View Full Version : Just got a job at 'TARGET'
I finally got a job. I will be working at TARGET as a target protection specialist. I guess you can say that I am happy, because I will finally be able to afford that ACog that I have been looking at. Anyway, has any of you guys worked at TARGET or similar department? Any tips will be much appreciated.
is this like a loss-prevention gig? plainclothes floor-agent? or are you uniformed? i did loss prevention for about a year and a half right after i got out of the army while going to school on Chapter 31. it was fun at times... kicked a lot of ass, excelled at it, but it sure as shit wasn't something i would make a career out of. good way to get into a lot of legal trouble, too.
is this like a loss-prevention gig? plainclothes floor-agent? or are you uniformed? i did loss prevention for about a year and a half right after i got out of the army while going to school on Chapter 31. it was fun at times... kicked a lot of ass, excelled at it, but it sure as shit wasn't something i would make a career out of. good way to get into a lot of legal trouble, too.
Yea, you sure are right. I am going to have to look at cameras all day, put handcuffs on people and occasionally spear tackle a grandma for shop lifting some bengay. Sounds like fun, but in no way am I making this a career. I think if I clothesline someone, the company will have to deal with the legal battles.
the retailer i worked for talked alot about the "umbrella of protection." the problem was, you couldn't operate under that umbrella- the "5 elements" needed to make an arrest were generally impossible to maintain, so we'd usually only have 3 or 4 checked off when we went out. the cameras, while state-of-the-art PTZs with 98% floor coverage, were completely useless to us for their intended purpose- if you wanted to catch, you had to work the floor. the cameras were necessary, and very useful, for internal investigations, however.. my position was that externals (shoplifters) were my primary targets, and employees were secondary- my manager, on the other hand, was the reverse of that. my manager got redeployed after about 6 months, and i became "acting manager," and i really enjoyed doing the internals. we had a really good setup, with register terminals set up right next to the CCTV displays- i could watch what was being entered into the register on the terminal monitor, while simultaneously zoomed in on the employee/register with the camera. we also had "coverts-" little matchbox-sized hidden cameras that we could put anywhere in the store. spent countless O/T hours climbing around in the ceiling/walls/guts of the store running cable and finding good spots for those. only place that was off-limits was the bathrooms (but that didn't stop some guys ;)) busted more than a few employees.
back to the "umbrella of protection-" if you stepped outside the protection of the umbrella (made an arrest even slightly outside of company policy), you were on your own if you got sued. meaning, if the company decided you used excessive force making a stop, they wouldn't protect you if the dickhead came back. pretty ****ed up.
i only made one bad stop out of over 200 arrests- and the store was sued. fortunately, i was not listed as a defendent. ambulance chaser lawyers know a guy making $14/hr isn't worth suing, but it does happen sometimes.
My dad works at a target as a post-retirement gig. Hopefully your management is more competent than his. They have recently changed store managers or something and they can't figure out how to make a schedule and keep it the same for the full timers. In response, he dropped back to part time so he will have more time for his & my brother's concrete counter top business.
It could be far worse--you could have been hired by wal-mart.
does walmart even HAVE loss prevention? you could load up two shopping carts full of their most expensive items and they'd still only be out $4.75
I worked at Lowe's Hardware in college and we also had to get the magic 5 in order to prosecute. However we did get a % of recovered items if we caught people stealing. Sadly most of the people stealing were the employees. One guy stole over $30,000 of products. He would buy items at a special "managers" price and then return it to another store and get his money.
My dad works at a target as a post-retirement gig. Hopefully your management is more competent than his. They have recently changed store managers or something and they can't figure out how to make a schedule and keep it the same for the full timers. In response, he dropped back to part time so he will have more time for his & my brother's concrete counter top business.
It could be far worse--you could have been hired by wal-mart.
Youll find that in any big store, Home Desperation, K-Mart, Target, Wal-Mart, and especially Lowes. My brother works at lowes, and I tell ya what, some of the managers that find their way to a job their are unbeleivable. And the girls who do the scheduling just make you want to hang yourself. No offense to girls, just that the ones who run the schedules happen to be girls. Its particularly bad here though because this lowes is in a college town so you get people workin there that dont know the difference between a flat head and a phillips, and dont realize theres a difference between latex and oil based paint:rolleyes: Its almost funny, in a cruel sad way. And yes your right, Wally world managment is MUCH worse.
Congratulations. Do some Target stores still sell guns & ammo?
No, target does not sell guns and ammo. I remember when walmart, target, sears etc use to sell guns, but I dont know why they stopped. Maybe it was because employees were stealing shit, as noted above.:confused:
Man be a bouncer it pays ALOT better, there is no "umbrella of protection" you have to abide by because your always right when alcohol is involved, and when it's slow your not staring at a computer monitor your watching women dance.
The only problem is that you aren't "clothes lining grandma" for stealing, you actually have to be comfortable, capable, and coherent during physical conflicts between people at their physical peek, as well as non physical altercations.
I would suggest this option over Target if you have it available to you! It is what I am doing while i look for another teaching gig.
Man be a bouncer it pays ALOT better, there is no "umbrella of protection" you have to abide by because your always right when alcohol is involved, and when it's slow your not staring at a computer monitor your watching women dance.
The only problem is that you aren't "clothes lining grandma" for stealing, you actually have to be comfortable, capable, and coherent during physical conflicts between people at their physical peek, as well as non physical altercations.
I would suggest this option over Target if you have it available to you! It is what I am doing while i look for another teaching gig.
I've helped out on busy nights before, and it isn't bad. Good laughs and would usually take a girl home. The problem is that at a place that pays good, you have a chance of going up against someone with a gun or knife while you are unarmed. That combined with constantly looking over your shoulder for the drunk you threw out last night, make it a somewhat risky career choice.
does walmart even HAVE loss prevention? you could load up two shopping carts full of their most expensive items and they'd still only be out $4.75
Yes, Wal-Mart has loss prevention. Very aggressive ones. My shooting buddy, customer, and neighbor is the main manager of our local Wal-Mart Supercenter. One day I was in the store looking for something and walked by the gun counter and he was there doing something. I mentioned what I was looking for and ended up getting a kind of tour of the store as we walked to the front. He kind of gave an eye and a little "hi" to two dudes walking by and then he whispered to me they were 2 undercover loss prevention guys who wander the store looking for shop lifters etc. They did not at all look like employees but 20 something "kids" with jewelry, ratty t shirts, etc. I would never have suspected that they were employees looking for shoplifters
Chad
Yes, Wal-Mart has loss prevention. Very aggressive ones. My shooting buddy, customer, and neighbor is the main manager of our local Wal-Mart Supercenter. One day I was in the store looking for something and walked by the gun counter and he was there doing something. I mentioned what I was looking for and ended up getting a kind of tour of the store as we walked to the front. He kind of gave an eye and a little "hi" to two dudes walking by and then he whispered to me they were 2 undercover loss prevention guys who wander the store looking for shop lifters etc. They did not at all look like employees but 20 something "kids" with jewelry, ratty t shirts, etc. I would never have suspected that they were employees looking for shoplifters
Chad
that's how we rolled... i'd wear my shit-kickers and wranglers one day, baggy/ratty cargo pants and skateboard shoes/shirts the next. nobody ever saw it coming.
Man be a bouncer it pays ALOT better, there is no "umbrella of protection" you have to abide by because your always right when alcohol is involved, and when it's slow your not staring at a computer monitor your watching women dance.
I'm not sure where you're working the door, but the patron being drunk does not make you "always right". If you go over the top and stomp the shit out of someone, you're still liable, not the bar. Or if you kill someone because of your negligence, like happened to those bar managers near Penn State who laid on the drunk guy and suffocated him, or the similar situation that happened out here, you're definitely up shit creek.
I've helped out on busy nights before, and it isn't bad. Good laughs and would usually take a girl home. The problem is that at a place that pays good, you have a chance of going up against someone with a gun or knife while you are unarmed. That combined with constantly looking over your shoulder for the drunk you threw out last night, make it a somewhat risky career choice.
I've graduated past those days, but I still have to worry about liabilities and my security hosts going too far, which sometimes can happen pretty easily. With the clientele we deal with here, that can be alot worse than having to worry about the drunk you beat up last night looking for you.
I've graduated past those days, but I still have to worry about liabilities and my security hosts going too far, which sometimes can happen pretty easily. With the clientele we deal with here, that can be alot worse than having to worry about the drunk you beat up last night looking for you.
Understood. I was speaking of the common "bouncer" or "drunk tosser". I am sure that your profession carries a more professional title that that.;)
I'm not sure where you're working the door, but the patron being drunk does not make you "always right". If you go over the top and stomp the shit out of someone, you're still liable, not the bar. Or if you kill someone because of your negligence, like happened to those bar managers near Penn State who laid on the drunk guy and suffocated him, or the similar situation that happened out here, you're definitely up shit creek.
I was joking. Yes you are right refraining from beating the sh*t out of people is required, and if you enjoy doing so, you need not apply...:D
hmm.. my love for a good scrap is the only reason i stayed in loss prevention as long as i did... if you don't LIKE to fight, you're not going to have much fun in the private ass-kicker sector.
Like and Encourage are two different things.
There are too many people in bouncing that bait kids just to kick the crap out of them. I think this is disgusting, and wrong.
For me it's more about comfort with conflict, I don't really like or dislike it. I just try to understand it. I do enjoy a good rush though...
Like and Encourage are two different things.
There are too many people in bouncing that bait kids just to kick the crap out of them. I think this is disgusting, and wrong.
For me it's more about comfort with conflict, I don't really like or dislike it. I just try to understand it. I do enjoy a good rush though...
It is wrong, and it happens way too much. One of my most satisfying experiences was watching a little guy (extremely experienced Golden Gloves boxer, and ex-marine) get drug into to back alley of a "high profile" club by three very large bouncers. Apparently he was talking to the owner's girlfriend a bit too much. We were debating on what to do, when he walked back in, sans bouncers with bloody knuckles.:D
I was joking. Yes you are right refraining from beating the sh*t out of people is required, and if you enjoy doing so, you need not apply...:D
We strongly encourage our people to restrain themselves, but if it gets to the point where you need to protect yourself then you should do so. That point is different for everyone though. My director and I had a conversation about this a couple years ago after I pummelled a guy who hit me 3 times, twice in the face, then tried to choke me before I actually did anything.
My boss: "You know Rider, once the guy punches you in the face, you can put him down."
Me: "I know, but he hit like a girl. He only started to annoy me when he tried choking me."
To this day, because of that and a couple other incidents, my boss thinks I like getting hit in the face or something. :rolleyes:
Thanks for all of the input gentlemen. I am only 170 and 5'10, I dont think that my size is sufficient enough to do bouncing. Maybe if I start working out again, I might be able to try this. Oh and by the way what consists of the "Magic 5", I am going to start tommorow and dont knowwhat the hell this is.
There are too many people in bouncing that bait kids just to kick the crap out of them....
I see it as more the other way around. Besides the high rollers we also have the regular clubgoers to deal with. We get all types, including the wanna be gangsters. They know that we can't just beat the crap out of them, so they push it as far as they possibly can, or just act "hard" in general. Personally I think 90% of them just need their first severe beating. Tied with "Do you know who I am/who I know" at number 1 for my favorite thing to hear at work is "I train MMA", to which my answer usually is "What's MMA?". We broke up a fight last year between 5 guys, that is, one guy fighting 4. The lone guy fought because apparently the 4 continually harassed his girlfriend and when the 4 pushed it too far a fight ensued. The lone guy basically kicked the shit out of the 4, bloodying 3 of them. After looking at him, I saw why I wouldn't pick a fight with him. His nose looked like it had been broken at least 5 or 6 times, and he had cauliflower ear, so you could tell this wasn't his first rodeo. After we separated them (the lone guy didn't fight us), the 4 talked all kinds of shit to our security as we escorted them out. My boss thought that if we hadn't saved the 4 of them the results would have been alot worse. Now my thing is, if you and your 3 friends just got done getting your asses kicked by one guy, why would you talk shit to 5 or 6 300+ lb. security hosts? It's situations I see like this over and over again that make me think alot of these kids just need their first severe ass-whooping. I took a pretty bad beating in a fight when I was 23, and I learned my lessons.
I am only 170 and 5'10...
We have plenty of guys this size. Of course, half of them were hired to work the door just for their customer service skills, and the other half are BJJ/MMA guys.
I feel stupid for asking this, so maybe chalk it up to not getting enough sleep, but what are these "5 things" that a loss prevention guy needs to effect an arrest?
We strongly encourage our people to restrain themselves, but if it gets to the point where you need to protect yourself then you should do so. That point is different for everyone though. My director and I had a conversation about this a couple years ago after I pummelled a guy who hit me 3 times, twice in the face, then tried to choke me before I actually did anything.
My boss: "You know Rider, once the guy punches you in the face, you can put him down."
Me: "I know, but he hit like a girl. He only started to annoy me when he tried choking me."
To this day, because of that and a couple other incidents, my boss thinks I like getting hit in the face or something. :rolleyes:
That's funny you sound like me. My level of restraint is a lot higher then a few people I work with, but we all are very rational.
I see it as more the other way around. Besides the high rollers we also have the regular clubgoers to deal with. We get all types, including the wanna be gangsters. They know that we can't just beat the crap out of them, so they push it as far as they possibly can, or just act "hard" in general. Personally I think 90% of them just need their first severe beating. Tied with "Do you know who I am/who I know" at number 1 for my favorite thing to hear at work is "I train MMA", to which my answer usually is "What's MMA?". We broke up a fight last year between 5 guys, that is, one guy fighting 4. The lone guy fought because apparently the 4 continually harassed his girlfriend and when the 4 pushed it too far a fight ensued. The lone guy basically kicked the shit out of the 4, bloodying 3 of them. After looking at him, I saw why I wouldn't pick a fight with him. His nose looked like it had been broken at least 5 or 6 times, and he had cauliflower ear, so you could tell this wasn't his first rodeo. After we separated them (the lone guy didn't fight us), the 4 talked all kinds of shit to our security as we escorted them out. My boss thought that if we hadn't saved the 4 of them the results would have been alot worse. Now my thing is, if you and your 3 friends just got done getting your asses kicked by one guy, why would you talk shit to 5 or 6 300+ lb. security hosts? It's situations I see like this over and over again that make me think alot of these kids just need their first severe ass-whooping. I took a pretty bad beating in a fight when I was 23, and I learned my lessons.
Rider I work in a college town right out side of Manhattan, known for it's parties, and listed in High Times every year as one of the best party schools :rolleyes:. Wanna be gansta's up the wazzoo! Combined with real thugs from a few of the small cities around us. It's a powder keg every night. In fact I had a day off yesterday after an incident on Tuesday, and I'm curious what I am walking into tonight (it's small enough that history repeats itself). Uuuugh.
Anyway I agree that a large majority of these groups need to learn these lessons the hard way. But.... You were the one that pointed out that we don't get free reign just because their drunk...;) What I want to do, and what I do are two totally different things. Hell if I could have it my way (with no chance of legal recourse) there would be lessons all around.;)
I see it as more the other way around. Besides the high rollers we also have the regular clubgoers to deal with. We get all types, including the wanna be gangsters. They know that we can't just beat the crap out of them, so they push it as far as they possibly can, or just act "hard" in general. Personally I think 90% of them just need their first severe beating. Tied with "Do you know who I am/who I know" at number 1 for my favorite thing to hear at work is "I train MMA", to which my answer usually is "What's MMA?". We broke up a fight last year between 5 guys, that is, one guy fighting 4. The lone guy fought because apparently the 4 continually harassed his girlfriend and when the 4 pushed it too far a fight ensued. The lone guy basically kicked the shit out of the 4, bloodying 3 of them. After looking at him, I saw why I wouldn't pick a fight with him. His nose looked like it had been broken at least 5 or 6 times, and he had cauliflower ear, so you could tell this wasn't his first rodeo. After we separated them (the lone guy didn't fight us), the 4 talked all kinds of shit to our security as we escorted them out. My boss thought that if we hadn't saved the 4 of them the results would have been alot worse. Now my thing is, if you and your 3 friends just got done getting your asses kicked by one guy, why would you talk shit to 5 or 6 300+ lb. security hosts? It's situations I see like this over and over again that make me think alot of these kids just need their first severe ass-whooping. I took a pretty bad beating in a fight when I was 23, and I learned my lessons.
LMFAO :p:p:p It is funny how the three guys that just got thier asses kicked
would be still trying to provoke someone. I can tell you one thing though, they
are never going back to that club. LMFAO, good laugh:p
What I want to do, and what I do are two totally different things. Hell if I could have it my way (with no chance of legal recourse) there would be lessons all around.
Exactly.
It is funny how the three guys that just got their asses kicked would be still trying to provoke someone.
I have a hundred stories that pretty much go the same way.
Thanks for all of the input gentlemen. I am only 170 and 5'10, I dont think that my size is sufficient enough to do bouncing. Maybe if I start working out again, I might be able to try this. Oh and by the way what consists of the "Magic 5", I am going to start tommorow and dont knowwhat the hell this is.
When I started bouncing in Greenville (East Carolina Univ, almost always considered a 'party town' ) in 04, I was 6'-1" and 245lbs and the 2nd SMALLEST guy we had.
When I finished in 06, I was the biggest guy we had.
Like Rider said, you'd be surprised. We moved towards having smaller, leaner guys who could talk first and get physical second. And it made a huge difference in the female customers which later brought in the males. I worked the doors and I never really had a "fighter" work the door with me, I always had a talker...and we never had a situation where I felt "outgunned".
I feel stupid for asking this, so maybe chalk it up to not getting enough sleep, but what are these "5 things" that a loss prevention guy needs to effect an arrest?
Depending on the company you work for it's gonna be a slight variation on:
1: See them enter the area
2: See them select the mechandise, and know exactly what it is
3: Watch them conceal it, and know exactly where it's concealed
4: Maintain 100% continuous observation on the individual until they leave the store
5: Once they have bypassed all points of sale, and all sellable merchandise, and have left the store interior completely, make the stop.
This is for a straight up run of the mill everyday shoplifting arrest.. there are other kinds of stops that don't require all of these elements- refund fraud, "wide-open" arrests, check/credit fraud, etc. those each have their own SOPs.
does walmart even HAVE loss prevention? you could load up two shopping carts full of their most expensive items and they'd still only be out $4.75
i love that comment right there. i was thinking today about before walmart....
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