Ross “Dress for Less” is a fabulous store with great merchandise at an affordable price. So, it boggles the imagination as to why anyone would want to steal from them. But, in lieu of the recent rash of theft engulfing the country, Ross has not been immune to the epidemic.
In most cases, it’s not Ross that prosecutes shoplifters, but the local District Attorney’s office. What compounds the issue is how some states, like California, have basically made shoplifting legal.
We’re going to tell you all you need to know about Ross and their prosecution of shoplifters.
Ross’s Shoplifting Policy
Unfortunately, Ross does not list their shoplifting policy on their website. We did contact the company.
While their risk management team responded to the initial inquiry, they have not expatiated their position. However, there are many articles online featuring recent shoplifting scourges across the country, where Ross is clearly a main target.
According to a manager at a Denver, Colorado location, they get hit as many as four times per day. This is because they have a non-confrontational policy with shoplifters. Even if there’s video (either recorded in-store or on a phone), they don’t follow or touch them. If an employee does, their job is at stake.
In the rare cases where employees try to stop thieves, some of them soon lost their jobs and a few found their vehicles vandalized.
This includes chemicals poured over cars, slashed tires, broken windows, and other such damage.
Loss Prevention Security Guards
For locations where shoplifting is through the proverbial roof, they have loss prevention security guards. While this may sound and look great in the interim, they’re nothing more than a door greeter dressed in black.
Most shoplifters are entirely aware there’s nothing employees can do. So, the security guard merely gives honest paying customers the illusion of safety.
In fact, there are several personal accounts online from those who have experienced working in this position.
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Employee Frustration
What compounds the frustration for many employees is that they end up punished and receive the brunt of the store’s retaliation on the issue.
In many accounts, thieving customers storm out of the door with hundreds of dollars of merchandise, complete with giving the middle finger. Then, the company turns around cuts the witnessing employee’s hours, gives demotions, or lets people go entirely.
Certainly, not only does this lower morale but it also means the corporation has a huge problem with staff turnover. Employee’s hands are tied, they see all these people rush out of the store with free stuff and then they’re the ones who suffer for it.
Indeed, many forum threads display prior employees losing their jobs just for saying something to a shoplifter.
The ripple effect of this non-confrontational policy along with minimum wage pay results in very rude managers, sales associates with bad attitudes, and security guards that could care less about protecting the store.
Ross Viral Shoplifting
You can see all of this chaos in action. There are hosts of videos on places like TikTok, YouTube, and other similar sharing platforms.
Customers and employees film the criminals taking all they can carry without shame or remorse shortly followed by a swift unimpeded exit from the store.
From 2011 to the present time, there are hundreds of video shorts showing people shoplifting from Ross all over the country.
You can see it all; from people removing security tags to slipping off flip-flops and walking out of the store with brand new athletic shoes. Very rarely, if ever, does anyone attempt to stop them.
The few customers and employees who get involved in the theft are quickly the recipients of violence, profanity, pepper spray, and/or other threats to their lives.
Other Instances of Shoplifting at Ross
Aside from the myriad of viral videos, there are also plentitudes of news articles, police announcements, and other community calls to action.
The brazen and uncouth behaviors of some of these shoplifters are jaw dropping, to say the least. There are two particularly poignant examples to illustrate this point.
As recently as December 22, 2022, three women walked into a Springfield, Illinois Ross location. They made off with an estimated value of $500 in merchandise. When an employee tried to stop them, one of the women used pepper spray. The police have not caught these shoplifters to date.
On October 15, 2018, a 57-year-old woman managed to steal $2,000 worth of merchandise from a Ross in North Houston, Texas. She actually put items into Ross-labeled plastic bags and took them out to her car. She then repeated the process several times before anyone caught onto what she was doing.
When the employees confronted her, she said she’d pay for what she took. But, that’s not what happened.
She ditched about $150 worth of merchandise she was carrying, ran to her car, and fled. Authorities tried to get her to stop but it ended in a police chase. She was eventually arrested on felony charges.
Why People Steal from Ross
There are many reasons why people steal from Ross and/or commit theft in general. In most cases, people can’t afford to buy the merchandise.
Other incentivized people understand that their state has lax laws or the DA’s office won’t bother to prosecute. Still, some people get a rush from stealing.
Organized Shoplifting Mobs
Yet, a new phenomenon is a major contributor to the uptick in retail crime: organized shoplifting mobs. This is how hoards of people coordinate, flash mob style, and conspire to target specific Ross locations for theft. These can be as few as 10 people to as many as 200 in a nationwide heist. Police have busted Americans and illegal border-crossers alike engaging in this activity.
They do this with the explicit goal of reselling the stolen merchandise at flea markets, garage sales or online.
Here, they make a pure profit and charge as much as they like to unsuspecting buyers. This is so lucrative, in fact, that it’s a growing issue at an alarming rate.
Some Notorious Examples
To illustrate, in 2011, the San Diego police department caught a group of five men and women who strategically stole from various Ross locations in the area.
By the time police caught up with them, they had some 3,000 items that totaled over $6,000 in value. They intended to sell it at a local open market to the public.
In another example from April of this year, 2023, a ring made off with around $11,500 worth of merchandise from several Ross locations in Florida over the course of three years.
This included jewelry, shoes, clothing, handbags, and other such things. The group would remove security tags, stuff and hide the stolen goods in other merchandise and walk off with the loot.
Conclusion
Although Ross doesn’t explicitly state their shoplifting policy, it’s easy to discover online through personal vlogs and public forums they allow shoplifters to walk away with merchandise.
They do have security guards present at most locations. But, they seem to be more like door greeters than preventing theft. It’s frustrating for employees and honest-paying customers alike.
You could get lost for days in the vast sea of videos and media accounts directly involving Ross. Even then, you wouldn’t be able to grasp the depth and breadth of how deep this rabbit hole goes.
Truly, massive shoplifting is a vile social epidemic with no clear end in sight.
Reference Sources
https://www.complaintboard.com/ross-dress-for-less-l1449.html