genec

Yeah, that is the biggest irony in this whole state of affairs.

CrankyOne

I'd guess that they've got a pretty good idea what the profile is of the people most likely to shoplift for various stores. I wonder if at this store that profile is a backpack? It makes no sense (in a normal and non-pc world) to focus on purses if they have not proven a problem while backpacks have.

walrus1

I've had this issue in the past. For a while when messenger bags were just starting to take off in NYC many places would demand I leave my bag with them. As messenger bags got more prevalent many places relaxed this policy yet some places demand this. I've had luck getting places to wave this by politely explaining that the bag contains my laptop or tablet and camera with lens. I ask if they are willing to take financial responsibility for it and if they protest I say if they make me give it to them they are taking legal responsibility for the safety of the bag and its contents most of the time by this point a someone comes by and tells me its ok and I can keep it. Otherwise, I just leave and go elsewhere or order online. I do get pissed off when they don't demand ladies who have equivalent sized bags aren't required to check them.

Lately movie theaters have gotten more gung ho about this. Which would be reasonable if they demanded women don't have bags either. Apparently the fairer sex aren't capable of sneaking in snakes, carrying weapons or illegally filming movies.

I believe that being polite and voting with his wallet will bring better results for the OP then trying to get them to sign something.

LesterOfPuppets

I'd guess that even if theft using backpacks and theft using purses were equal, that many stores would choose to alienate the backpack population before they'd alienate the much larger purse population.

I-Like-To-Bike

Oh, the horror, the horror. What drama!

ModeratedUser

What part of the original post and my following posts gave you the illusion that I had a theft of my pack?

ModeratedUser

You know I was riding today and I was thinking about this comment. You are damn right! I was riding downtown LA (dtla) and I had my 2 watt rear light flashing. ALL the riders I saw didn't have a rear light flashing and I was thinking to myself. "What gives me the right to have a flashing rear light? You know, I am just being a whining b-word on my high horse! I should not have to have people cater to my bicycling idiosyncrasies!" So I decided to leave my rear light off my bike! That goes for night riding too. There's tons of riders I see that don't have a rear light. Why do they have to deal with my bicycling idiosyncrasies? Thanks for straightening that up!

(BTW, I have alot more bicycling idiosyncrasies! Get this, I think bicycle riders on the road hold the same rights as car drivers! Yeah I need alot of work!)

I-Like-To-Bike

None for me since I am usually pretty good at reading A&S rants, but at least 2 other posters on this thread did interpret your OP to read that indeed the backpack was stolen.

mconlonx

No one is going to sign a document indicating they they are taking responsibility for your stuff. If they do, they are stupid and ignorant.

Cover your mouthpiece -- tuck it into the pack or use a plastic bag and rubber band -- if you are worried about hygiene

Surrender your bag when asked, don't carry it when you know you will be going places where you will be asked to surrender it, or shop at places without such requirements (i.e. vote with your wallet).

Once, I walked into some place which required checking bags and coats, and I did so. There were signs posted and the numbered receipt repeated, "Store not responsible for checked property."

Checking bags and an absolution of responsibility is not an uncommon practice nowadays. Might as well complain about the tides...

wphamilton

Exactly, the bolded suggestion.

There is a difference between checking a bag in to a secured area with a claim ticket, and being told at the door "you can't bring that in here" and just lay it against the wall, or place on the counter as the case may be. I am happy to hasten the demise of businesses with the latter practice by shopping elsewhere. They're usually in a death spiral already when they get to that point.

Like most ordinary people who have been around long enough, I did my stint in retail. Part of my job was overseeing a secure area, which had the function of holding checked in bags and belongings. It was more of a service than a demand, if you didn't want to carry all that stuff around. It's truly amazing how much some people accumulate in a shopping spree.

I had to laugh at my wife one afternoon when she came in carrying a pack while shopping, and she complained to me about a feeling of being watched. Of course the scrutiny disappeared instantly when I walked up and they realized she was with me. I told her that she didn't have to check the bag in, but she was likely giving LP fits in the back room. If someone does walk around with a backpack, or a large purse for that matter , they were tracked surreptitiously by loss prevention both in person and by video cameras. You take your pick, check it in or know that employees are watching you like a hawk.

I personally have no issue with checking in a bag in those circumstances. With no valuables in the bag of course. But if I walk in a store and am faced with an ultimatum, I walk out instantly.

genec

Damn nice response... full of explanation and suggestions.

Good show.

kickstart

The only "rights" any road user has is to use it in a safe, lawful manner.

JoeyBike

I re-examined the OP.

What I read.

What I missed.

Eh...it happens...

So security did take good care of the pack and the OP was slightly inconvenienced. Whoop-dee-doo.

ModeratedUser

You might see it as taking good care of the pack, but I'd beg to differ. Those are my valuables that I can't take a $500 hit on. Others have mentioned that their valuables go upwards of $2000. I'm hoping one day I can say "Whoop-dee-doo" when my crap gets stolen, but today is not that day!

JoeyBike

Security dude told you the pack would be fine. It WAS fine. You got it back. There is no story here. If you don't like handing over your stuff there are many good suggestions on this thread. Getting some fake cop to sign a contract to do what he was told to do won't work. And as for the dirty bite valve, I can't keep my own bite valve clean so I use a cover for it. If your hydration is not a Camelbak, I can't help you.


Available at REI. Photo from REI.com

ModeratedUser

The event outlined at the beginning could have very easily turned out not so fine. Someone in the store, a shopper for example, could have easily heard the conversation and picked up the pack, much like I did and walked out the store. I'm thinking the pack is fine with security looking over it, but it wasn't. Someone could have walked off with it. THIS IS AN EXAMPLE. Comprender? So I got it back out of luck, not out of someone being careful with my valuables. And yes I could have gone to another store, but I was reassured that my pack would be fine by handing it over. Comprender? So I'm wondering the best options next time this happens. AND YES I KNOW I CAN TURN AROUND AND WALK OUT. The mouth piece example is just an example of how clueless people are when handling this item.

CliffordK

You need to take care of the mouthpiece, not the store. What about disconnecting it from the shoulder strap, then stuffing it into a pocket in the pack? Even back into the bladder compartment.
More correctly, it is my "MURSE", short for Man-Purse.

I've started tossing my wallet into my backpack as it can be embarrassing, and perhaps impolite that all my money is always drenched

So, yes, it is as much my purse as the huge bags that half the population carry around on their shoulders.

When I leave the pack, I have to empty my wallet and cameraphone out of it, and carry the phone around the store.

Around here, the only stores that ever give me problems are the thrift stores. I suppose one problem is that one's backpack contents can look a bit "thrifty", especially if one stops at a couple of thrift stores.

I can't imagine anybody ever robbing a thrift store, but just a couple of days ago I saw a lady escorted out of the store for swapping price tags on the items.

If I have less than $100 worth of stuff in my backpack, then I usually empty the phone and wallet, then just lock it to the bike when I enter a store that I know has a no-packs policy.
Goodwill now is providing free combination lockers for backpacks (except the oversized packs )
Other stores usually just keep the bags at the cashier kiosk.
The bike Co-op has a not so well monitored bag shelf. Also no cameras on bikes or otherwise designed to protect customers in a not-so-great section of town.

So far, nobody has messed with my lock, speedo, lights, backpack, helmet, water bottles, pump, seat, under seat bag, or trailer when locked outside while shopping.

I don't think I've been turned away from any non-thrift store, although I think the University Bookstore may also have a no packs policy. My regular grocery store is one of my favorite stops to carry my water bottle into the store for a refill. A while ago I was stressed out because I wanted to stop at the building supply store, and had forgotten my lock. I asked customer service if they'd watch my bike, and they said just to bring it into the store... so I did. It wasn't any bigger than the building supply monster shopping carts.

Nice Idea. I might have to think about that some.

jfowler85

Ding ding ding, and we have a winner!

CliffordK

I don't carry a laptop or a tablet with me... but it is pretty easy to get $500 worth of electronics in a bag. If you bring a laptop case slung over your shoulder into a store, are you asked to relinquish it?

Heck, it isn't hard to find a '$500 cycle computer.

Shopping is often done when convenient, not based on some arbitrary schedule. I.E. Coming to or from work.

kickstart

I could see where it might be a problem with an unplanned stop, but if its part of ones usual routine a little forethought should solve the issue.
Choose a different store, or adapt.

italktocats

so eh, to anyone saying "its their store take it or leave it"

if they hang a sign with "no ******s allowed"

its ok because "its their store"?

CrankyOne

And we wonder why the majority thinks that the tiny little minority of people who ride bicycles are oddball PITA whiners and complainers.

kickstart

And this isn't even a cycling issue.

CliffordK

It is a cycling issue.

Hard to lock your stuff in the car when you're riding a bike.
And, it is often hard to go "shopping" with no place to carry one's purchases.

One can plan ahead a bit, but having a partly full back pack sometime during the shopping trip is inevitable. Personally, I regularly dump unnecessary stuff from my bag, but it is rarely completely empty.

CrankyOne

There are legitimate issues along these lines but this one is trying to make a EE out of an A cup. There's nothing there. The OP can easily take a phone and laptop in to the store in a small bag and leave the rest with his/her bike including a normal water bottle instead of a camelback. Is that really that difficult?