Menard, Menards store rip me off in the nastiest way Ripoff Morton Grove Illinois Wisconsin

 In this mans case he would lose hands down and what would put the nail in his coffin would be the video footage. Im sure in the case in WI either video proved his innocence or they lacked footage to prove his guilt and the security admitted they never actually saw him take anything. If everyone who was "innocent" was let go there'd be a whole lot more items stolen. The store owes him nothing, not even an apology. He needs to man up and admit he made a mistake and let it go.

 First off if security apologized to every person who "didn't take it on purpose" and believed it was an accident, Alot of thieves would go would free and until you've worked any aspect of security, you have no idea what you'd do til you've been in that situation and know people "accidentally" steal all the time you have no moral high ground to stand on. What security cameras shows seemingly is this man taking a product and sticking it in his pocket without paying for it and about to leave the store with it. There's no way to tell if he intentionally took it or not. And I'm thinking that hes making up some of what happened in the office. Why doesn't someone ask Menards what actually happened? They're the ones with the proof. And if you were the manager and pulled that crap and i was the employee id sue the crap out of you for slander and have the tapes pulled and have you removed before all was said and done. The security personnel did thier job correctly. It sounds like to me someone needs to take responsibility for thier actions instead.

 It's sad you let one person's story detour you without knowing both sides. Do you know how many people "honestly" (not) take things (shoplift) from stores? How many times security hears the same old song and dance over and over again? Regardless of wheather he meant to steal or not, the point is he stuck the item in his pocket and went through the register without paying for it. Every thief is innocent

I have nothing to do with this and I'm sorry you experienced this. Sad thing about this is that because you had a bad experience at one Menards, you think all Menards are the same, but that's not the case. I've been a guest at menards for 4 years and I've been stopped once because the LP thought I'd taken 2 pops from the cooler and asked for a receipt. I told her id brought them in with me. She asked me to hold on while she checked cameras. She returned a few minutes later saying she couldn't find anything on camera and didn't want to keep us waiting. She was so professional and sweet. What Im saying is don't let one bad experience keep you out of all menards.

 First off, the loss prevention officer does not know that it was not their intentions to steal. They don't know them from the next every day joe they encounter. Stop and think about how many tape measures and other items that are stolen daily and how many times people have said " oh i forgot to pay" when plain as day the person places the item in thier pocket. Whether or not this person actually intended to steal is not important. what is, is that in the eyes of the law the moment he stuck that tape measure in his pocket without paying it immediately became theft. IF indeed everyone was as nasty to him as he claims then perhaps it was his attitude and how he talked to the LP and manager. Of course you're only taking into account his story and not thiers..... I'm willing to bet security audio and video contradict his story. He needs to accept responsibility for his actions and just not do it again.

You stole the merchandise, get over it.  You put an unpaid for item in your pocket and exited the store.  You never made payment for it.  Sure sounds like you stole it to me.  Move on!

Hello,
From reading your report I can understand your frustration regarding the incident, However you did likely violate criminal statutes depending on your local laws. When you placed the tape measure in your pocket you "willfully concealed" the tape measure, which gives the loss prevention officer probable cause to suspect that you had no intention to pay for the item, thus being justifiable as theft. From the way you described the incident he followed procedure for the most part. The $100.00 fee that he assessed to you is known as a Civil Demand. Civil Demands are issued for petty thefts most under $25.00 in value. Almost all states have this statute which allows retailers to charge this fee to offset the costs of security systems and loss prevention staff. It is also a benefit of sorts to the offending party as by paying the civil demand fee the incident is not reported to the police and charges are not filed. Persons charged and jailed are also issued a civil as well but as part of the court ordered restitution.

Now for his conduct of verbally announcing to the whole world the incident, as reported by you. I find this most inappropriate and unprofessional. Privacy is key in these situations. I try to keep everything between myself, partner, store manager present, and the offender. It makes for a smooth process during a tense situation and doesn't add additional emotion to the situation. Now for his attitude as described by you, my attitude is dictated by the attitude that I am receiving from the offender. If I am spoken to in a civil manner, I in return treat the offender in a civil manner, the same goes for negative attitudes, in which case I just call the PD and reward the person with a pair of matching bracelets and let the nice officer give them a ride to the county lockup.

Even with the value of the item as you described as under $3.00, you must realize that smaller items like that are often the most stolen items and it adds up to staggering amounts over time ( especially if the retailer has multiple locations )

I pose to you the question, If you were not stopped by the Loss Prevention Officer would you have returned the item to the store once you realized that you had it and didn't pay for it?

I've never, before, heard of a business forcing someone to pay a $100 fine or they'll call the cops.

Did this really happen?  Did you mention it to the people you escalated your compaint to?

This sounds a little sketchy to me.

I often take a small tape measure with me to the stores and I, like another poster, have my name marked on it.

Sorry for your bad shopping experience, but accept a little responsibility for it.

I buy really old measuring tapes at flea markets for a buck a piece--really good stuff like old lufkins (better than  you can buy new) and some of them ARE new (never been used).  I then inscribe my initials into them with a power engraver.  I keep at least five of these in my car.  That goes for any other tools you might take in like multipliers, screwdriver, etc.  Never trust the store not misunderstanding.   Bolts?  I would only bring one.  And I don't like doing that.  Stores like this get ripped off a lot and they have heard every excuse and story--so yeah, they're skepticle.  It could be worse--be glad you don't have an arrest record for theft.  And don't think the judge will help you--he's heard more stories than menards. 

But just a suggestion to menards:  how about offering customers  a "loaner" tape in exchange for a deposit or drivers license?  Easier than the customer buying and then returning it in half an hour.

well regardless if you didn't mean to take it , it still was stealing and you were caught , if you would have got home and found it in your pocket would you have taken it back and paid for it no you would have just kept it , you should have asked to borrow a tape measure and not open one to use if you open any package in the store before buying it it is considered theft and if you put it back its called vandalism be thankful you were not hauled out in handcuffs 

What I find most amazing about this it that it's been over 4 years, and no one from Menards has even bothered to respond.  Not so much as a "sorry, this is an isolated incident - we really try to treat our customers better".  What does this say about a company who brags so openly about the customer service?

I shop often at Menards, and have never had a bad experience, but this report gives me pause.

I too sympathize. I made a mistake recently as well. I took my 2 year old shopping with me. Read below....

8:45 Am Dave and Jake enter Menards to return some merchandise previously purchased.
9:01 am Store check issued for $359.72 for that merchandise. Had to leave customer service desk with bag of other parts, because some of the things I had did not belong to Menards mistakenly mixed in some things from Home Depot. Asked for another bag to carry them in, because the other one I had was falling apart. Put those spare parts in the bag.
9:05 am Dave and Jake walk back to millwork desk to order 6 jamb, 6 panel interior doors; didn't know exact dimensions, so rep suggested measuring door widths and coming back with the measurements
9:07 am Dave and Jake looking at hole saws to make a bean bag toss game. Dave knows he needs a 6 hole saw, but not the type of arbor needed to make it work.
9:10 Jake is standing on the ground, taking things off the shelves and putting them on the floor. Dave picks what he sees up, and puts them back on the shelf.
9:12 Rep walks by, Dave asks rep what is the best type of arbor to use for the hole saw. She doesn't know. She says she needs to get her manager.
9:17 Rep returns and says sorry for the delay, but her manager is on the phone.
9:25 Rep returns with manager. Manager shows me several types, and indicates which one is the best. It's one that I had looked at before and rehung on the peg.
9:27 Dave and Jake look at clearance items mailboxes, plunge router, kids outdoor play stuff.
9:29 Pick up ant & bug killer for outside of home; head for checkout
9:30 standing in checkout line. Jake takes some trail mix off the shelf Dave sees, tells Jake to put it back we'll have a snack at home.
9:32 Pay for 1 hole saw, 1 arbor, and 1 bug killer. Total bill $64.34 begin walking out of the store
9:33 Security guard asks me to return to store
Exchange
G Sir would you mind stepping back into the store
Me would you mind telling me why?
G You know why
Me No I'm sorry I don't would you tell me; I was thinking perhaps he thought the stuff I had tried to return was Menards merchandise
G We have you on the store tape telling your son to take something off the shelf and put it into the bag.
M That's got to be a mistake I didn't tell my son to put something in the bag. He's 2 years old. He must have done it when I was looking at some other things while I was trying to figure out what was the right part Did you look at the tape did you see him taking things off the shelf and setting them on the floor. I put all that stuff I saw back onto the shelf.
G What we have is what I'm telling you you shoplifted
M What
G Let me see the bag, he opens and pulls out an arbor that I had looked at and put back ; the same type of arbor the rep suggested I buy
M Why would I want to steal something I already paid for why would I need two of them? Do you have a 2 year old you can't tell me you don't know they might do things like this
G I do have a kid, I'm just doing my job
M I offered to pay for part or return
G you stole it, it's too late
Next sequence of events asked to:
Go into small cinderblock room with my son. Room had a security camera, a cheap plastic table, and 3 cheap plastic chairs afterall, it is Menards
Asked to set my son on the chair
Told if my son hadn't been with me they'd put me in handcuffs
Asked to empty out my pockets and set everything on the table
Asked lots of questions about where I live, what type of vehicle I drive, had I ever been arrested before
Asked for my drivers license
Asked to wait for Burnsville police officer to arrive
Told I was banned from Menards for one year, and that if set foot in a Menard's store I'd be arrested for trespassing
I asked to speak to the business manager. I wanted to close my business account with them. I'm furious at this point, but holding it in. The manager comes exchange:
Manager you asked to see me
M Yes, I'd like to close my business account, I'm quite unhappy that I'm being accused of something I didn't do
Mgr I'm not about to do anything for you I'm not going to help someone that stole from us
M Then you can count on me suing your a*s (I was mad and I swore. Sorry)
Police officer comes in
PO Can you put your son on the chair, stand facing the wall, spread your legs I'm going to pat you down. Do you have anything sharp in your pockets
M No, I don't. Took out my wallet, keys, and receipts and set them on the table. Faced the wall, spread my legs, and then got patted down.
PO Sir, have the people here explained to you what's going on?
M Sort of They think I did something I didn't do. My son put something in a bag and I wasn't aware of it.
PO Sir, this is a citation for Misdemeanor Theft by Shoplifting. You'll have to appear in court on April 29th.
M Oh that's great.
PO Sir your free to go.
It's now 10:30. I leave with what I purchased.

I have spent in excess of $50 grand in the past four years at Menards. No longer. The court recently threw out the case. After viewing the security tape it was obvious I had no knowledge of the event. The prosecutor thought it was a waste of time and taxpayer money. I took 3 days off from work to fight this thing. We had court dates every other Wed until it was tossed out. We recently served a notice to have the records sealed. The citation will always be part of my record at the MN BCA.

Jake now says, we don't shop at ard's anymore - we go to Home Depot.

I was searching for kitchen cabinets when I came across this site and the Menards report. I just had to register so that I could let this man know how appalling I find the way you were treated. Yes, it was a silly thing to put that in your pocket, but to me it also shows how innocent your action was. The whole thing disturbs me to the point that I will look for my cabinets at Home Depot and Lowes. It's so hard for me to imagine that in this day in age someone could be treated as you were.

Maybe it's somewhat the same as a speed trap - they have to pay for their security system, so no matter how inoccent something appears, they fine the $100 to pay for the security cameras and personel. I guess they don't realize how negative something like this is and how many people with stop spending money with them because of their handling of a $2.?? tape measure. The fact that they also wouldn't listen to your explaination is demeaning. I take exception with the responder who said basically - well, you took it, doesn't matter if it was a mistake or not, blah, blah. I does matter. When it's so, so obvious that you didn't mean to take it..

I had a shoplifting experience with a teenager my daughter was shopping with. We were out of town and I was the only adult so when she was caught they called me to come and get her. I met with the security people and store manager. The item she took was under $20. It was their store policy not to call law inforcement if the item was of under $20, if everyone involved was cooperative and remorseful, and it was not a repeat situation. I personally talked with everyone involved and the young girl was very embarassed and ashamed, but even with it being a situation where she did it on purpose, the security and management handled it extremely well. They explained to her what could have happened, what would happen in the future if she continued this behavior, what some stores did with shoplifters, and that her name would now be in their records, etc, etc. The important point is that they did their best to let her know how serious this was without making her feel like she was a looser for life.

These can be life changing events and can stay with people, and in my opinion, how this kind of thing is handled is important at any age.

The people you delt with at Menards do not have half the integrity or humanity that you do. Be sad for them - you're the honorable, good man. I applaud you.

Oh no, I can't find spell check on this. Oh well.

Peace,
Bonnie

To the person who commented on this message above me... the 'ex-employee'...
Seriously, fella, haven't you ever made a mistake? First of all, if you've ever done flooring, you know you have to have measurements. It wouldn't be un-heard of to accidently leave your tape measure at home. I know I have been shopping before and accidently stuck something in my pocket... I had to answer my phone quickly, and ALMOST walked out with it. I was thankful I caught my mistake before I left the store. The point of that is, this guy WAS harrassed. I don't care what company you work for... if you have customers, TREAT THEM WELL! Let them share their stories at least. If they look like they are stealing from you, ask them about it. If they say 'oh man, I totally didn't know that was even there'... BELIEVE THEM! Aren't they the ones who keep you in buisness? As a retail company, you are NOTHING without your customers. At least give the guy a chance to tell his story to the cops. If I worked at that store, I would quit as soon as learning what was done to this guy. If I were the district manager, or above the weasel who locked this guy into a $100 fine for 'stealing', I would fire his butt, call up the man who was harrassed, and ask him to meet with me. Appoligize for how he was treated (Respect is ALWAYS #1) and ask him his story. You have to realize that this guy is just as human as you or I. We make mistakes. I know I do. What gives you respectable character is admitting your mistakes and following up with the 'right' actions. This poor fellow won't ever shop at a Menard's again, and I don't blame him, neither will I. This makes me SICK! Shame on you for even thinking that this is acceptable. No WAY can a buisness get away with this type of behavior. I will be passing this story on... Sorry Menard's... I'm a Home Depot employee... and the reason WE have stayed in buisness is because most of us know how to treat our customers. Also, there is an annon tip hotline you can go to and report harrassment like this, if it has happened at Home Depot. Our Management and CEO actually cares. If you're thinking of shopping at Menard's, think again. They may be a little less expensive, but they won't give you nearly the customer service and treatment they would almost anywhere else. Menard's, I hope you change this policy... it's things like this that will put you SOL Out of Buisness... and if these are the people that you allow to manage your stores, I hope you do go out.

No matter how small the item was - you still left the store without paying for it.
I am familiar with this - I had it happen to me.

All you can do is pay the fine (or the time) and move on. I know it seems silly, but you did leave the store without paying for something. That is why security is there, that is why the police are called.

They have heard all of the excuses - so yes, they do get a little rude - and no, they don't owe you any courtesies in this instance.

I can certainly understand that you put a tape measure in your pocket and forgot about it.

My suggestion to anyone is never ever take anything into a store that they can claim that you shoplifted.

I won't touch nothing unless I am going to buy it. I have taken tape measures into stores. I engrave my name on it. Now how can someone engrave it before stealing it.

Never ever pay cash for gas etc at a gas station without a receipt. Debit card is better. Someones drives off and they take your plate number guess what. You have a problem. Debit card records can be subpeoned into court.

I peronally won't let someone bully me into admitting theft when I did not steal. I would goto jail and ask for a jury trial.

That is easily said. Fighting the system when someone is innocent keeps them on their toes. prosecution is cheap words doing it is another.

I actually cut down on shopping at menards. Your story is enough to stop shopping at Menards.

They did something similar to a farmer in Northern Wisconsin. He brought a couple of sample bolts in. They accused him of stealing. someone organized a boycott of menards and the farmers stopped shopping. He won in the end.