• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

If you walk into a store

Status
Not open for further replies.
#161
I'm the Loss Prevention Officer at a retail store, and we do NOT check customer's bags or hold it for them because of the fact that it comes off as rude and offensive as OP is taking it. However, I will be watching that customer for the remainder of his visit because well, that's my job. As long as the backpack stays on his/her back there's no problem and I never accuse them of anything other than being regular customers, unless I have enough reason/evidence to prove otherwise.
 
#162
Marlat said:
Can't say it's ever really been an issue. I live in a free country where you can walk into a shop with a bag without having to check it in. I can't say I've been treated like a child going into a shop in the UK. That said if its the shops policy to make you check in a bag then I have the choice whether to go I or not. Shops can set their policies and I can choose to shop there or not.
Click to expand...

It's pretty rare in most parts of the US, as well. I've never been asked to check a bag. Ever.

I do love Jaquo threads.
 
#164
Ziltoid said:
.....if they had a sign on the door saying all backpacks and bags must be left at the counter, or something like that?
Click to expand...

It has been my experience that stores that do this have a sign with the policy clearly stated right as you walk in the door.

-Mike
 
#166
I understand where your coming from Dude. When I lived in California, I used to walk to the Supermarket and would use a backpack to lug my grub back to my cave. I always had to check my backpack in at the customer service desk as shopping with a backpack on was not permitted in their store.
 
#167
Chico16 said:
Oh yeah forgot to add, in the US it is a Federal Offense to open bags that do not belong to you without the consent of the owner, therefore you can always refuse to open it. Same goes for police officers etc.
Click to expand...

Wha......

Could you tell me what federal law provides for this bag opening law? Probable cause applies to police, but it does not prohibit a private company from setting these types of rules.
 
#168
This may be the language barrier going funny on me but are you guys referring to people looking in your bag for stolen goods or having to "check-in" your bags at the desk when you mention bag checking?
 
#169
The owner of a private company can (within reason) set any rules he wants within the confines of his business. Many in the US are not very familiar with our own laws. It is perfectly legal to walk around in the US with a shotgun thrown over your shoulder. The only place you can't do this are a church, school, municipal office, and a demonstration. However, a store owner can post a sign saying "No Firearms" on the front door, and "your rights" just went out the window. The same goes for backpacks. You have no federal right to carry a backpack within the confines of my private property. If I don't want you to have it inside, I am well within MY rights to prevent you from bringing it in.
 
#171
two fingers said:
The owner of a private company can (within reason) set any rules he wants within the confines of his business. Many in the US are not very familiar with our own laws. It is perfectly legal to walk around in the US with a shotgun thrown over your shoulder. The only place you can't do this are a church, school, municipal office, and a demonstration. However, a store owner can post a sign saying "No Firearms" on the front door, and "your rights" just went out the window. The same goes for backpacks. You have no federal right to carry a backpack within the confines of my private property. If I don't want you to have it inside, I am well within MY rights to prevent you from bringing it in.
Click to expand...

There's a bit of irony in your statement there...you do realize that state law can vary, right? You can NOT "walk around with a shotgun over your shoulder" in public in NJ, Cali, Mass, Chicago. NYC and a few other places. Just to set that straight. but yes, private property has it's own set of protections.
 
#172
Relic said:
It's psychological I guess. Having to open my backpack for them to gawk at what's in it feels like an invasion of my privacy. Again, I know why they do it, I just don't like it.
Click to expand...

Again, why are you bringing the backpack in the store in the first place? Consistent with Jauqo's assumption, I'm going to assume there's a good chance the backpacker is going to steal something. The store could just institute a policy of "No bags or backpacks allowed in the store." That was the policy in the bookstore at my university. You had to leave your bags in lockers in the foyer. This has never been an issue for me. I don't bring backpacks into stores. Why do you need to? Just to get butthurt over someone wanting to check it?
 
#173
Relic said:
There's a bit of irony in your statement there...you do realize that state law can vary, right? You can NOT "walk around with a shotgun over your shoulder" in public in NJ, Cali, Mass, Chicago. NYC and a few other places. Just to set that straight. but yes, private property has it's own set of protections.
Click to expand...

I was trying not to derail this into a gun debate. But you are absolutely correct. There are other local statutes in smaller towns as well.
 
#174
Chico16 said:
Oh yeah forgot to add, in the US it is a Federal Offense to open bags that do not belong to you without the consent of the owner, therefore you can always refuse to open it. Same goes for police officers etc.
Click to expand...

Even if that's true, the store can set checking inside all bags as a requirement for license to enter the store. You don't let 'em check, you don't get in. Entering the store is implied consent.
 
#175
Munjibunga said:
Even if that's true, the store can set checking inside all bags as a requirement for license to enter the store. You don't let 'em check, you don't get in. Entering the store is implied consent.
Click to expand...

Not exactly. Google "places of public accommodation." There are some limits as to what a store can demand. I doubt that bag checking is one of those limits, but (for instance) racial discrimination is prohibited even if there is a posted policy.
 
#176
Munjibunga said:
Even if that's true, the store can set checking inside all bags as a requirement for license to enter the store. You don't let 'em check, you don't get in. Entering the store is implied consent.
Click to expand...

No it's not, you always have the right to refuse the checking of your bag meaning the checking of the bag is voluntary i.e. you have to agree, there's no implied consent.
 
#177
Munjibunga said:
Again, why are you bringing the backpack in the store in the first place? Consistent with Jauqo's assumption, I'm going to assume there's a good chance the backpacker is going to steal something. The store could just institute a policy of "No bags or backpacks allowed in the store." That was the policy in the bookstore at my university. You had to leave your bags in lockers in the foyer. This has never been an issue for me. I don't bring backpacks into stores. Why do you need to? Just to get butthurt over someone wanting to check it?
Click to expand...

This is a really bizarre assumption that you're making here and maybe because you don't live in an urban area, I don't know, but what I do know is that in NYC, everyone pretty much has a bag.
 
#178
Phil Smith said:
Why should you trust people you don't know to "check" your bag? Would you give your bag to a stranger on the street and say; "Hey hold, this while I go check this out?" Of course you don't, so why should you trust someone you don't know simply because they work in a store? You don't think they'll rob you?

I never check my bag and I don't let them check it on my way out. If they want to check my bag they'll need probable cause i.e. a valid reason as in they think I stole something.
Click to expand...

word.

whatever ever happened to the basic agreement in our society to be free of any and all unreasonable searches or seizures without due process of law?

btw, on a side note, the big fish among shoplifters wear suits, don't carry a bag, and nobody watches them cos they don't look like one.
 
#179
Munjibunga said:
Again, why are you bringing the backpack in the store in the first place? Consistent with Jauqo's assumption, I'm going to assume there's a good chance the backpacker is going to steal something. The store could just institute a policy of "No bags or backpacks allowed in the store." That was the policy in the bookstore at my university. You had to leave your bags in lockers in the foyer. This has never been an issue for me. I don't bring backpacks into stores. Why do you need to? Just to get butthurt over someone wanting to check it?
Click to expand...

Again, not everyone drives everywhere. Lots of people bike or walk around town, or ride the bus. Is that so hard to comprehend?

I'm with Jauqo on this. The people who own these stores have a low opinion of the general public, and they realize that the general public has a low opinion of itself. To check someone's bag at entry or at exit is an insult, but most people don't realize they're being insulted. The thing is that for every one of us who 'gets it' there a thousand other people who don't see the insult, so they continue to shop there and the store continues the policy.

I never shop at these stores just like I won't go into any nightclub that "frisks" you before entering.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back