Let's talk about theft. "Shop-lifting is much too gentle a term for the act of stealing private property. That softness is typical of the media's more tolerant attitude of robbery from a business rather than from a home. Things stolen from your Aunt Sophie generate more sympathy than identical objects taken from my store. Let me assure you--as one victimized by the crime--that it feels just as bad. Theft is a form of rape. Proprietors put body and soul into their businesses, so violation of property can be just as devastating as physical violation. You experience the same unclean feeling that someone--somebody alien and uninvited--has mangled your psyche and left it less than whole. Mere months after we first opened in late 1978, my wife and I stopped at the shop on a Sunday morning while en route to a trade convention. The store isn't open on Sunday, but I frequently use its cash drawer as a source of ready green stuff. (Yes, I always write a check to cover the withdrawal, whether the transaction proceeds from me to the store or vice versa. It was quite weird the first time I wrote a check to myself and signed it.) I scooped the money out of the till and headed for the door. My wife stopped me, her tone becoming more shrill; the unsettling sense of wrongness I'd been unable to identify crystalized and took shape. All the lead miniatures which should have been displayed on one counter were gone. Having shattered the illusion of normality, our eyes probed swiftly and blinked, like shutters in a camera, with each new discovery: three war games gone here, several role-playing modules there, and so forth. And, finally, the coup-de-grace: a hole in the wall, where the air-conditioner had rested. The unit itself--which had been mounted, but not bolted, at floor level-- had been pushed inside and rested on the carpet. We were lucky. Our thieves were incredibly stupid. (I use the plural because no single person could have budged that machine; it's huge.) They had taken only games and accessories which directly interested them... never more than two of an item. They also ignored well over $400 in the cash drawer. The police came and dusted for prints, but that was pretty useless in a retail store where merchandise is handled all the time. I can't recommend the procedure. Fingerprint powder is not the miracle dust of mystery novels; it looks and goes on like soot and is the Devil's own to clean off later. The cash value of the loss was only $150, so I wasn't even able to file a claim with my insurance agent... that was the value of the deductible. The most obnoxious form of theft is that which is done only to annoy. I've lost countless single chess and backgammon pieces. Movers and pawns are pocketed easily, and I may not notice for days. The set becomes worthless unless I can obtain a replacement piece (often harder than you might think). I've also been victimized by real pros, and my anger at the loss is coupled with stunned disbelief at their skill and chutzpah. One incident took place with only two of us in the store: me and the thief-to-be. I couldn't have looked away for more than a moment, but the opportunity was not missed. After he left, I noticed an entire chess set-a large one, packaged in a wooden box 4" x 5" x 9" was missing. There was no doubt of the man's guilt; I had inventoried chess that morning, and nobody else had been in the store. (Slow day... must have been a Thursday. Thursdays are always awful.) Hell, his coat hadn't been that large. The award for guile, though, goes to the unknown individual who stole one of our hand-held electronic games during the 1979 Christmas season. We never knew when it happened. I was dusting one day and noticed that one of the boxes was lighter than the rest. I opened it quickly, and-sure enough-no game. They were displayed directly in front of the sales counter. Somebody had opened the box, removed the foam packing, taken the game, replaced the foam packing, and returned the box to its hook... during our Christmas rush, when there were five employees in this tiny shop, two of whom did nothing but watch people in an attempt to prevent that very thing! You've got to be careful, running a store frequented by kids, not to develop a reputation for being an "easy rip-off." People then will come in specifically to steal something, as a point of peer pride. I had an ace to play which helped considerably; I simply sealed the back door. My shop is squarish, with a door to the west and another to the east. The latter is near all sorts of small, easily-grabbed items, and the door itself opens out into an alleyway which is great for escapes. With that door no longer in service, everybody must enter and exit through the front door. It's amazing, though, how many people still try that back door, in spite of the displays which would block entry completely even if the door did open. Do they expect to step over six feet of shelves? I've hung a sign which faces outward and reads "This is not a door. Doors can be opened and closed. Doors can also be walked through. This is an ex-door." I'd love to take credit for that witticism, but in truth I shamelessly stole it from a shop in Carmel, California. Happy Endings Not all these stories have unhappy endings (from my perspective). Most petty theft is performed by children. Lacking the sophistication of some adults, they make mistakes. For example... Four years ago, during a quiet weekday afternoon, three boys were torn between several role-playing modules. They asked for details concerning three or four, brought them over individually. What did I think of this one? Is that one difficult? They finally decided against buying any. Their exit was particularly boisterous, and two of them didn't maneuver very well ... as if walking had become difficult due to the unexplainable presence of several items clutched under jackets and sweaters. That's hindsight, though, because I didn't notice anything amiss until after they had left. I walked over to re-alphabetize the modules and realized four were missing... the same four which had been the subject of so much attention. I was fortunate. One of the kids returned half an hour later to purchase something else. The gentle confrontation proved what I had suspected. My "victim;' a regular customer who stood to lose too much by such action, knew about but had not participated in the theft. He willingly gave me the names and phone numbers of the other two. Each answered the phone when I called. (Had they been waiting?) My message was the same to both: "You have something of mine. I want it back here by 5:00. If you haven't shown up by then, I'll get on the phone again. Do we understand each other?" Each responded with a quiet "Uh- huh." (Notice I did not specify the missing items. Never give that information; if you overlooked something, the thief won't be tempted to bring just what you requested.) They arrived at 4:59, possibly to avoid having witnesses to their shame. They had not even opened the four modules. We had a heart-to-heart and I asked why they had done it; both confessed to empty wallets. Did they realize, I asked softly, that I owned the store, and by stealing from the shop they were stealing from me? That rocked 'em. One burst into tears, and the other looked horrified. With some people--those not yet hardened to a life of crime--putting the action on a personal level makes it far more significant. One kid had guts; he apologized and, after about a week, came in regularly and remained a good customer. I never saw the other again. My favorite--in terms of poor planning--took place on Christmas Eve of 1982. We were down to the last hours. One of my assistants, Paul, noticed an expansion for Star Fleet Battles was missing. He also was positive lie knew the culprit; this information was unusual because the boy in question always had plenty of money. We didn't, unfortunately, know his name. "Wait a minute," Paul suddenly said, pointing out the window. "Isn't that his bicycle?" Neatly locked and parked in our rack was a single bicycle. I couldn't be sure-our town is crammed with bikes-but I felt Paul might be right. We waited. An hour later, Paul saw the boy creeping quietly along the side of the building in a surreptitious attempt to reach his bicycle. Although circumstances made the situation far from funny, it was difficult not to laugh. I waited a moment and stepped outside. "Would you come in for a moment, please?" I asked politely. "Why?" The color drained from his face. "I'd like to talk to you." "Okay, okay," he stammered. "I took it. Here." He pulled the item out of his backpack, like a rabbit from a hat, and tried to hand it to me. "Inside," I insisted, and guided him through the door. Sure, I felt bad since I probably ruined his Christmas, but that's hardly the point. I even might have been tempted to let it go, since it was Christmas Eve, if he were a hard- luck case who rarely had money. But I knew he and his brother were loaded; they routinely had dropped $40 a week for several months. Theft is theft... even when you feel sorry for the thief. I did, unfortunately, lose two of my best customers. But you can't win 'em all .... Eight Ways to Help Prevent Theft The best thing you can do to prevent theft is to make it difficult in the first place, These are some examples of how to make it hard for the "thief-to-be". 1. Display easily pocketed items behind the counter or out of reach. 2. Train your employees to be alert for theft and how to handle potential thieves. Local police are usually very helpful. They may be willing to come to a local mall or meeting of a local business group to give tips on identifying and stopping theft. Remind employees to be very alert during the holiday rush. 3. Don't give thieves an easy exit. Examine your store's layout for visibility. Can you see all parts of the customer area from behind the counter? Do the customers have to exit past the cash register? 4. Make contact with your customers, Greet them as they enter the store. Not only does this deter potential thieves, it can boost sales. 5. Watch how customers shop. If a customer is paying more attention to where you are and where the other customers are instead of the merchandise, it's time to pay a lot of attention to him. 6. Make it obvious that you will not tolerate shoplifting in your store. Put up a large sign, saying you will prosecute shoplifters. Follow customers, if they are acting like potential shoplifters. Don't be afraid to let them know you're doing this - remember you want thieves to leave! 7. Have customers check their bags when they enter, if you have the sales help to implement this procedure, it makes a good deterrent, 8. Follow through. When you do catch a shoplifter, prosecute him. All these items won't help if you're going to let a shoplifter go. Back to Table of Contents -- Game News #10 To Game News List of Issues To MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 1985 by Dana Lombardy. This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com