Now it's Denny's (Oakland, Compton: insurance, crime rate, closing)

[JBtwinz]

We were just out in the Bay area with my family this past summer and I took them to Muir Lookout and beach and many other places and while we did not have any incidents most of these places had smash and grab warning signs. We went to a Chilis near SFO and they had a warning sign on their front door. When I was out there in 2021 we didn’t encounter any signs. This trip we even saw homemade signs in cars in the city asking to please not break my glass as there were no valuables in the car.

We felt safe but at the same time I was wondering what was happening in the area.

[blameyourself]

Originally Posted by Tulemutt

Well, as another poster just observed in a separate Bay Area thread focused on crime and business loss:
“ … in some areas crime has scared people away but it's really incredulous to claim that stores have no control over theft, they have successfully been deterring crime and catching shoplifters for decades, now they clutch their pearls and claim they can't do a thing about it...

Lots of articles from all kinds of media including business journals across the nation are exposing the disingenuousness of claiming theft and crime for businesses closing - when the truth is most often that the nature of retailing is changing with on-line shopping and mega-box-retailers who don’t anchor the old shopping mall centers anymore … and certainly don’t populate strip malls.

Well it is Groundhog day after all so I guess it makes sense to get the same tired, regurgitated talking points repeated over and over and over.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.ktv...tail-theft.amp

A top Walgreens executive conceded that pharmacy chain brass may have exaggerated the threat of organized retail theft, CNBC first reported.


"Maybe we cried too much last year," Walgreens Chief Financial Officer James Kehoe said

Maybe someone needs to explain to that poster that malls are a dying breed and it has little to do with crime. It's a failing business model and has been for years.

[Thundarr457]

I remember going to a gas station in Baltimore and it had 2 inch thick Plexiglas. Soon that will be the norm.

[katharsis]

I actually think that is justice as I have been boycotting Denny's for decades, ever since they received some vey bad publicity about the company's early racism toward blacks. I wouldn't mind if the entire chain went out of business (This was many years ago, but I do hold grudges when it comes to things like that.)

https://www.thedailymeal.com/1072802...t-be-aware-of/

[karen_in_nh_2012]

I haven't been in the Bay Area since 2001 -- I moved to Berkeley in '82 for grad school and then stayed living in Berkeley until '93, then moved to Michigan for 9 years, then New Hampshire.

When I lived in Berkeley I worked in downtown Oakland for many years -- 18th or 19th Street if I remember (World Savings) -- late '80s, early '90s. It wasn't the safest area in the world, but I worked late many, many, many nights (as in, until 10 or 11 p.m.) and never had any issues walking to my car or more often walking to BART.

I also used to run around Lake Merritt -- I still remember one of my proudest moments EVER was when I made the whole circuit (a bit over 3 miles, IIRC) RUNNING without pausing to walk for a bit. Is THAT area really bad now as well?

This is pretty sad to me, honestly. I still have very close friends in Berkeley but they live in the really nice Rockridge area. They live on one of Berkeley nicest streets -- Lewiston Ave. -- and as far as I know haven't had any issues in many decades there.


Is it safer to fly into SFO now than Oakland's Airport? BART wasn't out that far when I last visited, but I would take shuttles with no problems.

[dijkstra]

Originally Posted by Tulemutt

Well, as another poster just observed in a separate Bay Area thread focused on crime and business loss:
“ … in some areas crime has scared people away but it's really incredulous to claim that stores have no control over theft, they have successfully been deterring crime and catching shoplifters for decades, now they clutch their pearls and claim they can't do a thing about it...

Lots of articles from all kinds of media including business journals across the nation are exposing the disingenuousness of claiming theft and crime for businesses closing - when the truth is most often that the nature of retailing is changing with on-line shopping and mega-box-retailers who don’t anchor the old shopping mall centers anymore … and certainly don’t populate strip malls.

Have you ever been in a store when they start coming in and basically ransack the place taking what they want and running out the door? They will knock security down and just run right over them. I have been. It was a walmart and they stopped one at the door for shoplifting and then complete chaos ensued. I don't know if it was a planned operation and they were just there shoplifting and had a plan to start grabbing and running if one was caught or security stepped in or if a lot of other just took the opportunity to jump in and take what they wanted since others were. The store was ransacked in 15 minutes and when the police arrived they all just ran out and away and the police basically just watched them go. So yes, it does happen and it is happening more frequently in certain cities and areas where nobody does anything about it.

[blameyourself]

Originally Posted by dijkstra

Have you ever been in a store when they start coming in and basically ransack the place taking what they want and running out the door? They will knock security down and just run right over them. I have been. It was a walmart and they stopped one at the door for shoplifting and then complete chaos ensued. I don't know if it was a planned operation and they were just there shoplifting and had a plan to start grabbing and running if one was caught or security stepped in or if a lot of other just took the opportunity to jump in and take what they wanted since others were. The store was ransacked in 15 minutes and when the police arrived they all just ran out and away and the police basically just watched them go. So yes, it does happen and it is happening more frequently in certain cities and areas where nobody does anything about it.

And despite the anecdotes, the average retail shrinkage numbers are at 1.6%. If a business can't absorb that small amount, then they probably need to look at their business model. Saying that businesses are closing down left and right over that amount of shrinkage is absurd.

[Tulemutt]

Originally Posted by dijkstra

Have you ever been in a store when they start coming in and basically ransack the place taking what they want and running out the door? They will knock security down and just run right over them. I have been. It was a walmart and they stopped one at the door for shoplifting and then complete chaos ensued. I don't know if it was a planned operation and they were just there shoplifting and had a plan to start grabbing and running if one was caught or security stepped in or if a lot of other just took the opportunity to jump in and take what they wanted since others were. The store was ransacked in 15 minutes and when the police arrived they all just ran out and away and the police basically just watched them go. So yes, it does happen and it is happening more frequently in certain cities and areas where nobody does anything about it.

So, has that Walmart closed now following the incident you cite?

Stores that have been similarly hit, and even multiple times, continue to operate if they are profitable locations overall. Such losses are built into the business models. I agree it’s a strange reality. But ‘so it goes’, as Kurt Vonnegut used to write in his novels.

By the way (and also mind-boggling), this mass-looting theft strategy is not just a recent trend. It’s been going on nationally and internationally for decades. Organized crime in foreign lands operate here in the US and S.America, Europe, Australia … if you are new to the topic of ORC, Organized Retail Crime, you will find it fascinating topic to read up on.

Stores close down when sustained losses exceed profit models … also when legal liabilities threaten profitability. It’s part of capitalism. I’m not for it or against it particularly. The human animal is simply so insane by nature in my observation that it’s rather a waste of my energies to get too wound up about.

But I enjoy pointing out the nonsenses of what we label “civilization”.

[dijkstra]

Originally Posted by blameyourself

And despite the anecdotes, the average retail shrinkage numbers are at 1.6%. If a business can't absorb that small amount, then they probably need to look at their business model. Saying that businesses are closing down left and right over that amount of shrinkage is absurd.

I don't understand your logic. What does the average "shrinkage" as they like to call it have to do with individual stores that have excessive theft?

Originally Posted by Tulemutt

So, has that Walmart closed now following the incident you cite?

Stores that have been similarly hit, and even multiple times, continue to operate if they are profitable locations overall. Such losses are built into the business models. I agree it’s a strange reality. But ‘so it goes’, as Kurt Vonnegut used to write in his novels.

By the way (and also mind-boggling), this mass-looting theft strategy is not just a recent trend. It’s been going on nationally and internationally for decades. Organized crime in foreign lands operate here in the US and S.America, Europe, Australia … if you are new to the topic of ORC, Organized Retail Crime, you will find it fascinating topic to read up on.

Stores close down when sustained losses exceed profit models … also when legal liabilities threaten profitability. It’s part of capitalism. I’m not for it or against it particularly. The human animal is simply so insane by nature in my observation that it’s rather a waste of my energies to get too wound up about.

But I enjoy pointing out the nonsenses of what we label “civilization”.

No, after a couple of these incidents in this particular city, there was a significant crack down by law enforcement. I haven't heard of it happening anymore in several years since the crack down. It can be stopped but it requires a crack down and then working through it somehow possibly being turned into a race debate which is quite comical in itself but nevertheless, it can be stopped.

[blameyourself]

Originally Posted by dijkstra

I don't understand your logic. What does the average "shrinkage" as they like to call it have to do with individual stores that have excessive theft?

My logic is based on the ongoing general claim about stores closing due to incidents of this sort pretty much across the board. I'm telling you that not only are some of these executives lying (as was the case of the claim made regarding Walgreens), but the overall shrinkage is relatively small in relation to the amount of revenue these stores are taking in. Tulemutt and I are both saying the same thing to you. Stores close if their losses exceed their profit. And any store that cannot absorb a shrinkage loss of 1.6% has issues well beyond those of theft. I don't know that I can explain it any clearer to you.