Today I was in Home Depot, standing in line to pay for a couple rolls of
hardware cloth. In front of me was a gentleman, and I use that term
loosely, that had placed on the counter six one inch electrical PVC ells,
along with six couplings, each of which was attached to the ells. The
ells had their UPC stamped on them, but the connectors had a stick-on label.
To a woman clerk, that may or may not be wise to how such things look and
are used, it was very easy for the items to be scanned by the label only,
considering the UPC on the ells blended well with the other data printed
thereon.

That's what happened. The buyer paid with a credit card, the total coming
to under $3. It was obvious to me that he had placed the connectors on the
ells intentionally, likely thinking they would get scanned just as they did.
I did more than nothing, but I'm interested in hearing what others might
think would have been a good course of action to take. When I've heard
various opinions, I'll describe what I did, and why I did it.

Comments?

Harold

Harold,

Things like this irk me, but it's not a big enough deal to get in a major
hassle over. Been there, and done that. I would have made a comment nicely
to both the clerk and the customer saying something like, "Boy, it'd be easy
to mistake those two pieces for one part wouldn't it?" That way the guy
would have the opportunity to gracefully extricate himself by saying
something like, "Oh... whoops!"

If the clerk didn't get it after making myself clear, or she didn't care, I
would let it slide.

If these had been iron pipe fittings, would this have been on topic?

Peter

"Harold and Susan Vordos" wrote in message
...
Today I was in Home Depot, standing in line to pay for a couple rolls of
hardware cloth. In front of me was a gentleman, and I use that term
loosely, that had placed on the counter six one inch electrical PVC ells,
along with six couplings, each of which was attached to the ells. The
ells had their UPC stamped on them, but the connectors had a stick-on
label.
To a woman clerk, that may or may not be wise to how such things look and
are used, it was very easy for the items to be scanned by the label only,
considering the UPC on the ells blended well with the other data printed
thereon.

That's what happened. The buyer paid with a credit card, the total
coming
to under $3. It was obvious to me that he had placed the connectors on
the
ells intentionally, likely thinking they would get scanned just as they
did.
I did more than nothing, but I'm interested in hearing what others might
think would have been a good course of action to take. When I've heard
various opinions, I'll describe what I did, and why I did it.

Comments?

Harold

Plainly, the guy was a thief; and not a very smart one to pay for his
larcenous purchase with a credit card. I would not have confronted him and
give him a chance to correct the "mistake". Instead, after he left, I would
have called the store manager to the clerks location and explained the
situation in such a way as to not embarrass the clerk. The manager could
then do whatever store policy recommends when thievery is discovered on
credit card purchases.

Bob Swinney


"Harold and Susan Vordos" wrote in message
...
Today I was in Home Depot, standing in line to pay for a couple rolls of
hardware cloth. In front of me was a gentleman, and I use that term
loosely, that had placed on the counter six one inch electrical PVC ells,
along with six couplings, each of which was attached to the ells. The
ells had their UPC stamped on them, but the connectors had a stick-on
label.
To a woman clerk, that may or may not be wise to how such things look and
are used, it was very easy for the items to be scanned by the label only,
considering the UPC on the ells blended well with the other data printed
thereon.

That's what happened. The buyer paid with a credit card, the total
coming
to under $3. It was obvious to me that he had placed the connectors on
the
ells intentionally, likely thinking they would get scanned just as they
did.
I did more than nothing, but I'm interested in hearing what others might
think would have been a good course of action to take. When I've heard
various opinions, I'll describe what I did, and why I did it.

Comments?

Harold

"Harold and Susan Vordos" wrote in message
...
Today I was in Home Depot, standing in line to pay for a couple rolls of
hardware cloth. In front of me was a gentleman, and I use that term
loosely, that had placed on the counter six one inch electrical PVC ells,
along with six couplings, each of which was attached to the ells. The
ells had their UPC stamped on them, but the connectors had a stick-on
label.
To a woman clerk, that may or may not be wise to how such things look and
are used, it was very easy for the items to be scanned by the label only,
considering the UPC on the ells blended well with the other data printed
thereon.

That's what happened. The buyer paid with a credit card, the total
coming
to under $3. It was obvious to me that he had placed the connectors on
the
ells intentionally, likely thinking they would get scanned just as they
did.
I did more than nothing, but I'm interested in hearing what others might
think would have been a good course of action to take. When I've heard
various opinions, I'll describe what I did, and why I did it.

Comments?

Harold


As the owner of the Home Depot chain, I actually encourage this type of
activity in my customers. It lessens my horrible guilt of what I am doing to
the American worker. Next year, to show my patriotism, I will try to sell
more goods made in the USA. My goal is to break the 1% barrier of USA made
items. I know this goal seems fantastic and impossible, but someone has to
try it. Wish me luck!

Dixon
Home Depot CEO

Harold and Susan Vordos wrote:
Today I was in Home Depot, standing in line to pay for a couple rolls of
hardware cloth. In front of me was a gentleman, and I use that term
loosely, that had placed on the counter six one inch electrical PVC ells,
along with six couplings, each of which was attached to the ells. The
ells had their UPC stamped on them, but the connectors had a stick-on label.
To a woman clerk, that may or may not be wise to how such things look and
are used, it was very easy for the items to be scanned by the label only,
considering the UPC on the ells blended well with the other data printed
thereon.

That's what happened. The buyer paid with a credit card, the total coming
to under $3. It was obvious to me that he had placed the connectors on the
ells intentionally, likely thinking they would get scanned just as they did.
I did more than nothing, but I'm interested in hearing what others might
think would have been a good course of action to take. When I've heard
various opinions, I'll describe what I did, and why I did it.

I don't think it's absolutely clear cut that the guy was a thief, and
certainly not clear enough to secure a conviction. I have assembled
components in hardware stores to make them easier to carry, or to make
sure I've got the right number of each. I've even had shop assistants
assemble items for me, but usually when the same assistant is making out
the receipt. But if the cashier missed some assembled items I would
point out the error to them, unless I was in a complete daydream, which
is always a possibility. If I'd been there, I don't think I would have
done anything due to the lack of certainty. How do I know the store
doesn't have a 2-for-1 deal on elbows and connectors?

Chris

Harold and Susan Vordos wrote:

Today I was in Home Depot, standing in line to pay for a couple rolls of
hardware cloth. In front of me was a gentleman, and I use that term
loosely, that had placed on the counter six one inch electrical PVC ells,
along with six couplings, each of which was attached to the ells. The
ells had their UPC stamped on them, but the connectors had a stick-on label.
To a woman clerk, that may or may not be wise to how such things look and
are used, it was very easy for the items to be scanned by the label only,
considering the UPC on the ells blended well with the other data printed
thereon.

That's what happened. The buyer paid with a credit card, the total coming
to under $3. It was obvious to me that he had placed the connectors on the
ells intentionally, likely thinking they would get scanned just as they did.
I did more than nothing, but I'm interested in hearing what others might
think would have been a good course of action to take. When I've heard
various opinions, I'll describe what I did, and why I did it.

Comments?

Harold




Gee! I didn't know you could get *both* of those together for one price!
Where did you find 'em?!

m

Politely:
"Excuse me, Mam, but I believe that those are two parts that have been
assembled."
Someone, you, me, others, WILL pay for those parts eventually. I also don't
care for blatant thievery and people's naiveté being taken advantage of.
Especially like that, intentionally. Just doesn't set well.
Respectfully,
Ron Moore

"Harold and Susan Vordos" wrote in message
...
Today I was in Home Depot, standing in line to pay for a couple rolls of
hardware cloth. In front of me was a gentleman, and I use that term
loosely, that had placed on the counter six one inch electrical PVC ells,
along with six couplings, each of which was attached to the ells. The
ells had their UPC stamped on them, but the connectors had a stick-on
label.
To a woman clerk, that may or may not be wise to how such things look and
are used, it was very easy for the items to be scanned by the label only,
considering the UPC on the ells blended well with the other data printed
thereon.

That's what happened. The buyer paid with a credit card, the total
coming
to under $3. It was obvious to me that he had placed the connectors on
the
ells intentionally, likely thinking they would get scanned just as they
did.
I did more than nothing, but I'm interested in hearing what others might
think would have been a good course of action to take. When I've heard
various opinions, I'll describe what I did, and why I did it.

Comments?

Harold

Dixon. That's an odd nickname for someone named BOB NARDELLI.
You sound like a nice feller, though. I'm sure your stockholders will feel
the same.
Respectfully,
Ron Moore

"Dixon" wrote in message
. ..

"Harold and Susan Vordos" wrote in message
...
Today I was in Home Depot, standing in line to pay for a couple rolls of
hardware cloth. In front of me was a gentleman, and I use that term
loosely, that had placed on the counter six one inch electrical PVC ells,
along with six couplings, each of which was attached to the ells. The
ells had their UPC stamped on them, but the connectors had a stick-on
label.
To a woman clerk, that may or may not be wise to how such things look and
are used, it was very easy for the items to be scanned by the label only,
considering the UPC on the ells blended well with the other data printed
thereon.

That's what happened. The buyer paid with a credit card, the total
coming
to under $3. It was obvious to me that he had placed the connectors on
the
ells intentionally, likely thinking they would get scanned just as they
did.
I did more than nothing, but I'm interested in hearing what others might
think would have been a good course of action to take. When I've heard
various opinions, I'll describe what I did, and why I did it.

Comments?

Harold


As the owner of the Home Depot chain, I actually encourage this type of
activity in my customers. It lessens my horrible guilt of what I am doing
to the American worker. Next year, to show my patriotism, I will try to
sell more goods made in the USA. My goal is to break the 1% barrier of USA
made items. I know this goal seems fantastic and impossible, but someone
has to try it. Wish me luck!

Dixon
Home Depot CEO

"Harold and Susan Vordos" wrote:
Today I was in Home Depot, standing in line to pay for a couple rolls of
hardware cloth. In front of me was a gentleman, and I use that term
loosely, that had placed on the counter six one inch electrical PVC ells,
along with six couplings, each of which was attached to the ells. The
ells had their UPC stamped on them, but the connectors had a stick-on
label.
To a woman clerk, that may or may not be wise to how such things look and
are used, it was very easy for the items to be scanned by the label only,
considering the UPC on the ells blended well with the other data printed
thereon.

I wouldn't have been sticking my nose in the other man's business to begin
with.

Jon

If you're so inclined, mention it to the BIG Guy. Might sound silly but
everyone has a free will and can choose to do inequities. Brother's keeper?
....yea-but, he needs to be nudged by somebody else.

"Harold and Susan Vordos" wrote in message
...
Today I was in Home Depot, standing in line to pay for a couple rolls of
hardware cloth. In front of me was a gentleman, and I use that term
loosely, that had placed on the counter six one inch electrical PVC ells,
along with six couplings, each of which was attached to the ells. The
ells had their UPC stamped on them, but the connectors had a stick-on
label.
To a woman clerk, that may or may not be wise to how such things look and
are used, it was very easy for the items to be scanned by the label only,
considering the UPC on the ells blended well with the other data printed
thereon.

That's what happened. The buyer paid with a credit card, the total
coming
to under $3. It was obvious to me that he had placed the connectors on
the
ells intentionally, likely thinking they would get scanned just as they
did.
I did more than nothing, but I'm interested in hearing what others might
think would have been a good course of action to take. When I've heard
various opinions, I'll describe what I did, and why I did it.

Comments?

Harold

"Jon Danniken" wrote in message
...
"Harold and Susan Vordos" wrote:
Today I was in Home Depot, standing in line to pay for a couple rolls of
hardware cloth. In front of me was a gentleman, and I use that term
loosely, that had placed on the counter six one inch electrical PVC
ells,
along with six couplings, each of which was attached to the ells.
The
ells had their UPC stamped on them, but the connectors had a stick-on
label.
To a woman clerk, that may or may not be wise to how such things look
and
are used, it was very easy for the items to be scanned by the label
only,
considering the UPC on the ells blended well with the other data printed
thereon.

I wouldn't have been sticking my nose in the other man's business to begin
with.


"All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing."
(Edmund Burke)

In article , Harold and Susan Vordos says...

When I've heard
various opinions, I'll describe what I did, and why I did it.

You went back and nailed ten pieces of plywood together
and brought that up to the checkout counter?

:^)

Sorry harold, just couldn't resist!!

Jim


--
==================================================
please reply to:
JRR(zero) at pkmfgvm4 (dot) vnet (dot) ibm (dot) com
==================================================

Hum -
I do that all the time - Bought 6" 3/4" bolts - nuts and two washer types screwed together.
Tin Barn. Counter - and had all part numbers and prices on a paper.
The lady went down the bolt and coast accounted each out. My prices and numbers
were a waste of time.

I think the first issue was the lady. The second was the poor moral person
that let here make the mistake. Some checkers do that for people anyway -
that is one of the things that managers look for - presents to dad - or to
friends... ring up this and not that.


Martin Eastburn
@ home at Lions' Lair with our computer lionslair at consolidated dot net
NRA LOH, NRA Life
NRA Second Amendment Task Force Charter Founder



Harold and Susan Vordos wrote:
Today I was in Home Depot, standing in line to pay for a couple rolls of
hardware cloth. In front of me was a gentleman, and I use that term
loosely, that had placed on the counter six one inch electrical PVC ells,
along with six couplings, each of which was attached to the ells. The
ells had their UPC stamped on them, but the connectors had a stick-on label.
To a woman clerk, that may or may not be wise to how such things look and
are used, it was very easy for the items to be scanned by the label only,
considering the UPC on the ells blended well with the other data printed
thereon.

That's what happened. The buyer paid with a credit card, the total coming
to under $3. It was obvious to me that he had placed the connectors on the
ells intentionally, likely thinking they would get scanned just as they did.
I did more than nothing, but I'm interested in hearing what others might
think would have been a good course of action to take. When I've heard
various opinions, I'll describe what I did, and why I did it.

Comments?

Harold



----== Posted via Newsfeeds.Com - Unlimited-Unrestricted-Secure Usenet News==----
http://www.newsfeeds.com The #1 Newsgroup Service in the World! 120,000+ Newsgroups
----= East and West-Coast Server Farms - Total Privacy via Encryption =----

Didja see the Nardelli interview on Charlie Rose several months ago?
Ackshooly, Charlie Rose was not the interviewer--he was Nardelli's fukn
*concubine* for the hour.
After the break, I do believe Rose slid under that big round table and blew
Nardelli, and blew him properly, cuz after the break Nardelli had this big
****-eating grin on his face, and Rose was dabbing himself w/ a napkin.

It thus appears that Home Despot, contrary to my previous ignerint-assed
philistinic assertions, is the Savior of America and of America's Culture.
Silly me. gulp aahhhhhhh
----------------------------
Mr. P.V.'d
formerly Droll Troll

"Ron Moore" wrote in message
news:Fecdf.26566$2k5.8369@dukeread09...
Dixon. That's an odd nickname for someone named BOB NARDELLI.
You sound like a nice feller, though. I'm sure your stockholders will
feel the same.
Respectfully,
Ron Moore

"Dixon" wrote in message
. ..

"Harold and Susan Vordos" wrote in message
...
Today I was in Home Depot, standing in line to pay for a couple rolls of
hardware cloth. In front of me was a gentleman, and I use that term
loosely, that had placed on the counter six one inch electrical PVC
ells,
along with six couplings, each of which was attached to the ells.
The
ells had their UPC stamped on them, but the connectors had a stick-on
label.
To a woman clerk, that may or may not be wise to how such things look
and
are used, it was very easy for the items to be scanned by the label
only,
considering the UPC on the ells blended well with the other data printed
thereon.

That's what happened. The buyer paid with a credit card, the total
coming
to under $3. It was obvious to me that he had placed the connectors on
the
ells intentionally, likely thinking they would get scanned just as they
did.
I did more than nothing, but I'm interested in hearing what others might
think would have been a good course of action to take. When I've heard
various opinions, I'll describe what I did, and why I did it.

Comments?

Harold


As the owner of the Home Depot chain, I actually encourage this type of
activity in my customers. It lessens my horrible guilt of what I am doing
to the American worker. Next year, to show my patriotism, I will try to
sell more goods made in the USA. My goal is to break the 1% barrier of
USA made items. I know this goal seems fantastic and impossible, but
someone has to try it. Wish me luck!

Dixon
Home Depot CEO

"Tom Gardner" wrote: If you're so inclined, mention it to the BIG Guy.
(clip)
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
You mean go to church and PRAY for this guy?

Are you all fukn
kidding??????????????????????????????????????????? ???????????

I carry around a lawnchair, marshmallows, spam, & a weiner stick, my old boy
scout song book, mosquito repellant, and a sturdy wool blanket in the trunk
of my car at all times.
Why, you ax....

Because in the blessed event that I am driving by a HD that just happens to
be burning itself down to the ground, I'd like to stop and savor those
moments and images, in some comfort and nutritious style, and hark back to
the good ol' days, around the campfire.... and when you could go to a
regular fukn hardware store and talk to somebody.

Now, do *I* steal from HD?
No--mostly cuz I don't have the balls--or the mental energy.
Would I hire that guy stealing from HD, or even hang out with him?
No to the first, Yes to the second, iffin he were buyin.

But while you all are tryna send this slouch's sorry ass to jail, I'd kick
in $50-100 for his bail and lawyer.

**** Home Despot.... regardless of whether or not we indeed wind up paying
for this slouch's behavior later on; it's a matter of a much higher fukn
principle than this schmo's lack of integrity/honesty.

Did I already say **** Home Despot?

And, just so's you all know, Home Despot ****s their vendors as badly as
they **** us.
Shop around, occasionally. It is rare when you *cain't* match or beat HDs
**** prices, ceptin for their well-calculated come-ons.
As for their vendors, the Mafia has little over HD tactics.

And yeah, I go to HD. Why? Cuz they ****ed almost every local hardware
store out of bidniss--often deliberately.

Dixon, and mebbe a cupla others, know the deal. The rest of you should get
off yer high moral merry-go-round horses and brighten up a little.
Carry some marshmallows in yer cars.
And watch out: Bob Nardelli has a 36" dick, and a lifetime supply of
Viagra.
Ask Charlie Rose. gulp aaahhhhhh
----------------------------
Mr. P.V.'d
formerly Droll Troll
"Harold and Susan Vordos" wrote in message
...
Today I was in Home Depot, standing in line to pay for a couple rolls of
hardware cloth. In front of me was a gentleman, and I use that term
loosely, that had placed on the counter six one inch electrical PVC ells,
along with six couplings, each of which was attached to the ells. The
ells had their UPC stamped on them, but the connectors had a stick-on
label.
To a woman clerk, that may or may not be wise to how such things look and
are used, it was very easy for the items to be scanned by the label only,
considering the UPC on the ells blended well with the other data printed
thereon.

That's what happened. The buyer paid with a credit card, the total
coming
to under $3. It was obvious to me that he had placed the connectors on
the
ells intentionally, likely thinking they would get scanned just as they
did.
I did more than nothing, but I'm interested in hearing what others might
think would have been a good course of action to take. When I've heard
various opinions, I'll describe what I did, and why I did it.

Comments?

Harold

| As the owner of the Home Depot chain, I actually encourage this type of
| activity in my customers. It lessens my horrible guilt of what I am doing
to
| the American worker. Next year, to show my patriotism, I will try to sell
| more goods made in the USA. My goal is to break the 1% barrier of USA made
| items. I know this goal seems fantastic and impossible, but someone has to
| try it. Wish me luck!
|
| Dixon
| Home Depot CEO

Yeah, right. Gimme a f'in break.
Wrong is wrong. Regardless of whether you think the person purchasing
the parts was stealing, two wrongs don't make a right. If you think you're
screwing some "evil corporation" you're sorely mistaken. Costs like this
get passed on to the customer, which in this case is you, so count yourself
as someone paying for that type of thievery, not the company.

"Leo Lichtman" wrote in message
...

"Tom Gardner" wrote: If you're so inclined, mention it to the BIG Guy.
(clip)
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
You mean go to church and PRAY for this guy?


Hell, I'd even pray for you , Leo! We did a cost/benefit analysis on prayer
and...

I think I would have politely told the clerk that she missed the bar
codes on the ells and pointed them out. As far as the customer, if
he honestly didn't realize the situation he would apologize, pay for
ALL of the merchandise and leave embarrassed after thanking you for
noticing the mistake. If he raised a fuss he would be pointing out
his true nature as a thief and his position beneath contempt.
Considering the location of this Home Depot and the number of Meth
soaked scum balls in the area surrounding it, probability is he knew
exactly what he was doing. I know a lot of the checkers down at
Chehalis and they are still learning. Still better than Tumwater.

Gary

On Fri, 11 Nov 2005 17:13:28 -0800, "Harold and Susan Vordos"
wrote:

Today I was in Home Depot, standing in line to pay for a couple rolls of
hardware cloth. In front of me was a gentleman, and I use that term
loosely, that had placed on the counter six one inch electrical PVC ells,
along with six couplings, each of which was attached to the ells. The
ells had their UPC stamped on them, but the connectors had a stick-on label.
To a woman clerk, that may or may not be wise to how such things look and
are used, it was very easy for the items to be scanned by the label only,
considering the UPC on the ells blended well with the other data printed
thereon.

That's what happened. The buyer paid with a credit card, the total coming
to under $3. It was obvious to me that he had placed the connectors on the
ells intentionally, likely thinking they would get scanned just as they did.
I did more than nothing, but I'm interested in hearing what others might
think would have been a good course of action to take. When I've heard
various opinions, I'll describe what I did, and why I did it.

Comments?

Harold

Proctologically Violated©® wrote:

Because in the blessed event that I am driving by a HD that just happens to
be burning itself down to the ground, I'd like to stop and savor those
moments and images, in some comfort and nutritious style, and hark back to
the good ol' days, around the campfire.... and when you could go to a
regular fukn hardware store and talk to somebody.
I go into HD and Lowe's as INfrequently as possible. We have a local
hardware store, part of the Ace line, that has almost everything I have
ever needed. Bolts of all and sundry sizes, both imperial AND metric.
A decent selection of hand, electric and air tools (Kinda light on the
air tools, but they have a few). Most anything in plumbing, including a
wall of compression, flare and threaded fittings from 1/16" to 3/4".
These are the best selection anyplace in town that I know of. They've
got lumber, lawn & garden, pretty good electrical selection, paints,
sandpaper, solder, pool supplies (good for some odd chemicals that might
be hard to get otherwise). Brushes for electric motors, too!

They went through a "gentrification" phase about 10 years ago, and I was
real worried they'd turn it into a lawn ornament shop that also sold an
occasional light bulb. But, they realized the error, and have gotten
back to being a decent hardware store. Every once in a while I need
something so unusual, I can't find it there, and have to go to the HD
and hope that what they have is not total crap!

But, I do my best to support this local store with my purchases. I'm
sure that my buying all sorts of odd mechanical items has had at least
a little part to play in their keeping it a HARDware store!

Jon

I'm a real skeptic. I vote the guy in front of Harold was scamming for sure.

Whether I would actually say anything or not is a real hard question. There is
so much crime in this world that if I go out of my way to hang somebody up over
$3 in a Home Depot (themselves a pretty despicable outfit) it won't really help
anyone. I'm grateful I have enough money to buy what I want when I want it,
that's for sure. I think maybe I'd try to generate some compassion for the guy
who felt compelled to do petty crime. I also don't feel too sorry for Home
Depot, if they paid their help a little better she would have been sharp enough
to spot the trick.

Wrong is wrong, yes, but you have to pick your battles.

What did you do, Harold?

GWE

"Harold and Susan Vordos" wrote in message
...
Today I was in Home Depot, standing in line to pay for a couple rolls of
hardware cloth. In front of me was a gentleman, and I use that term
loosely, that had placed on the counter six one inch electrical PVC ells,
along with six couplings, each of which was attached to the ells. The
ells had their UPC stamped on them, but the connectors had a stick-on
label.
To a woman clerk, that may or may not be wise to how such things look and
are used, it was very easy for the items to be scanned by the label only,
considering the UPC on the ells blended well with the other data printed
thereon.

That's what happened. The buyer paid with a credit card, the total
coming
to under $3. It was obvious to me that he had placed the connectors on
the
ells intentionally, likely thinking they would get scanned just as they
did.
I did more than nothing, but I'm interested in hearing what others might
think would have been a good course of action to take. When I've heard
various opinions, I'll describe what I did, and why I did it.



Hi, Harold.

I'm hoping that you at least brought this to the clerk's attention.

It's just that it's the right thing to have done...

Still, granted that when we find ourselves having un-intentionally been put
into some position, hindsight might prove to have been 20 /20.

Question ( as always ) being the same....just what would Scooby Doo ???

G

--

SVL

"Harold and Susan Vordos" wrote:

Today I was in Home Depot, standing in line to pay for a couple rolls of
hardware cloth. In front of me was a gentleman, and I use that term
loosely, that had placed on the counter six one inch electrical PVC ells,
along with six couplings, each of which was attached to the ells. The
ells had their UPC stamped on them, but the connectors had a stick-on label.
To a woman clerk, that may or may not be wise to how such things look and
are used, it was very easy for the items to be scanned by the label only,
considering the UPC on the ells blended well with the other data printed
thereon.

That's what happened. The buyer paid with a credit card, the total coming
to under $3. It was obvious to me that he had placed the connectors on the
ells intentionally, likely thinking they would get scanned just as they did.
I did more than nothing, but I'm interested in hearing what others might
think would have been a good course of action to take. When I've heard
various opinions, I'll describe what I did, and why I did it.

I would have likely left my mouth shut. After said customer left, I
might or might not point out to cashier what he/she had just missed.

Just that cashier and me to give a heads up for the next time.

I would not get in to a confrontational situation with preceding
customer since I often carry. (shall issue ccw state)

Wes


--
Reply to:
Whiskey Echo Sierra Sierra AT Alpha Charlie Echo Golf Romeo Oscar Paul dot Charlie Charlie
Lycos address is a spam trap.

On Fri, 11 Nov 2005 17:13:28 -0800, "Harold and Susan Vordos"
wrote:

Today I was in Home Depot, standing in line to pay for a couple rolls of
hardware cloth. In front of me was a gentleman, and I use that term
loosely, that had placed on the counter six one inch electrical PVC ells,
along with six couplings, each of which was attached to the ells. The
ells had their UPC stamped on them, but the connectors had a stick-on label.
To a woman clerk, that may or may not be wise to how such things look and
are used, it was very easy for the items to be scanned by the label only,
considering the UPC on the ells blended well with the other data printed
thereon.

That's what happened. The buyer paid with a credit card, the total coming
to under $3. It was obvious to me that he had placed the connectors on the
ells intentionally, likely thinking they would get scanned just as they did.
I did more than nothing, but I'm interested in hearing what others might
think would have been a good course of action to take. When I've heard
various opinions, I'll describe what I did, and why I did it.

Comments?

Harold

I, being the shy retiring type, would have loudly said something about
a Ripoff, to the cashier. I cant stand a thief.

Gunner

"Pax Americana is a philosophy. Hardly an empire.
Making sure other people play nice and dont kill each other (and us)
off in job lots is hardly empire building, particularly when you give
them self determination under "play nice" rules.

Think of it as having your older brother knock the **** out of you
for torturing the cat." Gunner

On Fri, 11 Nov 2005 18:23:35 -0800, "Jon Danniken"
wrote:

"Harold and Susan Vordos" wrote:
Today I was in Home Depot, standing in line to pay for a couple rolls of
hardware cloth. In front of me was a gentleman, and I use that term
loosely, that had placed on the counter six one inch electrical PVC ells,
along with six couplings, each of which was attached to the ells. The
ells had their UPC stamped on them, but the connectors had a stick-on
label.
To a woman clerk, that may or may not be wise to how such things look and
are used, it was very easy for the items to be scanned by the label only,
considering the UPC on the ells blended well with the other data printed
thereon.

I wouldn't have been sticking my nose in the other man's business to begin
with.

Jon

"All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do
nothing’ Edmond Burke
"Pax Americana is a philosophy. Hardly an empire.
Making sure other people play nice and dont kill each other (and us)
off in job lots is hardly empire building, particularly when you give
them self determination under "play nice" rules.

Think of it as having your older brother knock the **** out of you
for torturing the cat." Gunner

On Fri, 11 Nov 2005 22:19:00 -0800, Grant Erwin
wrote:

I'm a real skeptic. I vote the guy in front of Harold was scamming for sure.

Whether I would actually say anything or not is a real hard question. There is
so much crime in this world that if I go out of my way to hang somebody up over
$3 in a Home Depot (themselves a pretty despicable outfit) it won't really help
anyone. I'm grateful I have enough money to buy what I want when I want it,
that's for sure. I think maybe I'd try to generate some compassion for the guy
who felt compelled to do petty crime. I also don't feel too sorry for Home
Depot, if they paid their help a little better she would have been sharp enough
to spot the trick.

Wrong is wrong, yes, but you have to pick your battles.

All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do
nothing’ Edmond Burke

What did you do, Harold?

GWE



"Pax Americana is a philosophy. Hardly an empire.
Making sure other people play nice and dont kill each other (and us)
off in job lots is hardly empire building, particularly when you give
them self determination under "play nice" rules.

Think of it as having your older brother knock the **** out of you
for torturing the cat." Gunner

Very well said, Grant.
What I woulda added to my own rant had I not still had the Charlie Rose/Bob
Nardelli image so vivid in my brain. gulp aaahhhhhh
----------------------------
Mr. P.V.'d
formerly Droll Troll
"Grant Erwin" wrote in message
...
I'm a real skeptic. I vote the guy in front of Harold was scamming for
sure.

Whether I would actually say anything or not is a real hard question.
There is so much crime in this world that if I go out of my way to hang
somebody up over $3 in a Home Depot (themselves a pretty despicable
outfit) it won't really help anyone. I'm grateful I have enough money to
buy what I want when I want it, that's for sure. I think maybe I'd try to
generate some compassion for the guy who felt compelled to do petty crime.
I also don't feel too sorry for Home Depot, if they paid their help a
little better she would have been sharp enough to spot the trick.

Wrong is wrong, yes, but you have to pick your battles.

What did you do, Harold?

GWE

I think it's less of a moral dilemma than a question of what response (and
by whom) is appropriate.

My approach would have been to quietly tell the cashier what had happened.
How she and the store respond to that re the offender is then their
call -- not mine.





"Harold and Susan Vordos" wrote in message
...
Today I was in Home Depot, standing in line to pay for a couple rolls of
hardware cloth. In front of me was a gentleman, and I use that term
loosely, that had placed on the counter six one inch electrical PVC ells,
along with six couplings, each of which was attached to the ells. The
ells had their UPC stamped on them, but the connectors had a stick-on
label.
To a woman clerk, that may or may not be wise to how such things look and
are used, it was very easy for the items to be scanned by the label only,
considering the UPC on the ells blended well with the other data printed
thereon.

That's what happened. The buyer paid with a credit card, the total
coming
to under $3. It was obvious to me that he had placed the connectors on
the
ells intentionally, likely thinking they would get scanned just as they
did.
I did more than nothing, but I'm interested in hearing what others might
think would have been a good course of action to take. When I've heard
various opinions, I'll describe what I did, and why I did it.

Comments?

Harold

Oh yeah, and one more thing that fuels my rage, sorta proves my point:
THE FUKN LINES AT HD!!!!
And the concommitant REFUSAL of HD management to DO anything about it!!!!
ito of adequate checkout peeple.
I myself have, and have seen others, leave their **** right on the floor,
and walk out.

A ****n gigantic, explicit, plain-as-fukn-day INSULT to us
fish-in-the-barrel.

I do think management and Bob Nardelli actually get a KICK out of seeing us
barrel fish on lines.
Makes them feel good.
**** them, **** HD.
And you all are going to turn this schmo IN???? Or confront him????????
Oh please........................
You should applaud. Or at least laugh.
----------------------------
Mr. P.V.'d
formerly Droll Troll
"Proctologically Violated©®" wrote in message
...
Very well said, Grant.
What I woulda added to my own rant had I not still had the Charlie
Rose/Bob Nardelli image so vivid in my brain. gulp aaahhhhhh
----------------------------
Mr. P.V.'d
formerly Droll Troll
"Grant Erwin" wrote in message
...
I'm a real skeptic. I vote the guy in front of Harold was scamming for
sure.

Whether I would actually say anything or not is a real hard question.
There is so much crime in this world that if I go out of my way to hang
somebody up over $3 in a Home Depot (themselves a pretty despicable
outfit) it won't really help anyone. I'm grateful I have enough money to
buy what I want when I want it, that's for sure. I think maybe I'd try to
generate some compassion for the guy who felt compelled to do petty
crime. I also don't feel too sorry for Home Depot, if they paid their
help a little better she would have been sharp enough to spot the trick.

Wrong is wrong, yes, but you have to pick your battles.

What did you do, Harold?

GWE

Proctologically Violated©® wrote:
Oh yeah, and one more thing that fuels my rage, sorta proves my point:
THE FUKN LINES AT HD!!!!
And the concommitant REFUSAL of HD management to DO anything about it!!!!
ito of adequate checkout peeple.

Actually, up here they have had self-checkout for years, you whip right through,
it's one of the few good things about that store.

You know, there is a certain danger to society to allow petty theft by someone
else to persist. To me, however, the greater danger is to indulge in
self-righteous anger. Anger is a terribly caustic mental state, it's like
emotional drunkenness. I don't always succeed, but today it's probably more
important to me to stay peaceful and serene than to get all hot and bothered
about something.

GWE

On Sat, 12 Nov 2005 03:59:07 -0800, Grant Erwin
wrote:

Proctologically Violated©® wrote:
Oh yeah, and one more thing that fuels my rage, sorta proves my point:
THE FUKN LINES AT HD!!!!
And the concommitant REFUSAL of HD management to DO anything about it!!!!
ito of adequate checkout peeple.

Actually, up here they have had self-checkout for years, you whip right through,
it's one of the few good things about that store.

Hey Grant,

Don't know where "up here" is, but we have the self-checkout's at a
couple of the local big hardware places too. It begs the question in
my mind....
If the un-scrupulous person in Harold's original post had used one of
these self-serve lanes, and scanned only what the clerk did, would
that have been shop-lifting? And if so, what if he had instead handed
the "pre-assembled" items to his wife or son or brother or friend, and
had them scan-out, while he "went-to-get-the-car"? They might have
done the same as the clerk, and would it be shop-lifting then?
Oh Harold, the moral dillema dilemma you've put us in!

Brian Lawson,
Bothwell, Ontario.

In article , Brian Lawson says...

Don't know where "up here" is, but we have the self-checkout's at a
couple of the local big hardware places too.

So do we. Last week I went there to get two electrical items.

When I got to the front of the store, *all* the lines, including
each self-checkout one, had about 20 people on them. I took one
look and placed the items on a nearby display and walked out.

Later that night I went back to pay for them - but somebody
needed the cover plate! They left the box though.

That place is a zoo on the weekends.

Jim


--
==================================================
please reply to:
JRR(zero) at pkmfgvm4 (dot) vnet (dot) ibm (dot) com
==================================================

"Don Foreman" wrote in message
se.com...
I think it's less of a moral dilemma than a question of what response (and
by whom) is appropriate.

My approach would have been to quietly tell the cashier what had
happened. How she and the store respond to that re the offender is then
their call -- not mine.





"Harold and Susan Vordos" wrote in message
...
Today I was in Home Depot, standing in line to pay for a couple rolls of
hardware cloth. In front of me was a gentleman, and I use that term
loosely, that had placed on the counter six one inch electrical PVC ells,
along with six couplings, each of which was attached to the ells. The
ells had their UPC stamped on them, but the connectors had a stick-on
label.
To a woman clerk, that may or may not be wise to how such things look and
are used, it was very easy for the items to be scanned by the label only,
considering the UPC on the ells blended well with the other data printed
thereon.

That's what happened. The buyer paid with a credit card, the total
coming
to under $3. It was obvious to me that he had placed the connectors on
the
ells intentionally, likely thinking they would get scanned just as they
did.
I did more than nothing, but I'm interested in hearing what others might
think would have been a good course of action to take. When I've heard
various opinions, I'll describe what I did, and why I did it.

Comments?

Harold

Harold, I'm sure if you would have changed your story scenario slightly and
instead of Home Depot, made it a corner hardware-family business where the
owners actually know about their products and really try to help customers,
and make a modest living, the responses would have been different. We all
have about as much sympathy for the giant chain stores as we would have if
we came home and caught our wife in bed with a guy with a 12" member, and he
hurt himself jumping out the bedroom window.

Dixon

There have been many posts about what should be done to the thief in this
sad tale of woe. However, I would submit that this customer didn't steal
anything...Home Depot *GAVE AWAY* that merchandise.

The customer may or may not have been purposely trying to confuse the
cashier. He may or may not have noticed he was undercharged. What he *did*
do is place *all* items he was purchasing on the checkout counter for the
cashier to ring up.

The other thing that is for sure is that the cashier either wasn't trained
well enough to spot an honest or dishonest mistake by the customer and/or
didn't care enough to ask a question to the customer or one of the other
employees if she wasn't positive on what the merchandise should have looked
like or how it should have been sold.

I believe the best course of action would have been to inform the store
manager of what happened and recommend that the cashiers get a bit more
training.

As for the other suggestions about adding an additional charge to the
customer's credit card - can't do it. Not only is it illegal but the
customer could easily dispute the charge since his signature wouldn't be on
the second charge slip.

Robert


"Don Foreman" wrote in message
se.com...
I think it's less of a moral dilemma than a question of what response (and
by whom) is appropriate.

My approach would have been to quietly tell the cashier what had
happened. How she and the store respond to that re the offender is then
their call -- not mine.





"Harold and Susan Vordos" wrote in message
...
Today I was in Home Depot, standing in line to pay for a couple rolls of
hardware cloth. In front of me was a gentleman, and I use that term
loosely, that had placed on the counter six one inch electrical PVC ells,
along with six couplings, each of which was attached to the ells. The
ells had their UPC stamped on them, but the connectors had a stick-on
label.
To a woman clerk, that may or may not be wise to how such things look and
are used, it was very easy for the items to be scanned by the label only,
considering the UPC on the ells blended well with the other data printed
thereon.

That's what happened. The buyer paid with a credit card, the total
coming
to under $3. It was obvious to me that he had placed the connectors on
the
ells intentionally, likely thinking they would get scanned just as they
did.
I did more than nothing, but I'm interested in hearing what others might
think would have been a good course of action to take. When I've heard
various opinions, I'll describe what I did, and why I did it.

Comments?

Harold

On Fri, 11 Nov 2005 19:36:13 -0600, "Robert Swinney"
wrote:

Plainly, the guy was a thief; and not a very smart one to pay for his
larcenous purchase with a credit card. I would not have confronted him and
give him a chance to correct the "mistake". Instead, after he left, I would
have called the store manager to the clerks location and explained the
situation in such a way as to not embarrass the clerk. The manager could
then do whatever store policy recommends when thievery is discovered on
credit card purchases.

Bob Swinney

Maybe the guy assembled the parts to carry them easier? Maybe he han't
"added up" what the total cost should be and didn't realize what
happened? Or maybe he *was* a crook after all.
Randy
--
Randy Replogle

http://www.chem.purdue.edu/machine

"Brian Lawson" wrote in message
...
On Sat, 12 Nov 2005 03:59:07 -0800, Grant Erwin
wrote:

Proctologically Violated©® wrote:
Oh yeah, and one more thing that fuels my rage, sorta proves my point:
THE FUKN LINES AT HD!!!!
And the concommitant REFUSAL of HD management to DO anything about
it!!!!
ito of adequate checkout peeple.

Actually, up here they have had self-checkout for years, you whip right
through,
it's one of the few good things about that store.

Hey Grant,

Don't know where "up here" is, but we have the self-checkout's at a
couple of the local big hardware places too. It begs the question in
my mind....
If the un-scrupulous person in Harold's original post had used one of
these self-serve lanes, and scanned only what the clerk did, would
that have been shop-lifting? And if so, what if he had instead handed
the "pre-assembled" items to his wife or son or brother or friend, and
had them scan-out, while he "went-to-get-the-car"? They might have
done the same as the clerk, and would it be shop-lifting then?
Oh Harold, the moral dillema dilemma you've put us in!

Brian Lawson,
Bothwell, Ontario.

My wife is from Newfoundland and I can't believe the difference between the
US and Canada. We had her family down visiting for a week awhile back. I
took them to a novelty type store and while we were in the back of the store
I noticed her uncle putting many items in his winter jacket pockets. I was
kinda bug-eyed at his blatant "shoplifting". When we got to the checkout, he
calmly took each item out of his pockets and placed them on the counter and
paid for them. It never ever occured to him that putting things deep in your
pockets in a store just doesn't send the right message here.

Dixon

Harold and Susan Vordos wrote:

Today I was in Home Depot, standing in line to pay for a couple rolls of
hardware cloth. In front of me was a gentleman, and I use that term
loosely, that had placed on the counter six one inch electrical PVC ells,
along with six couplings, each of which was attached to the ells. The
ells had their UPC stamped on them, but the connectors had a stick-on label.
To a woman clerk, that may or may not be wise to how such things look and
are used, it was very easy for the items to be scanned by the label only,
considering the UPC on the ells blended well with the other data printed
thereon.

That's what happened. The buyer paid with a credit card, the total coming
to under $3. It was obvious to me that he had placed the connectors on the
ells intentionally, likely thinking they would get scanned just as they did.
I did more than nothing, but I'm interested in hearing what others might
think would have been a good course of action to take. When I've heard
various opinions, I'll describe what I did, and why I did it.

Comments?

Harold




Can't speak for home Depot, but my daughter spent many years as a Lowes
cashier. At Lowes, they periodically have cashier tests to help train
cashiers to catch such things. Basically, they bring a shopping cart to
them full of goods with a couple of "tricks" that need to be caught.
Although the cashier has a "heads up" as to their being stuff to watch
for, the kinds of things are pretty sneaky. You get a score at the end
of the test based on what you find or miss.

That being said, the real problem at the box stores is low wages (danged
low). The result is high turnover, employees who don't really give a
crap, and hiring bottom of the barrel people to do what should be one of
the most important jobs in the store. If the store puts so little
importance on their staff that they hire bottom of the barrel scrapings,
feel that these employees are disposable, and treat em generally as
liabilities rather than assets, it's the store's problem when a crook
gets away with something like this.

Yea, the buyer made an effort to conceal that the parts were supposed to
be priced seperately in hopes of cheating the system but it was the
CLERK that didn't give a rat or wasn't trained enough or was simply too
lousy a worker to do a proper job. The buyer didn't actually (by the
description) steal or conceal the parts, he just tried to fool the clerk
witha simple and (VERY!) common trick. The fooling happened due to the
store's negligence.

Koz

In article ,
Koz wrote:

Harold and Susan Vordos wrote:

Today I was in Home Depot, standing in line to pay for a couple rolls of
hardware cloth. In front of me was a gentleman, and I use that term
loosely, that had placed on the counter six one inch electrical PVC ells,
along with six couplings, each of which was attached to the ells. The
ells had their UPC stamped on them, but the connectors had a stick-on label.
To a woman clerk, that may or may not be wise to how such things look and
are used, it was very easy for the items to be scanned by the label only,
considering the UPC on the ells blended well with the other data printed
thereon.

That's what happened. The buyer paid with a credit card, the total coming
to under $3. It was obvious to me that he had placed the connectors on the
ells intentionally, likely thinking they would get scanned just as they did.
I did more than nothing, but I'm interested in hearing what others might
think would have been a good course of action to take. When I've heard
various opinions, I'll describe what I did, and why I did it.

Comments?

Harold




Can't speak for home Depot, but my daughter spent many years as a Lowes
cashier. At Lowes, they periodically have cashier tests to help train
cashiers to catch such things. Basically, they bring a shopping cart to
them full of goods with a couple of "tricks" that need to be caught.
Although the cashier has a "heads up" as to their being stuff to watch
for, the kinds of things are pretty sneaky. You get a score at the end
of the test based on what you find or miss.

That being said, the real problem at the box stores is low wages (danged
low). The result is high turnover, employees who don't really give a
crap, and hiring bottom of the barrel people to do what should be one of
the most important jobs in the store. If the store puts so little
importance on their staff that they hire bottom of the barrel scrapings,
feel that these employees are disposable, and treat em generally as
liabilities rather than assets, it's the store's problem when a crook
gets away with something like this.

Yea, the buyer made an effort to conceal that the parts were supposed to
be priced seperately in hopes of cheating the system but it was the
CLERK that didn't give a rat or wasn't trained enough or was simply too
lousy a worker to do a proper job. The buyer didn't actually (by the
description) steal or conceal the parts, he just tried to fool the clerk
witha simple and (VERY!) common trick. The fooling happened due to the
store's negligence.

Koz


Yep...

Of course, there are the REALLY weird situations...

Was in a farm-supply outfit (name forgotten now - I think it might've
been Fisko's) after these aluminum gizmos used to stiffen up T-post
fences. To be useful, you needed a "collar", a "wedge", and one or more
"brackets", in various angles. The collars were like 85 cents each, the
wedges were something like 40 cents each, and the various brackets
ranged from a quarter to 60 cents each. One "assembly" (and for most
purposes, you needed two "equal but opposite" assemblies to make it
work) could easily hit 3-6 dollars or more, depending on exactly what
you needed to make it work for what you were doing.

So I'm "building" the fence,I'm going to put up with these things in tie
aisle, grabbing pieces as needed to make my corners and such, putting
them together so that I know I've got exactly what I need to get the job
done. I get it fully "constructed", and gather up the 20 or 30
assemblies of multiple pieces to head for the counter. Clerk looks at
one of the assemblies, counts the rest, scans the one, and comes up with
this ridiculously low number for a total.
"Uh..." sez I, "I thought those sold by the part?"
She replies "They do. That'll be whatever the total was - Something
under $20"
"But each part is a different price?"
"Nah, all this fence junk is the same price"
"So why do they have individual price stickers on each part?"
"Those are just the inventory numbers, not prices."

I shrugged, paid what she asked, and left. What the heck - You try three
times to point out the fact that they're undercharging you, and get told
you're wrong all three times, wuddaya gonna do? Stand there and argue
about it? Not unless you're nuts - you take it at the price they
obviously want to sell it to you for.

Totalled it up when I got home - She'd rung me out with about $85 worth
of these widgets (going with the prices on individual stickers on each
piece, which had matched nicely with the prices on the tags below each
different box) for under 20 bucks. Oh well...

--
Don Bruder - - If your "From:" address isn't on my whitelist,
or the subject of the message doesn't contain the exact text "PopperAndShadow"
somewhere, any message sent to this address will go in the garbage without my
ever knowing it arrived. Sorry... http://www.sonic.net/~dakidd for more info

Don Foreman wrote:

I think it's less of a moral dilemma than a question of what response (and
by whom) is appropriate.

My approach would have been to quietly tell the cashier what had happened.
How she and the store respond to that re the offender is then their
call -- not mine.




Despite having a sign on my office wall reading, "There is no right way
to do the wrong thing," that would be my approach too. And, I wouldn't
be suprised If I got a look and a shrug from the cashier who probably
wouldn't want to have to explain her error to someone higher up.

Which reminds me......

Just last month I was pushing a cart with 440 pounds of lawn limestone
to the garden center checkout of a local Home Depot, and because it was
a pain to get it moving from a stop I let about a five foot gap
accumulate between me and the person ahead of me, who was being checked
out. When that fellow got through I urged my cart into motion and just
as it began rolling some big lunk swooped in in front of me with a
shopping cart full of merchandise.

I said, "Excuse me, I've been waiting in this line." He gave me a foul
look and said, "Too bad, you gotta keep moving", and the cashier began
scanning his stuff. He was about the size of a Sumo wrestler and
speaking with an slurred eastern european accent like he was half in the
bag already.

I decided that discretion was the better part of valor and figured a
couple of minutes wait was an acceptable alternative to getting into
God's knows what with that guy. But, the woman behind me couldn't keep
her mouth shut and said something like, "I guess they don't teach
children courtesy where he comes from", loudly enough for the swine to
hear. That set him off and he started shouting, "F**K you!" at the woman
and me over and over and over again all the while the cashier was
ringing up his stuff.

People started looking and wondering what was going on, and I was hoping
the cashier would hit his panic button (assuming they have them) and get
a security guy to come over, but that didn't happen. The guy finished
up, paid and left. I did the same, but I kept my eyes open while I went
to my car and loaded it just in case he decided it was me who needed a
lesson.

Now, Harold et all, what would you guys do in *that* HD situation?

Jeff


--
Jeffry Wisnia

(W1BSV + Brass Rat '57 EE)

"Truth exists; only falsehood has to be invented."

Jeff Wisnia wrote:

I said, "Excuse me, I've been waiting in this line." He gave me a foul
look and said, "Too bad, you gotta keep moving", and the cashier began
scanning his stuff. He was about the size of a Sumo wrestler and
speaking with an slurred eastern european accent like he was half in the
bag already.

I had a somewhat similar encounter at Home Depot.
Same accent, same size, long line. He was arguing
about being overcharged $.12, wouldn't stop, wouldn't
leave, I pulled a quarter out of my pocket and gave
it to him and he got all upset at me...