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Discussion
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I’ve been working in the same store for almost two years, and there’s one customer who’s absolutely dangerous. He’s dropped everything he’s doing and has followed me around the store while I’m on my break a handful of times and is overall very creepy when talking with me. Like literally one day I rounded the corner of an aisle and he was suddenly there. I walked by him and he immediately started following me, I lost him by heading upstairs but I still saw him and he just left the store right then and there, didn’t even buy anything.
I just got off my most recent shift, and just before leaving I saw him and he didn’t even hide the fact that once he walked by me he turned around to stare at me before leaving. I’m waiting in the break room for some time to know that he’s absolutely gone and will have one of my male coworkers walk me out, which is what I always do when I see this customer. Is there anything else I can do to protect myself? I want to tell management but he doesn’t have any defining characteristics so it’s hard to let the know who to watch out for. I have a deafeningly loud alarm on my keychain that I can pull if I’m ever in danger in public, but that’s pretty much it.
Update: I contacted one of my managers about what happened, who contacted another, who contacted me. I told him everything he needed to know about what happened today and in the past. (I previously didn’t think about saying anything because our a lot of our cameras were fake till recently) He said he’s gonna call asset protection right away and tomorrow they’ll keep an eye on me and we’ll have time to look through our cameras to identify the customer.
In the mean time I am going to buy more self defense equipment so definitely keep the suggestions coming in if you have any. Thank you all for your help and your time, as well as giving me more confidence to say something! Y’all are fantastic!
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I work in retail and there’s a customer who freaks me the hell out. What can I do to protect myself?
updated 1 year, 2 months ago
2 Members
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12
Replies
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Tell a manager, take a picture of them, document with as much detail as possible. Tell a coworker and get them to verify the behavior to your manager. Get a cat spike keychain. Hand sanitizer spray, it will also blind someone, and unlike mace, it won’t drift back on you.
Having someone walk you to your car is great, but look around it before they leave you for nails, glass, or screws. I had a friend who’s ex used to do that so she had constant flat tires.
You might be able to get them banned from your store. Or at least you have a start on reporting if you ever need to go to the police. Stay safe!
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Just in case, document everything, inform multiple people, and don’t go to your car alone without some, ahem, protection. A big “utility knife” is my go to, hopefully I will never have to use it.
There is a possibility they may have mental issues keeping them from understanding that what they are doing is creepy. They could be a stalker type. They could be a rather crappy serial killer. Who knows, and that is why you document as much as you can and let multiple people know what’s going on.
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Inform management. There should be cameras everywhere. They can figure it out. Carry your phone. Take pictures of him. Call your boss as it is happening.
If he is following you, lead him straight to a manager or a large coworker and loudly say “this is the creep who keeps following me”
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I am happy to hear that your coworkers take you seriously and are doing something. Please always be aware of your surroundings. Make sure he dosent follow you in the car. Can you look at parking lot video to see if he has a car he drives?
Wishing you well my friend. -
Check the legality in your area, but whenever I felt apprehensive leaving work at night I liked to “test” my taser on the way to my car. You don’t have to touch it to anything, you can just push the button and it makes a super loud crackling noise. Bonus: it has a built in flashlight!
I also agree with what others are saying about documenting and telling management/ coworkers. If he isn’t buying anything, maybe your management would consider that loitering and ask him to leave?
Good luck sister, we’re all sending you strength.
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Already lots of great advice from others, but I want to add: If you, or any of your coworkers can do it safely, try to get this guy’s full name. Not only will it help if you need any legal intervention, it will also come in very handy if *someone* wants to do some spellwork…
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As soon as he starts following you again, loudly yell “Stop following me! Leave me alone!” Make the biggest scene you can so it draws the attention of as many people as possible. Creeps like him don’t like attention like that on them.
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Does the store of a security person? Tell the store security. And do it the next time he comes in and starts following you around the store.
Preferably do it while he’s watching you. When he sees that he’s being watched, he’ll cut that sh** the f*** out.
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I’m sorry you are facing so much harassment at work *hugs*
Shit is scary out her. I live on a major street in my city and I was out front with my dog. He pooped, I picked it up and went around the back of my building to drop it in the trash. A car pulled up in the alley, entered the parking lot, and this guy I didn’t know got out of the car and started harassing me. Now I feel like I have to be extra careful and vigilant when I go to let my do out.
One of the most intrusive things that happened to me was one time I was at the grocery store. You know? Just merely existing, and going about my business, and a man took a picture of me and then walked away. It’s was very unsettling and intrusive as all hell!
I know almost nothing about harry potter besides the cloak of invisibility. It sounds like that could come in handy. If only!
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Harassment is illegal. Tell him to stop. Tell your management to make it stop. Call the police if it doesn’t stop. Ask for a female officer, if that makes you feel safer. Seriously, zero tolerance for fucking stalkers.
ZERO TOLERANCE FOR FUCKING STALKERS.
Get the cops on his ass, and make sure you have someone looking out for you at all times. It’s ridiculous, but it is a seriously real part of our lives. Please take this as seriously as you might wish you had…
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Self defense is a specialty of mine, pepper spray is THE thing to have in this case. You don’t want to escalate with deadly force, but you need a deterrent that will really make them reconsider their life choices.
Don’t bother with stun guns, they’re better than nothing, but only slightly.Even just knowing that you have the tools and capabilites to handle a threat immediately makes you feel a hell of a lot safer, and that alone is worth it.
For style points, learn how to fight with cape and dagger 🙂
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Depending on what self defense tools you feel comfortable carrying, you can also carry a travel size bottle of hairspray. Aim it for the eyes, it’ll get them away quickly and obscure their vision temporarily. Gives you time to run for help. As a bonus, hair spray isn’t regulated anywhere and won’t raise eyebrows if someone sees it on you.
