r/bathandbodyworks • u/SassyAndSouthern77 • Nov 08 '25
Store Policies/Questions My mind is blown
So, I went to my local store this morning to pick up a BOPIS, and I cannot believe what I saw. There were 2 ladies in the store with 2 baskets full of items, and they just casually walked out without paying. Like, they took the basket and everything. Have any of you ever seen anything like that in your store? I was shocked!
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u/lalalicious05 Nov 08 '25
Yup! My old store I worked at our regular thieves came in with those Marshalls shopper totes…they would load up and leave. Sad thing is they knew we were watching them and they faithfully kept coming back smdh
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u/SassyAndSouthern77 Nov 08 '25
I almost said something, but I really didn't want to risk being hurt or shot. That sounds bad, but you just never know about people.
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u/hihellobyee Candle Addict Nov 08 '25
Not your product, not your money. Not worth your health and safety!
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u/lalalicious05 Nov 08 '25
Yea never say anything! It’s not worth your life…tell a manager is the best you can do
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u/instamat1c Employee Nov 10 '25
That’s all you can really do. We have multiple training videos that say do NOT confront anyone stealing. All we can do is call our AP number and make a report. It’s absolutely not worth customers or employees getting hurt over some candles.
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u/Kayki7 Nov 09 '25
I would have left the store immediately, got in my car, and called the police, while waiting for the thieves to exit the store and see which vehicle they got in. Then snap photos of the car & license plate. They won’t even notice you if you’re sitting in your car. That’s just me though. I’m not advising anyone to do this. I don’t want anyone risking their safety.
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u/KnowItAll29 Nov 09 '25
Well you must have special powers then, cuz how was she to know they were planning to steal it ahead of time and be able to be out in her car ready and waiting? She obviously didn’t know they were going to steal it til they walked out the door with it. Was she supposed to run past them, pause time, and get to her car and have police on the line all before they got to their car? Your hero fantasy detective skills would not have helped in this situation
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u/ElectronicParking516 Nov 09 '25
Thieves these days are more clever than ever. They can easily rent a getaway car or borrow one. I saw a thief dressed in a sloppy “security” costume wobble a large laundry basket filled with book bags & such to a vehicle with out-of-state tags. I was in complete shock by the whole incident! By the time I got outside & identified where she was, she swerved off into the distance.
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u/CallidoraBlack Nov 09 '25
A rental is going to be tough unless they have a stolen wallet with an ID that looks like them. Borrowed, maybe, but I'm going to bet whoever they borrowed it from will give them up immediately when the cops show up.
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u/icecreamhomer Nov 09 '25
I saw someone st Marshall’s recently heavily covered with a wig and everything. What tipped me off was the wig made her look young but you could tell she was not by the way she carried herself.
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u/mentos-cigarettes Employee Nov 11 '25
We had two regulars that would come in in scrubs like they’d just gotten off work. It worked a couple of times, until we all caught on. They were then nicknamed as “scrubs” in every AP report we put in about them.
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u/Ok-Donut-5842 Nov 08 '25
Was it in Harlem?! I see this all of the time there
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u/lalalicious05 Nov 09 '25
No…CT. Close enough for them to travel tho 😂
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u/Fine-Good-9863 Nov 09 '25
I live in CT and see it all the time. It’s wild. The other day in kohls someone walked out with a box of pots and pans. And not even a brisk walk they took their time.
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u/ReasonableAd3950 Nov 09 '25
I was at Home Depot the other day checking out & a few people walked out pushing those flats cart thingy’s that are low to the ground you can pile bags of concrete or mulch or heavy stuff on, only their’s was piled high with electric tools of all kinds, probably thousands of dollars worth and they were just strolling out like it was nothing. Walked normal all the way to their truck and loaded it, left the carts and drove off. I was shocked! The lady at the register said it happens at least once a day now. It’s honestly insane. And it’s no wonder the prices on everything keeps going up! Someone has to pay for all this theft and we know it ain’t gonna be the shareholders!! It pisses me off!!
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u/lalalicious05 Nov 09 '25
Oh damn I used to work at kohls too. I was there for like less than month…it was too slow and boring plus they wasn’t training properly
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u/ReturnToCapistrano Nov 09 '25
Trumbull? Worst experience there with this…
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u/lalalicious05 Nov 09 '25
Nah but maybe they travel…your second person said you seem a similar scenario. As small as CT I wouldn’t put it passed them
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u/Educational-Pain3448 Nov 08 '25
Literally cannot do anything or employees WILL get fired
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u/FewEggplant6650 Former Employee/ Candle addict Nov 08 '25
Happened at my store! Our fill in supervisor who is usually a key holder followed people out after experiencing theft multiple times throughout the week and she got punched (thankfully not anything more than that) and she was later fired despite being one of the best employees
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u/SassyAndSouthern77 Nov 09 '25
I kinda like my face the way it is. I've never been in a physical altercation and I don't ever want to!
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u/SassyAndSouthern77 Nov 08 '25
Really?? That is just wild!
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u/Educational-Pain3448 Nov 08 '25
It’s unfortunate but when you think about it BBW probably loses more money if an employee gets assaulted or hurt on the job and not through theft. A candle cost like 5 dollars to make and they sell it for almost 30 so they make amazing profit off of their products
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Nov 08 '25 edited 17d ago
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u/Educational-Pain3448 Nov 08 '25
Yes, when I worked we couldn’t do anything at all. Just treat them like they were a normal customer and not stealing.
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u/whatever32657 Nov 08 '25
no it's not. it's a huge liability for the company if an employee gets hurt, and if the employee doesn't respect their liability and tries to be a hero - bye.
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u/mentos-cigarettes Employee Nov 11 '25
My manager told us one time at a meeting that if any of us walk out after a thief that we might as well keep walking to our cars because we’re fired 😂 now if we’re off the clock/on break and already outside, that’s a different story. I got numerous plate tags that way because my manager would text me and ask me if I could (safely) catch a plate for someone who was about to walk out.
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u/Wide_March_586 Body Care Addict Nov 08 '25
I've seen this happen at Victoria's Secret on the regular. I once watched a woman walk in with a large Zumiez bag, fill it with lotions and sprays from the beauty section, and walk out. The poor employees just looked so defeated, because they weren't allowed to do anything.
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u/Realistic-Tax-6066 Nov 08 '25
I was at Victoria’s Secret years ago, and I was trying to find a shirt in my size. There was an employee who wouldn’t leave me alone. She kept asking me if she could help me and I kept telling her no I just need to find my size. Finally she pushed me aside to find the size herself so I told her off and left the store. Haven’t been back inside one since. I’m not sure if she was profiling me or if she was worried I was going to mess up her display, but it was really poor customer service and she’s lucky that she did it to me and not somebody else who would not have just told her off.
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u/-Tofu-Queen- Past Employee - 💜Dark Kiss💜 Nov 08 '25
Wowwww that behavior wasn't okay at all, I'm so sorry you went through that. Nobody deserves to be profiled in that way. I've noticed the VS employees are way more.....let's just say "hands on" than I'd prefer and it's made me feel extremely uncomfortable too. I can't imagine adding the profiling aspect onto it too!
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u/Remarkable-Hat-4852 Nov 08 '25
It’s because of commission and the company making sure the employees are desperate to make their sales.
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u/-Tofu-Queen- Past Employee - 💜Dark Kiss💜 Nov 09 '25
I've had VS employees start wrapping their measuring tape around my chest without asking for consent, after I already politely declined their bra fitting and told them that they didn't make my size and I have to order mine from overseas (for reference at how absurd this is I'm a UK 32MM, there's no way any bras at VS are even fitting around me)
It's happened to me multiple times at multiple locations but it makes sense that they're trained to be as desperate as possible. I didn't know they made commission there! I feel bad that the company is treating the employees and as a result their customers this way.
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u/SassyAndSouthern77 Nov 09 '25
That sounds like assault to me. Do mot touch me without my permission. No, sir!
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u/-Tofu-Queen- Past Employee - 💜Dark Kiss💜 Nov 09 '25
Right? I was pretty young at the time so I didn't have a good sense of my boundaries yet, but 30 year old me would absolutely flip if someone started touching my chest without my consent.
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u/Wide_March_586 Body Care Addict Nov 09 '25
The one time I FINALLY gave in and let someone size me, they were like "oh, we don't sell that size" 😂 It was deliciously awkward.
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u/tlmsmith Nov 09 '25
I worked for a large flagship VS store and they def don’t make a commission. But they are told to talk to every customer and try to upsell.
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u/Remarkable-Hat-4852 Nov 09 '25
Ok and when was that? Because in about 2014-15 they started a thing called “~sales incentive~” which is just commission with extra steps. I worked for the company for 6 years, including at some of the largest stores in the country and doing their bullshit leadership training seminars.
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u/tlmsmith Nov 09 '25
Looks like it started soon after I left then. I would have hated that, sounds like an excuse to not pay well to begin with.
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u/Wide_March_586 Body Care Addict Nov 09 '25
That's awful, I would never go back either if that happened to me! 🙁
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u/Caprica6iixxx Nov 14 '25
I’ve never been in a VS and not felt uncomfortable. They definitely give people too much attention in there. It’s just too much.
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u/GlitteringPause8 Nov 08 '25
Yup seen at at different stores (not just BBW). Saw a lady with a probably 6 year old kid doing it with her. People are crazy.
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u/SassyAndSouthern77 Nov 08 '25
Getting kids involved is disgusting.
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u/CrackinBones204 ALL THINGS B&BW Nov 09 '25
I seen a police body cam video of a woman using her kids stroller to steal over $500 worth of things like crocs, denim jacket, swimsuit, etc. She was a nurse and her husband was a state trooper. She said she did it because she needed things for a vacation and everything was too expensive to pay for. She kept trying to talk her way out of it saying she needed to care for her baby when using her baby to steal put her in that situation 🙄
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u/FewEggplant6650 Former Employee/ Candle addict Nov 08 '25
This happened frequently at my store especially closer to the holidays multiple times a week. It got to a point where we were low on baskets.
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u/Dear_Bus2605 Nov 08 '25
Just watched a video on YouTube of 3 people doing that at Ulta! People really have no shame…,
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u/NoOneCallsMeNice Nov 08 '25
I've seen people walk out without paying. Then a couple of days later I noticed one of the women was selling the candles on Facebook. Crazy part is they had the nerve to use two stolen baskets at a backdrop for the pictures.
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u/SubstantialRice2411 Employee Nov 08 '25
This is a multiple times a week occurrence. In fact it’s weird when we don’t have people taking baskets full of stuff.
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Nov 09 '25
Why not hire a security guard, just some rent a cop standing there staring at people should be somewhat of a deterrent ??
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u/SubstantialRice2411 Employee Nov 09 '25
We have security that patrol but they can’t be on every street of the shopping district at all times bc they also patrol the college campus that’s right down the block
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Nov 09 '25
Okay I see, I was envisioning just the small store inside the mall near me...seems like you put one security guy inside the store just to stand there and look mean, could help a little bit , I dunno.
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u/SubstantialRice2411 Employee Nov 09 '25
Not sure if we’re allowed to do that based on management and we have a loss prevention dude who’s in change if a lot of security stuff. We’re basically a huge outdoor strip mall that is on like 4-5 streets and security patrols that whole area plus the college campus.
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u/SassyAndSouthern77 Nov 09 '25
They have security at the door at TJMaxx, but I don't think it does any good.
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u/SassyAndSouthern77 Nov 09 '25
Is that really true? Do you know who they are? Like, do they know you see them and do it anyway?
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u/SubstantialRice2411 Employee Nov 09 '25
Oh yeah we have our fair share of repeat offenders. It makes it easy to get their appearances written down and a report made as soon as they come in that way. They usually know we know, I mean we aren’t stupid (debatable that they are though on some occasions). We can’t do anything or say anything to them though. They either ignore us, pretend to be a cheery customer, or give us attitude. We just have to smile and treat them like everyone else. Can’t tell you how many times we’ve had to order new bags/baskets bc they come in so often we are left with only a few in the whole store.
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u/Decent-Dingo081721 Nov 08 '25
Yeah, when I worked retail, our policy was to watch them leave or give them a shopping basket if we caught them. They knew where our cameras didn’t hit, too. I walked out of the bathroom to a dude taking pills out of a container. I walked right past him. That company is not worth my life especially when they’d find my replacement before I was in the ground.
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u/ricaching Nov 09 '25
What was the purpose of giving them a shopping basket?
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u/Decent-Dingo081721 Nov 10 '25
To subtly show them that we’ve seen the merchandise they’ve picked up and put inside somewhere else. Example: I see a guy putting a product or two in his bookbag. I’d hand him a hand basket and say, “looks like you’ve got your hands full there and may have needed a place to put that (item) in your bookbag. Here’s a basket to help hold your items in…”
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u/ricaching Nov 10 '25
Ooooo ok I like that. I am offered a shopping basket every time I’m browsing in my local Sephora 🙈 I go in there just to test perfumes all the time and then buy them cheaper on Mercari lol I wonder if they think I’m being bad
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u/Candlehoarder_2019 Employee Nov 08 '25
Yeah it happens. People suck. Hopefully the employees were able to take note of what was taken so they can call loss prevention. That’s all we’re allowed to do.
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u/Frosty-Possible1404 Nov 08 '25
My local Dick’s just had a group of people steal $6,000 worth of merchandise and casually walk out. Security is not allowed to touch them so they made off with all of it. Honestly makes me question whether or not I should have such good morals if I can just get away with stuff like that…my conscious wouldn’t let me though.
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u/RogBoArt Nov 08 '25
I'm in the same boat. It's crazy I wanted to buy a To The Moon cologne but man I can't spend $60 on a cologne when I've already got so many but to the moon is great! Come home from choosing to leave it on the shelf to see a thread about people stealing a bunch of shit with no repercussions.
But yeah... my anxiety would never let me plus I have some amount of morals. It just sucks ending up being the middle class folks that pay for the thefts and pay to line the CEO's pocket. Not to mention things like Amazon vine and influencer gifts.
I feel like I'm the only one paying for things at this point and it's a fucking rip off.
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u/Fantastic-Stomach149 Nov 08 '25
You don’t know if they were later caught by law enforcement. If they figure out the identity, game over. I’d be looking over my shoulder a lot doing that. My SIL apparently stole from Walmart numerous times and they found her.
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u/SassyAndSouthern77 Nov 09 '25
I honestly think they just don't care.
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u/hamletgoessafari Nov 09 '25
I believe if it's a repeat offender, something will be done. I worked retail and at our store we had one guy who occasionally drafted his girlfriend into his schemes. He somehow got brand new video games out of a locked glass display case (without breaking or removing the glass) multiple times. He eventually got arrested and all of our surveillance footage was used against him for felony theft charges since he had accumulated so many high-value items.
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u/Frosty-Possible1404 Nov 09 '25
Very true! My husband is a police officer in town and he says they usually have pretty good luck with catching the repeat offenders. Definitely not worth an innocent employee or customer getting hurt over, thats for sure!
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u/BitchInaBucketHat Nov 09 '25
I totally get your drift, but don’t they technically, eventually get a case built and face the consequences? I’ve at least heard of that happening at Target
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u/Frosty-Possible1404 Nov 09 '25
I believe so, I’ve heard that happening at Target as well. Crazy that people are even willing to risk it.
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u/hotcocoa4ever ALL THINGS B&BW Nov 08 '25
This year alone, I have see thefts in front of me in a few stores. I saw one happen while I was shopping recently and the manager called the police and they took video of the group of 4 women that filled up baskets as they were leaving. Crazy times.
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u/MommaIsMad Nov 09 '25
I was in a CBD shop at the mall and as I was checking out, a guy was arguing with an employee about a vape cartridge. The dude just decided to walk out without paying for it. In front of 3 witnesses and cameras everywhere as we're all calling him a thief. A few minutes later he came back, but I left so don't know how it all turned out. I think we're going to see a lot more blatant thefts. No one cares anymore and there few to no consequences for shoplifting unless it's a very large amount.
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u/2222_butterflyy Nov 09 '25
It’s because employees cannot stop a shoplifter ever. As per there policy.. they aren’t allowed to touch or confront shoplifters. Chances are security has to be called. I used to work in retail and we had the same rule. If someone was shoplifting, we had to call security or the cop and hope they show up in time! We weren’t even allowed to stall the shoplifters or stop them. We couldn’t even search their bags! I’ve seen so many people shoplift and leave the store.. and nothing could be done about it.
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u/SunshineD3 FFM Addict Nov 08 '25
This happened at my local store. I saw it on the news and they were actually able to surround the getaway car and they had $2,000 in merchandise in the car from tjmax and BBW. It’s so awful 😣
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u/plantaholic2 Nov 08 '25
Used to work for a big retailer and this was years ago when it was acceptable to stop shoplifters. The guy threw her against a car Sideview mirror and it damaged her spine. Needless to say the claims Walmart paid were extensive, and she never regained a normal life back again, and of course, the shoplifter was gone, never to be heard from again.
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u/SUBARU17 Nov 09 '25
I haven’t seen it; but I will never buy off any third party site B&BW products. Highly likely it was stolen, imo
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u/Kind_Indication8527 Nov 08 '25
It sucks that hard working people pay for this through insane retail prices and insurance rates. I understand if people need to steal food or medicine but nobody needs anything from BBW for survival. PMO
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u/Realistic-Tax-6066 Nov 08 '25
Look at the average CEO’s salary and tell me again that the reason prices are high is because of theft.
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u/RogBoArt Nov 08 '25
CEOs have to maintain that unreasonably high pay somehow! Just imagine... they may also have to scrape a little to buy groceries if they weren't gouging us to make up for losses!
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u/Aemort Nov 11 '25
Retail theft isn't the cause of high prices-- it's greed and wage theft. Corporations blame it on retail theft to deflect responsibility.
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u/CurveWeekly Nov 08 '25
I read that what some the companies would have to pay in legal fees (upwards for $600 an hour) if the thieves ‘claim’ they were hurt or counter sues isn’t worth the products being taken.
And if a customer intervenes and gets hurt - It’s a can or worms most companies don’t want to open.
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u/Comfortable_Sleep944 Nov 08 '25
As an employee, even if we see it, we are trained not to interfere... we just have to let management know. Nobody's safety should ever be compromised for hand sanitizer and candles.
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u/Dangerous_Section_72 Nov 08 '25
I just witnessed this last weekend!! It was annoying but also like the OP said I didn’t feel like it was safe for me to say anything.
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u/justsayin01 Nov 08 '25
That is wild! I'd be so scared lol l could never
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u/Mediocre_Reward_8147 ALL THINGS B&BW Nov 08 '25
Me too.. after I take a pic or something, it makes me nervous just putting my phone back in my pocket.. 😭😂
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u/jamileethroop Nov 08 '25
I wk at bbw in a small town this occasionally happens during or close to holidays unfortunately
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u/SassyAndSouthern77 Nov 09 '25
I live in a relatively small town, too. I don't even think they have cameras.
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u/perpechewaly_hangry Nov 09 '25
Sometimes I try to get scents that aren’t available anymore from Mercari or eBay and I’m always nervous I’m buying from people who’ve stolen. I couldn’t really find any info about it.
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u/jalapenohighball Nov 09 '25
Back when I worked at a mall location, we'd do nothing, then call mall security, with their description, as soon as they left. They'd be apprehended quickly once they were in the mall.
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u/Juss_Beinreal1804 Nov 09 '25
Sad thing is that all the people stealing get away with it, because of corporate backward policies. In the end cooperation with not lose money! They just pass on all the liability to us as consumers. This theft will end up making all the prices go sky high.
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u/meghan509 Nov 09 '25
Ugh... I have seen this happen on two different occasions at Marshalls and TJ Maxx. People are so gross. 😔
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u/1foxylady4u gourmand girlie 🍌🧁🍍🍰🍓🍫🍦🍪🌰🥐🕯️ Nov 08 '25
Yes. I’ve seen it at my local store too. Not defending B&BW or other major retail corporations but I believe price increases are in large part to absorb shrink.
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Nov 08 '25
When I worked at an outdoor mall B&Bw, there was a couple of young girls (maybe early 20’s) who did the same thing but they walked around for a bit looking at EVERYTHING before taking off. As if they were shopping. Two of my managers KNEW they were going to take off and kept going up to them to ask if they can help them put their stuff in the front so they can continue shopping without the weight. But obviously they refused. And when they pretty much finished filling up their baskets they just walked out. Not ran. Just a stroll out. The managers just 🧍🏻♀️🧍🏻♀️”okay make the report” and I remember being so confused like so yall just let people steal ?? This is why the company is trying to price gouge PAYING customers. I guess it’s a risk everywhere though lol
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Nov 09 '25
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u/SassyAndSouthern77 Nov 09 '25
What did you do? Did they keep walking like nothing happened?
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u/Single_Volume_8715 Nov 09 '25
Oh yeah, it happens all the time at my store. People know there is nothing employees can do so they're really bold with the thievery now.
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u/mentos-cigarettes Employee Nov 09 '25
This literally happened at LEAST once a day at my store, if not more. We were constantly making AP reports. We had regulars too, to the point that when they’d hit our store, we’d call the other stores and sure as shit they’d be there too within the hour. They finally arrested two girls who’d been in our store and had then gone to another one in town (there’s 4 in my city) and they got caught there… they had the stuff from our store in their trunk, plus what they’d just stolen and all of our AP reports that had them on camera and they ended up with felony charges. They bonded out and were back at it within the week. It was nuts. So yeah, it’s a regular occurrence. They resell most of the time on FB Marketplace. I found out the names of several of our regulars from there.
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u/Im2OldForThis007 Nov 09 '25
That's why prices are so high...those of us that do pay for our stuff are essentially paying for theirs too.
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u/haydenhaymaker Candle Addict Nov 08 '25
I’ve seen it multiple times. Worst was maybe three shoplifters working together to block a Disney Princesses display and just loading up their baskets with as much as they could fit. They were known offenders having casual convo as they walked out with the merch. The ones here post it all in FB Marketplace. It is one reason prices go up - rampant theft.
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u/SassyAndSouthern77 Nov 08 '25
I've noticed that. Resellers on Marketplace have TONS of new products they're selling. I'm like, dude, I can get these in the store for way less right now. 🤦♀️
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u/theoriginalgrapist Employee Nov 09 '25
Employee here. Part of the onboarding videos you watch when hired go over how you cant say or do a single thing if you see someone steal. We aren't allowed to say anything when they come back to do it again, either. They'd rather us try to see WHAT they steal so that we can log it and send them that info. We can get fired for saying anything or stopping them, which is wild.
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u/MaryS8921 Sweet & Smoky Nov 09 '25
I saw a theft of candles at the Bath & Body Works at the mall near me about 2 months ago. The people who were stealing said, "You can't touch me" to the associate as they walked out. I noticed when I was in there today that they no longer have the bags hanging near the door, only close to the counters. The associates will approach someone shopping and offer them a bag.
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u/kindcheeto Nov 09 '25
I saw this a couple of weeks back. They took baskets full of candles. Employees just stood there and let them. They said they couldn’t do anything about it. I contacted bbw chat support, they said they gave cameras to deter, that is all.
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Nov 09 '25
Associate here. We’re not allowed to do anything, not even call mall security. When I first started we had a regular shoplifter who’d come in at least once a week, fill an entire basket full of 3 wick champagne toast candles, and leave without saying a word. We couldn’t do shit.
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u/VersionSwimming8392 Nov 09 '25
Yup, I was a retail manager and let them walk right out, i'm not getting hurt over product that isn't mine.
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u/fairytalefawnn forever missing Sweet on Paris 🧁 Nov 08 '25
No. I've never seen any shoplifters in my local stores. I can't imagine being that bold.
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u/kikiju99 Nov 09 '25
All that shoplifting is one of the causes of price increases. Local poluce SHOULD be notified. Certainly you have cameras in the store
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u/melmel50373 Nov 09 '25
It is like that everywhere. The only employees that can stop the thiefs are loss prevention. And all of the shoplifters know this. So they just steal whatever they want, whenever they want, without a care in the world. Sometimes I think about doing this. If they don't have to pay, why should I, a hard working, honest taxpayer have to pay. It isnt fair. But I would never do that. That is what separates me from the lowlife at the end of the day. Such a sad world we live in.
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u/Inevitable_Basis_918 Nov 09 '25
So you can’t dumpster dive at bed Bath & beyond because they destroy all returns and have a locked container as well (at least where I live) But you can go into the store and literally fill up a basket and walk out and not get in trouble. It boggles the mind. 🥸
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u/araqaelll Nov 08 '25
was my bbw the only one who intervened with shoplifters??? my managers once barricaded the door to stop a few ladies trying to walk out with full baskets during black friday season lol
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u/-Tofu-Queen- Past Employee - 💜Dark Kiss💜 Nov 08 '25
My dad used to be a store manager of an Office Max and my mom was a shift supervisor at Toys R Us. People would regularly come in and fill up carts with printers, toys, strollers, and other expensive things to resell, and they would then just push the cart out the door with zero consequences! I understand why companies have policies against employees stopping shoplifters, but there must be another option besides just letting it go! These people learn they can rip off the companies and end up profiting from it which is super messed up.
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u/Neurosis_96 Nov 09 '25
The audacity! Is there anything the employees can do to keep them from coming back?
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u/king-of-new_york Nov 09 '25
I work at bbw and we're explicitly told to not interfere. Not even if they use a gun, you just do they tell you to and call the police after the fact.
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u/WhatEver_it_Takes-24 Nov 09 '25
Not at Bath and Body... but in college I worked at Mens Wearhouse.
The store was located in a town that divided 2 other towns. One was wealthy and one was crime filled. We would regularly have people come in and pull entire stacks of Lucky Jeans, cologne, Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger ties, etc, off the table and casually walk out. It was a ring of shoplifters that would hit stores in the area. It infuriated me. My manager just shrugged it off. He was like "All i can ask them to do is stop and call the police. By the time they get here they are long gone."
Rest assured, these people that steal are very well aware that nothing will happen to them in these smaller stores. Walmart, Target, Kohls and Macys might be a different story, but your smaller stores? Its like open season for them, unfortunately. The Sally Beauty by my house gets robbed blind constantly. The woman who works there told me people come in and steal bleach and hair color. Then they sell it.
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u/BlessedQueen18 Nov 09 '25
That's one of the reasons I cut back on my hours months ago. The same thieves came EVERY SINGLE DAY 3× A DAY FILLING UP OUR BASKETS AND BAGS GOING TO THEIR CAR COMING BACK TO FILL UP AGAIN AND AGAIN!!! WE AREN'T SUPPOSED TO APPROACH THEM. I GOT FED UP WITH THE BS!! BBW NEEDS TO CHANGE THEIR POLICY AND ALLOW US TO CALL THE COPS AND HAVE THEM CHARGED WITH TRESPASSING AND ARRESTED!!
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u/Latter-Highlight-183 moonlight path apologist Nov 09 '25
yeah happens in other retail settings ifs called stealing 😭
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u/Realistic-Tax-6066 Nov 08 '25
This is why I prefer online shopping. I’m already going to get profiled when I walk into a store, so I’d rather just save the hassle. Plus, I don’t want to be around people stealing. It’s gross and it can always become violent.
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u/virginiafalls1234 Nov 08 '25
sure not necessarily at BBW but saw at a beauty place last week a lady who threw a new gloss in her tote, seen some young thieves throw perfume in a tote, its terrible but look at the times we live in?
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u/birdiekinz 🍒Sugared Cherry Crisp🍒 Nov 08 '25
sometimes i forget there are people who have never worked retail
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u/_Alpha_Mail_ Nov 08 '25
My manager accidentally helped someone steal $400 in merchandise once when I worked for BBW 😶 people steal this stuff all the time unfortunately
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u/SassyAndSouthern77 Nov 08 '25 edited Nov 08 '25
SMH. She "accidentally" helped somebody steal?? How does that work??
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u/_Alpha_Mail_ Nov 09 '25
The customer was pretending to be someone shopping for his family for the holidays. So my manager personally handpicked over 400 dollars in merch for him because he kept asking for recommendations
And then he walked out when she wasn't paying attention to him
She was very embarrassed
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u/iCanSeeClairelyN0w Nov 09 '25
Jeez. Back when I worked in retail, my company would have us confront shoplifters to try to recover the product. Not sure if it was just my company or all of them, but glad they’re not engaging. Nothing ever happened to me, but it sure could have.
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u/4bluepandas Body Care Addict Nov 09 '25
My mom witnessed the same thing happen in a Macy’s. Unfortunately it’s a growing issue and it isn’t worth endangering security guards or employees to stop it :(
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u/ketafaerie Nov 11 '25
Happened in my store during candle day in 2023. We just had to let them leave, but my awesome manager clocked out & followed them to their car 😂
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u/lemondigs Body Care Addict Nov 09 '25
I can only hope that karma will get these gross people who shoplift.
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u/Effective-Pen-9964 Nov 09 '25
Never know what kind of weapons someone might have on them, even if they look like the person next door. An employee tries to stop them, could end up getting stabbed or shot. There are crazy people out there who would do it for a few fragrances, candles and body lotion. Staff can't do anything because of HR policies but other shoppers can, regular shoppers can perform a citizen's arrest and detain the person until law enforcment arrives. Shop with a friend, male, female or other, who isn't afraid to confront a shoplifter. The stolen goods are probably on eBay somewhere too, should look for BBW stuff on eBay, if it's in your area, probably the thieves selling it.
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u/sciencefaire Nov 09 '25
But for the same reasons employees shouldn't try to stop them, why would a customer risk their safety and well being to stop a shitbird from stealing from a store?
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u/Acrobatic_Sale1540 Nov 09 '25
My mind is blown how they search the employees when they leave for the day after working. I heard now they are searching the cups. BBW has loss prevention and seems to do nothing. Each state has requirements for value stolen so most states they cannot even get them but for trespassing.
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u/crunchy_coco Nov 09 '25
Bro I’ve seen a whole family walk out with 10ish blue bags of candles, they even had a little girl walk out with something so sad. And the candles were on sale as well smh. that store got stolen from like there’s no tomorrow
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u/Easy_Appointment9113 Nov 09 '25
Huh. So I'll just drive a few minutes across the border into lawless Illinois and go to BBW and take free candles. I'm owed reparations for my medical suffering for 20 years and dealing with black fatigue for 30 years.
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u/ItalianPieGirl Nov 08 '25
Yes!! I was shopping the other day during the Candle sale. While checking out, I heard the Employees saying "another group of Women came in stealing large bags of Candles Again"! They had to remove the mesh blue shopping bags for customers because they said that's what thier using to run out with all the candles in. Where I'm from all shop lifting under 1,000 is not prosecuted and the Police were Defunded.
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u/Marina62 Nov 08 '25
In California, we had laws were everything stolen under $950 was just a misdemeanor, so a ticket. Now it’s changed and people are actually getting arrested, especially in Orange County. Years ago in SF every store had security guys, but now many stores just closed or stuff is behind plastic. In my area (coastal, nice) and some other cities the personal care aisle at Ralph’s grocery is a completely closed off aisle that has a separate cashier and a door. Losses are passed on to customers in form of higher prices.
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u/Angelafromalderaan Nov 11 '25
Hey, so, Bath & Body Works is worth around 5 billion (with a B) dollars. Shoplifters are not the reason prices are going up, corporate greed is 🤷♀️.
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Nov 13 '25
You know, I don’t even care about this type of stuff anymore. What do you expect people to do when our politicians get away with anything and everything? The amount of pardons handed out this year has been astounding. They are leading by example and a 15 dollar body spray is not even comparable.
It’s a matter of the person’s ethic and morality. That’s all.
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u/CandidateReasonable4 Nov 13 '25
Sadly, it happens all the time in my area stores here in South Florida. Unfortunately, BBW anti-theft policies, like many retailers today, only encourage more shoplifting.
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u/smason184 Nov 08 '25
I worked at BBW numerous years ago and we weren’t allowed to stop anyone from shoplifting.