets, told me and the other innocent guy that he knew we didn't have anything, but if he ever saw any of the three of us again, he'd call the cops.

Maybe we were just young and dumb, but it sobered our asses up. Hopefully, so will this guy, before he gets caught stealing dvds from Wal-Mart or Cosco and they press heavy charges. I think you did the right thing, but if you allow him back, I'd keep a close watch on him.
 
Marcos said:
I hate to see people being taken advantage of. People like him can ruin the B&M experiences that we all look forward to. With the majority of my purchases done online, a trip to any shop is a special experience. I would hate to have that ruined because the shop owner was breathing down my neck the whole time because people have stolen from him in the past.
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QFT - I enjoy meandering around a walk-in humi, making mental notes about what looks good, what I'd like to try some day, and just breathing in the tobacco aroma. It would definitely suck to have the shop keep all nervous and wondering if I was going to pocket something.

Sorry to hear about that Mark, I think you handled it well. He sounds like he does have some problems, but nevertheless I'd be wary of him coming back. Don't think I'd ban him from the store but I'd alert the staff that someone needs to escort him around the humi if he does come back.
 
WOW! Gotta hand it to you Mark...you handled it VERY well. I would have grabbed my axe handle behind the counter. Well done.
 
Allofus123 said:
WTF is up with all this "I feel sorry for him" BS? Are you serious? Crying for help? Pleeeaassseeee.... cry me a river.

The guy is a thief and the fact that it was a supposed regular who took advantage of his being a "regular" makes him a bigger douch bag. Rob said it best, he most likely was a long time thief instead of a long time customer. I would have called the cops and pressed charges. I wouldn't care who it was. A theif is a theif.... period!
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I agree with this, however, I admire your restraint.

The way in which this guy committed his theft, gaining your trust over years, makes it even worse. I would tend to believe he has been doing it all along......but if he hasn't been, and didn't start stealing from you until the relationship was built, that is the ultimate betrayal and would damage any relationship beyond repair, for me at least.
 
Wow sorry that happened to you. But you seemed to handle it pretty well.
 
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