Ever been accused of stealing?

[cookies]

I haven't...at least not directly yet but this week at work, a lot of money has gone missing from the till when it has always balanced perfectly and it's freaking me out. I work in retail and both times when the money went missing, I was working.

Today it happened again and the thing was, there was only me and the manager working. So after she counted the money and it was $15.80 under, she went totally cold towards me, was slamming things around and non talkative. And when I said "I'm really worried about this, I hope the other register is over because I don't get why this is going on", she just gave me a LOOK and didn't reply. And the other till balanced perfectly.

So I don't know what the hell is happening! I know I didn't take the money, but if she didn't take it either then???

The other thing is that I was planning to quit this job in the next few weeks because I've started working in a firm but now that this is happening, it would be like I'm running away? And also I need a clean reference!

I hope this all blows over and that this post is just premature...i just feel sick in my stomach when I think about it because I don't want to work somewhere where I'm in the position of being accused of stealing

 

[Beauty Mark]

I have, around my father's house (don't ask, he's a creep.) Did you both double and triple check it? Make sure the money wasn't sticking together? Do you accidentally not count change right?

I hope things work out for you.

 

[xstephax]

i haven't. but i have worked in a few places where money would go missing from the till quite frequently. i never did find out what happened or why it happened with most of them. however, i do know that after i left one of my jobs they fired my old manager because she had been stealing money from the till (about $1000 worth).

maybe you or your manager gave the wrong change back to a few customers and that's why you're missing the money?

 

[MacVirgin]

in a company where i used to work the manager stole lots of money. We lost some good people because she acused them. Them one day my collega and i walked in while she was just taking money again:eek2:.
So this she could had done it.

Also i might want to pay attention and see if u'r not counting right.... maybe that's the problem..... it can happen you know

I wish you good luck and hope the best for you

.

 

[Ambi]

Maybe one of you accidentally gave too much exchange for a customer or something?

I was working my second day at a clothing store and 50 bucks went missing, no one said anything to me but I felt like they all thought it had to be me 'cause I'm new and also the youngest one there, so... Nasty feeling.

 

[YvetteJeannine]

I remember when I was 17 and working at Big Y grocery store. At the end of the night, we had to go into this tiny closet-type room..there was a teller-type window thru to the courtesy desk so they could keep an eye on employees counting their tills out.

Well, I counted everything out and was missing $100!!! I double, then triple counted. Then, the lady who was in charge of keeping all the tills straight (bookeeper) counted it. Still $100 off. She was very nice, and didn't seem to accuse me of anything...I guess she could see how very nervous and upset I was...BUT the assistant mngr. (who was a real C U Next Tuesday and disliked me) kept me in that room for an hour grilling me. They finally told me I could go (how nice of them)...I was SO upset. I had always been straight on with my till counts, and I knew I didn't take anything, and I didn't leave my till unattended. I remember feeling so helpless and angry that I would be treated in such a way...

Well, the next morning I walked in there...Nobody said anything to me. I asked the bookeeper about it, and she casually told me it was some kind of mistake with a check that didn't balance out right (actually, it was HER fault!!!!), and the mistake was fixed and the till ended up correct.

I never got any kind of apology. I ended up leaving that job soon because of another incident...but that's another story

I hope things work out for you, Cookies....Ever consider the mgr. COULD HAVE done it, and is acting that way toward you to set up a "defense" for herself to try to convince you she didn't do it?? After all...she's acting pretty harsh/dramatic toward you considering you've always had a balanced till and no incidents (not to mention any kind of reason to believe you would've done it)...

Hmmm.....just something to think about.

 

[Hawkeye]

Once at home depot. The HC pretty much accused me in front of customers etc. SHe was brutal too. Very humiliating. I was missing 150 from my till. I talked to MGT they said tough and I then I just lost it. I went back to the back, called my lawyer.

My lawyer advised me what to do and what to say and I went out demanded to see the tapes of the night before and as soon as I started fighting back with the HC with the legal stuff suddenly she got really nice and then-she suddenly found where the money went. It went in HER till.

Then over at Target I was with someone who was stealing stuff but I didn't know it and we walked out and the people came over and I'll never forget her just fighting them and I'm like sure come on I'll let ya search me etc and they just let me go because I was willing to show everything I had on me etc but she started going on this huge rampage and I knew then she had stolen something and I'll never forget looking at her and saying, " You know I just lost a whole lot of respect for you-it's not like you needed it for a life or death situation" and I'll never forget the look on her face.

I wound up telling her she would have to find another ride home and I left her there.

Eh I'm a cold person sometimes.

 

[cookies]

Thanks so much for the replies guys! I can't believe some of your stories- especially YvetteJeannie being grilled for an hour! Piece of crap retail stores!

Well I worked today and told my workmate what had happened and she was like "You? Stealing? I don't THINK so!" So that was really nice for her to have that confidence in me...I guess I'll just have to wait until my next shift with the manager since it's happened when I've been working with her...and I did think about whether she was taking it since I didn't count the money, she always does- but that would mean that she's taking it on the days that I'm working to get me fired! Which is just way over my head and I don't want to lose my faith in mankind so fingers crossed that the till is perfect on Thursday and all of this has been due to wrong change being given!

Thanks again for the posts, I really appreciate it, and will keep you updated xxx

 

[lara]

Nope. I'm pathologically honest and the generall 'goody two-shoes' vibe seems to radiate off me, ergo I'm never hassled by The Man.

 

[dmolinet]

There's been a story in the news all week about a receptionist at a popular hair salon who was fired and arrested for stealing money she should have deposited in the bank a year ago. The bank just found the deposit envelope stuck in the night deposit slot!!
We are too quick to judge others!

 

[mzcelaneous]

It never happened to me, but when I worked retail my co-worker was accused of stealing. I honestly think she gave out the wrong change because I caught her handing the customer a $20 instead of a $10. So, maybe one of you gave out the wrong change.

Or she's the one who's stealing

Good Luck

 

[xmrsvindieselx]

When I was 14, I worked at mcdonalds.This girl( I'll call her kim) was taking money/orders in drive thru but then was told to come up front and someone else would take money/orders in drive thru..nornally the register would get switched so the could count kim's draw but they never did so the next person to go in drive thru stole 250 dollars from the draw ..but since it was still "kim's draw" she was blamed.She never got fired so I guess they figured out that it wasnt her..but I felt so bad.

everything should go by fine for you since you didnt take the money sweetie!!

 

[Wattage]

Wow, I think that's BS that your manager is pulling that kind of crap. She/he has NO RIGHT to insinuate that you may be the one stealing. I have worked in retail and sometimes the cash is just out - who knows why. Frig, it's $15, not $150. I think you should really talk to someone about this manager's behaviour because that is completely unprofessional and could get them in a LOT of trouble.

IMO, the way she is acting would indicate to me that she is the one stealing. People who behave in such rash manners are often the ones who are guilty.

Best of luck!

 

[cookies]

Ah ok, update for you all!

So there were three main incidents of money missing. One was the one I posted about, one was 50 dollars missing that I closed the store on, and another time ($110)when I wasn't even working. It turns out that the 50 dollars was the banking being over so that was fine!! All that big fuss and stress over nothing! The other times still have no explanation and although my manager and i both shared some relief over the 50, i still was thinking in the back of my mind, " I can't believe you made me feel like a thief"...so I don't think I can ever really be friends with her now.

However, from now on, only my manager is allowed to do the banking or pretty much touch the till unless it's a transaction. Bah, I don't care, if anything else goes missing then it means less liability for me!

 

[Pascal]

nope never been accused

 

[MissMarley]

When I was in 5th grade, I spent the night with a neighbor when my parents were out of town. She was in my grade. She accused me the next day of stealing a ring from her. Even though she had previously looked at the ring she said was hers the night before when I was wearing it, and told me how pretty it was and how much she liked it. Then suddenly at school, it was "her ring" and i had "stolen it from her in the night". Hurt me so bad...It was my mom's ring she had given me. Of course I didn't give it to the little troll, but no one had ever done something like that to me before. She never admitted she was wrong or apologized, even though her own parents examined the ring in question and told her it wasn't hers.

 

[cookies]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MissMarley When I was in 5th grade, I spent the night with a neighbor when my parents were out of town. She was in my grade. She accused me the next day of stealing a ring from her. Even though she had previously looked at the ring she said was hers the night before when I was wearing it, and told me how pretty it was and how much she liked it. Then suddenly at school, it was "her ring" and i had "stolen it from her in the night". Hurt me so bad...It was my mom's ring she had given me. Of course I didn't give it to the little troll, but no one had ever done something like that to me before. She never admitted she was wrong or apologized, even though her own parents examined the ring in question and told her it wasn't hers.

Isn't it awful when people are so horrible and so young too? Not an "I was accused of stealing thing", but in 2nd grade, my mum bought me a brand new scrunchie in school colours. About a week after I had it, I lost in...and then the next day my "best friend" was wearing the EXACT same scrunchie. I didn't ask her outright if she stole it but asked around it like, "Where did you get that?" and "It looks just like my one." but she just made up answers. I didn't even tell my mum because she hardly ever bought me new hair stuff so it was a special scrunchie and I figured maybe my friend did get the same one

Get this- in 5th grade, we'd drifted apart and one day she WORE THE SCRUNCHIE. And I can't remember what I said about it, but I brought it up and she just looked at me, pulled it out of her hair and said "I think this is yours", and gave it back to me.

Can you believe that? I knew I wasn't paranoid about it and had thought all along that she'd stolen it but still can't believe that she actually took it from me, wore it for three years and then gave it back :O In primary school!

Sorry, random trip down memory lane!

 

[fredinbed]

our tills at work are always coming up short or over, very rarely to do i see a draw perfectly balance. it is very easy to make errors on registers, especially towards the end of the day when you have been standing up for 7 hours and your mind is a million miles away.

i wouldn't put it past your manager either. remember that she is only working in a retail job and they pay isn't that great. as sad as it is, in my experience working in a supermarket for 5 years (through high school and now university) most often it is the more senior people who are taking money/stock from the store.

do you have your own till or do you share with other people? maybe ask that you keep your own and no one else uses it and if someone takes over for your break that it is counted before you leave and again when you come back.

i hope they work out what is happening so that you can leave with a positive reference