‘She expected us to chase him’: Karen leaves her purse outside a store, then blames entire staff inside when it's taken

Author image for Bar Mor Hazut
Bar Mor Hazut • Senior Editor
Dec 25, 2023 8:00 PM EST

Do people just leave their valuable belongings at random places hoping no one will take them, or is it just this one Karen?  

When I worked in retail, I had a few regular customers who would occasionally ask me to put some shopping bags behind the counter while they went to get their car. Some even asked me to keep an eye on their kids while they ran to a different shop or took a phone call outside. Either way, I am no stranger to weird requests from customers. But I have to say that when I read about this Karen who purposely left her purse in a shopping cart outside a store and then blamed the employees inside for not preventing it from being taken, I was pretty amazed. She could have asked them to keep it while she did whatever she needed to do, but no! Why would she make the sensible choice when she can just later blame everyone else for her actions?

Scroll down for the full story and the discussion of whether or not she should be banned from the store. When you finish, click here for a story about a sister-in-law trying to name her nephew without the mom's permission.

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  • 01
    "She expected us to chase him"
    via Canva
  • 02
    A customer had her purse stolen, and was mad that we didn't prevent it
    via u/Mrs0M***er
  • 03
    This happened back when I was an asst retail supervisor at a thrift store. Every morning we'd have a whole mob of people waiting outside the door to get in, because they wanted to be the first to get their hands on whatever 'new' thing that was put out. One woman in particular, came
    via u/Mrs0M***er
  • 04
    in about 5 days a week, generally 2-3 times a day, coinciding for when the production crew rolled out their carts with 'new' items. She, along with many, many others, was a reseller.
    via u/Mrs0M***er
  • 05
    She was an issue just about every day, and was very close to becoming banned, but always managed to just toe the line, because as it turns out there was a worker there that would warn her as soon as she got to 'one more time and she's gone.'
    via u/Mrs0M***er
  • 06
    She also didn't like me because she liked to rip or cut the tags off of items, and would lie about prices for similar items, and I wouldn't let her get away with it.
    via u/Mrs0M***er
  • 07
    So, one day, she comes in, and gets her purchases, and leaves. She takes her cart out, and leaves it outside in the parking lot, as you do, and later comes back to find that the purse she's left in the cart outside the store is now gone. First, she accuses us of
    via u/Mrs0M***er
  • 08
    stealing it. But, we've got nice cameras, and police are called, and evidence is handled over. Her purse is found and returned. You'd think that'd be the end of it, no?
    via u/Mrs0M***er
  • 09
    No. For the next several weeks, she continues to come in as normal, but this time she's telling every customer within ear shot that we allowed her purse to get stolen, that we didn't do our due diligence, that she was
    via u/Mrs0M***er
  • 10
    getting a lawyer and was intending to sue us, etc. etc. Unfortunately, management said that if we banned her now, it would look like retaliation (???). Then the regional director got involved, said something about her threatening a lawsuit meant
    via u/Mrs0M***er
  • 11
    something or another and if she continued speaking to other customers about it we could finally give her the boot. Well, of course her little friend got into her ear and she finally shut up about it, so once again we were unable to ban her.
    via u/Mrs0M***er
  • 12
    Cherry on top? She was so mad about us not doing anything to stop it, but when the police found the guy, he had a gn on him. We ain't d g for your purse, lady.
    via u/Mrs0M***er
  • 13
    Liveitup1999- 17 hr. ago Replacing everything in that purse is a lot cheaper than a trip to the emergency room for a gl It and the lingering effects which my last the rest of your life.
    via u/Liveitup1999
  • 14
    content_great_gramma · 14 hr. ago I am originally from New York. I cringe ever time I see an unattended purse in a shopping cart. It only takes a second and there goes all
    via u/content_great_gramma
  • 15
    your identity. I have a shoulder bag and when I shop, I put it over my head for a cross body bag.
    via u/content_great_gramma
  • 16
    Acceptable_Chapter62 · 17 hr. ago It is her fault her purse got stolen.
    via u/Acceptable_Chapter62
  • 17
    chef_in_va 15 hr. ago I get the feeling nothing has ever been that lady's fault, in her entire life.
    via u/chef_in_va
  • 18
    wolfie379 17 hr. ago Manglement had a few screws loose, this was the perfect opportunity to ban her. She said she'd sue? Immediately, nobody except the store's
    via u/wolfie379
  • 19
    lawyer is allowed to talk to her, or interact with her in any way - and since they don't operate a cash register, that means she can no longer shop in the store.
    via u/wolfie379
  • 20
    Ir OP 17 hr. ago That's pretty much what the regional director said. As soon as she got a whiff that she'd be kicked through, she immediately dropped it (also, I think, because she MrsOM
    via u/Mrs0M***er
  • 21
    knew that her purse was stolen off of property, so nothing could come of it anyway).
    via u/Mrs0M***er
  • 22
    Marrsvolta 15 hr. ago still could have banned her, your management is incompetent
    via u/Marrsvolta
  • 23
    r OP - 15 hr. ago Incredibly so. It was a complete mess and the MrsOM worst place I've ever worked. Thankfully I'm out now.
    via u/Mrs0M***er
  • 24
    wildgoose2000 • 16 hr. ago Most retail places I have worked if you threaten a lawsuit then you are banned immediately. You don't want her interrogating your customers and employees trying to get more evidence to use against you in court.
    via u/wildgoose2000
  • 25
    arguablyodd 16 hr. ago She literally left it outside for who knows how long. What an idiot to think that's anyone else's fault. Not like she was asking you to hold it behind the register for her and you did, only for it to disappear-she abandoned it in the parking lot.
    via u/arguablyodd
  • 26
    Prestigious_Gold_585 · 10 hr. ago It surprises me when I see women put their purse in a shopping cart and then walk away from it. Just begging somebody to steal it.
    via u/Prestigious_Gold_585

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talesfromretail tales-from-the-workplace retail worker reddit thread Reddit karens workplace-stories employee job retail work workplace story funny karen
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