Asset Protection

"Thank you for shopping at Wal-mart and have a nice day." Those are comforting words to shoppers around the world. When entering one of these stores I am usually greeted with a smile and personal acknowledgement or I am stranded trying to make eye contact with an individual who is missing a Halo party with his friends. Both scenarios are comforting. The "greeter", as they are called, is designed to be an asset protection employee for the world's largest retail giant. They are there to check returning merchandise and to deter merchandise from leaving the store without payment. No armed security personnel, Wal-mart prefers to take a more "friendly" approach to protecting its vast inventory.
But, sadly, Wal-mart is not always a place of smiles. The Deseret News and KSL ran stories several months ago on a happening at the Layton Wal-mart. I will paraphrase the story here but feel free to read it on the Deseret News website.

Low prices that just make you want to smile!

Wal-mart, like many retail stores, has a strict policy on how their employees should address shoplifters. On January 13th, a "shopper" unwrapped a netbook computer and hid it under his clothes. (Now, being the proud owner of a netbook computer, I can understand why he would want one.) Employees spotted him and the manager in charge of asset protection met him at the door. Per Wal-mart policy, this employee ushered the would-be thief to the asset protection room to confront him. Wal-mart chooses this method of confrontation so that other shoppers are not witnesses of the accusations and dealings. Keep on smiling everyone. Also per Wal-mart policy, three other employees were invited into the room to witness the proceedings and to make sure everything was handled according to the employee handbook. So far these all seem to be very wise moves on the part of corporate. 

Enter policy AP09. Policy AP09 simply states that (quoted from Deseret News) "employees are allowed to use 'reasonable force' to limit movements of struggling suspects. If a weapon comes out, however, associates must 'disengage' and 'withdraw'." Another seemingly smart move by Wal-mart. Obviously it is much better to protect the lives of the employees over the store merchandise. It seems to be sage advice that the life of an employee should be put over a $300 laptop. They must have also ran some calculations to show that it is more cost effective to hire a non-violent withdraw-ready "greeter" than armed security personnel trained to protect their merchandise. It all makes sense.

What happened next back in that asset protection room is shocking. The suspect drew a pistol and held it to the back of one of the employees. He threatened him and began to use him as collateral to make an exit. Per policy AP09, the employees were told to disengage and withdraw in the presence of a weapon. Fortunately these employees had souls. They immediately disarmed the suspect and detained him. They chose in that split second to exercise their rights as Human Beings to defend themselves and others rather than adhere to Wal-mart's policy. No one was injured.

Rather than extend to these four individuals medals and promotions, Wal-mart decided to fire them for violation of policy AP09.

Consider the alternative. One or more of those employees could have been killed. A violent gunman could have gone running through the store doing whatever he desired. A deadly hostage situation could have brewed. Instead, a crisis was averted through the brave actions of sales associates.

I understand the need for companies to protect themselves and their employees. But choosing to enforce that policy through dismissals over common sense is disgusting. It's true that had the workers let the man go, everything could have turned out all right. But nobody knows. And personally, if you have the clear opportunity to disarm a criminal and save someone's life, throwing the dice doesn't seem very reasonable. I guess that's business.

What is the human response to danger? Is it to reach for the corporate manual? Or is it to act on guts and instinct to do everything in your power to keep yourself and others safe? I'd imagine there isn't much time to think in those situations.

KSL recently released surveillance video of the event. That also wasn't without controversy. KSL filed moves to receive the video from Layton City four times before it was granted. Walmart opposed the video release by stating the following in a letter: "If Layton City intends to release Walmart's video tape to KSL, Walmart will move forward in district court, seeking an injunction to prevent Layton City from doing so under GRAMA." This leads me to the following question: Why wouldn't Walmart want the public to see video evidence of blatant policy AP09 violation?

When it comes down to it I guess these employees were left to choose between protecting their jobs or protecting themselves and others from being shot. I guess they could have gambled but that's just not the way they reacted. It was a lose lose situation for them. They had to react one way or the other. After all, they had already followed their company policy to bring an armed robber into their asset protection room. I mean, they could have lost their jobs if they hadn't.

At the end of the day, assets need to be protected. The laptop was saved. Company policy violations were enforced to their fullest extent. Hey, and no one got hurt. That should give everyone (who kept their job) something to smile about.

Aging

Happy Birthday Google. Who knew you'd mature so fast. I'm so proud of you for being a big boy. To celebrate your special day, I just want to take a quick look at some your conquests (products I use to use and now don't because of you).

Mapquest. Yahoo! Ask Jeaves (this one hurt the most -- I always wanted a butler). Firefox. Hotmail. Aol Instant Messenger. The phone book. Encyclopedia Britannica. My Third Grade teacher.

I thought long and hard about getting you a present. I mean, you're a pretty important part of my life. Then I decided that the best thing I can give you is to just continue to give you my statistical footprint. Another year of search queries, open emails, and map locations should do the trick. May your teenage years not involve too much mischief.

Virtually Unstoppable Crime

When I was a young kid I remember thinking deeply about the concept of virtual reality. There was a new nintendo system out called the Virtual Boy. It included a head-mounted 3D display and a controller. As you donned the snazzy specs, you were brought into a new "advanced" world that bridged the real with fantasy. Your entire peripheral was consumed by an alternate reality. There was no limit to what you could do.

TV screens continue to get bigger and bigger. The picture is getting clearer and clearer. Some televisions are so picture perfect that they can be mistaken for windows. If you stare at them long enough, you just might confuse the real with the invented.

With technology becoming so sophisticated, I wonder, how many people think Charlie Sheen is actually dead?

I too am one who falls for the glitz and glam of television. After watching multiple episodes of Smallville back to back... to back, I began to believe that bald men everywhere were trying to ruin my chances with the ladies.

Please forgive me Dallin

It's the latest story of mistaken television identity that has me most concerned. CNN reported that several potential jurors in the Michael Jackson trial were questioned about their television viewing habits. Is nothing sacred? Special emphasis was put on so called crime solving television shows.

Apparently shows like CSI: Crime Scene Investigation have the effect of making people believe in advanced forensic sciences, which actually don't exist. People who watch these shows apparently have "unrealistic expectations about forensic work thus putting more pressure on prosecutors to provide more scientific, less circumstantial evidence at trial."

CSI star and virtual pathologist Robert Hall said this of real world crime scene investigations: "They don't have special lighting and eerie music playing."

I shudder to think of a justice system that doesn't provide due justice to criminals because of an inability to collect scientific evidence or to use screechy violin playing to build a case.

The fact is television technology is advancing faster than the average person. People will buy HD sunglasses just to keep up. I can't think of a smarter purchase to make at three in the morning.

Nothing says good vision quite as well as glasses

My only hope is that one day law enforcement officers will be able to keep up. Whatever it is -- backlights, cotton swabs, ballistics projectile training -- that they're lacking, I hope they get it. The last thing we need is more unstoppable crime. We have enough evil bald men stealing our women as it is.

Fatherly Figures

The podcast this week is part of the family. Kids are growing up without the help they need. We're here to step in. News so good it didn't even make the newspaper.

No Flash? Here's QuickTime

Losing Again

Why do bad things happen to good people? That question remains unanswered today. Sadness becomes the new happiness and winning becomes losing. Everything flip flops and reverses and then goes back again. With the NBA season in serious jeopardy, this podcast may be the only thing you have to look forward to.

No Flash? Here's QuickTime

Close Calls

I briefly take over as the head podcaster. My luck quickly runs dry. Spencer and I call Bryan to hear about his luck. His tales are dark and fortunate. Stories you will surely not want to miss.

No Flash? Here's QuickTime

Limitations

No Flash? Here's QuickTime Eyes tired? Listen.

Ambition. Determination. Drive. You can't fake it. If you have it you will most likely be great and achieve great things. If you don't, you don't. And that's probably where you'll stay.

In The Pursuit of Happyness, Will Smith shows how determination and persistence can transform a person from being a societal failure to a business tycoon. A classic Cinderella story. It's stories like this that make me want to achieve more.

I love basketball. I love watching it and playing it. But the truth is I really am not very good. I can sometimes hold my own when I'm playing with other non-experts but that's pretty much it.

I apologize for the story telling. If you hate stories, you can skip the next paragraph and watch the movie instead. Ahem...

There is a scene in The Pursuit of Happyness that ties in my love of basketball to my love of success. Chris (played by Smith) takes his son out to play ball. The boy is very excited to play. He takes a few shots that look great for a small child. Full of excitement. Chris takes an awkward heave, showcasing his lack of talent. The boy, happy just to be on the court with his new ball in hand, boasts of how one day he will be a great NBA star. Chris is smarter than that. He explains to his son that due to genetics, that isn't likely. The boy is crushed.

Chris stops dead in his tracks. He boldy exclaims, "Don't ever let somebody tell you you can't do something. Even me. You got a dream? You got to protect it. If you want something, go get it. Period."

I love this advice. Why do you do the things you do? I'm talking about both positive and negative things. Do you do them because someone told you to? Or do you do them in spite of what someone has told you? I hope it's a good mix of both.

Sometimes people give great advice. Sometimes people give criticism and excuses. Both should lead to motivation.

At the same time, I must let you know that I believe that if you're going to accomplish something, you need to accomplish it for yourself. You can't do something great because someone else wanted you to, and you can't do something great because someone didn't think you could. You have to do whatever you do because of you. Period.

Know your goals. Know your limits. Know that you have no limits to your goals.