TigerDirect: check in any time you like, but no receipt? You can never leave.
Consumerist publishes a pretty wild first-person account from a guy who claims to have been forcibly detained and harassed by private security staff at electronics retailer TigerDirect. The shopper refused to show his receipt after his purchase. The security employee, an employee of Securitas, physically blocked the customer's exit and verbally abused him, according to the account. The customer called 911 and was released. No charges were filed.
Update: Ben Popken at Consumerist says...
TigerDirect manager calls complainant to apologize, fire security guard, and pledge to retrain staff. TigerDirect EVP calls Consumerist to arrange for delivery of big batch of home-made FUD. The latter should take ethics lessons from the former. Link.Alex Halavais says,
This is a follow-on to your TigerDirect story: a pdf of a brief statement you can hand to the guard who asks to see your receipt, making clear why you both will not show your receipt and how checking receipts is a bad business practice. Link.
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> Businesses are private property. Just because you bought a piece of merchandise there doesn't give anybody the moral right to suspend the property owners right to have guests follow their rules
Similarly, if you come into my house and don't wipe your feet, I have the right to detain you and force you to comply with my rules. After all, you're on private property.
...right?
Actually, that's not right. Possibly with something like Sam's club, where you sign a contract to become a member before shopping, you might give up some of your rights. However, entering a store that's open to the public is not the same as giving consent to personal searches or detainment. If I go into a store, and then am not allowed to leave because I didn't want to hop on one foot or perform some other task, that would pretty much be kidnapping.
If I track mud into your house, you are more than welcome to make me leave, but keeping me against my will is something for which you could presumably be charged with a crime.
In Argentina you always should have the document with you, if you are asked by a cop to ID yourself, you should do it. If you don't, they can detain you for up to 24 hrs to find out who you are.
Most people don't see this practice as something wrong because we are all used to this.
I wrote about this over 4 years ago:
http://www.danielcurran.com/2004/08/no-you-cannot-check-my-receipt-and.php
I cant believe this is still happening
Unless you signed a contract (CostCo, Sam's Club, etc) you do not have to nor should you show your receipt to the door monkeys. Why? Once you have purchased the item it is your property. The bag it is in is your property. To allow an "official" of the store to check your bag and receipt is consenting to a search of your property.
Why? Why are you giving up a civil liberty? You are consenting to a search without probable cause. Sure there are all sorts of excuses the store manager will give you. "We are looking out for employee theft" - Great, I'm not your employee. "We are ensuring you weren't overcharged" - Bullshit. "We are . . . " - Lying?
Even if you sign a paper with Sam's Club, they don't have the rights to search you nor to treat you like a thief. That's why you pay an annual fee for a outstanding service; in other words, the service that you don't even closely receive.
To #1 I disagree with you 100%, you can't compare a "private property" with an open store (agree with #2). They don't have the rights to search you nor to accuse you of theft if you haven't committed any crime. Nor their cashiers or security guards can accused you of such thing, unless they have proof of video surveillance or a witness. I had experienced something similar at my local supermarket "Smith's" (or Kroger's in the East US). The cashier didn't deactivated the stupid alarm and a manager with a big guy came to me and asked for searched, I politely said "no thank you, you are not allowed" they put me aside, they did search my items and took my receipt from my bag and let me go. Now, I do my grocery shopping else where. I got (a year later) an apology letter from Smith's and letting me know about their mistake...Whatever!
To end, We should Unite and sign some kind of paper refusing to show our receipts and making our days miserable.
if i show my receipt, the terrorists win
The whole practice of checking receipts is BS. We all know that it's the employees who have the most access and are most likely to steal merchandise than the customers. Thank goodness for free shipping on the internet. These security guards (or "officers" as they like to be called) are just doing their jobs, but there needs to be some better training. Being treated like a criminal when you're just trying to by a video game is ridiculous.