SIMPLE Mail Delivery Notification System Or Shed Door Alert System!
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- Опубліковано 5 лип 2024
- A simple DIY mail delivery notification system for your mailbox, or it can also be used to alert you when a shed door or barn door is opened. Ideal for catching people stealing from your mailbox(porch pirates). Expect hundreds of feet of range between the transmitter and receiver in open areas. Enjoy the video! Be sure to share.
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I like this lady. More _Story Time With Rose._
She has some amazing stories. If enough people rate the comment up, I may do a video about her unusual experiences back in the 1950's and 1960's. Thanks for watching Andrew!
I’ll be making one of these! Your neighbor’s a real cutie. Be sure and tell her!
Glad you liked the video and idea! Be sure to rate thumbs up and share. Thank you!
Brilliant idea. Adding an LED that latches ON whenever you get mail in case you were taking a shower or didn't hear the bell will be a nice addition to the circuit.
Thanks.
Yes, pretty easy to add. I may make another video showing what to do, if this video starts getting views. Thanks for watching!
Actually, that LED will drain the battery over time. Instead, put a 555 transistor in the circuit that you can use to pulse the LED. A pulse every 5 seconds should do.
Then you will need a way to reset the LED to turn off the pulsing.
@@AtlantaTerry - "... drain the battery ..." - Actually, the LED would go on the part that remains inside the house, which gets its power bu being plugged into the house AC power. You can see that part with its AC plug at: 10:22 -> 10:25, and probably at other places in the video.
Cool project, nice neighbor, shes cute too
Thanks for watching Craig!
The world would be a better place with neighbors like you. Thanks for sharing the vid.
Thanks for the nice comment! Be sure to share the video link with others, and rate thumbs up.
How great is she! Very pretty to. That was very kind of you. Thanks for sharing this, I'd love to make one of these for my Mom.
I liked the story WalMart story. My mail alert probably cost me a lot more. I used a Wyze Sense sensor (with the Wyze cam and bridge circuit). In the house, I have several small light bulbs that are controlled by the Wyze Plug smart sockets. That turns on the bulbs. I use my Google home to shut off the lights, when I say, "Hey Google, go postal". My mailbox is plastic so the rf makes it to the house.
I wanted to add that I did this same thing about 30 years ago with a doorbell and a microswitch. The switch was mounted on the door closure arm at the store where I worked so that when someone opened the door, a cheerful tune would sound and alert me of a customer in the store.
The problem I had was while the door was open, the alarm kept sounding. I fixed this with a capacitor and a resistor. I think I used a 0.1uF capacitor and a trimmer pot, maybe 1 meg. The resistor was wired across the capacitor and all that in series with the switch.
When the first closed, the capacitor would be discharged. But then the capacitor would charge up and would make the switch seem like it was open, and the chime stopped. After closing, the resistor would discharge any voltage in the capacitor and it was ready for another opening. The variable resistor was handy to get the right value.
That would keep the setup you have from repeating the chime over and over until the box door was closed.
That works great too! That was a good fix you came up with for the problem. The unit doesn't continuously chime if the door is left open, what happens is the transmitting stops to protect the battery from discharging due to constant triggering of the receiver, and you'll need to reset the transmitter using a simple on/off switch(could be momentary push) or removing the battery. Some transmitters false trigger when made as shown in this video, but this one seems to work very well. Thanks for watching Dave! Be sure to share.
Great idea. I’ve done one with a cheap driveway alarm. The problem I had was if you don’t hear the chime when the mail is delivered then you don’t know it was triggered. I was trying to add a circuit on the receiver with a latching relay that would keep a LED illuminated until it was manually reset. That way if you missed the alarm the light would tell you that there was mail. I gave up and never figured it out. It would probably be easy for you. I’d like to see it if you do.
The alarm is pretty loud, so it's hard to miss, unless you're outside. I'd just go outside 5-6 pm and check for mail if the alert wasn't triggered. No biggie. Thanks for watching!
I was thinking the exact same thing....there would be a simple latching (bistable ) cct that will be in a triggered state until reset....I think one based on a few transistors would be easier to build than an IC variant! .....Great idea and alternative use for such a product...I had no idea their range is this good...saving link to come back to it if no one else has offered a simple add-on cct
An SCR to latch an indicator LED would signal that you had mail. A blinking led would be better.
So smart! I love how you all think.
Come for the eletronics widgets, stay for the righteous thief-nabber stories. :-) Thanks for being you Rose!
LOL. Thanks for watching!
She is a sweet lady. Love the story. Typical of Walmart. I love this device.
She was. Sadly she passed away 2 1/2 weeks ago.
This is awesome! I just finished the same thing, with a $20 in parts. I bought a $10 wireless doorbell with a 1500 foot range from Amazon. Didn't know there was such a thing. My mailbox is over 250 feet away and over a hill, through two garages and two walls in the house and it works great. Thank you! I was about to order a $60 mailbox alarm, so this saved me $40, not including a bit of work to solder the wires and install the transmitter in the mailbox. I put my battery pack inside the mailbox instead of on the bottom.
I don't need no steekin' electronical stuff, I got two noisy dogs that let me know when the mail's arrived, or a squirrel's in the yard, or a neighbor is walking by, or... Rose is a real sweetie and you're a gem of a neighbor!
You never cease to amaze me with the great ideas you come up with. I’m definitely going to have to do this. Only downside for me is the postal deliverers here are sometimes to lazy to close the door! 🤦♂️ My luck I won’t be home and the battery will run down. Guess I could mount an away switch
I have many more ideas, but I've been getting very low exposure by YT for my videos, as a result I've been holding off many videos. I don't like spending many hours creating videos and answering countless questions to get nothing in return. YT is a full time job for me. The stupid videos on YT get all the exposure, helpful/educational video get far less views. The battery won't run down, what happens is the transmitter stops sending a signal. To reset, you simply remove and install the battery, or add a small SPST switch as mentioned in detail in another reply. Thanks for watching!
electronicsNmore Thanks for your reply. Will do. I went to post on the negative reply you got and it wouldn’t go through. Looks like it might have been his reply got removed while I was composing? I’ve heard other YTers say that thumbs up or down makes no difference and all helps with ratings. So b-hole helped you out by rating and commenting! Hope that’s true! I’m a ham operator and I’ll be sharing your info with the guys in the groups I belong. It’ll be a small token of my appreciation for what you share. As we say.....73
@@Locksnut People that clearly don't support my work, like the moron you mentioned, I block. Blocking prevents them from engaging in spiteful actions against my channel.
To prevent my mailbox from being left open by the Mailman, I placed a small spring on the door. The spring closed the door, the mailman has to open against the spring. Still working after many years.
I started watching your channel when you posted the MOT, microwave oven transformer circuits. You showed how to make a spot welder. Thanks.
Very informative video Doug & that Rose is a real pearl of a lady! 👍👍🌹🌹🌹🌹👍👍
Thanks for watching Steve! She sure is. :-)
I am an old fan of many years. Great videos. An SCR to latch an LED as a visual indicator in case someone is in the shower or far away from the bell chimes.Resets when mail is removed.
Yes, I thought of that, but wanted to keep it simple. Most people know by a certain time of the day the mail would've been delivered. Thanks for watching
Great idea and generous. I am going to build one for my father. thanks for the videos !
Glad you liked the idea Jeff. You can't beat it for the low price. I'd add a very small NC momentary push button switch to the side of the transmitter to allow for easy reset if needed. I explained in detail what to do in a reply to another viewer. Thanks for your support!
Got the parts through your links and installed it today. My mailbox is about 160’ away from the receiver unit and it works fine. Easy peasy mod too, Thanks. It’ll be interesting to see how it works over the winter here with regards to low temps.
The only problem encountered, is if the mailman has a habit of leaving the door open 10 secs or more, then you need to reset. You can also avoid the problem by adding a weight to the bottom of the mailbox door to prevent it from being kept open. :-)
I have not seen that. Nor could I reproduce the behavior you describe.
Great idea, I’ve followed all the steps and it works a treat. Subscribed.
Cheers from 🇬🇧
Sometimes you can get false triggering or triggering issues if the door is kept open too long. The solution would be to have the mailbox door only stay open if you hold it open. Add a weight, spring, etc. Thanks for watching!
Brilliant! Love the story of wallyworld (Walmart) also! Nice touch. Keep up with the electronics and helping our communities. God bless!
Glad you enjoyed the video Jessica!
Hi i like this i going to make it but i need more then 1 censer 1 for my mail bod an i have a box for pages so my ? is can i use any Wireless Doorbell Kit. thanks for the video.
@electronicsNmore - Thanks for providing a link to the unit you used. Now (a few years later), the unit shows as "Currently unavailable. We don't know when...", but there are many other units with similar range and function to choose from.
I picked one up from a local home center to use for this, but it has a range of less than 30 feet from outside the house to inside the house. My mailbox is probably about 160-180 feet from the house to the mailbox on the other side of the street.
The inside part of this one plugs into the wall as yours does, but the outside part only has a button cell battery, rather than the 12V battery used in your unit.
Cool idea. I gotta ask, what is that round color changing light next to the TV?
I showed it on my channel below. I gave it to Rose. Thanks for watching!
ua-cam.com/video/9KecNsmghpA/v-deo.html
I like the story can you do more of these stories. Also a very nice idea for mailboxes. Also you might want to put a metal plate or something to keep people from destroying the electronics if they find out.
You can find magnet switches at Dollar Tree stores in their hardware section.
Yes, they sell cheapo window alarms. I'm not sure if they're NO or NC. Thanks for watching!
Rose is very nice neighbor your lucky
We're both lucky. :-)
Great idea for so many people. liked. Thanks!
One question, I'm unclear about resetting this for times when the door is open for 10 sec. or more. Are you saying run a wire from the battery positive to the push-button switch or the unused wire on the sensor? Thanks again.
What you'd do is remove the battery, and at 14:12 in the video you see where the metal clip is soldered to the board. Solder an insulated stranded copper wire (20-28ga) to that (+) location where the clip is attached and connect it to one side of a small SPST ON/OFF switch. The metal clip for the battery stays! Then just to the left of the (+) soldered connection, you will take a utility knife blade and cut the PCB trace leading to the lower right side of the push button switch. Cut a 1 - 2mm wide strip out. Solder a second wire to the lower right point of the push button switch and that wire connects to the other side of the on/off switch. You'll be able to turn the unit on and off when leaving a door open, or easily reset the transmitter if more than 10 seconds the mailbox door was left open. Thanks for watching!
Hello Doug, Nice gift for Rose, and simple to make. I'm sure she's glad you live across the street too. I trust you have have seen news of the West Coast forest fires and several other states. Barely have seen the sun in seven days, orange glow, visibility half to one mile. Closest fire to me is 15-20 miles. Check out some satellite imagery of the World, it is all on fire, shown in red. The southern third of South America, down to Patagonia is gone, that's why no red there. Unprecedented times in which we are now. All the best from Oregon, C.
Horrible. I heard all about it. Between the BS going on in Portland, and all those fires, that state is not doing good at all. Hopefully the fires end soon. Stay safe!
Great video and nice idea. My mailman could not open the mailbox door, take out the mail, and put the delivered mail inside, in less then 10 seconds. So what would happen ? You mentioned some kind of a switch. Please explain more.
Hi Doug. Still no luck with the emails,letting me know when you and others post. Great Ideal, Has always I Liked,shared. All my best.
Hi Bobby. No more email notifications from YT. They stopped them for all channels. You need to install the YT app on your phone, the app notifies you. Thanks!
@@electronicsNmore Well That Sucks. Thanks for nothing UA-cam ! Thank you for letting me know. All my best.
dude, that gal is my hero!!! Too many folks are apathetic and just don't give a hoot about stuff like this, too busy, maybe? I HATE THIEVES!!! Oh, the mail alarm is pretty cool too.
I need to extend an external antenna from the mailbox...I’m assuming that is the long trace under the lettering...opposite side top from where the soldering was done? Was hoping to put a 8-10” wire on one side of the antenna solder joint..or both? Any ideas? Thank You for your many FANTASTIC videos...just wonderful!!!
The range is already very far, at least 300 feet.
I’ll try relocating the wall bell but we have a very long driveway...works perfect if not under the mailbox but gets hidden just enough to not generate a signal when mounted underneath the box. Figured dangling a small antenna extension would do the trick. Maybe just setting some wire over the internal wire with the tail outside the transmitter would do the trick? Or, maybe it needs to be soldered to the two solder points of the antenna? Thank You!!
@@mkaa05 adding a wire might help a little, but a better idea could be to extend the wires from the switch so the whole transmitter unit could be mounted higher up from the mailbox. It wouldn't be hidden then, so it may not be the best solution for you.
Antennas work best when cut to a length that is proper for the frequency, that's why just adding an extra wire might not be good enough.
did I miss where you got it ? genius idea
I placed a link in the video description area. Thanks for watching Larry!
And they need to hire you lol
I did the same thing as you but a few years back...but i used a mercury switch instead of magnet switch
That works well too. Be sure to look over my extensive video playlists below for many other videos of interest to you, and most importantly take one minute to share a link to my channel with others. Thank you!
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Very cool
You can use also door bell switches that don't need any batterys for the switch, ther is something similar like in electronic firelighters in them to load the power for the signal you have never to replace the switch batterys, becourse it don't have one 😉
You need the battery in order to send the signal.
@electronicsNmore I think he is referring some switches that use some kind of mechanism that actually generates enough power to txmt a brief pulse. I've seen them but I don't remember where. They need enough movement (probably a magnet thru a coil) to create enough electricity, and the distance may not be that great due to low power, so it may not work well for this application. The battery here in your device should last a very long time anyway. I definitely plan to try it out.
Doug, how about mass producing the sender/receiver? I would certainly buy it.
Ditto
I'm thinking about it. If hundreds of people want them, I'd consider it. I'd have to charge around 35 bucks for a ready to go kit with shipping included.
@@electronicsNmore Sign me up for 2 of them, I need these so they can be installed in places as you described in the video and possibly on a fence gate.
Seems like there would be a lot more ideas to resolve this kind of issue. The basic technology has been around a long time and mailboxes much longer. I'm trying your idea because where I live the mail is delivered any time of the day or night and it can be extremely cold in the winter.
It works good. Keep the wires to the magnet switch about 5" long(Too long can cause problems with some wireless doorbell systems), line everything up with the magnet switch, close the door, then install the battery. :-)
@@electronicsNmore Got my order today and got it soldered, ready to install. I don't like the sticky tape that came with the components that will probably break down within a year, and I think I will use the screws that came with them. My mailbox is plastic or some composite material, so the screws should hold all the components on. If not, I'll get some better tape. I hope you'll do the video about the LED suggested.
The double stick tape is lousy. One day later it fell off. Use 3m.
Great Job!
Could you provide links for the materials?
Hi there. I have links in the video description area. Thanks for watching! Be sure to rate thumbs up and share.
electronicsNmore .Thanks!
I'm doing it, but when I attached the reed switch to the metal mailbox, it seems like the magnet no longer affects it properly. It's intermittent. When I remove it from the metal mailbox it works properly. I may change the switch to a lever type limit switch, see if I can get that mounted in there.
Hi Charles. It should work if properly lined up. I like the lever switch idea.
@@electronicsNmore yeah, I couldn't figure out why it was acting so intermittent. Anyway, I had a "tamper" switch from an old pc case (really old, I hate throwing things out like that). I hot glued it inside the mailbox and it seems to work quite well.
You left out one critical step. Could you please explain how you ran the wire through that small opening with it already attached at both ends? Doing it the way you showed it, you would have to run the wire through the hole THEN solder the wire to the doorbell switch contacts. OR: Was there enough room to slide the contact that's mounted on the inside of the mail box, in-between the mail box housing and the bottom of the door?
The magnet switch fits inside the lower part of the mailbox door when it's open. Thanks for watching!
@@electronicsNmore - I figured after watching very closely when you showed the mailbox door opened that there might be enough room in-which to slide that contact through that opening. Thanks for confirming that bit of info. And THANKS for posting this great idea too! I've got two storage buildings that are 80 & 90 ft respectively, away from the backside of my house that I've been trying to figure out a relatively cheap way to monitor both buildings, should someone attempt to enter in through the door without permission. And you have now provided a fantastic way for me to do that. :-)
I use a harbor freight driveway alert alarm about $7. I then used a esp8266 hooked up to a 433mhz receiver to intercept the alarm signal. The esp8266 then sends my a text message via email that the mail has arrived. More complicated but I get alerts on my phone.
Interesting method. I really wouldn't need phone notifications. If I'm away from home, I don't care about mail until I get home. Thanks for watching!
electronicsNmore
Your idea is much simpler and easier for most. Thanks for the great videos.
P RO
It’s a neat idea and since I’m downstairs in my workshop I don’t necessarily hear any chime. I can quickly check my phone anytime to see if mail arrived. Saves a short trip outside to check. Only a big deal if is winter and very cold out.
The doorbell is no longer available. Can you recommend a substitute?
Okay, cool idea. So let's say that you work nights and sleep through hours when mail comes or normal daylight people's hours of being active. The alarm goes off, but you don't hear it because you don't want to hear it, you want to sleep because you have to get up and go to work later. Is there some sort of status displayed on the receiver telling you that it had been tripped or the door had been opened letting you know you need to check it? You can see the advantage & disadvantage of this on garage doors, the mail box ect. for this segment of folks which are many...
If you sleep during the day, then just get up and get the mail at 5-6pm. Modifications can be made to keep the LED illuminated on the receiver after triggering until you press a reset button, but I won't bother. For 95% of people, what I made is more than sufficient. Thanks for watching
@@electronicsNmore That's what I surmised, but it's good that a small LED can be integrated. Some folk would need that since they are so far away from their boxes/pick-up points. I guess I was really wondering what features, if any, were built into the circuit. Still, it's a great idea!
she is a very lucky neighbor :P
😀 Thanks for watching Paul!
I saw ur comment on a airplane video
Great to hear! I comment on many other videos, unlike 95% of YT channels.
isnt it actually the NO contact you need?
Since normally you want an open circuit, else the doorbell will be going nuts 24/7, in NO when you open it, it closes thereby engaging the circuit (opposite to an alarm circuit which you want to be NC as it is actively monitored for a break (open) in the circuit, in our case the NO circuit closes when opened replicating pushing the bell, right?
No. You missed where the test was done by pulling the magnet AWAY from the reed switch before testing it. You want the NC contact with the magnet out of position.
@@electronicsNmore your correct, now I had my coffee yes, NC physical bits is an open circuit which then closes the magnet in reed, triggering alarm when magnet is moved away creating open physical but closed electricial
Do you sell these ready made?
I'm considering it. I'll be adding a "Pinned" comment to see how many people are interested. It would need to be many people to be worthwhile for me, and the priced would be roughly $35 shipped(Paypal). Thanks for watching Roland!
Still no luck with the emails,letting me know when you and others post.
Yes. YT stopped all email notifications. You'll need to use the app on your phone. Thanks for watching Ed!
My mailbox is just a slot -The door is on the rear for me to take out the mail. So how do I make an Alert? - HELP!!!!!
Necessity is the mother of invention. I had that same idea but didnt do it yet but you give me more of a reason to do it. LOL I should put a sensor on my front lawn before they ring the doorbell. LOL That way delivery can do delivery quicker and I have more time to get ready. Maybe she needs it to hear someone is coming before the door knocks. LOL Which is why you paused the video ;)
Also humidity will go in. Trying to think how to make something that takes humidity away with no or little power. hmmm.
secret is stores are not allowed to touch people that shoplift up to a certain limit for legal or insurance issues. I saw a person walk out the store with an entire car battery and the store clerk saw it and they said they are not allowed to touch "customers" since things can escalate.
Nice to know she is not afraid of you to have a mask. The CDC said more people die from suicide than a virus, and only 6% are actual deaths from virus since the numbers are skewed, and they say face masks wont protect you from a virus but make you more sick. But have to push the narrative.
She never goes out (shopping/other stores), without a mask, and when I go shopping I wear a mask, so we're both ok wearing no mask when I stop over.
You are dangerously misinformed.
@@lint2023 Not me, I'm highly informed, I know exactly what's going on. Life goes on.
I saw a guy wearing a big jacket, at Walmart years ago, shoving a VCR up their shirt! I just kept walking, I wasn't but about 14,
So many thieves at WM.
I think it would be very useful to protect your shed if you could rig it to explode a small charge of cayenne pepper and fluorescent dye. Similar to what they put in a dye package of money at a bank in case someone robs the bank. Of course you would need to have some way to disarm the device before you walk inside this shed yourself. Surprise. Surprise
Too funny. I could see the owner forgetting and opening the door.
Pay attention this human interaction 101.
All these conglomerate stores declare an exorbitant amount of money (whether it is stolen or not). Not saying that I condone the practice since it is legal. But customer get charge for all of this indirectly. Another form of stealing; if you ask me. Stealing for me is wrong regardless of who is doing it.
He couldn't call the cops because he would have had to prove it was their drill and the guy didn't pay for it or come in with it. That's hard to do when their camera operator or an employee was not watching start to finish. They can't take her word, unfortunately, since she may have a pre-existing bias against the individual that could get them sued for a false arrest/report. Even if they could take her word, she would have had to testify. I've busted up five shoplifting attempts today and I haven't even left work yet.
Completely disagree with everything you said, it's illogical(sounds like the left sticking up for criminals), except for the part about testifying. The store clearly didn't want to be bothered. The same people will be back, and they deserve to have more items stolen for not taking action against those thieves.
@@electronicsNmore Huh?
I'm citing corporate policy and explaining the logic behind it while trying not to say too much because people will exploit holes in our policy... but screw it. With the exception of grab and run theft, my employer requires four things observed/documented before we can accuse/confront someone or call the police:
Selection, concealment, continuous observation, and passing the last point of sale.
Observing selection means we saw them take it off our sales floor and we can prove or testify that we know they didn't come in with it. We can't testify that unless we witnessed selection.
Concealment doesn't just mean hiding it. For example, they could remove a tag to make something look like their personal property. Putting it in a bag or wearing it under their clothes is obviously concealment too.
Continuous observation serves two purposes: One, to make sure they did not ditch the merchandise before we effect a shoplifting stop, and two, to make sure they did not buy it while there was a gap in observation. Someone may carry merchandise into the bathroom and come out wearing it and I may have witnessed them selecting it but that is perfectly OK if they bought it. Furthermore, they don't have to prove anything they can throw the receipt away or eat it or refuse it. We have to prove they didn't pay for it if we want to avoid being counter-sued. Continuous observation is not a legal requirement. Legally we can call the police as soon as we have concealment. This is SPECIFICALLY because of past precedents where we have lost in court with anything less.
Letting them pass the last point of sale is simply giving them every opportunity to buy it. They could always claim that they planned to buy it. This happens even with concealment. I hear it all the time. "I was just playing around." Ugh. I know it's usually BS but I recall when my twin brother and I were walking home from the neighborhood store and he jokingly hid a 3-liter bottle of Coca-Cola under his T-Shirt just as a cop was passing. The cop slammed on the brakes, backed up, and demanded to see what my brother had incompetently "hidden" under his shirt. The entire joke was that you couldn't actually hide a 3-liter bottle under your shirt.
Yes, we had 3-liter Coke bottles around 30 years ago.
@@electronicsNmore I've been doing this for 20 years and regularly consult with the corporate policy makers to understand their reasoning. I am aware of the lawsuits we have had which have dictated corporate policy. One of the worst situations for a retailer is effecting a "bad stop," which is the risk you would be taking if you take a customer's word.
Obviously, they were willing to take some of that risk for her regarding the drill which is surprising enough as it is. The fact that they wouldn't go further by involving the police is not surprising. An arrest brings charges, court, and lawyers. The reason the people we catch are not allowed to ever see me or know who I am without legal procedings is specifically to avoid the accusation that I had some pre-existing bias toward them... like I was out to get them because they accidentally hit my mailbox or something.
Point is, this was supposed to be an informed explanation for something you didn't understand, not some political defense of criminals for you to reject. Like I said, I caught five shoplifters yesterday (two the day before) so I am in the business of prosecuting them, not defending them. It sounded like you genuinely wanted to know, so I explained. Your response was a total misread and misfire. I'm merely telling you "why," not how I want them to be. I get frustrated by these policies every day. Whether we agree with these policies or not, that is the rational for them.
The case in the video couldn't have been any easier to prove.
Lady in the isle by the tools ALONE.
Lady claims a man walked into the isle(which can be proven by the video), stopped in front of her, and placed a drill inside his backpack(Makes no difference if that part was out of the field of view).
Lady sees the man heading to the front of the store toward the exit, and is stopped after she informed the manager
Manager opens the backpack and finds exactly what the lady said was stolen off the shelf.
End of story.
@@electronicsNmore Though we bend this rule constantly (as common-sense dictates), the official policy is "If we didn't see it, it didn't happen." Obviously, they didn't see what she saw. I can't tell you how many bad stops we would have had if we stopped someone every time someone told us someone else put earrings or sunglasses or a watch or whatever in their pocket. Even if they are right 9 of 10 times, that tenth time still happens where we find their own watch or sunglasses or a cellphone/wallet. After enough "bad stops" like that you will end up with one criminal who lawyers up and results in you losing a quarter-million dollar countersuit.
Get it? It's not about how easy it is to prove. It's about long-term risk with that policy. What she told them was enough for reasonable suspicion for a stop but, reasonable suspicion is not "proof" even if they find the merchandise. Think about what happens when the thief lawyers up and the lawyer realized that the retailer has no proof that the their didn't walk in the store with it, or buy it at another register before bagging it, or whatever.
I used to ride a motorcycle exclusively. Didn't own a car. That meant everything I bought had to fit in my tank bag or backpack or whatever I had. I would deliberately size things up and fit them in my bag in front of other people so that it was obvious I wasn't trying to hide anything. I may even have prior purchases that I pull out and rearrange with the prospective purchase to see if they would fit. Anyone seeing this might see me place merchandise I already paid for into my bag and then put something else from the bag back on the shelf, which might make them think that the other item was not mine either. Can you see why many retailers would not even confront someone based on someone else's word?
With a similarly-credible customer accusation, I'm always happy to see one of our managers use common sense and break that policy to confront someone where we don't have selection+continuous observation. Happens all the time even though that's the policy. Since an arrest would create a case file and bring corporate review, there's even more incentive NOT to call the police in such situations.
When I get a call about someone putting something in their pocket it was often personal property and not merchandise (cellphone or wallet). When I don't know what it was we often give them enough line to hang themselves by watching until they try something else where we do have selection and concealment. If there are other signs but no proof we "customer-service them to death," which often results in them ditching it if they really were up to anything and really appreciating the extra attention if they weren't. ;)
Point is, they appreciate the information and used it to recover the merchandise. They appreciate her report. They would not appreciate a lawsuit, so they were only willing to go so far. I'm thankful they were willing to go as far as they did since many corporate policies discourage that, including ours.
need to stick a ring doorbell in your mail box. ..because people doing to much.
You're such a tricky devil! Too bad that doesn't work on the multiple box metal stands they use in neighborhoods of apartments......
It's definitely hard to do on those.
First
Great!
Why do people post to 16 minute videos full of all kinds of nothing anything people care about. Get to the point
Wow, what an entitled freeloader.