Originally Posted by
tinydr
This would probably be a good time to admit that, while I am not a lawyer, I am a law student... so I have at least some elementary understanding of the issues you're talking about (but again, I stress that no one should take my word for anything, talk to an actual lawyer... I'm still on training-wheels: nothing I say should be construed as legal advice).
Honestly, if you start trying to explain the concept of a bailee I think the employees of the store will look at you like you have two heads.
Do you actually have anything of value in your bag? Or is this just a matter of principle?
One way or another, in the end you might be putting too much thought into this, find another store, or live with entrusting your backpack to these people. We could try to talk out some of the many problems with this scenario, but I seriously doubt that it's worth it.
I agree with you. Store clerks cannot seem to understand that if they are having enough of a theft problem to demand a customer's backpack, that it might get stolen while in their care. Heaven forbid I try to argue law with them. I've watched the judge shows... I realize what comprehension level of the law most people have. They are just following the rather vague and poorly thought out directives of their bosses. I have talked with the managers, and they blame it on corporate, though I've found that they actually have quite a bit of latitude in what they do, so I don't believe the corporate policy line that they feed me.
In part my feelings are based on principle, and in part it is that I may have valuable items in my backpack when I enter the store, DVDs and CDs of company proprietary information, a video camera or laptop as well as my checkbook and other personal information. The store is right on my route home, and to go home first and come back would be a hilly 2 miles + of extra riding. As I've said before, there really aren't any alternatives. Kroger owns all the grocery stores in the area except for one Whole Foods Market. I shop at Whole Foods, but it doesn't have everything I need. So I can't ignore them and go to the competition as I would in other market areas.
So I'm thinking that my raffle ticket idea is the best solution at this time. It's cheap and easy enough for a clerk to fathom.
It doesn't protect me from theft by the employees or someone stealing it from the customer desk when it is unattended. But it does provide me with protection from the easiest scheme, that is for a perp to just go up to the desk and ask for my pack, as well as provide me with documentation of the bailment transaction should something happen, so that they cannot as easily say, "What backpack? You never gave us a backpack!".
Beyond this I don't know what to do. Locking down the bag would be problematic, though I'd gladly welcome a bus locker even if I had to pay 50 cents to check my bag in it.