Have you ever experienced an abrasive situation like this?
So last August I visited a town with a second-hand music shop (CD/Vinyl). I went in, looked around for a few seconds to find the CDs, and before I had the chance the store owner said from his till in a slightly abrasive tone something along the lines of "Give me your bag". I refused, not seeing the point since I wasn't going to steal, then went over to the CD section and chose to "abide" by putting my bag on the floor beside me. He snapped again, "Give me your bag. Now!". Obviously he was afraid I was going to shoplift (which I wasn't) but his personality annoyed me enough that I still refused, so he threatened to ban me if I didn't comply, and as a result I lashed out, telling him that it was a pointless policy and that I wasn't going to do anything, then I stormed out tearfully.
I must admit that I'm offended by stuff very easily. Every other store I've ever set foot in has been fine with me carrying a bag, yet this one wasn't, so I think I was within my right to get funny. I don't trust the store owner with my bag. If others came in, they could claim mine as theirs and the owner may have forgotten who's belonged to who. Plus, all the middle aged customers were carrying bags (the owner looked about 55-60), and as a result I saw it as being nothing more than a bit of age discrimination, something I despise in this circumstance. It also made me paranoid about going into other stores for a short while after.
What I'm interested to know is A: whether you've encountered stores like this that have a no-bags policy and if so what you think, and B: have you ever had an argument a little like this with any store owner, passenger or other public figure?
Yes, you leave your bags near the counter.
Even our library has a no bag policy and have little pigeonholes to leave your backpack in.
You could have avoided this situation if you had complied.
You are entering private property when you go into a store and you need to abide by the rules, the same as you would expect people to abide by your rules if they enter your house.
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Sorry, forgot about the B question.
No, I've never had an argument with a store owner or other public figure.
The closest I've come to any defiance was when I was asked to remove my hat in a restaurant when I had a very good reason for having a hat on.
I admit I was rebellious and put my hat back on when I was seated at the table.
I was more upset than angry, although the person with me got angry, and we left soon after.
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nick007
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I been in a store with that rule before. I just handed them the bag even thou I found it kinda odd at the time. I've had arguments with people at stores but none of the arguments were for this reason.
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I've noticed that this policy is more common in stores in the USA than the UK - most Europeans claim the policy is unusual but Americans seem more used to it. The man who owned this store previously worked in the USA for about 30 years (according to the website) so that may have influenced his policy. My dad says he's encountered it a lot when he's been over there but hasn't much in Britain.
A: No, I haven't, and if there was such a store here, I wouldn't shop there if I had bags with me. You don't trust me not to steal? Tough luck! I don't trust your employees with my stuff, nor do I trust them to look after it from others!
Either I have something in my bag that I have a receipt for or something they don't even have there, so bite me.
Asking to see on the way out would be fine by me.
B: Not that I can recall. I was once asked by a security guard what I had in my bag and feeling insecure I told him. He asked if he could see inside and I handed him my bag. He took a look, handed it back and thanked, then walked up to a hag who stood by the counter (not an employee, a customer) and he told her it wasn't hers. The hag loudly protested and claimed she'd had a white bag, and he interrupted her and actually sounded a bit impatient with her when he said: "t's not that one!" I felt schadenfreude over the hag getting on his nerve and making a fool of herself.
Oh wait! there was this once! I was looking for a specific newspaper because of an article in it. It was yesterday's at the time and it was already in storage behind a metal grid. I asked for it. No they didn't sell old newspapers, the female dog employee told me. BS, I thought and went over to the metal grid and slid one out, it took a little prying but I managed to get one out. I was gonna go back to the counter and tell the female dog that I was willing to pay full price for that newspaper and she could quite frankly take it or leave it because I was gonna have that newspaper, but I never got that far because the female dog was running towards me and snatched it. I snatched it back and marched up the counted and threw it down there and said I was gonna have that paper. I paid for it and was about to leave, when the damn female dog held my arm and said we had to wait for security. He came, saw I had paid and left. I still regret not just pushing past the female dog with my paid for newspaper. Just the thought of that female dog makes my blood boil, so many years later. Thankfully the place has gone out of business since then, haha. Oh and she even managed to say that hey had a new one of that paper too, as if it shouldn't be obvious that I wanted that one for a reason
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