As I drove from the small town of the past few days to the small town of the next few days I stopped in a good sized city between the two so I could stock up at Walmart.
Among other things, I needed some socks. The laundromat dryers have been eating too many of them. I had experimented with putting the socks in a net bag, but they stayed too bunched up to dry. Oh well, it has been years since I last needed to replenish my sock supply.
Walking through the men’s clothing section I noticed this:
Do they have a trouser theft problem in this city? Or does this store have an obsessive department manager who’s fed up with the way customers mess up the piles, getting sizes, colors and styles jumbled together? Or do they have fashion snobs on staff who reserve the slacks for those who are worthy? "Hmmm, chinos are all wrong for your apparent lifestyle. Let me direct you to the cargo pants, sir.”
After sharing the photo with friends, a buddy in Nashville replied, “The Walmart near me locks up the socks.” Another reason I’m not interested in going back to Tennessee.
I met a guy in an Albuquerque Walmart the other day when we wanted the key code to the mens' restroom. He'd recently returned from Spain where, he said, NOTHING was locked up.
ReplyDeleteProbably more socks were being stolen than purchased. You can't stay in business forever if people are stealing you blind. As for Spain, they don't encourage criminals there like the Democrats do here, so it hasn't caught up with them yet.
ReplyDeleteThere's an old saying: One man with a briefcase can steal more than a hundred men with guns.
DeleteAlso, the most common causes of business failure are undercapitalization, excessive debt, inadequate cash flow, management deficiencies, flawed/inadequate planning, failure to adapt to changing conditions, and marketing errors. Thievery is way down the list. You're more likely to be put out of business from the top than from the bottom.
Al, I don't think any of those things you quoted apply too much to Walmart. They didn't get to where they are by ignoring all of that. I think they just look at the inventory computer and see that only 50% of the socks are being paid for and the rest are being stolen. So, the easiest thing to do is lock them up to make it harder to steal them. I would also say that you probably don't see anything wrong with thieves taking entire carts of merchandise and pushing them out the door without paying. Also, thievery is worldwide, but it seems that the Democrats encourage it here more. Liberal democrats will be the downfall of this country eventually.
DeleteI've almost stopped shopping at Walmart. Their prices have been inching up while Smith's are holding steady. The difference is worth it to avoid the Walmart malaise. (I refuse to characterize it as an aesthetic.) I do still get socks & drawers there.
ReplyDeleteAs for criminality, it seems specious reasoning to attribute the Democrats with an activity that is world-wide. And I personally resent the implication I was politically encouraged when, as a teenager, I undertook my first entrepreneurial venture of dealing drugs. It was the need for money that got me started and my own ethics that stopped me. Once it became evident I was going to have to kill or be killed, I got out.
ReplyDeleteHere's some info on Spain from Expatica.com:
ReplyDeleteIt has the fifth-highest score out of 44 European nations on the 2023 Global Organized Crime Index, with the most prevalent crimes being cocaine and cannabis trading. However, Spain also has below-average rates of robbery, burglary, and theft among EU countries, according to 2020-21 statistics.
Crime and the legal system in Spain | Expatica
Expatica
https://www.expatica.com/es/living/gov-law-admin/crime-in-spain-106655/
For more specific info on theft in Spain see TheGlobalEconomy.com:
https://www.theglobaleconomy.com/Spain/theft/
Posted by Bangers2312, 15 days ago on Reddit:
ReplyDeleteWhy Spain doesn't criminalize theft under 400 euros?
I had a phone stolen in Spain in a hostel while I was sleeping, I did some investigation and thefts under 400 euros are not considered crimes and don't carry a prison sentence. In my case, because the person who stole from me was carrying a large knife, which he dropped. it was considered a more serious crime and the Civil Guard started an investigation.
The fallout and disruption to my life from having the phone stolen cost me a lot more than what it cost, it was literally a 100 euros phone, you could work 1 day in a factory and be able to afford it. I actually tried to message the phone saying I would pay to get it back, at a far higher cost than whoever sold it could get it at a reseller. I lost contact details, photos, etc.
Spain is such a tourist oriented country, but has the second highest theft rate in Europe. don't you think it harms the reputation if you can't even try and control this crime through the legal system? Furthermore I was thinking of living in Spain for half the year, but I would be afraid to leave my house empty for periods because a break in could happen, things get stolen and police won't really care.
https://www.reddit.com/r/askspain/comments/1cohzyu/why_spain_doesnt_criminalise_theft_under_400_euros/?rdt=46613
Thanks for the incentive KennyD! I had no idea!