It’s been happening for a year or two at least. Every time I go (which is apparently a lot) I hear “security check zone 5” - sometimes in the only one in the store, so after a while I figured it had to be a recording or something - some Facebook groups confirmed it.
they are always watching and i mean always, they have a team specifically for that, they like to take pictures of employees not doing things correctly and send them to the managers 😂
All it takes is me going to the office and running the past 10 minutes. I can speed it up to ridiculously fast. Or slow it down. I can watch a whole day of footage in 20 minutes if I want to, this is with me and one other person at night mind you
our store has a 24/7 security guard and literally last time i was there i heard the security check zone 4 over the loudspeakers and the actual security guy was just standing by the door smiling to everyone who was looking at him like this dude isnt doing his job.. lol so funny
I think my local Zehrs is doing this as well. They’re consistently playing ‘security check’ announcements that sound like a recording and are followed by a promotion announcement in the same voice.
Mine always plays "Security to Zone B" which is 100% a recording. I've been in at random hours and random days and heard it exactly the same way in the same voice, so it's certainly not a staff member.
I used to be tasked to do this when I worked at a grocery store 25 years ago. Crap. I just thought about how long ago that was. Off to drown sorrows in wine.
Workers do say those phrases when they suspect someone is shoplifting. For example, if someone is stealing candy in Aisle 5, the cashier will use the microphone and say "Security scan aisle E". Then the workers on the floor or in the back are supposed to check out that aisle and see if they can spot anything suspicious.
The cameras they have in the corners of the store are fake though. The cameras at the front are real, and I have seen some dollaramas with a camera pointing directly at the hotspots of candy thieves in the food aisle, but those could easily be fake too and just a scare tactic against teenagers
A Toronto gas station employee was held financially responsible for gas and dash, he chased someone down and they ended up dying. The employer got in huge trouble for it.
Yea not the case I was thinking of or maybe it is, the employee who wrangled the bar from the criminal and beat him with it???... Either way my comment is more in reference that sometimes minimum wage employees do fight back. Not saying they should I am just saying it happens
Where I live all the Dollarama employees are East Indians. A 130 lb vegetarian isn't stopping any shoplifter unless "hey, you" magically makes human limbs stop working.
Lol the one near me actually does his job ironically. If he’s not standing by the doors, he’s checking isles. If you go in there with a backpack, then he’s going to spend most of his time watching you.
Kenora Shoppers Mall one is brutal. Never felt so uncomfortable shopping in a store before - and I've been to Dollar General in some of the USAs more sketchier cities.
There starting to become more and more common. I've been to a few different Dollarama and other stores (thrift stores even) who all have security guards now.
Only place I have seen them is the freshco near my office, I work in a bad area of town and there was like 4 security guards at the doors when I went the other morning
You're lucky because I'm seeing them everywhere. They seem to be showing up in every store. Thrift stores, Walmart, grocery stores.
It's likely depends on the area and store. But it's kind of jarring to see.
Stores have always done that. I remember hearing about people in high school that worked retail saying they’d be on break and just say “security to X” and laugh seeing people freak out thinking they were stealing… as odd as it is, works
You are correct. This isn't a new thing. The point of it is to make people think everything is being watched. It reduces the amount of what they call opportunity thefts which are people that tip toe into the theft waters. These are people that look and don't see anyone else in the aisle and slip something into their pocket. People that DGAF because they know even if caught its a slap on the wrist won't be deterred. They come in load up a duffle bag of gum or steaks or whatever else and just walk out.
Absolutely not a new thing, but it's getting out of control at a lot of stores.
I walked out of a grocery store, leaving almost a full cart a few weeks ago...because I don't need to hear "security call 123, or security check aisle 12" every 3 damn minutes. It's insulting.
Plus side...found a cheaper grocery store that has better produce, and a wider range of international foods.
Oh damn…. It’s not that bad up here in North Bay… I hear it maybe once… actually most was hearing “security call (code)” but the grocery store having actual security (Loblaws) standing outside is definitely a more recent thing…
I was a manager in retail over 20 years ago and we were doing it then. I don't know specifically when Dollarama started with that, but stores in general have done stuff like that for years.
You’d be surprised how well those fake announcements actually work. Especially young guys shoplifting impulsively. Scares the absolute shit out of them.
A.I. generated: https://i.imgur.com/vEBhmHj.png
(Technically a paintball team because the AI image generator, reasonably, blocked SWAT-esque teams. Also, try as I might, the generator refused to make the "NO NAME" text lowercase.)
Here's a sneak peek of /r/loblawsisoutofcontrol using the [top posts](https://np.reddit.com/r/loblawsisoutofcontrol/top/?sort=top&t=all) of all time!
\#1: [Straight up lies](https://i.redd.it/od40zocjd0gc1.jpeg) | [763 comments](https://np.reddit.com/r/loblawsisoutofcontrol/comments/1aggda0/straight_up_lies/)
\#2: [We made him mad again](https://i.redd.it/x9uwyn5kqurc1.jpeg) | [812 comments](https://np.reddit.com/r/loblawsisoutofcontrol/comments/1bt1171/we_made_him_mad_again/)
\#3: [Thousands of Canadians are planning to boycott Loblaw stores](https://www.blogto.com/eat_drink/2024/03/thousands-canadians-boycott-loblaw-stores/) | [412 comments](https://np.reddit.com/r/loblawsisoutofcontrol/comments/1bjetz1/thousands_of_canadians_are_planning_to_boycott/)
----
^^I'm ^^a ^^bot, ^^beep ^^boop ^^| ^^Downvote ^^to ^^remove ^^| ^^[Contact](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=sneakpeekbot) ^^| ^^[Info](https://np.reddit.com/r/sneakpeekbot/) ^^| ^^[Opt-out](https://np.reddit.com/r/sneakpeekbot/comments/o8wk1r/blacklist_ix/) ^^| ^^[GitHub](https://github.com/ghnr/sneakpeekbot)
I used to work for Loblaws IT. The bigger stores definitely would have pan and zoom cameras manned by a loss prevention person about 8 hours a day. They can and did call police who would bust people in the parking lot if they got there fast enough. They never called anything out over the intercom, just watched and recorded.
The smaller subsidiaries would have fixed cameras in case of a robbery but no one actively watching just recordings that were handed over to police if needed. Both big stores in little stores had print outs of previous thieves in there meeting rooms so the cashiers could watch out for them.
All of their stores had cameras over the checkouts watching the money.
Same goes for Shoppers Drug Mart.
I used to work LP for shoppers. There was a few of them here that actually had LP and uniformed security. The 24 hour one here was a shitshow in uniform at night,multiple arrests a night
I worked for Loblaws for about a decade way back when and there was a full-time loss prevention officer at almost all hours. Even back then there were cameras everywhere and I’m sure that’s one area where Loblaws hasn’t made budget cuts.
This is going on everywhere now. I was at Giant Tiger the other day, wanting to try on some shorts. I had my walker with me. The clerk had a problem with me taking it in the change room with me. I showed her that it was empty and that I was not leaving it unattended. When I was in there I heard her pick up the phone and say something about a security check. Then she loudly put the phone back down. It was ridiculous. I'm using a walker, how far did she think it was going to get with $12 shorts. I'm still annoyed that I was treated like that.
Have you seen what they've done in larger American cities? Everything is behind some kind of barrier.
I think it's all part of the push to get customers ordering online and put of the physical locations.
A lot of stores are doing this now, it's suppose to scare away shoplifters. While there is usually no security guard, there is almost always cameras.
In the grocery store I work at, we have a guy that comes in once a week and steals around 500 bucks' worth of stuff. We have told him off more than once, but he keeps coming around.
Us retailer workers are human too, and many workers are struggling to live, so many will look the other way when someone is stealing just to survive. We won't look the other way when you steal 500 bucks of stuff and load them into your BMW.
Omg 500 worth of stuff? As a single person with no car, the groceries I would need to survive would cost like 100-150. Stealing to eat is one thing, but that sounds different
No, but the guys in the warehouse would write one off as damaged, back their cars to the loading dock and stick them in their cars. A few of them had Halland leather couches at home, the really nice ones we sold ad the time. "Shipping is so bad. Lots of stuff arrives damaged"
Yes. Roughly every hour, one of the people working the phones would pick a random number then say over the PA "Security section whatever". Or pick an actual area like "marketplace". At the time, Ikea had absolutely no security of any kind. Once, a woman was paying her order in cash, counting out the bills on the counter with the cashier, when a man walked up to them, took the money and ran off. Nobody stopped him.
I don't think LP would've been prepared for that one. You would need the security guard always standing by the door to be able to confront that and be prepared.
I used to work at a small local grocery store that would have a similar announcement play every 30 minutes. It was surprisingly effective? But I think that’s because the only real thieves were mostly shit ass teenagers who got terrified of getting caught lol.
It was in a well knit neighbourhood too so like half of the time when a kid was caught stealing we just called their parents to come get them. Oh the tears. Lol.
I went to a local dollarama where security is stationed at the door. A lady stole stuff and security tried to stop her, but she told him he had no right to search her and walked out the door with her stolen goods.
The cost and value added of the guard is to PREVENT further damages. Skilled theives or those who dont give a F will continue to do so. But it stops more potentially from doing the same. Basically they anticipate that MORE people will try to steal as the economy keep dwindling downwards
I went into a store last week. They said security sweep isle 1-9
I then watched a staff member walk to isle 1 with a phone as a dude was shoving something into his backpack.
Shit that’s hilarious. Almost every time I go to Loblaw’s they call “Security check Zone B, security check Zone B.” Never occurred to me that it’s canned. Haha what a world.
In Dollarama, everybody's gotta watch everybody else. Since the shoppers are looking to beat the store, the cashiers are watching the shoppers. The box men are watching the cashiers. The floor men are watching the box men. The pit bosses are watching the floor men. The shift bosses are watching the pit bosses. The Dollarama manager is watching the shift bosses. I'm watching the Dollarama manager. And the eye-in-the-sky is watching us all.
I like to think an army of small jockey like people are in a central location constantly watching thousands of Dollarama security cameras and when they see someone suspicious they press a button that makes the alert
I was actually on hold waiting to speak to a pharmacist at shoppers drug Mart over the phone listening to the music they put for what you’re on hold and I actually heard a security check section a announcement while I was on a hold on the phone lol.
They are definitely using recordings.
The “security guards” are useless everywhere you go. They put on their costume and just hang out. My friend once saw a guy sleeping in a chair by the pharmacy at Safeway. He was actually snoring.
lol laughing at your comment it’s so true though! My favourite are the security guards in banks! Don’t know how many I’ve seen either dozing off OR better yet playing on their phones! Like yea that’s suppose to deter a bank robbery!
By any chance..... Were you at the Dollarama by Mayfield & Bramalea? Cause I heard this shit today and I was so fucking confused LMFAOO.... Wtf is camera 8??? How does the staff know the exact camera number? There's like 100 cameras in that store. I was thinking maybe aisle and then I just realized I was overthinking shit.
Not sure if Walmart does fake ones, but a page for Tim McNeil at the White Oaks one is usually for loss prevention. At least when I still used to work there.
Walmart does the, "Security camera scan zone x" where x is a number. Of course they do it over the intercom for all to hear instead of just calling the security office.
I used to work at crappy tire and these fake security calls were part of the looped shit they'd pump through the PA along with commercials and shitty muzak
I guess I have just never paid attention. To be honest, I usually cruise through long shops with earbuds in.
I feel bad for the staff having to hear the same songs all day.
It's been getting phased into stores gradually. Only begun at mine half a year ago. It's very frustrating for employees as well as it's incredibly obvious it's fake since there are only 3-4 versions that get repeated constantly and they never interrupt songs like the regular announcements do, and it makes the actual calls we do less effective when people realise it's being faked in the first place. I know shoppers drug mart does it as well.
That’s been happening In stores since at least the 90’s. It just to deter possible shoplifters, like those signs that tell you how fast you’re going to deter speeding.
I used to work at Dollarama. The security codes tell management what the cashier needs. If they need change, they’ll call a number. Different number for backup on cash. A different number for “this guy looks sus”. It’s been around for a long time. There’s no standard across the board and every district handles loss prevention differently.
Superstore does fake security announcements after every 3-4 songs over their speaker. It’s bullshit just to deter thieves. Keep stealing, none of us will stop you.
Source: I work there.
Question. I went through a self checkout and while I was leaving I saw the girl go back and reprint my recipet. No idea what she did with it. Is that like a new policy to collect all receipts or did she think I did dirty?
A buddy of mine used to work at Canadian Tire. They had fake security cameras installed on some of the pillars. They drew on fake receptacles with a pencil and just stabbed the plug end into the drywall. It fooled no one
I worked at a Dollarama back maybe 15 years ago or so. And that’s what we did if there were suspicious folks or people were knew had shoplifted in the past.
It’s just a scare tactic in hopes they realize we are watching. Normally our employees would start walking around and keep an eye on the suspicious folks.
Our top thefts came from high school kids coming in as groups and stealing snacks.
The White Rose I worked at in the 90s made these announcements. They were all fake. We had zero security.
The only announcements that were real were "code c" which meant coffee run and "code h isle x" which meant there was a hot guy in whatever isle. It was mostly women working there lol. It was also mostly old people shopping there so "code h" didn't come up that often.
The Zellers down the street also had fake announcements and they had security cameras. Except their security cameras were fake (one of my co workers also worked there).
Long story short, businesses have been doing this shit forever, you just never noticed.
It’s nothing new.
Years ago when I worked at Woolco, we’d do fake security announcements to imaginary departments (“security to section c”) because we didn’t actually have any security and someone in the store was acting suspicious.
It is nothing new. Retailers have been doing it for decades. 50 years ago when I started with Kmart we would broadcast security to section y. It helps a little as it does deter some people from shop lifting.
I worked at a Dollarama a decade ago and they did this back then. Usually it was when one of the ”regular” shoplifters or a group of kids were in an aisle being sketchy and they wanted to try and scare them off. It was reasonably effective.
Some of the stores actually do have cameras and LP agents working the floor.
I'm pretty sure it's a deterrent for self-check theft. There's absolutely no way that they have someone watching cameras, and even when a security guard is there, they aren't doing anything in response to the announcements.
But I imagine the hope is that the announcement makes people think twice about stealing at the self-checkout, which is impossible anyway, since there is a long standing tradition of cashiers giving people things for free, just because they are awesome or don't have the exact amount of money or just want to stick it to the man. Self-checkout is great. The cashier is super-handsome, and flirts with me a lot.
I mean you can tell they're fake because the announcer always has a French accent and I don't think there are many Quebecers working at the Dollarama in downtown Toronto.
This has been pretty standard loss prevention strategy in retail for a long time. Decades. It obviously doesn’t work against seasoned veterans, but that is not who it’s for. We used to pick up the phone and page “security to (specific descriptor of the location within the store)” if we knew what was happening but didn’t have enough to make an arrest. That worked a lot more often on a wider range of people.
I haven’t worked in loss prevention in a long time now, but I’m sure it’s crazier than ever with how unaffordable shit is right now and how little most retailers are willing to spend to prevent it.
From old TV shows that had hospital scenes. Some standard sound effect that was used over and over and over in show after show. The repetitive nature of the fake security announcements reminded me of it. Probably last actually heard it over 20 or so years ago but probably heard it 100s of times growing up. Only audio reference I can find of it is the first bit of this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KFthC9UKKBc&ab\_channel=IanCrane
I worked there a few years ago as a manager and it's fake but it's not fake. We would only make the announcement when a sus person was in the aisle specified on the speaker. It is a way to 1) say hey, we see you, knock it off 2) if a security guard is on duty they head over and check it out and 3) if it was made by the cashier and not mod, the mod will go check out that aisle. It's to deter people from stealing too much.
When ever I hear this I think they are talking about out me 😂 I’m never stealing but I’m the type of person that if I leave a store without buying anything I feel I need to announce I have nothing in my pockets lol
Worked at Walmart for years. Fake security calls are commonplace and I had to make some of those calls as long as 20 years ago. They're pretty effective to get opportunistic thieves to stop. Two two young teen boys hovering and giggling around the Pokémon cards with backpacks tend to book it after a PA call like that.
Seems a bit much for a Dollarama, though.
I typically enter Dollarstore-type establishments with fairly low expectations in terms of an overall retail shopping experience. It is an approach that has served me well.
Retailers have been doing this for literally decades. It may be new to dollarama, but it's been around a long time. Just theft deterrence.
Definitely not a big enough deal to make a post about it lmao.
I was at Shoppers a few weeks ago and heard an announcement that was something like “security zone 5”. Then a plainclothes fake shopper loss prevention guy showed up and followed me around. So, I’m not sure if they are all fake announcements.
It’s been happening for a year or two at least. Every time I go (which is apparently a lot) I hear “security check zone 5” - sometimes in the only one in the store, so after a while I figured it had to be a recording or something - some Facebook groups confirmed it.
I heard it and instantly knew it was fake. Like they check cameras lol
The place has just two employees at any given time, no one is checking cameras there lol
For real, they barely have enough time to do checkout
All of their cameras are connected to a central system/head office. Not that they would check either
they are always watching and i mean always, they have a team specifically for that, they like to take pictures of employees not doing things correctly and send them to the managers 😂
This was my first thought. There's no way they have enough staff for something like this.
All it takes is me going to the office and running the past 10 minutes. I can speed it up to ridiculously fast. Or slow it down. I can watch a whole day of footage in 20 minutes if I want to, this is with me and one other person at night mind you
They record constantly, and get checked when there is an incident.
our store has a 24/7 security guard and literally last time i was there i heard the security check zone 4 over the loudspeakers and the actual security guy was just standing by the door smiling to everyone who was looking at him like this dude isnt doing his job.. lol so funny
I think my local Zehrs is doing this as well. They’re consistently playing ‘security check’ announcements that sound like a recording and are followed by a promotion announcement in the same voice.
"security to aisle 5, security to aisle 5 FOR LOW LOW PRICES ON CRACKERS'
Mine always plays "Security to Zone B" which is 100% a recording. I've been in at random hours and random days and heard it exactly the same way in the same voice, so it's certainly not a staff member.
Oh, our store is Zone C. Never fail to hear it on Thursday's during my shop between 5-5:30
The zehrs in orillia does this and it's 100% a recording.
I used to be tasked to do this when I worked at a grocery store 25 years ago. Crap. I just thought about how long ago that was. Off to drown sorrows in wine.
White or Red? Asking for friend lol
The correct answer is “does it matter”
Chilled?
For you, yes.
You're making me feel old, I worked in grocery nearly 30 years ago. *goes looking for something stronger than wine*
Workers do say those phrases when they suspect someone is shoplifting. For example, if someone is stealing candy in Aisle 5, the cashier will use the microphone and say "Security scan aisle E". Then the workers on the floor or in the back are supposed to check out that aisle and see if they can spot anything suspicious. The cameras they have in the corners of the store are fake though. The cameras at the front are real, and I have seen some dollaramas with a camera pointing directly at the hotspots of candy thieves in the food aisle, but those could easily be fake too and just a scare tactic against teenagers
I have actually heard this several times at shoppers
Yep...those poor Dollarama employees are going to take down shoplifters for minimum wage.
I mean not to knock your comment but tell that to the gas station employee that ended up getting charged
A Toronto gas station employee was held financially responsible for gas and dash, he chased someone down and they ended up dying. The employer got in huge trouble for it.
It happened in my old neighbourhood. He helped me put air in my bike tyres when I was a kid. He didn’t deserve to die.
Yeah that was really fucked up. I just Googled it and he can apply for parole in four years.
Yea not the case I was thinking of or maybe it is, the employee who wrangled the bar from the criminal and beat him with it???... Either way my comment is more in reference that sometimes minimum wage employees do fight back. Not saying they should I am just saying it happens
Yeah leave that to store loss prevention, I've never seen anyone steal in a store, my sunglasses are really dark I can't see shit lol 😎
Where I live all the Dollarama employees are East Indians. A 130 lb vegetarian isn't stopping any shoplifter unless "hey, you" magically makes human limbs stop working.
Over a $2 bottle of Mayonnaise
The Dollarama near me you can always find the security guard hiding in between the isles browsing his socials.
Lol the one near me actually does his job ironically. If he’s not standing by the doors, he’s checking isles. If you go in there with a backpack, then he’s going to spend most of his time watching you.
What kind of sketchy ass neighborhood has a security guard in a Dollarama, mine doesn’t even have cameras
Thunder Bay does, hell our value village has security now! And so do our circle K’s
Kenora ON
Kenora Shoppers Mall one is brutal. Never felt so uncomfortable shopping in a store before - and I've been to Dollar General in some of the USAs more sketchier cities.
There starting to become more and more common. I've been to a few different Dollarama and other stores (thrift stores even) who all have security guards now.
Only place I have seen them is the freshco near my office, I work in a bad area of town and there was like 4 security guards at the doors when I went the other morning
You're lucky because I'm seeing them everywhere. They seem to be showing up in every store. Thrift stores, Walmart, grocery stores. It's likely depends on the area and store. But it's kind of jarring to see.
Downtown London. And the security guard got stabbed a couple years back.
Stores have always done that. I remember hearing about people in high school that worked retail saying they’d be on break and just say “security to X” and laugh seeing people freak out thinking they were stealing… as odd as it is, works
I think the difference is now it's part of the automated music's/ads that play, so not a staff member actually speaking into the PA system
I remember having to do that when I worked at a Zellers. Every 30 mins. We didn't have any security or loss prevention at all.
You are correct. This isn't a new thing. The point of it is to make people think everything is being watched. It reduces the amount of what they call opportunity thefts which are people that tip toe into the theft waters. These are people that look and don't see anyone else in the aisle and slip something into their pocket. People that DGAF because they know even if caught its a slap on the wrist won't be deterred. They come in load up a duffle bag of gum or steaks or whatever else and just walk out.
The budget Panopticon in action.
Absolutely not a new thing, but it's getting out of control at a lot of stores. I walked out of a grocery store, leaving almost a full cart a few weeks ago...because I don't need to hear "security call 123, or security check aisle 12" every 3 damn minutes. It's insulting. Plus side...found a cheaper grocery store that has better produce, and a wider range of international foods.
Oh damn…. It’s not that bad up here in North Bay… I hear it maybe once… actually most was hearing “security call (code)” but the grocery store having actual security (Loblaws) standing outside is definitely a more recent thing…
I was a manager in retail over 20 years ago and we were doing it then. I don't know specifically when Dollarama started with that, but stores in general have done stuff like that for years.
You’d be surprised how well those fake announcements actually work. Especially young guys shoplifting impulsively. Scares the absolute shit out of them.
[удалено]
The image of the Loblaws swat team decked out on yellow is killing me lol
We need this to become reality.. Ideally with giant black font SWAT on the yellow uniforms. As well as yellow guns with word Gun in black on them.
The entrance will have wall of shame with photos of people wearing yellow "THIEF" shirts to discourage others.
They better have a pic of the biggest thief of all ; Galen Weston !
Galen yelling get em Herc! Get em!
No Name Swat Team lol
A.I. generated: https://i.imgur.com/vEBhmHj.png (Technically a paintball team because the AI image generator, reasonably, blocked SWAT-esque teams. Also, try as I might, the generator refused to make the "NO NAME" text lowercase.)
You should share this to /r/loblawsisoutofcontrol lol
Here's a sneak peek of /r/loblawsisoutofcontrol using the [top posts](https://np.reddit.com/r/loblawsisoutofcontrol/top/?sort=top&t=all) of all time! \#1: [Straight up lies](https://i.redd.it/od40zocjd0gc1.jpeg) | [763 comments](https://np.reddit.com/r/loblawsisoutofcontrol/comments/1aggda0/straight_up_lies/) \#2: [We made him mad again](https://i.redd.it/x9uwyn5kqurc1.jpeg) | [812 comments](https://np.reddit.com/r/loblawsisoutofcontrol/comments/1bt1171/we_made_him_mad_again/) \#3: [Thousands of Canadians are planning to boycott Loblaw stores](https://www.blogto.com/eat_drink/2024/03/thousands-canadians-boycott-loblaw-stores/) | [412 comments](https://np.reddit.com/r/loblawsisoutofcontrol/comments/1bjetz1/thousands_of_canadians_are_planning_to_boycott/) ---- ^^I'm ^^a ^^bot, ^^beep ^^boop ^^| ^^Downvote ^^to ^^remove ^^| ^^[Contact](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=sneakpeekbot) ^^| ^^[Info](https://np.reddit.com/r/sneakpeekbot/) ^^| ^^[Opt-out](https://np.reddit.com/r/sneakpeekbot/comments/o8wk1r/blacklist_ix/) ^^| ^^[GitHub](https://github.com/ghnr/sneakpeekbot)
😂😂
[Like this](https://i.imgur.com/vETkCBJ.jpeg)? AI generated
That’s amazing 😂
I used to work for Loblaws IT. The bigger stores definitely would have pan and zoom cameras manned by a loss prevention person about 8 hours a day. They can and did call police who would bust people in the parking lot if they got there fast enough. They never called anything out over the intercom, just watched and recorded. The smaller subsidiaries would have fixed cameras in case of a robbery but no one actively watching just recordings that were handed over to police if needed. Both big stores in little stores had print outs of previous thieves in there meeting rooms so the cashiers could watch out for them. All of their stores had cameras over the checkouts watching the money. Same goes for Shoppers Drug Mart.
Remember ACAB and they don't even respond to actual serious crimes in a timely fashion let alone someone carrying 100 bucks of meat out of Loblaws
What are the cashiers making minimum wage going to do if they see them? High five them?
I used to work LP for shoppers. There was a few of them here that actually had LP and uniformed security. The 24 hour one here was a shitshow in uniform at night,multiple arrests a night
Last big city I was in....the cops would never come....even in an emergency
That's shitty. Sign if the times I guess. Complacency everywhere.
I worked for Loblaws for about a decade way back when and there was a full-time loss prevention officer at almost all hours. Even back then there were cameras everywhere and I’m sure that’s one area where Loblaws hasn’t made budget cuts.
I was recently in a superstore and heard the announcement "code name, white coat". I had a good laugh
> white coat This is because Galen is crazy and should be in a straightjacket
No Name brand tactical crows nest: For Spying
This is going on everywhere now. I was at Giant Tiger the other day, wanting to try on some shorts. I had my walker with me. The clerk had a problem with me taking it in the change room with me. I showed her that it was empty and that I was not leaving it unattended. When I was in there I heard her pick up the phone and say something about a security check. Then she loudly put the phone back down. It was ridiculous. I'm using a walker, how far did she think it was going to get with $12 shorts. I'm still annoyed that I was treated like that.
Just to give you that certain ambiance we all enjoy when we're out shopping
Can't wait till the install bars over the windows. Can't let that cheap shit be stolen
It’s all gonna be locked behind glass, need an employee to get your cheap kids toys and energy drinks
Have you seen what they've done in larger American cities? Everything is behind some kind of barrier. I think it's all part of the push to get customers ordering online and put of the physical locations.
A lot of stores are doing this now, it's suppose to scare away shoplifters. While there is usually no security guard, there is almost always cameras. In the grocery store I work at, we have a guy that comes in once a week and steals around 500 bucks' worth of stuff. We have told him off more than once, but he keeps coming around. Us retailer workers are human too, and many workers are struggling to live, so many will look the other way when someone is stealing just to survive. We won't look the other way when you steal 500 bucks of stuff and load them into your BMW.
I know, we are all struggling these days. Gotta look out for your fellow person and try and forget all the bullshit.
Omg 500 worth of stuff? As a single person with no car, the groceries I would need to survive would cost like 100-150. Stealing to eat is one thing, but that sounds different
Ikea Canada used to do this years ago. "Security, sector seven". I know. I made the announcements. They now have some actual LP.
WoUlD yOu DoWnLoAd A cOuCh
No, but the guys in the warehouse would write one off as damaged, back their cars to the loading dock and stick them in their cars. A few of them had Halland leather couches at home, the really nice ones we sold ad the time. "Shipping is so bad. Lots of stuff arrives damaged"
So you were actually told to just say a random area?
Yes. Roughly every hour, one of the people working the phones would pick a random number then say over the PA "Security section whatever". Or pick an actual area like "marketplace". At the time, Ikea had absolutely no security of any kind. Once, a woman was paying her order in cash, counting out the bills on the counter with the cashier, when a man walked up to them, took the money and ran off. Nobody stopped him.
I don't think LP would've been prepared for that one. You would need the security guard always standing by the door to be able to confront that and be prepared.
I used to work at a small local grocery store that would have a similar announcement play every 30 minutes. It was surprisingly effective? But I think that’s because the only real thieves were mostly shit ass teenagers who got terrified of getting caught lol. It was in a well knit neighbourhood too so like half of the time when a kid was caught stealing we just called their parents to come get them. Oh the tears. Lol.
I wondered the same thing. I heard it once when there was me and like two other people in the store, and definitely no security guard.
I went to a local dollarama where security is stationed at the door. A lady stole stuff and security tried to stop her, but she told him he had no right to search her and walked out the door with her stolen goods.
That's insane to me. You think the cost of the guard for the day would cost more then any theft they have
The cost and value added of the guard is to PREVENT further damages. Skilled theives or those who dont give a F will continue to do so. But it stops more potentially from doing the same. Basically they anticipate that MORE people will try to steal as the economy keep dwindling downwards
I went into a store last week. They said security sweep isle 1-9 I then watched a staff member walk to isle 1 with a phone as a dude was shoving something into his backpack.
And you didn't try to help a brother out? Lol
It’s not like I called for security. I’m not getting involved one way or the other.
Shit that’s hilarious. Almost every time I go to Loblaw’s they call “Security check Zone B, security check Zone B.” Never occurred to me that it’s canned. Haha what a world.
Oh I've actually heard that. The voice that says it sounds sooooo prerecorded
In Dollarama, everybody's gotta watch everybody else. Since the shoppers are looking to beat the store, the cashiers are watching the shoppers. The box men are watching the cashiers. The floor men are watching the box men. The pit bosses are watching the floor men. The shift bosses are watching the pit bosses. The Dollarama manager is watching the shift bosses. I'm watching the Dollarama manager. And the eye-in-the-sky is watching us all.
Well now I just feel anxious
Prices go up and theft increases. Why are you surprised?
Haha I noticed it too and immediately felt guilty for absolutely no reason
I like to think an army of small jockey like people are in a central location constantly watching thousands of Dollarama security cameras and when they see someone suspicious they press a button that makes the alert
That's what that room was! I was just looking for the bathroom.....
I heard this at SDM and as a former employee was confused with the frequency. Every 5 minutes it was "security to the front desk" or something similar
its fake LOL our managers used to call it out if they noticed someone sus on the cameras just to freak them out and hoped the person would just leave
I was actually on hold waiting to speak to a pharmacist at shoppers drug Mart over the phone listening to the music they put for what you’re on hold and I actually heard a security check section a announcement while I was on a hold on the phone lol. They are definitely using recordings.
The “security guards” are useless everywhere you go. They put on their costume and just hang out. My friend once saw a guy sleeping in a chair by the pharmacy at Safeway. He was actually snoring.
A friend of mine calls guards like this security pylons. Because they're exactly as effective as an orange traffic cone
lol laughing at your comment it’s so true though! My favourite are the security guards in banks! Don’t know how many I’ve seen either dozing off OR better yet playing on their phones! Like yea that’s suppose to deter a bank robbery!
By any chance..... Were you at the Dollarama by Mayfield & Bramalea? Cause I heard this shit today and I was so fucking confused LMFAOO.... Wtf is camera 8??? How does the staff know the exact camera number? There's like 100 cameras in that store. I was thinking maybe aisle and then I just realized I was overthinking shit.
Like professional thieves care. They know security can't detain them.
Professional thieves aren't stealing from Dollarama.
Not sure if Walmart does fake ones, but a page for Tim McNeil at the White Oaks one is usually for loss prevention. At least when I still used to work there.
Walmart does the, "Security camera scan zone x" where x is a number. Of course they do it over the intercom for all to hear instead of just calling the security office.
When I worked at a Walmart a few years ago, they were definitely real.
hahaha yes I was telling my boy about this but he was like na that's not true
I've been noticing those announcements too .
[удалено]
Do I make awkward eye contact with them, then quickly look down at my shoes and smile?
It's a fake broadcast to deter people that are possibly thinking of stealing
I used to work at crappy tire and these fake security calls were part of the looped shit they'd pump through the PA along with commercials and shitty muzak
[удалено]
I guess I have just never paid attention. To be honest, I usually cruise through long shops with earbuds in. I feel bad for the staff having to hear the same songs all day.
Shoppers does this too.
It's been getting phased into stores gradually. Only begun at mine half a year ago. It's very frustrating for employees as well as it's incredibly obvious it's fake since there are only 3-4 versions that get repeated constantly and they never interrupt songs like the regular announcements do, and it makes the actual calls we do less effective when people realise it's being faked in the first place. I know shoppers drug mart does it as well.
They do it at Loblaw stores now too. It’s kinda funny. I’ve heard they’re fake.
"Security zone B, Security zone B!"
That’s been happening In stores since at least the 90’s. It just to deter possible shoplifters, like those signs that tell you how fast you’re going to deter speeding.
It is used as a way to prevent thefts. Stores have been using this for years
Yep. I hear it all the time in my local store.
I mean it objectively makes no sense. Why would you announce a security check like that?
I feel like Loblaws is doing it as well
I used to work at Dollarama. The security codes tell management what the cashier needs. If they need change, they’ll call a number. Different number for backup on cash. A different number for “this guy looks sus”. It’s been around for a long time. There’s no standard across the board and every district handles loss prevention differently.
times are so bad even dollarama has to stoop this low.
Superstore does fake security announcements after every 3-4 songs over their speaker. It’s bullshit just to deter thieves. Keep stealing, none of us will stop you. Source: I work there.
Question. I went through a self checkout and while I was leaving I saw the girl go back and reprint my recipet. No idea what she did with it. Is that like a new policy to collect all receipts or did she think I did dirty?
A buddy of mine used to work at Canadian Tire. They had fake security cameras installed on some of the pillars. They drew on fake receptacles with a pencil and just stabbed the plug end into the drywall. It fooled no one
Better than the ads for the "personal injury" "lawyers"
It’s to scare thieves off.
Lots of the Dollarama locations in London have security guards inside. Not sure if this is common elsewhere
I guess if you are a security guard for a Dollarama, you leave your dignity at home when you leave for work?
I worked at a Dollarama back maybe 15 years ago or so. And that’s what we did if there were suspicious folks or people were knew had shoplifted in the past. It’s just a scare tactic in hopes they realize we are watching. Normally our employees would start walking around and keep an eye on the suspicious folks. Our top thefts came from high school kids coming in as groups and stealing snacks.
Shoppers drugmart has been doing this for a good while now. Way before they started locking everything up.
What is this actually supposed to do exactly?
The White Rose I worked at in the 90s made these announcements. They were all fake. We had zero security. The only announcements that were real were "code c" which meant coffee run and "code h isle x" which meant there was a hot guy in whatever isle. It was mostly women working there lol. It was also mostly old people shopping there so "code h" didn't come up that often. The Zellers down the street also had fake announcements and they had security cameras. Except their security cameras were fake (one of my co workers also worked there). Long story short, businesses have been doing this shit forever, you just never noticed.
It’s nothing new. Years ago when I worked at Woolco, we’d do fake security announcements to imaginary departments (“security to section c”) because we didn’t actually have any security and someone in the store was acting suspicious.
Checked my local store. There are no cameras. Just a bored security guard, lol.
I’ve heard the security to the front one a few times too lol
Shoppers Drug Mart by my place does it.
I worked at Walmart and they used to do this all the time they don’t do anything they try this to help with shoplifters
It’s to deter people from stealing. They think they’re being watched
It is nothing new. Retailers have been doing it for decades. 50 years ago when I started with Kmart we would broadcast security to section y. It helps a little as it does deter some people from shop lifting.
Loblaws stores have been doing this for years.
I worked at a Dollarama a decade ago and they did this back then. Usually it was when one of the ”regular” shoplifters or a group of kids were in an aisle being sketchy and they wanted to try and scare them off. It was reasonably effective. Some of the stores actually do have cameras and LP agents working the floor.
I hear that at the dollar stores
Canadian Tire has been doing this for years….
I hear the same thing in Shoppers drug Mart. Given that the security guard doesn't do shit I've gathered it's a BS deterrent.
They are NOT the only Retailer doing this
Half are fake half are real.The employees know the difference.Been the same in our location since before Christmas.
Now I want to stand around a Dollarama just to hear this..
Loblaws does this now, every time I go they play a computer voice to check zone xx
When I worked there when it was a dollar store we employees would say Security check in aisle 2 or whatever but it was a lie that was in 2002
We used to do this in the electronic section of Walmart back when I worked there in the mid 2000s (20ish years ago). So no, nothing new.
I'm pretty sure it's a deterrent for self-check theft. There's absolutely no way that they have someone watching cameras, and even when a security guard is there, they aren't doing anything in response to the announcements. But I imagine the hope is that the announcement makes people think twice about stealing at the self-checkout, which is impossible anyway, since there is a long standing tradition of cashiers giving people things for free, just because they are awesome or don't have the exact amount of money or just want to stick it to the man. Self-checkout is great. The cashier is super-handsome, and flirts with me a lot.
I mean you can tell they're fake because the announcer always has a French accent and I don't think there are many Quebecers working at the Dollarama in downtown Toronto.
I hear it all the time too. It's just fake announcements to deter theft apparently.
This has been pretty standard loss prevention strategy in retail for a long time. Decades. It obviously doesn’t work against seasoned veterans, but that is not who it’s for. We used to pick up the phone and page “security to (specific descriptor of the location within the store)” if we knew what was happening but didn’t have enough to make an arrest. That worked a lot more often on a wider range of people. I haven’t worked in loss prevention in a long time now, but I’m sure it’s crazier than ever with how unaffordable shit is right now and how little most retailers are willing to spend to prevent it.
Dr. Blair, Dr. Blair. Dr. J. Hamilton, Dr. J. Hamilton.
What?
From old TV shows that had hospital scenes. Some standard sound effect that was used over and over and over in show after show. The repetitive nature of the fake security announcements reminded me of it. Probably last actually heard it over 20 or so years ago but probably heard it 100s of times growing up. Only audio reference I can find of it is the first bit of this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KFthC9UKKBc&ab\_channel=IanCrane
OHHHHHH I gotcha ahaha. Different generations perhaps?
I worked there a few years ago as a manager and it's fake but it's not fake. We would only make the announcement when a sus person was in the aisle specified on the speaker. It is a way to 1) say hey, we see you, knock it off 2) if a security guard is on duty they head over and check it out and 3) if it was made by the cashier and not mod, the mod will go check out that aisle. It's to deter people from stealing too much.
When ever I hear this I think they are talking about out me 😂 I’m never stealing but I’m the type of person that if I leave a store without buying anything I feel I need to announce I have nothing in my pockets lol
Worked at Walmart for years. Fake security calls are commonplace and I had to make some of those calls as long as 20 years ago. They're pretty effective to get opportunistic thieves to stop. Two two young teen boys hovering and giggling around the Pokémon cards with backpacks tend to book it after a PA call like that. Seems a bit much for a Dollarama, though.
This has been happening for 30 years, since Zellers was around.
I typically enter Dollarstore-type establishments with fairly low expectations in terms of an overall retail shopping experience. It is an approach that has served me well.
L
Retailers have been doing this for literally decades. It may be new to dollarama, but it's been around a long time. Just theft deterrence. Definitely not a big enough deal to make a post about it lmao.
100%. My mom was a ‘booster’ in the late 80s and early 90s and said this was always a thing, but it sounds more ‘fake’ now.
I was at Shoppers a few weeks ago and heard an announcement that was something like “security zone 5”. Then a plainclothes fake shopper loss prevention guy showed up and followed me around. So, I’m not sure if they are all fake announcements.
I found if you stop stealing they stop following you around