[chandra1]

So today was just a bad day. I went to Ambience Mall in Vasant Kunj Delhi today evening for brunch and some quick shopping. After spending some time at their third floor food court we went to Big Bazaar on the ground floor. My wife needed to buy some track pants and t-shirts for her Yoga classes. She selected some clothes in 15-20 minutes (thank God) and we headed to the trial room. She went into an vacant trial room and I sat there on sofa outside. After 10 minutes or so she came out and handed the one track pant to the lady guard and informed her that the magnetic security tag got stuck with her shirt, she pulled it and it came out. She handed the magnetic tag to her as well. The security lady asked us to wait for two minutes while she inform this to security incharge. We just thought it must be a normal procedure and waited there. A security guy appeared in 5 minutes and the security lady took him to side and told her something. Then the security guy asked us to come with him.

I asked my wife to wait there and went with him. He took me to their security control room where the Assistant Store manager was present. He asked me to sit in a chair and the security guard started explaining the incident to him.

To my utter shock, what he was narrating to the Asst. store manager was a completely different story. He informed him that my wife was sneaking away from the trial room and the security lady caught her that the tag was missing and she found the tag lying in the trial room. I got agitated at his blatant lie and contradicted him. I tried to tell the ASM that I was right there and this is not what happened. But he asked me to keep silent as he was talking to the security incharge. I waited and when he was done I demanded the security lady to called as it was her who was the part of the incident and not the security incharge. I also called my wife and asked her to come to the security control room.

Now everyone was there and the manager asked the security lady if my wife gave the clothes and tag to her herself. She said something like 'jee main to jate wakt and nikalte wakt bhi tag check karti hu (sir, I check the tags before the customers go in to trial room and also after they come out)' She appeared nervous and her face was telling that she was trying to lie. Manager again repeated the question whether my wife handed the cloth to her or not? She was again nervous and replied a mix or yes and no in confusion. I lost my cool and asked her almost yelling whether she received the cloth and tag from my wife or not as I was right there and saw the whole thing. Then she blatantly lied that she got the cloth but the tag was lying in the room.

At that point manager had realized that actually nothing had happened and things might go out of control so he said something like - the tag may come out by itself and the customer may not notice it but she handed you the cloth so it's okay.

But by then I was feeling very irritated as it was a very embarrassing situation for us (there were almost 10 staff people there witnessing all this). I told the manager that it was not okay and they can't just accuse a customer of shoplifting like this. I told him that their security staff was lying blatantly and the tag was not lying anywhere, it was handed over to the guard by my wife in front of my eyes. I then demanded that they check the security camera footage. Then the manager was like - we can't check the security footage like that. You can leave now.

But I refused to budge and asked them to check the footage. Then a staff member (I don't know who he was) took me the camera control room and asked the staff there to check the footage of trial room sitting area. It turned out that they didn't have any camera installed in that whole area. This infuriated me more and I told them that I will file a police complaint for defamation. Then that guy apologized and promised that something like this will not happen again. At this point there was nothing else we could do there so we came out. We thought about going to police station but thinking about the litigation scenario, we decided to let it go.

The whole episode not only spoiled our evening but left us thinking what we can do in such situation? Can anyone just falsely accuse a law abiding citizen like that, without any evidence and with no consequences whatsoever? The store manager didn't even offer a sincere apology for wasting our time and causing embarrassment.

Something like this can happen with anyone. So I want to ask fellow Team-BHPians what we should do in such a situation.

[Samba]

Seems like, the security guys were looking for some shortcut to promotion. They wanted to impress their boss by making your wife the scapegoat.

Share this Team Bhp thread link with the higher authorities of the shopping mall. Share this incident in Facebook and other social media and tag the name of the mall.

These guys should think twice before pointing on someones integrity. Reading this boils my blood.

[ashwinprakas]

Im sorry to hear what happened.

Situations like these does make me wonder what life would be like to live in a country that values an individuals rights more than the systematic rights.

Until then I'd keep reminding myself,

"Guilty until proven otherwise."

[chandra1]

Originally Posted by Leoshashi

They cannot have cameras overlooking the trial rooms for obvious reasons, but there should be one alone the aisle.
That's the only solution which comes to my mind.

Sadly that seems to be the only solution for law abiding people these days. I also argued that why can't they have camera in the sitting aisle.
Also let's say that someone is really a shoplifter and removed the tag with intention to steal the item. Can you really accuse and "catch" him unless and until he is trying to leave the store without paying for the item. How can you accuse someone of stealing something when he is still in your store with the item in hand and in full view of your cameras and security guards? The most you can do is you can accuse the customer of damaging a product by intentionally or unintentionally removing the tag and ask him to pay the price of it.

Originally Posted by Samba

Seems like, the security guys were looking for some shortcut to promotion. They wanted to impress their boss by making your wife the scapegoat.

Actually that's what baffled me and I am still not able to comprehend it. Why was the security woman lying? What incentive she could have for lying and damaging someone's reputation like this? She looked from a poor background and underpaid, so I can't think of any other reason except monetary.
Or may be it was her job to check that security tags are not loose or anything, before customers go into the trial room, which she didn't do properly and was just trying to save her job by lying.

Originally Posted by ashwinprakas

Im sorry to hear what happened.
Until then I'd keep reminding myself,
"Guilty until proven otherwise."

Exactly. Such incidents leave behind a psychological scar and I think it is going to negatively impact all our shopping experiences in foreseeable future.
One thing I am sure of - I am not going to buy anything from Big Bazaar or its affiliated stores ever again.
Action I have taken or planning - I have already registered a complaint on the customer care number of Big Bazaar, though not very optimistic about the outcome. I have messaged the on Facebook but haven't received any response yet. I am also going to write to their corporate email. I hope this post gets some traction on Team-BHP because I want to send them a link when I mail them next time. These corporations don't give a damn unless it's affecting their brand and business. I will also make sure that this incident goes to as many websites, blogs, reviews as possible.

[bigron]

Unfortunately or fortunately you did what could have been done in such a situation. A footage from the security camera is the only piece of evidence that can be used is such instances to prove your case. In the absence of one, it is just a lot of yelling and nasty bickering. Nothing would have happened as they would not have been able to prove any case. At best, the cops would have been called and a compromise would have been effected. All it does is, leaves a bad taste in ones mouth and a spoilt evening.
Another thing, you claim for defamation would not stand since he said you are a thief in front of his staff who would deny when called as witness.

[drmohitg]

Originally Posted by Samba

Seems like, the security guys were looking for some shortcut to promotion. They wanted to impress their boss by making your wife the scapegoat.

These guys should think twice before pointing on someones integrity. Reading this boils my blood.

So very true. I think they did it in order to secure a promotion or come in the good books of the manager. But if this theory is genuine, there has to be a similar pattern with this person since just one incident like this won't get her anything in return, specially since that is the exact definition of her job.

Do raise a stinker of a mail with their higher ups. The only issue is it is your word against their word. At the very least this would show on this employee's record for good or the worse, and if she resorts to the same thing in future, they will be able to establish a pattern.

[chandra1]

Originally Posted by bigron

you claim for defamation would not stand since he said you are a thief in front of his staff who would deny when called as witness.

In a country where rape and murder cases go on for over a decade and criminals freely roam around, expecting a quick resolution of a simple defamation case would be too optimistic. I doubt that police would have even registered a formal case. The best I could expect is that the involved staff are called to police station once or get a rebuke from the high up because of legal notice. At least it would serve as a deterrent for future.
They stopped us from leaving the store and made us sit in their security room for half an hour and at least the episode in the control room must have been recorded in their camera (at least video if not the sound). And since they had no evidence whatsoever that my wife removed the tag or that we put the item in our bag or we tried to leave without paying, technically it was unlawful detention by the store. As per my understanding of the law, that is enough for a defamation case. What the outcome will be is a total different story though.

Originally Posted by drmohitg

At the very least this would show on this employee's record for good or the worse, and if she resorts to the same thing in future, they will be able to establish a pattern.

What shocked me was that the Asst. store manager didn't even bother to offer an apology or asked the security staff to apologise after he found that we did nothing wrong. He was simply like - "thik hai aap jaiye(It's okay. You can go)" as if it was a daily affair.

[bigron]

@ chandra - Simple answer, No. There is no case for defamation here. It will be hard for you to prove that there has been a publication of a defamatory statement which has resulted in your image being defamed in the eyes of the society. ( I am a practicing criminal lawyer,). Also, you can try for illegal confinement, but even that will not hold. They will say that they had evidence( the security tag separated from the piece of clothing and testimony of staff) to show that they suspected theft and were merely inquiring to ensure they have the right person and not someone else. ( I can suggest you ways on making a case but nothing much will come out of it)
Like I said, episodes like these are unfortunate and leave a bad taste. I can understand your anxiety and anger. You best bet is to escalate this via emails within the organization to let them know how you were treated and that it was unacceptable behavior on part of the staff/store. Unless, ofcourse if you want to take a few friends along with you and teach the manager a lesson outside. Not recommended but extremely satisfying.

[chandra1]

Originally Posted by bigron

@ chandra - Simple answer, No. There is no case for defamation here. ..Unless, ofcourse if you want to take a few friends along with you and teach the manager a lesson outside. Not recommended but extremely satisfying.

Since you are a lawyer, you must know the legal aspect better than me. So I stand corrected.
Regarding the teaching lesson part, the unfortunate thing is that we law abiding citizens think 100 times before doing anything that might cause legal trouble and we are the ones who face such things more often. Had I used typical Delhi-Gurgaon style 'janta nahi mera baap kaun hai' and hurled an assorted set of abuses right there on the store floor, may be they would have thought twice before taking me to the security room.

[Miyata]

Never faced such an issue, but have had to call store managers in few different stores at various times to get things sorted. Have found them mostly to be very reasonable in trying to understand a situation and handling them.

While it is infuriating to be in such situations, I think just calmly explaining to the store manager and suggesting he pull out a cctv recording to verify the facts you are presenting would possibly have sufficed.

That they had no camera in that region would have been totally beside the point (as it turned out to be).

OT: We have all heard the celebrated nursery rhyme "Johny Johny yes papa...!" When ever my kids manage to find it on a random play, I detest it like crazy for the rhyme appears to make light of lying!

For a country with a national motto relating to "truth", we sure manage to tolerate and also practice much untruth!

[SS-Traveller]

You could tweet the incident to Kishore Biyani directly (@kishore_biyani), as well as to the Future Group's Twitter handle (@future_care).

[chandra1]

Update: Received a call from the store manager this afternoon. He apologised profusely and said that he wanted to come to my home or office and apologise in person. Apparently he received a call from the retail head of Future Retail and they simply asked him to visit the customer's place and apologise personally. I told him that I did not want any visit from them. I can visit the store myself and I want that all the involved staff apologise to us and some kind of action is taken against the security lady. Manager said that he would happily oblige.

We paid a visit to their store in the evening, the store manager received us. The security incharge and asst. store manager were called and they apologised repeatedly and assured that it would never happen again. Manager said that they had asked the security guard to not to come to the store till the matter was resolved. He told me that she accepted that she lied (apparently for some points/promotion favour etc.). According to the manager she was crying and pleading that her husband is a drunkard and her family would be destroyed if she is fired.

They asked us if we wanted the security lady or incharge to be fired. We said that we didn't want anyone to lose their job. We just want that they realise the gravity of what they did and that it is not repeated with any innocent citizen in future.

Though what happened left a very bad taste in our mouths and couldn't be undone, we are relived that at least finally they realised and accepted their fault and hopefully it will prevent the occurrence of something similar in future.

[SS-Traveller]

Originally Posted by chandra1

Update: Received a call from the store manager this afternoon.

Did you email to Future Group / Big Bazaar customer care? How did they get your phone number?

[chandra1]

Originally Posted by SS-Traveller

Did you email to Future Group / Big Bazaar customer care? How did they get your phone number?

As I mentioned in my earlier post I had already registered a complaint with Big Bazaar customer care. After that I had received a followup call from high up. I explained the whole episode to them and they were also shocked after listening and assured me that action will be taken regarding this.

[SS-Traveller]

Originally Posted by chandra1

As I mentioned in my earlier post I had already registered a complaint with Big Bazaar customer care. After that I had received a followup call from high up. I explained the whole episode to them and they were also shocked after listening and assured me that action will be taken regarding this.

Thanks. Future Group, in my personal experience, is a very customer-friendly company. I've had issues with their stores a few times, and each incident was resolved very politely and amicably.