Unoficially Banned From Shops.

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Chavs are sort of like American hip-hoppers. The unclassy aspects. Though without some of the extreme violence.

It’s a stereotype.

It's an acronym for Council Housed And Violent

"a young lower-class person who displays brash and loutish behaviour and wears real or imitation designer clothes"

That’s a better definition.

In some cases, Council Housing is similar to our “projects,” with the accompanying crime, drugs, graffiti, apathy, gangs, and neglect. Sometimes high rise apartment blocks.

Not all Council Housing is like that, though.

Ooh. One of the reasons why some stores have lots of thefts and others don't is their layout. We were trained in ways to change the store layout to prevent thefts and yet promote products. We were then given the freedom to experiment (Within reason) and we soon made adjustments when we found areas which were vunerable to theft. I only had one single blind spot o my department which could not be avoided, so all the lowest priced accessories went there. And only once did I even have a theft and it was at this very area, and the products were hardly going to dent the stores profits. Less then £10 worth of retail value (Remember.The shops buy in at a fraction of the price) in two and a half years is pretty good, so my design worked well. I worked in a store where every staff member recieved security training on top of their retail training. I have never worked for another store either before or since which did this, or were allowed to alter the displays to prevent blind spots.
I find it wierd today, when even store managers are not allowed to alter things in their own stores. Few are even trained in suchways. Even security staff are not given free reign to alter angles or positioning of displays to prevent thefts. They are not even trained to go through stock checks to find out where the most thefts are taking place so they can remedy the situation.
One can ALWAYS tell a poorly trained security guard. They will be watching any scruffy looking people like hawks. There is a perception among city staff that poor people steal and rich people don't. In my many years of retail and transport experience, the opposite is true. Of all the fraud and theft I have seen over the years, it is the most immaculately turned out people one has to watch. Te ones who blend in more in society. The "Mr or Mrs Average". (Or as we could put it. Mr or Mrs NT ) Why? Because they are far more likely to get asay with it, and even dress to fit in.., You will not catch a professional thief who dresses in any clothing which attracts attention. They just don't do it. They will be spotted so quickly! It would be silly.

I grew up in a council house but me or my family aren't chavs. But it still doesn't offend me though. Most chavs have this strong Essex accent. I suppose you've got to be around here to actually get the term ''chav'' without taking it as a generalized stereotype. Also often chavs in their 20s act like highschoolers.

How is it that "even store managers are not allowed to alter things in their own stores"? Are they part of big chains that are being micromanaged by a central headquarters run by people with MBAs but no retail experience???

I'd suggest that you (1) round up a bunch of people you used to know who worked in retail back in the days when policies were more sensible and then (2) contact a newspaper reporter (at whichever newspaper is most likely to be sympathetic) to tell them your stories. (Hopefully the reporter would be willing to agree not to use your legal names in any resulting news story.)

Hopefully you might be able to embarrass today's stores into realizing how they've been hurting themselves as well as mistreating harmless customers based on classist assumptions.

Last edited by Mona Pereth on 18 Sep 2019, 9:53 am, edited 2 times in total.

Some news stories about an increase in shoplifting in U.K. stores:

- Shoplifting in British supermarkets on the rise, police figures show - Sky News, Friday 1 February 2019
- Revealed: The stores attracting the most shoplifters in Birmingham, 18 AUG 2018
- Shoplifting: are we giving thieves a licence to steal? By Angelina Mason, 8 February 2019 - on a website called "The Grocer," which appears to be a trade publication for supermarket owners.

So a recent increase in shoplifting is a known issue. What would be newsworthy is that you, and any other similarly-experienced retail workers you can find, have an explanation for it.

Last edited by Mona Pereth on 18 Sep 2019, 9:56 am, edited 1 time in total.

Just like Temple Grandin made it easier for cows to feel okay when being vaccinated, one should heed Mountain Goat's unique perspective as to how to prevent shoplifting.

The "autistic perspective" could offer nice, alternative ways of doing things which work well.

I got banned from a sainsburys a few years ago cos I had a meltdown and broke one of the self service checkouts.

The last place I lived in was a flat on the 11th floor of a high rise. I was there nearly 22 years. It had a mixture of chavs and poor but respectable people. They announced a few years ago they were going to knock the block I was in down ,and the three other blocks in the area .
My stepdaughter had wanted me to move near her for about 12 years(after her mother died) but I'd resisted. The block of flats going to be knocked down persuaded me that I should move near her. I was very anxious about the process of moving , but my stepdaughter did an excellent job in arranging the move .

This is the block of flats I used to live in .

Wow! I don't think I could live in flats. Me and heights don't get on. I am ok on mountains as long as there is no sheer cliff edge. If the mountain is more rounded and gradual I can keep climbing and climbing and really enjoy it too!
But buildings... Uhmmm. Well. Castles are about my limit! They are tall.

I understand that. I dont get kicked out of stores but i kind of got kicked out of a gym and gymnastics and power lifting is everything to me. But I found other gyms. You will find other stores!

Maybe. I was trained in these areas in the past. I had a very knowledgeable manager. He used to do tremendous hours. If he wasn't there in the store, he would be at another store troubleshooting. I remember I was once sent to a store in the nearest city to trouble shoot. I went in and the bike department was a real mess. I started to tell the staff what needed to be done and every sugbestion I made was met with excuses. They had piles of junk in their main display cabinet. The cabinet glass top had been used as a dumping ground and was so scratched that it was like looking through opaque glass. But my suggestions of just keeping a few spare parts (These were broken bike parts which held a few useful spares... I used to keep a few things in a box and bin the rest. But they hung onto every little piece of part they ever took off a bike! When I said to them there is no point in going further unless these parts can be binned (They were not stock. Just broken parts) they refused to do it. I didn't even get to their paperwork side of things.
I went straight to their manageress and told her the issue. I said "Unless they listen how can I get the rest of the bike department running like it should?" I then walked out, as it was pointless me being there!

Sometimes, the only way to sort things out is to be ruthless like that. I was not in a position to order them to do it. That was the store managers role. Makes one think though.

Mind you. Sometimes I have seen great waste in stores. I have once seen a deputy manager sent from head office to sort out a store I was in. He really messed things up. We actually needed far more staff compared with the workload as it was a high pace store. The first thing he did was to chuck about half of the workshop stock. These were brand new parts. These were not reclimed stuff. I later left before the next stocktake came along! The deputy manager didn't stay long. He had me out on the shop floor and totally ignored the fact that customers bikes in for repair were not being done. I was saying that if I am not doing repairs, and no one else is we should tell the customers so they can have their bikes back. (He was still telling us we are not allowed to refuse further bikes in for repair!) He was ignoring me and the situation. Some customers waited for three months... We had the agro of it on the shop floor and I was prevented from working on them. He had to leave the company as a situation arose of his own doing where if he didn't quickly hand in his notice he would have had the sack.

There's a balance to be had between ruthlessness, practicality..... and stupidity.

I have had some of the best managers to learn from. I have also worked under some of the worst. Actually the last few managers have been excellent. All of these had a different style where they were what I call "Blend in managers". You would not know they were managers as they were doing shop floor work some of the time. Unusual compared with the traditional managers role but very very positive in that they really, really get a good idea of what is going on in the store from all levels. Older management styles tend to be rather isolated from the real world of shopfloor staff. The modern trend does give one the feel that the manager is working WITH you.
But the main issue with the modern managemwnt style is they lack the flexibility to change things and control the enviroment like they once did. So it is a mixed blessing. They are really deputy managers with head office being the distant but absent managers.