CVS Placing Anti-Theft Devices on Black Haircare Products?

[blackbarbie]

Has anyone paid attention to this and does anyone know if this is fact or fiction? I received the following e-mail from a friend today and while I won't be able to go to see for myself until the end of the week, I figured some of you may have a chance to verify it before me:

I went to my neighborhood CVS store to personally see for myself if
> the news reports of this national drug store profiling
African-Americans by placing anti-theft devices on only Black hair care
products were valid. After arriving at this store, I looked at both
expensive and none expensive White hair products and I found NO
anti-theft devices. I then looked on the boxes of both expensive and not
expensive Black hair care products. What I found was shocking! ONLY
Black hair care products had anti-theft devices on them. I immediately
went to the store management and asked why did only the Black hair
products have these devices? The store manager looked like a 'deer
caught in the headlights of an approaching car.' He said White hair
products also had the anti-theft devices. I asked him to walk please
walk to the aisle with me and show me the White hair care products which
had these anti-theft devices and he refused escort me to the aisle and
show me and he was not able to tell me of any White hair care products
which had the anti-theft devices on them! I immediately turned in my CVS
cards and respectfully told this manger I would NEVER shop in this store
and that I would inform all of my family, friends and Internet friends
of this. I am now keeping my promise to inform each of you of this
dirty, hidden, secret ploy of this national drug store CVS. I hope each
of you inform your friends, family and Internet contacts and stay clear
of this national store.

 

[Synthia]

OMG. If this proves true at my local stores, I'm never shopping there again.

But if you notice all the black hair products in many stores are moved to a really visible area away from other products. erplexed

Such bullsh!t

 

[Legend]

I noticed my local Walgreens "in da 'hood" uses anti-theft devices as well, but--to be fair--they put them on most of their products. I find this extremely annoying because they invariably place those impossible-to-remove stickers right over the ingredients I need to read!

However, when I go to Walgreens in other "'hoods," I don't see nearly as many of the devices. Hmmmmm......

 

[blackbarbie]

I was so enraged when I read this and as much as I hate to go out at night, I really do want to get up and go see right now!!

OT: When I first first joined the board and went in the stores to look for NTM Silk Touch and Rusk Smoother, I didn't know exactly what I was looking for and when the sales girl in Walgreen's asked if I needed help, I told her I looking for. You wouldn't believe she took me STRAIGHT to the "black" haircare products! I politely asked her what made her direct me to that section, and she actually looked like a deer caught in headlights Luckily, I turned around and right across the aisle was the NTM Silk Touch and I told her I thought that what I was looking for cause I knew it was made by Neutrogena..

 

[SUPER SWEET]

If you think CVS is bad please dont go to a local Asian beauty supply store here . It's so secure my keys went off upon walking in.erplexed All small sizes, Nexxus, and wigs are behind the bullet proof counter.

 

[JazzyDez]

If that is true than that is terrible. There is a CVS on the corner from me and I WILL be checking this out. I dont care if security devices are on black hair care products, but if they are ONLY on the black hair care products then that is a serious problem especially since some of the other products are A LOT more expensive. If I find this to be true, walgreens is only a few blocks down the road and I will never shop at CVS again.

 

[punchinella]

BlackBarbie,
You should let your local newstation or your black radio stations know about this so they can get the word out too.

 

[blackbarbie]

BlackBarbie,
You should let your local newstation or your black radio stations know about this so they can get the word out too.

Gotta check my facts first and I can't get there (CVS) until this weekend. That's why I posted the e-mail here to see if there was any validity to it at all, but that's not a bad idea (contacting the black radio stations/although they are white owned and may be afraid to touch the story!)

 

[Lotus]

I'm wouldn't be surprised.

 

[MizaniMami]

I hate to be the voice of dissent here but there might actually be a reason for this.

Did anyone ever stop to think that these were probably reported (by CVS) to be the highest stolen items in the store? Maybe they used some type of report to make those decisions...

 

[beana]

People of all races steal... I am personally outraged by this because I am already limited about where i shope. I dont play that following, fixing mannequinns suddenly, stalking $hit. I went into Brooks Brothers to buy some slacks... no one asked me for help, but I suddenly gained an entourage full of spies. Meanwhile this white crackhead walks in and no one follows her ... I hope she cleaned them out.

I dont patronize Asian beauty supplies anymore beacuse of this. I'd rather pay a slightly higher price for my products. I barely buy from CVS, if this is true.. I'll have to find an alternate

 

[jasmin]

I've never bought anything from CVS and now I don't plan on it.

 

[remnant]

!

 

[KhandiB]

I should email the local news ... that is so racist

 

[RabiaElaine]

I hate to be another voice of dissent...

I USED to work for CVS while in high school. I was a pharmacy technician, but very well aware of what goes on throughout the store.

CVS and any other pharmacy or store for that matter tracks their "shrinkage" (stolen items) very closely. If certain items are known to have a high rate of loss/theft they move them to "safer" areas, use tags, etc.

CVS or any other store only makes this move based upon data. If items in the African American hair section are tagged then that means they are stolen at a higher rate. You should note that they may not be tagged in all areas. It depends on the shrinkage in a particular store.

I actually just went to CVS yesterday (before seeing this thread). I did look through items in the AA section, and none of them were tagged. However I know for a fact that items like Nexxus are in my CVS. I live in a somewhat affluent suburb of New York. So in my CVS the high end hair products have a higher rate of shrinkage, so that's what tagged.

As for moving AA products to different areas of the store, it really depends on the store and the area in which the store is located. In my CVS the AA products are located right next to all the other hair products, they are no more/no less visible than Pantene. If products are being moved in your local CVS then there are multiple reasons for this including shrinkage prevention.

When I worked at CVS there were certain over the counter medications that had to be tagged and then eventually moved behind the pharmacy counter to prevent shrinkage.

I really don't think there's any need to boycott CVS, stores have to protect themselves and make a profit, most businesses care more about money than racial profiling.

Think about it there are certain areas where everyone has a car alarm or club on their car, and certain areas where you can leave your car door unlocked when you run into a store. Certain areas have higher rates of theft than others, for certain things. Unfortunately this is a fact of life.

Please don't get me wrong. I do believe that racial profiling exists, I just don't think this is the case with CVS.

Just my 2 cents

Please note I don't work for CVS in anyway shape of form anymore

 

[carpediem628]

Another annoying voice of dissent here....I owned a beauty supply store for over 5 years and sold mostly AA products. Where my store was located was in a nice area where whites patronized my store as well, and I hate to admit that the theft of the AA products is what aided in the closing of my store. People constantly stole from me, and it was very disheartening because I was the ONLY black owned supply store around. My competition was Asian.

Honestly, if there is a product shrinkage problem of a specific type of product, I can't blame CVS for protecting their inventory.

Obviously, all black people don't steal (probably most black people don't steal), and there are whites who do steal. Unfortunately for us, we can't afford to have anyone stealing because it provides an excuse for racial profiling and it makes it difficult to prove that racism is a factor.

 

[RabiaElaine]

Another annoying voice of dissent here....I owned a beauty supply store for over 5 years and sold mostly AA products. Where my store was located was in a nice area where whites patronized my store as well, and I hate to admit that the theft of the AA products is what aided in the closing of my store. People constantly stole from me, and it was very disheartening because I was the ONLY black owned supply store around. My competition was Asian.

Honestly, if there is a product shrinkage problem of a specific type of product, I can't blame CVS for protecting their inventory.

Obviously, all black people don't steal (probably most black people don't steal), and there are whites who do steal. Unfortunately for us, we can't afford to have anyone stealing because it provides an excuse for racial profiling and it makes it difficult to prove that racism is a factor.

I totally agree!

BTW really sorry about your store having to close. It's very sad that a black owned business was closed down due to theft. And unfortunately I'm quite sure it wasn't the the white patrons stealing the black products Sad very sad.

 

[rosie]

This is nothing new.

Eckerd Drugs used this same practice at least 15-20 years ago. I know, 'cause I tagged a lot of them, myself. Is it racial, I don't know. But I do know that these items were stolen the most out of our store. Along with the OTC items that someone mentioned. Aspririn, shampoo, hair grease. It all got stolen on the regular at a quite a few of the stores that I worked. I was a floating manager. I filled in when needed.

Everyday before closing, I would walk to the store gathering emptied boxed of relaxers, aspirin, monistat, pregnancy tests, diabetic supplies, rubber gloves, needles. And the ethnic hair care inventory would get prgressively lower on the daily. The stores that had the worst problem were in the hood. One store had security guards hidden in the rafters watching the black hair care aisle for shoplifters. Caught quite a few.

It wasn't just black people stealing. We caught a security guard, the black hair care vendor, store employees, whites, blacks, asians. Some of everybody. Folks would steal not only for their own personal use, but most stole in volume to bootleg it at the flea market or out of their car trunk.

I don't agree with the practice, but as an investor, the store had to protect themselves.

Who right, who's wrong?

The companies that go overboard with the tagging of items be they black hair care, radios, otc, or diabetic supplies.

or

The people who are stealing and making it hard for the rest of us who don't. "Cause now we all get labeled and profiled.

There are not too many stores out there that don't profile in some way shape or fashion. If I enter a store and I see someone following me, I speak up. I don't play that mess either.

Okay, ramble off.

 

[brownsugarflyygirl]

I hate to be another voice of dissent...

I USED to work for CVS while in high school. I was a pharmacy technician, but very well aware of what goes on throughout the store.

CVS and any other pharmacy or store for that matter tracks their "shrinkage" (stolen items) very closely. If certain items are known to have a high rate of loss/theft they move them to "safer" areas, use tags, etc.

CVS or any other store only makes this move based upon data. If items in the African American hair section are tagged then that means they are stolen at a higher rate. You should note that they may not be tagged in all areas. It depends on the shrinkage in a particular store.

I actually just went to CVS yesterday (before seeing this thread). I did look through items in the AA section, and none of them were tagged. However I know for a fact that items like Nexxus are in my CVS. I live in a somewhat affluent suburb of New York. So in my CVS the high end hair products have a higher rate of shrinkage, so that's what tagged.

As for moving AA products to different areas of the store, it really depends on the store and the area in which the store is located. In my CVS the AA products are located right next to all the other hair products, they are no more/no less visible than Pantene. If products are being moved in your local CVS then there are multiple reasons for this including shrinkage prevention.

When I worked at CVS there were certain over the counter medications that had to be tagged and then eventually moved behind the pharmacy counter to prevent shrinkage.

I really don't think there's any need to boycott CVS, stores have to protect themselves and make a profit, most businesses care more about money than racial profiling.

Think about it there are certain areas where everyone has a car alarm or club on their car, and certain areas where you can leave your car door unlocked when you run into a store. Certain areas have higher rates of theft than others, for certain things. Unfortunately this is a fact of life.

Please don't get me wrong. I do believe that racial profiling exists, I just don't think this is the case with CVS.

Just my 2 cents

Please note I don't work for CVS in anyway shape of form anymore

Very well said...I think that the MANAGER of the store should have been able to ARTICULATE that to her as a customer or at least been able to refer her to someone who COULD...like YOU!! LOL!

Having a sociology background my question is what are the social and economic factors that cause African Americans to steal at a higher rate than whites? I think that is a BIG part of the issue as well. Hmm...Selah..

 

[Denim And Leather]

Another voice of dissent here....

I'm sure that CVS, a nationwide pharmacy, would not do this unless there is a valid reason. Assuming of course, that this is true.

Another thing I wanted to point out, is that UBH Hair Products has a policy that your very first order, if ordered with a credit card/bank debit card, the shipment must be sent to the address that the card is registered to, and not an alternative address. Your subsequent orders can be sent to any address you choose. The reason being (and I found this out by asking, because I had an issue with this, being that it is much more convenient and secure for me to have bulk shipments sent to me at my work address as opposed to being left on the front door unattended at my apartment) was because UBH has had too many people ordering products with someone else's card, then having the items sent to a different address. The owner of the card would see the purchase, dispute the transaction, and UBH would lose money and merchandise from this type of theft.

Think about how many black owned businesses in black areas you go into where checks are not accepted, only cash or credit cards (at least from what I've observed.)

So again, if CVS is doing this, they would not stake their reputation by doing it just to be racist.

We need to quit being so quick in jumping to conclusions. erplexed

 

[MissJ]

It's ironic that I'm reading this thread right now. I went into Walgreen's lastnight. As I was looking around, this Asian lady asked me if I needed any help. I politely said, "No." Then I remembered that everytime I went in there she was always quick to come to my aid, as if I needed help in a freaking drugstore. Anyway, but I thought she was just being nice. Then I walked past her, and she asked me if I needed to check out. I said, "Not yet."

Then I started looking at some scissors. She came up and told me that certain things were $2 off. Too bad I didn't need any of those. I kept looking, and a white guy asked her a question. I picked out my scissors and turned around to see Jessica Simpson's Dessert line on clearance. Well, I stooped down to get a better look and a good sniff. The next thing I know, this lady looks like she's about to run out of the store, because she doesn't see me. Now, I know she's not just being nice. She thinks I'm trying to steal.

 

[MissJ]

People of all races steal... I am personally outraged by this because I am already limited about where i shope. I dont play that following, fixing mannequinns suddenly, stalking $hit. I went into Brooks Brothers to buy some slacks... no one asked me for help, but I suddenly gained an entourage full of spies. Meanwhile this white crackhead walks in and no one follows her ... I hope she cleaned them out.

That's the worst! This happened to me in Hallmark in Newnan, GA, the one by Publix. I was looking for Christmas gifts and cards. These women stalked me, acting like they had to straighten the place wherever I went. If I was in the card section, they were in the card section. If I was in the Georgia Bulldogs section, they were in the Georgia Bulldogs section. They never once asked me if I needed anything, and I was in there for a long time. I though I was just being paranoid, but when white people walked in nobody followed them around. I was pissed, left, and went to the other Hallmark in town.

 

[Denim And Leather]

That's the worst! This happened to me in Hallmark in Newnan, GA, the one by Publix. I was looking for Christmas gifts and cards. These women stalked me, acting like they had to straighten the place wherever I went. If I was in the card section, they were in the card section. If I was in the Georgia Bulldogs section, they were in the Georgia Bulldogs section. They never once asked me if I needed anything, and I was in there for a long time. I though I was just being paranoid, but when white people walked in nobody followed them around. I was pissed, left, and went to the other Hallmark in town.

Reminds me of a black comedian's (I don't remember his name) joke I've heard of years ago back in the 80's....he said that whenever he walked into a store, a parade would start!

 

[MissJ]

Parade? That's a good one!

 

[MizaniMami]

That's the worst! This happened to me in Hallmark in Newnan, GA, the one by Publix. I was looking for Christmas gifts and cards. These women stalked me, acting like they had to straighten the place wherever I went. If I was in the card section, they were in the card section. If I was in the Georgia Bulldogs section, they were in the Georgia Bulldogs section. They never once asked me if I needed anything, and I was in there for a long time. I though I was just being paranoid, but when white people walked in nobody followed them around. I was pissed, left, and went to the other Hallmark in town.

I knew of a person who would take a white girl with her shopping (she was black) and while the sales people were all over her (the black girl), waiting for her to steal, she would have the white girl in there robbing them clean. It was their little "act." HAHA, it's not funny, but it is...

 

[Yetta]

It doesn't matter if its CVS, Walgreens, Nordstrom, or Maceys, as long as we don't own anything we will be subjected to racism. Call it inventory control or whatever you want, we are always perceived to steal more than everybody else.

I grew up in PG county MD, where the largest population of middle and upper middle class African A's live in the country. Yet nearly the entire county is considered 'hood' because mostly black people live there. The CVS near my parents neigborhood has soap locked up in a case now. Not just the $6 bottles, all soap- bar soap, Ivory, Dove and all. Now I understand trying to prevent theft and all but do people living in $400- $500,000 homes really steal soap??

Does anybody remember that dateline special a few years back about that white laday that used to go shoplifting almost everyday? She stole so much crap she filled up her garage and a storage unit. Now how is it she was able to steal so much and not get caught, but a homeless black man got 15 years for stealing a snickers?

 

[beana]

It doesn't matter if its CVS, Walgreens, Nordstrom, or Maceys, as long as we don't own anything we will be subjected to racism. Call it inventory control or whatever you want, we are always perceived to steal more than everybody else.

I grew up in PG county MD, where the largest population of middle and upper middle class African A's live in the country. Yet nearly the entire county is considered 'hood' because mostly black people live there. The CVS near my parents neigborhood has soap locked up in a case now. Not just the $6 bottles, all soap- bar soap, Ivory, Dove and all. Now I understand trying to prevent theft and all but do people living in $400- $500,000 homes really steal soap??

Does anybody remember that dateline special a few years back about that white laday that used to go shoplifting almost everyday? She stole so much crap she filled up her garage and a storage unit. Now how is it she was able to steal so much and not get caught, but a homeless black man got 15 years for stealing a snickers?

I TOTALLY agree with you... I dont understand why some people just accept racism, however it is disguised or "justified". Black people need to wake up and stop being so objective about race matters, blacks are the only people who will even entertain degradation. NO ONE else will let you badmouth or degrade their race.

But back to the hair...I try to support the black owned business much as possible. I just graduated, and am by no means rich. I can be very frugal and price things everywhere i go, I buy from black vendors and businesses all the time and its not much more expensive at all. When you patronize any business, you are paying for a service in addition to the product... and I will not "pay" anyone to treat me like crap, follow me and take my money.

 

[carpediem628]

Sorry Beana,

I have to disagree with you. I think blacks are one race that is intolerant of racism. We will call every prominent person we can think of, we will march in the streets and boycott and contact tv stations when we suspect racism.

Unfortunately, racism is a hard institution to battle; sometimes we win and sometimes we lose. Although we may be accustomed to degradation, many of us do not take it sitting down.

But on the flip side, we have to accept responsibility for some things. We don't have to accept responsibility for racism, but we do have to accept responsibility for our contribution to the problem.

Blacks are becoming known almost as the boy who cries wolf when it comes to crying racism; and that is only causing us to lose credibility when at those times that it really counts.

 

[beana]

Sorry Beana,

I have to disagree with you. I think blacks are one race that is intolerant of racism. We will call every prominent person we can think of, we will march in the streets and boycott and contact tv stations when we suspect racism.

Unfortunately, racism is a hard institution to battle; sometimes we win and sometimes we lose. Although we may be accustomed to degradation, many of us do not take it sitting down.

But on the flip side, we have to accept responsibility for some things. We don't have to accept responsibility for racism, but we do have to accept responsibility for our contribution to the problem.

Blacks are becoming known almost as the boy who cries wolf when it comes to crying racism; and that is only causing us to lose credibility when at those times that it really counts.

We all perceive things differently and thats fine. Although, I refuse to be labelled as someone who cries wolf when it is a fact that we have suffered more injustices than anyone else. I try not to judge a whole race based on what a few people do. If I did, I wouldn't like ANYONE... People with rationale get past that. People from all races steal, but you dont see their products being targeted and thats the issue.

Our "credibility" will always be challenged and questioned no matter what we do.

 

[FeelinIt]

I hate to be the voice of dissent here but there might actually be a reason for this.

Did anyone ever stop to think that these were probably reported (by CVS) to be the highest stolen items in the store? Maybe they used some type of report to make those decisions...

I can sort of agree but the brass should have thought more about this but I get your point. It just opens them up for lawsuits.

Regarding other stores where security is high, I would highly suspect, there is a reason for the security. People steal things and in certain neighborhoods, crime is just higher than in others. That's just the way things are. What you are looking at is just a symptom to a much bigger problem.