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Post by chadwilliam on Jun 24, 2018 12:16:35 GMT -5
Thanks Icctrombone. I just keeping looking at my swollen lip and thinking about my District Manager's words. "This was your decision. You chose to do that". As if I insisted on the right to follow suspicious looking people around the store, as if my company's policy is to stay away from shoplifters but I said "No! It's my right to put myself in danger!". His "I will tell anybody that your safety was my priority" was also spoken in such a manner that he emphasized the word 'anybody' leading me to understand that his "Following this guy around was Chad policy, not ours" is the story he intends to stick to on the stand if it does go to trial even though he knows I spoke to him six months ago with my concerns.
I'm thinking about what I'm going to do now and I don't know what I should tell a prospective employer about why I'm leaving this company. I don't want to make it sound as though I'm more interested in leaving my old place than I am in joining theirs. ugh.
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Post by Roquefort Raider on Jun 24, 2018 18:33:43 GMT -5
Thanks Icctrombone. I just keeping looking at my swollen lip and thinking about my District Manager's words. "This was your decision. You chose to do that". As if I insisted on the right to follow suspicious looking people around the store, as if my company's policy is to stay away from shoplifters but I said "No! It's my right to put myself in danger!". His "I will tell anybody that your safety was my priority" was also spoken in such a manner that he emphasized the word 'anybody' leading me to understand that his "Following this guy around was Chad policy, not ours" is the story he intends to stick to on the stand if it does go to trial even though he knows I spoke to him six months ago with my concerns. I'm thinking about what I'm going to do now and I don't know what I should tell a prospective employer about why I'm leaving this company. I don't want to make it sound as though I'm more interested in leaving my old place than I am in joining theirs. ugh.My advice would be not to lead with it, but not to hide anything if asked. You did the right thing, which anyone could recognize, and that’s a quality I’d look for in a prospective employee.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 24, 2018 18:54:41 GMT -5
I might be (finally) getting back into the tabletop rpg/D&D saddle after not playing for nearly three years now. Our last group ended when the host couple moved to Chicago (they were the hub that everyone in the group was connected by) to pursue a career opportunity for our friend, which was great to see for them, but sadly meant the end of the gaming group (such is adult life). We just hadn't found a group of people who had compatible views towards gaming, compatible schedules and lived close enough to make it logistically feasible to make a group work for the last few years (and me being laid up by surgery for nearly 6 months sure didn't help). But we had been talking to some interested folks and finally got everyone together and went out to lunch together to talk and see if we could make something work. It a new coworker of my wife, her husband, a co-worker of mine and his wife, and the young man who was my wife and my ring bearer who grew up gaming with us (and who is the son of the owner of the business I work at). Three veteran games, two who played D&D a long time ago and two who like fantasy games but never played tabletop (though one did do some larping while in college).
So we ate Mexican food, talked geek stuff and D&D and had a good time and it looks like we will be getting together the night of July 3rd to roll some dice and make some characters to get a game going (though not me, I am the one doing the DMing as the only veteran gamer who has time to put something together. I've been revisiting some of the classic game books in our library the past couple of days and immersing myself to get my gaming groove back and its been fun. now lets see what kind of mess I can create to put the players' characters through...
The only drawback is less of my free time will be spent reading comics, but it's a fair tradeoff. Comics and rpgs have always vied to be the center of my geek universe since I first discovered D&D in jr. high, and the pendulum between them has always swung back and forth over the years (most of the hiatus from comics coincided with heavy gaming years and vice versa. while they have peacefully coexisted for a lot the time as well). It's good to maybe get a little more balance between the two again.
-M
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Post by beccabear67 on Jun 24, 2018 20:15:51 GMT -5
I have one order from Mile High (nothing fabulous, mostly all modern comics of the '00s or later) that will be a month old tomorrow. I've never had problems with them before. I got two emails about it but not the final two I usually get including the final one to say it's on it's way. The order with them after that I'm worried about getting messed up as it's '70s comics all marked newsstand copies. I've begrudgingly accepted direct issues a couple of times but I really would like these to all be newsstand editions as advertised, so I hope that works out. At least I have had three of the four usual emails about that order so far. I'm used to things taking around two and half weeks to my island in Canada. If the earlier order doesn't show up it's no big deal and wasn't much money involved, so if I have to pick one not to show at all that one would be okay.
Small worries compared to chadwilliam's.
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Post by Icctrombone on Jun 24, 2018 21:16:01 GMT -5
Ultimately as long as I receive it, I will be okay. But I don't understand why a company would take your money and then do nothing. I'm done ordering with them.
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Post by Slam_Bradley on Jun 25, 2018 9:26:28 GMT -5
Well, this is a big one. I don't think I've posted here before, In fact, I've never really strayed beyond the regular Comic forums and knew this section existed until fairly recently, but I would really appreciate whatever input/advice anyone might have to share. Just over a week ago, I was at my place of employment (a craft store here in Winnipeg) when I was assaulted by a shoplifter I had been told to keep an eye on. As a Manager on Duty, I had always been told to not let suspected shoplifters out of my sight and to stay close to them. Our store doesn't have security, nor has Crisis Intervention training ever been offered or supplied. Their one piece of advice was "don't ever follow them out of the store". Their "stay close" policy never sat well with me - although it's a craft store we do get a large amount of shoplifters - yet when I asked my previous manager "What do we do if they ask why we're following them", I was told "Tell them we're just here to offer them excellent customer service and stay with them". With that in mind, I was advised of a potential shoplifter towards the end of my shift last Thursday and was asked to keep an eye on him. I stayed close to him as he moved throughout the store (in fact, he walked a full circle around it) and he knew I was following him. As we approached the front, he reached into my pocket (I don't know why - I guess because I had a scanner and a radio in it and he wanted to grab something to intimidate me) I grabbed his hand, took a step back, he hit me with his cart, and punched me in the jaw/lip. I hit him back and he left. I'm a hemophiliac and began bleeding from the lip. After waiting about seven hours at Emergency, I got a stitch put in and my jaw swelled up pretty bad. The stitch will come out on Tuesday when I see my family doctor. This isn't the first time I've raised my concerns at work about having to follow shoplifters around. About six months back, my then assistant manager asked one of the sales staff (a young girl in her early 20s) to wait by the women's washroom where a known shoplifter was headed to likely hide stuff in her bag. When she did, the shoplifter accused her of being a sexual pervert trying to spy on her in the washroom, that she was going to call the police on her, and just reduced the employee to tears. As Manager on Duty that night, I was asked by my assistant manager to tell the customer to leave. I do so, the shoplifter got angry, left, came back in, and took my picture shouting at me "Now they'll know who to come for" (which I took as a threat). I called my District Manager, told him I wasn't happy that a young girl was placed in this situation, that I was placed in this situation, and that we have no security available to us. The store supplied us with security guards for the next two weeks, after which things went back to business as usual. So... I'm really pissed off. I'm angry that my employers never provided us with security, never supplied us with training, and yet expected us to follow shoplifters around without knowing what they might do in return and I'm really angry about that "Just tell them you're here to give them excellent customer service" response to my "what happens if they question us?" question. Because of this, I'll seeing a lawyer on Tuesday to discuss my options. Today however, I called my District Manager to advice him of this as I had told him earlier I'd give him a call to let him know how I was doing. It didn't go well. No raised voices, no cursing, nothing like that, but when I told him that I would be speaking with a lawyer he asked "For what? What'd we do?" "Well, you guys put me in a position where I was assaulted by a shoplifter". "No we didn't, that was your choice. You made that choice." "But I was doing what I've always been told to do" "We didn't tell you to confront him" "I've always been told 'Stay Close'" "Yeah, keep him in sight. You could have used the cameras in the office to follow him". "Our cameras don't cover most of the store". "Well, your safety has always been our number one concern and I'll tell anybody that". He did mention that about four or five days prior, I had followed a shoplifter out of the store as an employee informed me that he was leaving with a cart full of stuff without paying. Now, leaving the store is against their policy (though even here, I've had managers do it themselves telling me "Technically, we're not supposed to, but...") and I did it anyway that time, but I reminded him that that never happened with the guy who punched me. Anyway, I'll be seeing a lawyer as I said, but I really don't know what to expect. I've never sued anyone, never spoken to a lawyer, and it seems as if what happened at my store might be a case of My word against theirs. I do have a photo of me right after the assault and their is blood, as well as pictures of the stitch on my lip and some swelling the next day (though the pictures don't show the swelling to be as big as it was) but beyond that, I don't know what I can do. I mentioned to my District Mgr about my previous manager's "Just tell them you're here to give them excellent customer service" rule and he responded "I know him, he never said that" so it sounds like whatever I say I've been told, will be denied as a lie. So, I'm out of a job, I've got a swollen lip, I'm talking to a lawyer about a law suit that might go on forever and I don't see how I can afford, and I'll be up against the high paid lawyers of a rich company. I also have to find another job without knowing whether I should mention that I worked for this company (it sounds like a bad idea, but there may be someone who will act as a personal reference) or just have a five and half year gap on my resume. So, any thoughts? Advice? Experience with this sort of thing? I'd appreciate any of that. Chad...sorry. I've been busy and have been thinking about this. Honestly employment law is a pretty specialized area and it varies radically from state to state. So I don't have any great insight and likely wouldn't even if you were in Idaho. I just have never practiced in that area at all. The best advice I have is to seek out an attorney who is an employment law attorney first and foremost. I'd be happy to see if I can find a referral if you haven't already made contact with one.
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Post by beccabear67 on Jun 25, 2018 13:06:32 GMT -5
I guess I have some real experience in dealing with shoplifters. I can't see that it would be any real help though. As a partner in a retail shop I was the one, the only one, who seemed willing to confront them. Actually I should add that I was very good at spotting them as I had been a fairly prolific shoplifter for a year or so in my teens (turned myself in in fact as I didn't want to keep going further and pushing the boundaries as another kid I knew was doing). Well, anyway, I'm a weirdo. I'm not a hemophiliac and I was in good shape with martial arts training on top, so I felt I was the one to police things in a three person enterprise. I don't like people who steal from small independents either, I never liked or did that myself on the other side of things. Mostly it worked to just show these people I saw them and was prepared through body language to take action if they chose not to reverse course. Only three times did i ever have to wait for them to leave the shop and then confront them on the street and each time they handed the item over with an oops, an honest mistake type of pretense from two, and with the other said don't let me see you here again. Once however there was a large crazy looking guy with the tattoos and all. Him I had to leave to a description I gave to police over the phone and then in person later. He probably took what he took to eat actually (we sell produce as well as plants and flowers) so you could say there was need, but this was a big scary guy and I felt I had to inform the police. They probably saw him and talked to him, warned him, whatever. That was the end of that. This was all my choice, not a company policy.
I would say that any decent sized company should be hiring security personnel and not expect or encourage clerks. That is how it is here. I would show as best as possible that they were in formed of your hemophilia and should have exempted you from any kind of risk based on that. Just as I exempted my two co-workers/owners due to their ages, lack of comfort/experience, like I clean up the cat barf when nobody else can without adding to it.
Aside from all this I was physically and sexually grabbed at a few times by customers at work. Not the same thing, but after a serious rape at another business across the street (and also an armed bank robbery) I became a not-there-alone employee and come in to do the flower bouquets and plant care. I still get my cut of income the same though, and the other two owners insisted on this.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 25, 2018 15:19:10 GMT -5
A mash up for your Monday... -M
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Post by chadwilliam on Jun 26, 2018 16:09:38 GMT -5
So I spoke with a lawyer today who told me that while I could file a lawsuit in small claims court (incidents involving damages under $10,000) lawyer fees would likely be greater than that. I did give Manitoba Workplace Health and Safety a call, but right off the bat, I was told that this wasn't something they could handle other than calling my employer (Michaels crafts) and asking them about their policy involving shop lifters. When I told him that their policy was to tell the shop lifter, if confronted, that we're only here to "give them excellent customer service" he suggested that this seems like a good policy. I had to reiterate that we're still expected to follow suspicious people around and that the line was to be used only to explain why we're following them around and he got irritated with me saying that I was telling him two different things. "So you're only supposed to be there to provide customer service? You weren't told to confront a shop lifter?" "Well, yeah, I was told to confront a shop lifter. That 'customer service' line is what I'm supposed to say if he turns on me." "You were told to give him good customer service". "No, no, see I told to follow a shoplifter until he left the store and not leave him out of my sight". "Giving him customer service". Soooo...
No lawsuit, no help from Manitoba Health and Safety, eeuughhhhhh...
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Post by chadwilliam on Jun 26, 2018 16:10:41 GMT -5
Well, this is a big one. I don't think I've posted here before, In fact, I've never really strayed beyond the regular Comic forums and knew this section existed until fairly recently, but I would really appreciate whatever input/advice anyone might have to share. Just over a week ago, I was at my place of employment (a craft store here in Winnipeg) when I was assaulted by a shoplifter I had been told to keep an eye on. As a Manager on Duty, I had always been told to not let suspected shoplifters out of my sight and to stay close to them. Our store doesn't have security, nor has Crisis Intervention training ever been offered or supplied. Their one piece of advice was "don't ever follow them out of the store". Their "stay close" policy never sat well with me - although it's a craft store we do get a large amount of shoplifters - yet when I asked my previous manager "What do we do if they ask why we're following them", I was told "Tell them we're just here to offer them excellent customer service and stay with them". With that in mind, I was advised of a potential shoplifter towards the end of my shift last Thursday and was asked to keep an eye on him. I stayed close to him as he moved throughout the store (in fact, he walked a full circle around it) and he knew I was following him. As we approached the front, he reached into my pocket (I don't know why - I guess because I had a scanner and a radio in it and he wanted to grab something to intimidate me) I grabbed his hand, took a step back, he hit me with his cart, and punched me in the jaw/lip. I hit him back and he left. I'm a hemophiliac and began bleeding from the lip. After waiting about seven hours at Emergency, I got a stitch put in and my jaw swelled up pretty bad. The stitch will come out on Tuesday when I see my family doctor. This isn't the first time I've raised my concerns at work about having to follow shoplifters around. About six months back, my then assistant manager asked one of the sales staff (a young girl in her early 20s) to wait by the women's washroom where a known shoplifter was headed to likely hide stuff in her bag. When she did, the shoplifter accused her of being a sexual pervert trying to spy on her in the washroom, that she was going to call the police on her, and just reduced the employee to tears. As Manager on Duty that night, I was asked by my assistant manager to tell the customer to leave. I do so, the shoplifter got angry, left, came back in, and took my picture shouting at me "Now they'll know who to come for" (which I took as a threat). I called my District Manager, told him I wasn't happy that a young girl was placed in this situation, that I was placed in this situation, and that we have no security available to us. The store supplied us with security guards for the next two weeks, after which things went back to business as usual. So... I'm really pissed off. I'm angry that my employers never provided us with security, never supplied us with training, and yet expected us to follow shoplifters around without knowing what they might do in return and I'm really angry about that "Just tell them you're here to give them excellent customer service" response to my "what happens if they question us?" question. Because of this, I'll seeing a lawyer on Tuesday to discuss my options. Today however, I called my District Manager to advice him of this as I had told him earlier I'd give him a call to let him know how I was doing. It didn't go well. No raised voices, no cursing, nothing like that, but when I told him that I would be speaking with a lawyer he asked "For what? What'd we do?" "Well, you guys put me in a position where I was assaulted by a shoplifter". "No we didn't, that was your choice. You made that choice." "But I was doing what I've always been told to do" "We didn't tell you to confront him" "I've always been told 'Stay Close'" "Yeah, keep him in sight. You could have used the cameras in the office to follow him". "Our cameras don't cover most of the store". "Well, your safety has always been our number one concern and I'll tell anybody that". He did mention that about four or five days prior, I had followed a shoplifter out of the store as an employee informed me that he was leaving with a cart full of stuff without paying. Now, leaving the store is against their policy (though even here, I've had managers do it themselves telling me "Technically, we're not supposed to, but...") and I did it anyway that time, but I reminded him that that never happened with the guy who punched me. Anyway, I'll be seeing a lawyer as I said, but I really don't know what to expect. I've never sued anyone, never spoken to a lawyer, and it seems as if what happened at my store might be a case of My word against theirs. I do have a photo of me right after the assault and their is blood, as well as pictures of the stitch on my lip and some swelling the next day (though the pictures don't show the swelling to be as big as it was) but beyond that, I don't know what I can do. I mentioned to my District Mgr about my previous manager's "Just tell them you're here to give them excellent customer service" rule and he responded "I know him, he never said that" so it sounds like whatever I say I've been told, will be denied as a lie. So, I'm out of a job, I've got a swollen lip, I'm talking to a lawyer about a law suit that might go on forever and I don't see how I can afford, and I'll be up against the high paid lawyers of a rich company. I also have to find another job without knowing whether I should mention that I worked for this company (it sounds like a bad idea, but there may be someone who will act as a personal reference) or just have a five and half year gap on my resume. So, any thoughts? Advice? Experience with this sort of thing? I'd appreciate any of that. Chad...sorry. I've been busy and have been thinking about this. Honestly employment law is a pretty specialized area and it varies radically from state to state. So I don't have any great insight and likely wouldn't even if you were in Idaho. I just have never practiced in that area at all. The best advice I have is to seek out an attorney who is an employment law attorney first and foremost. I'd be happy to see if I can find a referral if you haven't already made contact with one. I appreciate your offer Slam, but I know that Canadian law differs fairly significantly from American. Nevertheless, thank you for the thought.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 26, 2018 17:53:02 GMT -5
Ultimately as long as I receive it, I will be okay. But I don't understand why a company would take your money and then do nothing. I'm done ordering with them. Try Lonestar/My Comic Shop in the future. I placed my order after midnight (after their weekly auctions ended)last night and it shipped by 1:35 this afternoon. My order consisted of something I won in last week's auction (I didn't win anything this week) and about a dozen books I added on to make the shipping price ($4.95 for standard shipping) more worthwhile. With standard shipping it will take about a week to get here, but I already have the tracking numbers for the shipment. -M
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Post by Icctrombone on Jun 26, 2018 18:08:34 GMT -5
I have used mycomicshop in the past. They are good, but some of the books I wanted were pricey and they raised their shipping to 5.95. ( still a bargain ) yeah, I like dealing with them.
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Post by EdoBosnar on Jun 27, 2018 18:34:24 GMT -5
I've found that Lone Star/mycomicshop is really the best way to go for online comics purchases, although I've stopped ordering from them in the past few years because their shipping charges for foreign addresses have become a bit exorbitant for me. However, if you're in the US you order via eBay, their shipping charge is a flat $4.95, and free for orders of $35 or over - I actually took advantage of that latter fact recently, as I'm currently on a brief visit to the US, and I just bulked up my order with a bunch of stuff on my want list and then had it sent to my sister's place in Oregon.
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Post by Roquefort Raider on Jun 27, 2018 18:40:03 GMT -5
A shop I have had nothing but superlative service from is Nostalgiazone. The staff really went above and beyond for me on two occasions, and as I’ve not yet ordered five times from them it’s a pretty impressive average.
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Post by hondobrode on Jun 27, 2018 22:00:50 GMT -5
I've visited The Nostalgia Zone as well back in the 90's and it was a memorable experience.
Definitely one of the best shops I've ever been to.
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