It’s one thing to have all this theft in a place like Portland or San Francisco. This is our nation’s seat of government
DC supermarket near closing after $500K in groceries walks out the door
As cities across the U.S. grapple with a growing shoplifting problem, a Washington, D.C., grocery store may be on the verge of closure after rampant theft has depleted much of its resources, a D.C. councilman warned.
A popular Giant Food store reported $500,000 in product loss due to shoplifting, the store’s management told D.C. Councilman Trayon White recently, which equates to roughly 20% of sales after theft.
White called the news “disheartening” in a press conference last week, especially after the store recently spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to hire security guards and upgrade its equipment.
Despite its effort to crack down on shoplifters, thieves remained emboldened and continued to walk out of the store with their carts filled with stolen items, White said.
What are they supposed to do, continue to deal with the theft? They certainly do not want to get physically involved with the shoplifters, who could get violent, pull out a knife or gun.
If the store has to shut its doors, White warned the impact would be felt hard in the community, as the chain is the only major grocery outlet in Ward 8, serving more than 85,000 people. (snip)
In June, Giant President Ira Kress told Washington, D.C., radio station WTOP that thieves are stealing “everything” at the chain’s outlets, from food to beauty products. Some Giant locations began placing products behind a lock and key.
He added that shoplifting at Giant has “probably increased five to 10 times in the last three years.” The chain has 165 locations across Delaware, Maryland, Virginia and D.C.
Profit margins for grocery stores are based on volume, and with that much theft it becomes difficult to stay in business, not too mention the concern for their employees. Ward 8 is the section of D.C. that is south of the Anacostia River, and, overall, is probably the worst ward for crime. Should this really be happening in our nation’s capitol? This is embarrassing.
Once the Giant store closes we will see stories about the “food desert” in that ward and it will be blamed on racism. Same story different day.
As the saying used to go, “This is why you can’t have nice things”.
At some point, you’d think that even the most liberal of the liberals would realize that without some semblance of law and order, you no longer have civilization!
And it’s actually starting, if just barely, to happen. Even our socialist from St Louis has, very slightly, moderated his comments on firearms ownership and law enforcement, even if he still believes that girls can be boys and boys can be girls, while the George Soros-sponsored, police-hating District Attorney of Philadelphia, Larry Krasner, has said he will charge a 17-year-old wannabe terrorist as an adult, something he once promised he would never do. (The fact that the Feds could charge him as an adult if Mr Krasner kept the charges against him in juvenile court could have something to do with it.)
We’re starting, just starting, to see support for charter schools in Philly, not because people have become evil reich-wing Republicans, but because the public schools have failed so miserably that some people are seeing that charter schools couldn’t do any worse.
Helen Gym Flaherty, during her run for the Democratic mayoral nomination, famously stood in front of the Edward T Steel Elementary School, crowing how she had saved it from ‘going charter,’ but only 8% of Steel students tested as grade-level proficient in reading, while a whopping 1% tested grade-level proficient in math. Mrs Flaherty, once considered the most probable nominee, finished third, as Democratic primary voters, including most black voters, chose a nominee who wanted to fight crime and bring back stop, question, and frisk. However, that victory is somewhat tempered by the fact that Cherelle Parker Mullins, the nominee, was the only front-tier black candidate in the race.
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The residents are merely reflecting the character of the folks in Congress and the White House. But the folks in Congress and the White House steal BIG compared to the folks ripping off the Giant Food supermarket. /s
At least that’s my theory and I’m sticking to it…
Close, but these are the children of the empoyees of the government. I don’t know why you’d think that any goverment official would live in a place like that.
Armed guards with shoot-to-kill orders?
Or how about going back to the old days when shopping wasn’t self-serve, and you asked the shopkeeper for what you wanted? A lot of stores do curbside pickup or even home delivery now.
For a while my local Walmart had devices on the display holders in the men’s toiletries section that required a clerk to open them so a customer could remove the item for purchase.
They have since stopped since no one could find a clerk to open them.
Went to the automotive section today to purchase a car battery.
After 20 minutes waiting for a clerk I decided to leave… and discovered the door had to be unlocked from behind the counter before it would open. After another wait a person showed up to unlock. When I expressed my displeasure she explained people had been coming in and running out with tires before paying….
Maybe if few thieves got killed the crime rate might go down. Or maybe if they had clerks in the area the thieves might not act.
I then went to Autozone where they had 4 employees. Bought a battery and they installed it for free.
Customer service. What a concept.