Best Buy Employee Fired for Stopping Laptop Thief

[jgutz2006]

best buy makes enough money and has insurance to cover the theft of these types of things. This rule is to protect the employees but to also protect the company against a lawsuit. Isnt it completely pathetic that a company needs to say let the thief run out and simply get his license plate number.... Who could steal from a store and get tackled and have the audacity to sue them? but it pisses me off, losers who steal and i know a few of you are reading this comment. Ask yourself what Integrity is and means. To me it is what you do when nobody is looking. Go back to school, get a better job or work more hours and pay for the toys you want

 

[Sabiancym]

[citation][nom]stm1185[/nom]This is what lawyers and liberals get you. Companies that fire employees for stopping thieves for fear of lawsuits and nutbag leftwing juries.[/citation]

Oh fuck off. Liberals? What exactly have liberals done now?

You're one of those "Everything is the liberals fault!" conservatives aren't you?

Go cry to Rush, nobody else wants to hear it.

 

[kkiddu]

That is sad. Logically speaking, such rules do make sense, but the man was trying to do the right thing.

And I thought lawyer crap was supposed to be limited to snail-paced courtrooms.

 

[Sabiancym]

He broke a store policy. He deserves to be punished. If he doesn't like the policy, don't work there. It's really that simple.

The policy is there to protect the employees from potentially dangerous criminals. Sure Best Buy has a financial interest in not getting involved, but that doesn't change the fact that the policy helps protect employees.


You people talking about street justice are just talk. None of you would back that talk up and if you did you deserve to be in jail.

 

[ajvkorn]

I use to work at Sports Authority and they had the same rule. If a thief is trying to steal, all you can do is try to talk to them and hope they put back..Let them know you know they stole, but don't just call them out on it like "Hey, stop stealing!" Cause then you can still get in trouble. The only people who are allowed to stop thief's are Lost Prevention guys. For example: If a normal employee chased a guy outside the parking lot and he tripped, you are GONE! Then Sports Authority would get sued....I understand also why they do this, but it needs to be done a different way.A thief is A thief and they need to be stopped....Why should others have to pay while some people are smart enough to exploit rules like this?

 

[floydturbo]

If he wouldn't have tackled him and stopped the theft, he probably would have still been fired from Best Buy for allowing 2 laptops to be stolen..

 

[Guest]

"Deserves to be punished?" It is a stupid rule and encourages thefts which makes me feel less safe at BB. If the employee wants to do a good deed, he assumes the risk of injury.

As for BB being liable to the thief, are you kidding? Are you saying if you were on the jury you would award the thief compensatory damages for his bruises suffered while committing a crime?

 

[royalcrown]

It's true, then these stores whine and bitch about how much they were "short" for the quarter or whatever. Lowe's is exactly the same. Someone is stealing, ask if you can help them, or look at them and make them "feel bad". I say it was the guys choice to tackle them, so if he got hurt, his own fault for sure; no need to FIRE the guy; just dismiss any lawsuits from it later.

If store employees beat more ass, the fuckheads wouldn't steal nearly as much.

 

[ajvkorn]

[citation][nom]Thieves dont win lawsuits[/nom]"Deserves to be punished?" It is a stupid rule and encourages thefts which makes me feel less safe at BB. If the employee wants to do a good deed, he assumes the risk of injury.As for BB being liable to the thief, are you kidding? Are you saying if you were on the jury you would award the thief compensatory damages for his bruises suffered while committing a crime?[/citation]

It's not up to the jury...Shit like this happens all the time. I mean look at the McDonald's incident with the coffee... That's just America for you!

 

[bv90andy]

What if the thief had a gun in his pants? He would have taken it out and started firing, possibly killing someone... he did a dumb thing.

 

[floydturbo]

Back in the 70's I worked at Radio Shack..Back then the corporate RULE was to detain the thief (citizens arrest) until the police arrive.. Boy how things have changed..

 

[internetlad]

I feel bad for the guy but i guess the company can do whatever it wants. It's obviously in place for a reason, The guy could have been badly hurt if the thief had a knife or other weapon, so there's the safety issue, and if the thief was hurt he probably would have sued (LOL)

Crazy world we live in.

 

[ajvkorn]

I wouldn't say it was dumb..The guy thought he was doing the right thing. I wanna know if the thief got to keep the laptops lol

 

[luckilion]

I will not buy from Best Buy again because this is inhumain.

 

[Guest]

Col Geek, I know the liability issues. But, until companies and society acccept those risks and understand that the price you pay, allowing thieves - punishing engaged employees, is higher than what you will pay for those other liabilities this country will continue to be a ambulance chasing mess.

Sure, the thief can sue and claim false imprisonment and lots of other things. SO WHAT!. The "loss" for that is much lower in the long run. Now Everyone knows, Best Buy will let you walk out with things!

Complete and utterly ridiculous, spineless, wimps!!!

 

[xforce_dac]

This is one of those articles that just gets folks to react without thinking about the reason companies have policies like BB. My father worked for a major drug store chain for years with a similar policy. Every year 2 or 3 employees would get severly injured or killed for trying to stop some thief from stealing from the store. The policy is to call the police, who are equiped and trained to deal with these situations to handle it. Who cares about law suits, no one wants to tell a family their loved one isnt coming home because they attempted to stop someone from stealing. Common sense should tell everyone on this forum that your life should count more than some product on a shelf.

 

[Guest]

This policy is similar across most retail companies. Stupid, yes, but most losts are cheaper then fighting a suit in court. I agree that, though not directly, it is a byproduct of the Liberal agenda. If I wasn't trying to be such a honest person, I'd easily have a house full of "free" merchandise from all the major retail chains.

 

[Guest]

Best Buy isn't the only company with this retarded policy.

My GF works for Bed Bath & Beyond. Same idiocy. People will load up a cart during the holidays when they're busy, and work in teams to have the doors open & hold employee attention - dashing out the door with their goods. I seriously hope every lawyer that brings these ridiculous assault suits, and every judge that tolerates them goes straight to H-E-Double Hockey Sticks.

Whew. Almost lost my temper.

 

[royalcrown]

[citation][nom]tsnorquist[/nom]Too bad the thief didn't fall face first shattering the glass and severing his jugular vein.I wonder if the employees would be liable for not giving him first aid if they aren't allowed to stop a crime in progress.[/citation]

I wish I could vote 600 times for yor comment... +600 !

 

[royalcrown]

[citation][nom]xforce_dac[/nom]This is one of those articles that just gets folks to react without thinking about the reason companies have policies like BB. My father worked for a major drug store chain for years with a similar policy. Every year 2 or 3 employees would get severly injured or killed for trying to stop some thief from stealing from the store. The policy is to call the police, who are equiped and trained to deal with these situations to handle it. Who cares about law suits, no one wants to tell a family their loved one isnt coming home because they attempted to stop someone from stealing. Common sense should tell everyone on this forum that your life should count more than some product on a shelf.[/citation]

And no one would be forcing those employees to stop anyone from stealing, that was the employee's choice. The family of said employee or employee, should have no right to sue the employer should they decide to stop a thief.