Hi Everyone,
I am reposting my blog from May 17, 2018 titled, Is the LCBO Socially Responsible?, because the Toronto Star had an article this morning by Mitch Potter titled, LCBO Thefts Surge in Toronto. The article asks readers to contact Mitch Potter at mpotter@thestar.ca or share stories on Twitter with the hashtag #LCBOtheft.
I am of the opinion that theft at the LCBO has increased dramatically since I have first posted this blog. I would also like to add that while one of my friends was at the Yonge and Dundas LCBO last week she witnessed 3 thefts in less than 3 minutes.”They just walked out,” she said. I am telling you this because there is a question in the article asking if police should be in the stores to arrest people, or security guards. I am of the belief that police should be arresting people who steal as security guards are simply middle-men. A police officer can legally arrest someone and detain someone whereas the vast majority of security guards cannot.
Do I think that the rise in thefts is due to the opioid crisis? YES!!! Even the cheap drugs aren’t cheap if you need a lot of them to feed your addiction. Here is my earlier blog.
Hi Everyone,
IMHO, the only answer to the title of this blog is the fourteenth and fifteenth letter of the alphabet. This is what I mean.
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Even if you haven’t been to a LCBO lately, you probably know that there are a number of liquor stores in Ontario that are far from controlled or safe environments. Unlike the employees of my last blog, the staff is trained on how to stock shelves, quickly work cash and keep the stores clean while being friendly.One thing that the employees of the LCBO don’t do, because they aren’t legally allowed to, is stop people from stealing. What’s even worse is that there are few LCBO stores that have security guards to begin with and who knows what they are allowed to do. (If you haven’t already read my preivous blog on security guards, you may want to.) All of above means that if you are inclined to shoplift the LCBO won’t stop you. I have seen it. I am serious.
One day last year, in the middle of a nice enough day, I was standing outside of a busy LCBO, just minding my own business while checking my email. As I moved out of someone’s way, I looked up and saw a young man with four, possibly five large bottles of vodka struggle to push his way between bars that acted like a fence. When he saw me, he stopped moving and stared at me. It was then that the person beside me suggested I put my phone away. “He probably thinks you are filming him,” they said. The moment my phone left his line of sight, he made his way through the bars. No one, to my knowledge, in the LCBO, did or said anything to him. Within seconds, four forty ounce bottles of vodka pushed past me before the young man did. From what I have been told, there is a young woman who has stopped by that LCBO up to three times a day never bothering to pay. I wonder how much her five finger discount is costing the publicly owned LCBO.
Theft at the LCBO is costing more than people think. How can the LCBO allow people to steal from Lord knows how many of its stores, yet have hundreds, if not thousands of its employees as Casual or Temporary? Does that seems fair? The LCBO won’t hire people or give them fulltime hours because they want to save money. If you want to save money, how about cutting back on the number of people who steal? How much is stolen from that one store is what I want to know.
And just for the record, I am not the only person who is upset by this. While I was waiting to cross the street, someone I know said, “You that liquor store,” as they pointed, “well, as I was paying, some guy just walked out with an arm full of bottles! I couldn’t believe it. Why should I even bother to pay, when he’s not?” Good question. I told them that I saw a version of that a few months before yet I have seen more. Like one day a guy pulling a bundle buggy walked past me. Since he seemed a bit off, I looked inside the buggy and asked about all the tequila boxes. He was selling them.
Now I am pretty sure that there are people who steal from the LCBO because they, like any other business, are filling orders. I am serious. And that is a serious problem. If poeple are stealing from the LCBO and selling what they have stolen, am I the only one who wonders what they are doing with that money?
Again to answer the title of this blog, no, the LCBO is not socially responsible. If they are going to ask me to “Think before I drink,” I am asking them to do something about the number of thefts and consider making their Casual employees fulltime. I could go on, but life is short.
Have a great long weekend everyone and thank you for reading, A. Rebel’s Rant! ;D
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