Tightwad, don't such a chicken. YOU are being completly unreasonable and letting a few scattered terrorist incidents run your life. THIS is exactly what the terrorists (Bush and Cheney included) want you to think.

Here in ROussillon. Since many stores do not stock grocery bags, customers take in their own. I have noticed, those who take in things like sacks from other stores, the security will seal them in banded plastic bags and then allow the customer to take in whatever.
Also, being on a bike sort of complicates things. I see people walking in the streets , on city buses , returning from work, school. That means if they use backpacks, they can't go shopping.

I walk to my local store and carry a sports bag over the shoulder, before going out i check that it's empty...keep it zipped and over shoulder whilst in store and fill it with shopping outside store. I've never had a problem, though if they decide that i can't shop this way, then i won't be shopping there anymore.

LOL!!! Your cracking me up with that stuff. You almost had me going there for a minute. The sad thing is, there are actually a few people in this country who believe that sort of thing.

Good one, man.

If they can spend the time to harras people as they shop, they can spend the time to search their bag at the checkout. Anything small enough to be hidden enough to avoid such an inspection in a pack could just as easily be put in a jacket or pants.

Concern over bombs in packs is outragiously stupid. Messengers wear packs into far more tasty targets than a grocery store, many bombs are strapped directly to the person of a bomber, and students wear packs all over the liberal-factory university campuses. People even drive cars right up to stores, sometime even parking them underneith. I know that I could fit a larger bomb in a car than in a backpack. And besides, isn't the whole thing about terrorism linked somewhat with the oil thing? Use of backpacks instigates the use of bikes, which despite any psuedologic some throw out, do use less gas than cars.

I have seen people with guns in their pants, I know you can put acid in a cup, knives fit in boots, I have carried a deadly shuriken in my front chest pocket, babies can be loud, poop can stink and contains fecal coliform bacteria and that can kill you.

The stores I go to prefer you to bring your own pack so that you save the use of a disposable one at the checkout.

I have NEVER, EVER given up my bags when I went into a store. I routinely carry a backpack into Walmart, King Soopers (owned by Krogers), Safeway, Albertsons, Ace Hardware .... I actually take my WHOLE bike with panniers and all into Lowes and Home Depot (Grocery panniers make GREAT shopping carts!). I've never gotten more than a strange look at any of them.

Hell... I even take my bike into the bank with me. (This is their main branch... marble floors, counters, etc.) ... Never get a second look, and get lots of comments about riding my bike.

I can only remember one time that I was asked to give up my backpack and I told them something not very nice that they could do to themselves and took my business elsewhere.

I honestly think the best solution is to install a few lockers at the entrance to the store for customers to put their bags. The Real Canadian Superstore has a system like this, and it works pretty well. No worries about employees violating your privacy, no problems with being accused of stealing, and it probably decreases the amount of 'shrinkage', as well.

it sounds like the answer is to carry a big purse!

i've brought my huge messenger bag into the store near my house, and i've never had a problem (knock on wood). i put it in the cart first thing, too, because i don't want to carry it around. there are other stores where i can buy things i need, so it wouldn't be wise for these people to hassle me or anyone else who's carrying a bag and doesn't behave suspiciously. i know not everyone has many stores to choose from, but other than those situations, there is no reason stores should be able to get away with bad service, which is what this is. i don't care how much people steal--*I* didn't steal anything. taking my bag is insulting. the store is private property, i guess, but it's property that the business paid for with my money. if they want any more of it, they better treat me well. if i really wanted to steal something, i'd put it in my pocket, anyway--i wouldn't take off my bag, rest it on my knee, unfasten it, and stuff a bunch of crap in it. should they have me turn my pockets out the entire time i'm in the store? it'd prevent theft right? should i check my jacket? what if you're wearing a jersey with pockets? you could put stuff in that. maybe you need to take that off too.

anyway, they can't have my bag. if they want me to put it in a locker with a key, that'd be acceptable. as long as they don't put the groceries in a bunch of plastic bags so i have to unpack them and repack the groceries into my bag once i get it back.

i love jamesdenver's advice. very helpful!

I have heard from Cyclists who have been to Israel. BIke frames are suspected for carrying bombs. Lock up your bike and leave it unattended, you might find a bomb squad tearing it apart. This world is getting to be too much. How is life in Nepal?
I just do not see the difference between a shopping bag and a backpack. They both allow empty space for chucking stuff. What is the difference. Security might have to inspect both.

I would shop someplace else. If a store or a chain has a bazillion customers, it can treat one poorly - lie to him, jerk him around etc. It really doesn't make a difference to anyone but the person being mistreated.

Things are different at smaller places. I like knowing the owner or the person behind the counter. I like hearing "I'll get you next time," when I have left my wallet in my other pants. I like chatting about the neighborhood. I like that our kids are (or were) in the same schools. I like that they give $50 to the kids who are fundraising for school clubs.

I think, though I can't prove it, that big stores owe their existence to the automobile. They need to large numbers drawn, typically drawn from a large area, to work.

But even another grocery chain would be a better option. Where I liver, there is a significant difference between Safeway and Kroger-owned stores. One of the biggest is that Kroger has reduced its workforce so that it is often inadequate to handle all the people in the store. There's one Kroger-owned store, next to a suburban style development, that during certain hours has no checkers whatsoever. Shoppers need to use the computer checkouts. (The manager told me that "People around here like the computers better. I don't think they like people much.")

If I were in the OP's situation I'd be tempted to leave my bag with them but upon getting it back I'd have a look inside and to my horror I'd find that my I-pod and expensive sunglasses were gone and demand to be reimbursed.

You'd get an I-pod, a nice pair of sunglasses, and maybe a policy change.

I shop all the time in Dublin city centre with a backpack on no problems. I know one small bookshop that asks you to leave bags behind the counter, but that's it.

Large supermarkets and electronic stores on the continent that I've been in have different methods.

A Decathlon in Paris takes every bag and holds them in a small closed cubical with a clerk. I think they put them in sealed bags. Another shop lets you drop your backpack into a large clear plastic sack and then you seal the top yourself with a plastic heat sealer that the bags are attached to - a 10 second job and you keep your bag with you.

An electronics shop I was in near Marbella, Spain had a rack of lockers inside the entrance, beside a security guy. You put your bag in, lock it and take the key, and take your bag out on return (no cash or tokens required).

--

Americans: please don't lose the "War on Terrurism" (tm)(Copyright FoxNews and the Bush administration) by letting these a$$holes take away your essential liberties. It saddens the rest of the world to see a once great democratic country fall so hard and so fast. Be assertive about your civil rights. Don't accept bull***** like this in stores or on the subway. Don't accept voting fraud in the next electron. Don't give in to the orchestrated "keep 'em afraid" campaign from your government.

Bah, I could rant all day. Please be assertive and stand up for yourselves, against your local store clerk and against your government. Your forefathers wrote the Constitution in a very clear manner - know it and love it.

If you don't ask a qestion, you're less likely to get no for an answer. Just do it.

Your own "policy" is equaly important to the store "policy" .

If they really press the issue I would just leave, no reason to get into a big argument over it.

Just to add some perspective...
I work as a LP agent for a major corporation. Whenever I see someone with a large bag, backpack, stroller, etc. I keep my eye out for them. If they exhibit some other suspicious behavior, then I'll watch them closer. 95% of the folks are either passing through or legitimately shopping. But there are those who will stuff their bags full of unpaid merchandise and just walk out. I personally wouldn't ever tell someone to check their bag since I often carry my messenger bag into places and I'm smart enough to recognize that the hassle of trying to get an honest person's bag isn't worth my time.

Ya know the thing that irks me about this thread, even though slightly off topic, is that a lot of people, including some police officers, simply DON'T KNOW what are actual laws, and what are rules made by private corporations, as have been demonstrated on threads here about biking in the street/sidewalk and such.

examples...

Some employees must consent to searches of their personal being, and TOLERATE it, unfortunately in low paying jobs where they don't have a lot of power to speak up against it. No expectation of personal privacy whatsoever on company property.

Some cops, transit cops, and private security restrict photography in public places, which has no legal backing at all. I love the infrastructure and architecture of airports, subways, tunnels, and love taking pictures. This has been a big discussion in other photography groups, but how many times do you think someone has told a tourist of someone "You can't take a picture here", and they just blindly follow it?

HOAs and developments. Even a lot of streets are OWNED by private companies. There's a retail block in a neighborhood here but connects two city streets in the grid so you wouldn't even know it's private, but they COULD tell me I'm no allowed on the street without a tie on.

I'm trying to think of more examples, but I see this type of thing a lot, where I'll see a sign/rule/or policy that is made by a private person or company, yet has no legal bearing at all, yet no even considers that fact it really doesn't mean anything.

OK here's one: A sign on trucks that say "We are not responsible for broken windshields". Well, if you loaded your truck incorrectly, and it causes damage to me, you ARE responsible, and a sign (rule), doesn't mean BS.

Anyway blah blah eminant domain case in Connecticut and on and on, but I think it's worth educating yourself on the subject, and the initial "you can't have a backpack here" issue grow into more with so many cities privatizing projects, so basically your rights land at the COMPANY's discretion, and don't fall under the actual law.

Actually... depends on the cause of the broken windshield... it's more commonly caused by a rock kicked up by the tires, in which case they wouldn't be responsible. If it's caused by something falling off the truck then they are responsible and should have to pay for damages.

my town's main export is sand and gravel, and some of their trucks say "follow 500 feet or more behind--we are not responsible for broken windshields," too. that makes me so mad. i guess i should put a sign on my car or bike or body that says "stay out of my way--i am not responsible for accidentally running into you." >:/ non-compliance is like signing a waiver, right? so much nonsense.

i don't have a lot of use for the idea of "private" businesses. they aren't actually private. they're wholly supported by consumers and--if they're getting any kind of a deal from the government--tax money collected from taxpayers (i.e.: us). the store near my house is a kroger store (freddy kroger, as my music history teacher called it), but their service is fantastic. if they piss off their customers, they're going to lose money, and their corporate people are going to give them hell for it. i just hate the idea of some commercial force creating authoritarian policies at our expense, when WE pay THEM. i guess there are two sides to that, though: if we give all our money to a cut-rate grocery store, we're going to support bad customer service, and have no recourse when the other stores go out of business and this cut-rate store refuses to let us carry personal items while we're shopping.

i don't know about other places, but in portland and the surrounding area, safeway is kind of neurotic about customer service, so if there's a problem in another store, maybe you could go to safeway, or if there's a problem in safeway, call their corporate people. customer service is their whole spiel, and that's why they charge more than other places (again, maybe this is a local phenomenon). that tactic won't work in a town monopolized by kroger, but it could work in a lot of other places. maybe also it'd be good to check out farmers' markets and little businesses like that if it's possible; you wouldn't be able to totally stop giving money to kroger, but you could limit it, and limit the time you spend in their crappy store.

i wonder about "manager discretion" because it seems like it could cause some problems if the manager's discretion leads to only certain types of people having their personal property taken from them. hmmm.

You mean like negroes in the South sitting at Woolworth's lunch counter?

I think you deserve a cookie for actually quoting that properly. Anyhow, this isn't about security it's about shoplifting. When I was a little younger I used to have to check my bag at one certain store. Actually, I love this store but it did cause me to not shop there for awhile. Then I realized there was a way around. Make sure you are wearing your bike helmet (sounds stupid, but this helps.) Then they know why you have your backpack. Second, make a beeline for a shopping basket. This shows that you are actually going to buy things. Last, sneak up behind the security guard and give him the vulcan neck pinch before he gives you any trouble.

I offer to gladly let them search my bag upon entering and leaving if they bring it up, but I point out that I'm extremely uncomfortable with leaving my bag with anyone, as it's my equivalent of a purse. I don't whisper this, either. (but don't scream.) Sometimes I point out that I'm bringing my own shopping bags, depending on the store I'm going into. Sometimes I just tell them it's my purse.
Being very agreeable and sympathetic without giving ground gets me pretty far.

I haven't read all the replies, so this may be redundant. How about packing all your stuff in a large ladies bag? When the store asks for your pack, no prob. Just remove the ladies bag and hand them the empty pack!

As I have said before, I don't really have much choice. There are only two chains around here, Kroger and Harvest Foods. Harvest Foods is owned by Kroger, it's prices are higher, selection more limited and quality worse. They keep it to give the impression of competition.

I have decided that my best strategy is probably to put my backpack into the cart when I enter the store. This way I resemble all the other shoppers and my backpack does not create a visible "red flag". If challenged, I will surrender it slowly, but not without challenge and protest. I want to make them know that it will be unpleasant to part me and my backpack. This must be done carefully because this Kroger not only has security guards, but uniformed Little Rock police officers.

Though I never had a problem in a year and a half of shopping, I have to assume that the management is just a wee bit paranoid.

As I've said before, that is not the real issue. The real issue is that they demand it, yet give me no protection from someone stealing it while it is in their possession. Years ago, the hat check girl would give you a chit to redeem when you wanted your hat back. It's not a difficult thing to do. A roll of tickets and masking tape is all that's needed. I asked them to give me assurance that my backpack would be safe under their guard, but they refused.

I had a huge reply typed out and then didn't submit it right away. The forum automatically logged me out and swallowed my reply. I don't know when I'll have an opportunity to spend the time typing that out again--honestly, I won't. I suspect that an auto-log-out feature is really over-zealous in the security department. It's your own personal responsibility to log out of public forums when using a shared computer.

Anyway, I'm glad that I found this thread because the previous searches that I had run mostly dealt with teenagers. Since the store I'm concerned about is a liquor store, it's really an anti-homeless provision.

Putting the bag into a cart works really well at the supermarket, but is going to be a problem for me at the liquor store where the carts are visible from inside the store and where I've already raised a stink (Wilbur's Total Beverage). I had actually thought of a lawsuit, since they do not apply the policy to purses or women's handbags. This is the only legal grey area, in all other regards they are well within their rights to refuse service. They actually can not search my bag unless I give them consent, so allowing me to shop and then searching the bag can not be the store policy. If they are making accusations of shoplifting then a police officer should search the bag. Once they ask me to leave then they could press charges of criminal trespass since the store is considered private property. If they ban me from the store, then any subsequent visit would automatically be considered criminal trespass. So, I'm glad I left when I did last night!

The old night manager at Wilburs at least listened to my concerns and our solution was to put my bag in the front office, which would be locked. I'd have to find him when I was ready to go, but at least I felt as though my bag was safe. He's the only one who would ever ask. I don't really feel that I could feel safe leaving my bag with this new guy. He's a real meat-head and instead of listening to me, he's angry at me for complicating his life. "C'mon dude." Because of that anger, I feel like he's going to make it his personal mission to harass me. Conceivably after last night, he could have had a "choose your battles" epiphany, but I doubt it.

I'll likely go back when I'm at Whole Foods, try hucking my bag into a cart (I've also shopped with my groceries in traditional "grocery bags" there) as soon as possible. I think that contacting the owner about this individual incident will only win points for the meat-head, since he is following store policy. The store policy is only a problem for me when enforced though, hence the problem. If it really is the problem that I think it is, then I'll consider writing a letter to the local papers and trying to find a way to voice the argument on community radio. Though I've spent (literally) thousands of dollars at this store, they do so much volume that they can do without my business, so a personal boycott would be of limited effect.


M@

Get a big sign, and write

" Purses, handbags, and bookbags are NOT ALLOWED INSIDE OF THIS STORE ".

Stand there during their busy-time and call a few news stations. =) lol