Family Dollar

"It was good. Ok. l went in to see if they have Goldfish Crackers. They had small bags of the extra cheddar flavor. I was looking for the Colors flavor. But l bought some of the extra cheddar. I was in a hurry. So l didn't stay to look around alot."

"I “was” a frequent shopper at this family dollar spending several, several, hundreds of my hard earned dollars over the past couple of years… until yesterday. It was about 6:30 in the evening and I was inside the store looking for Christmas gifts for my 2 y/o daughter. While looking clothes for my daughter, I received a call from my mother. Holding the phone up to my ear with my shoulder (not on speaker) I continued to look through the merchandise. I came across an outfit that I wanted to purchase for my daughter. Since I did not have a cart but wanted to continue looking for a second outfit, I placed the outfit under my left arm and held it with my elbow, like I have done in thousands of times in thousands of different stores in my life. After about a six or seven minute conversation with mom, I found a second outfit I planned to purchase and pulled it off of the rack. That is when I was approached by two male employees who stated that a customer that they knew by name (likely a friend of theirs) had reported that I was shoplifting and that I needed to remove my jacket and lift my shirt up so they could locate any stolen merchandise on my person. As they too (based on that other persons accusation) believe that I am a thief. I was extremely offended at this because I AM NOT A CRIMINAL and have NEVER SHOPLIFTED ANYTHING throughout MY entire LIFE! Yet, here I am, being treated as one. My first words were “are you being serious”? I quickly handed them my two items and did as I was being asked. I removed my coat as I began to stammer, trying to defend myself of the accusation. As the words were coming out of my mouth I immediately realized that a defense was unnecessary because I did ABSOLUTELY NOTHING WRONG! I politely asked them if they reviewed the surveillance video, knowing it would also prove my innocence. They said they they hadn’t. I then asked if they had seen me doing anything that would arouse suspicion. They responded with “No, she (the other customer) just told us. At this, I actually got pretty angry about. Because this means that they approached me hurling accusations, accusing of me committing a crime (treating me as such) based upon one persons word without conducting any due diligence or surveillance to ensure the accuracy of the accusations! I did not cause a scene, and promptly paid for my two items. I went home and told my wife what had just happened. That night I laid their awake realizing how much this unpleasant and unprovoked situation was bothering me. Even though I am not, I felt as if I was a criminal. I lay their questioning if this is how I am portrayed when I am in other stores. I began thinking of what I could do to prevent having anything like this happen again. After some truly deep thought, I concluded that I do not need to do anything differently than I did that day. I was being a 100% law abiding citizen (as I always strive to be) who is polite and respectful to others and adheres to all store rules and policies. What more is necessary?"

"I normally make visits here every 8 to 10 days. I get a supply of soda. Since it wasn't quite 10 days, they didn't have enough to complete my order. But they did have my phone card. It is tough finding that anymore. I use Tracfone, by the way. The cashier was pleasant as always. I had a good trip."

"The cashier is very honest. She claims that I gave her 2 twenty's when I gave her a twenty & a single on my purchase. She insisted that I was wrong. I accepted the change which was $19. I pray she didn't get in trouble as i am prepared to give it back when her drawer comes up short."