Checking receipts at the door
Regarding receipt checking at the door: Screw 'em. They have no legal right
to stop you for your receipt. I tell them that if they want to see mine, they'll
have to accuse me of shoplifting first, and that they'll be looking at false
imprisonment charges if they bar my way out of the store.
The only purpose of the receipt check is to intimidate people, and since I'm not
stealing, I won't let them do it. I'm very polite, but not apologetic.
"Your receipt?" they say, usually not bothering to ask anymore because of the
sense of power their position has given them.
"No thanks," I answer. This usually throws them for a loop. I continue walking.
"I need to see your receipt!" Sometimes, they jump in front of me, sometimes
it's not until I've passed them that they realize I'm not falling into the
expected groove.
"No you don't, have a nice day." I continue walking, or, if they've put
themselves in my way, pull out my cell phone and dial a couple numbers, then
hover my finger over Send. "With respect, you can't stop me and check my receipt
unless I give you permission, and I don't."
"Yes we can. Show me your receipt or I'll call the police." This is usually the
point of maximum bluster. You can almost physically smell the adrenaline pouring
into the bloodstream of the door guard at this point, so I don't make any sudden
movements. Calmly and confidently, I speak.
"According to the law, you can only stop me if you have cause to believe I've
shoplifted. I haven't, and I'm not going to show you my receipt for the
purchases I made. If you don't let me past, I'll complete this call to 911 and
report you to the police myself for false imprisonment. If you don't believe me
about the law, call the manager over right now."
At this point, they usually back off, but on occasion, they play it to the hilt
and call management or security. At one point at a Best Buy in Los Angeles, I
had two security guards 'holding me' at the door while the door guy called a
manager over. The receipt checker was confidently telling me how I was in a
bunch of trouble and they could do whatever they wanted.
When the manager got there, he stuck his chest out proudly and told her how he
had gotten me and how I wouldn't show my receipt, and scornfully mentioned how I
had tried to tell him that they could not legally hold me if I didn't want to
show the receipt.
With infinite sadness in her eyes that the bluff had been called, she pulled him
aside and told him in no uncertain terms that I was right, and that he could NOT
actually hold me. She apologized to me and I walked out.
I don't blame the door guys, they're in the classic situation of having all the
responsibility without any of the authority. Management tells them to do
something without letting them know what the law is so that they'll be
confident, and 99% of the sheep let them get away with it.
Rights that you give away are meaningless. Rights exercised are rights kept.
Don't let fear of 'being difficult' keep you from doing it.