Imperfect World

Tuesday, August 15, 2023

Here’s the start of a couple of days off from my part-time job. Today, the horse fencing repair work could be completed. Doing that finishing will send me again as a customer to Home Depot for additional concrete and various other needs.

The other day I complained about Mr. Bill, an HD cashier I’d not met before. While he was checking out my fencing materials at his register, he said that would be his last day working at HD, and he gave me a couple of pencils. Later, I landed again at his register, and he gave me more free products. Now aware that on his last day, he was giving products away for free, I reported him.

I felt the reporting had solved my problem. It lightened the weight of having recognized insider theft. Actually, however, the Mr. Bill episode didn’t solve a problem. By heightening my awareness of insider theft, it added a dilemma.

Here’s why. The other day in my customer role and buying a starter setup for drip watering, I self-checked out. The boxed starter set had an easily identifiable SKU. A single other piece I was buying had no identifier, and I asked an overseeing cashier what to do. That person said, “Just take it.” I froze and then heard, “This job doesn’t give me time to spend looking up and identifying little pieces, so go ahead and take it!”

That added a piece to my Mr. Bill puzzle. Perhaps he and other cashiers routinely gave away products for free; and for whatever reason, he expanded the practice on his last day of work.

My new dilemma is about recognizing an organizational weakness behind lots of small value losses. I’m weighted by the question of what now to do if anything.

Most of the store’s cashiers are good people; many for years have worked there; they know from experience it takes time and effort to look up and identify SKUs to price small items. I understand and can sympathize; I prefer not to go blabbing.

In business, however, losses add up and are key drivers of price increases. Theft is a huge issue having several categories. There’s outsider theft, insider theft, and system-error theft. Businesses responding to outsider theft are installing lockable cages for high-value items. and to insider theft with training to reinforce company values, and to system-error theft with training designed to increase awareness and accuracy.

Dear Friends: I’ll decide what to do and will keep you posted. Diana