Home Depot employees fired for catching shoplifters

Reply to Douglas whose son is A MArine: First I want to thank your son for the service he is doing for our country. Secondly, if he was on his lunch break when this store incident occurred then it seems to me he was acting as a concerned customer in helping to stop the thieves. His lunch is his time. Just as I'm sure THD would tell you if you pick up a bag of concrete to help some other customer and injure your back. - Oh, so sorry, you were at lunch that's on your time not ours. So i would think if he were fired as you say then that was injustice as well.

What I don't understand, Is that the company at closing gather's the employee's to have a little 'meeting' about our sales for the day. We've been doing over a million a week (just our store out of 10 in our area) for the past month or so-Not bad.
I am really curious as to how much more we could make as a company if we didn't mark out merchandise that was stolen as a tax write-off (shrink) at the end of the year.
Hmm, 1 store doing over a million a week. For the company to spend some cash on some tight security, I THINK IT'S WORTH IT. Also to send a message to the general public that The Home Depot is not going to take shit from scum bags... I'm kinda curious if the criminal is going to walk out of the store with a low priced item just to get some one to chase them so they could sue for more, or have a plan to actually walk off with the merchandise to resell it (or use it)... oh well.. as an employee myself... I'm dropping my stock plan & can't wait to graduate ITT Tech, get some certifications and get a real job (no offense to any other employees)

If home depot owned the airlines that the terrorist's ran into the twin-towers, and the passengers took over the aircraft and landed it...I'm sure the home depot would of sued the passengers for breaking into the cock-pit, assaulting the terrorists and operating a plane they weren't licensed and/or qualified for...STUPID....

The companies name should be changed to "C.Y.A."

I used to work for this Home Depot in Midwest City Oklahoma. In fact Bob Stewart was my direct supervisor. I was a department manager and he was the Assistant Store Manager above me. He was a totally loyal and devoted employee. He Loved his job and would have done anything for the store manager (who he followed from Lowes. This man would practically live in the store. He always wanted to be there and we used to joke that he must have a hammock in the back because he is always there. Bob stewart was the most customer friendly break his back to help you man I have ever known. The company has made a HUGE mistake by terminating these men for not following a policy which is laughable in the first place. I was told personally by the district LP manager that as a Home Depot manager we should call and do anything to assist police. We were told to follow individuals and write down plates to relay to police. Even this would be against this insane policy. WAKE UP HOME DEPOT! Oh and one more thing I know the manager of that store and I truly believe he fought hard to stop these firings. He and Bob Stewart had worked together for over 15 years, Bob has commented to me personally many times he would follow that man to the end of the earth. Corporate big wigs made this decision and they should be ashamed!

ok, yesterday I went back to work at HD after a week long vacation. I was called into the office after 6 hours of work and was told i was on Temporary suspension... they told me I signed someones credit card slip and loaded the merchandise into someones car. No way would I ever do such a thing. I asked to see the credit card slip to see if it was my writing, they said they could not produce it. they said they have me on video..... I asked to see the video and they said they could not show it to me pending investigation.
I know I did not do this... If anything I wrote a UPC # on the ticket or the fact that they only picked up 1/2 their order.They said this happened in march and april... and just now coming to me in june and wanting me to remember this.Temporary suspension does not pay the bills so I am going on Monday to look for work. I don't think if they call me back that I want to go there. Is there some legal recourse I can do for my stress over this? I did not do what they have said I did, in fact they did the same to another employee in my dept. while I was on vacation.

Fortune 500 is leading and teaching Americans to be passive and to be prey to the predators. We are teaching a whole generation to play dead, beg, or pay off the predator. This thinking transcends into the minds of the people aboard the 911 airplanes and the VA-Tech shootings. [Off topic - My friends and I laugh saying that terrorist could never take down an Air Jamaica flight with a box cutter, the passengers would pull out their machetes].

I use to work at Home Depot back in the 90's and I saw what happened to courageous employees. Eventually, I found myself smiling when I saw shoplifters do their craft. I realize that HD was changing me. I eventually could not take it anymore and quit to start my own company. I was dating a girl from Kenya and read one of her newspapers. A young man stole a chicken in a small village. A mob chased him and put him on fire. I was told that this is a common thing.

I wonder if Home Depot, Walmart and other global companies are exporting this passive culture throughout the world. This thinking also transcend into the terrorist's mind when they say Americans are weak and are called "Paper Tigers". North Korea and Iran are reading Home Depot's play book. This is the not the same America that was strong, vigilant and called liberators in the 1940's.

Crime, terrorist, evil, etc. will flourish as good men stand down and do nothing. Oh yeah, I think there is already a quote out there that sounds better. :)

I am seeing how lawyers and insurance companies are shaping public attitude. I recently saw a head on accident on a country road. All the city people who now commute out to the country slowed down, looked and would not stop to help. Once a dog jumped out of the second vehicle and started to run away. More than 6 cars stopped and gave their attention to the dog running away.

This all boils back to the training at Home Depot.

I live in Illinois, at my local supermarket a man was stabbed to death apprehending a shoplifter! What is the problem today? I think the focus here should be on the shoplifters, not HomeDepot!! I agree with them being fired, it sounds to me like HD values their employees, and doen't want them to risk their lives over maybe $200!! We live in 2007, where you can write down a licence plate and call police, not 1807 where we take the law into our own hand. Whats more important..Our life or the drill so jerk just stole?

Wal*Mart is just as bad!!! They laid off ALL of their security people in our local store last year. Guess what, theft overall went up over 9% over the PREVIOUS year. yes, I sold my stock. This company, and others that are above mentioned that will not go after shoplifters and prosecute are NOT worth investing in. They just add that loss to the POLITICALLY CORRECT bottom line.

Firing employees for stopping shoplifters happens because it is the result of the following risk vs benefit calculations. This is just a really really good guess, but as a business woman if the risk is larger than the payoff, then the avoiding the risk takes priority.

1st Calculation, Lawsuit from Shoplifter (Risk)

(# of shoplifters that could be stopped x % stopped by employees x % of shoplifters who sue as a result of being stopped or of being injured while stopped x $ average judgement awarded to shoplifter who sues) + (the $ increase in insurance or self-insurance costs as a result of lawsuits brough by shoplifters) = Home Depot cost risk of stopping the average shoplifter.

2nd Calculation, Merchandise Recovered (Payoff):

(# of shoplifters that could be stopped x % stopped by employees) + (average $ value at cost of the merchandise recovered when stopped by employees - $ theft loss allowance per item recovered) = Home Depot cost payoff of stopping the average shoplifter.

Evidently, The Home Depot may have had an insurance company or some actuarial help in determining that the Risk is larger than the Payoff.

Unfortunately, the analysis may not factor the law enforcement costs and insurance costs borne by society at large, net of court and prison system costs, and the costs borne by other businesses, of indirectly having an income stream or asset base go to a criminal element that may continue to perpepuate itself. Perhaps the modus operendi is that it does no good to pay for an activity that someone else may pay for instead?

i was shopping at home depot when a man ran out the back door with something large in his arms. Alarms rang and eventually some employees showed up. My husband and I began giving them a description but they didn't want to hear it. they did not even call the police despite the fact they said they had cameras. I no longer shop at home depot. I do not want to pay for what others get free.

Shoplifting from Home Depot ...
so easy a caveman can do it.

I was asked by the store loss prevention person to help him in the store take down a shoplifter. The next day I ask for a receipt from a lady in the parking lot, who was trying to put chain saws in the back seat of a car. I was fired for this action.