awkwardamanda
Well-known member
Is anyone else uncomfortable with this sort of thing?
I work in a department store. Most days, one of the loss prevention officers waits by the door at the end of the night while we're leaving. If you have any sort of bag, like a backpack or whatever, they'll usually check what's inside. They never worried about purses or lunch bags. And it's not like they'll dig through your stuff, but they just want you to open it up so they can peek inside. This always sort of bothered me. I realize why they do it, but I've still never been comfortable with it. But I just kinda put up with it. Can't do much about it. I usually just took a tote bag if I had anything extra to carry, since I could just pop it open fast and be on my way. A few months ago, my supervisor mentioned that we were now supposed to get a "parcel check" tag attached to any extra bags on the way into the store. Previously these were only used for staff purchases, which had to be left at customer service and picked up on the way out. I never bothered doing any shopping before a shift because I thought it was too mush hassle dealing with these things. Anyway, at that point I quit bothering to bring a tote bag anymore. I just carried a lunch bag and if I happened to need a shirt to change into after, then I stuffed it in my purse. It seemed they never bothered with this anyway. I saw plenty of people in the break room without these parcel checks on their bags. I never once saw anybody get one, actually. So, today I noticed a note posted that said, "All bags may be subject to inspection by management or loss prevention - this now includes purses. They will not check zippered compartments." WTF?! I find this to be an invasion of privacy. I know they're not digging around, but still. I don't like having to show anybody what's in my purse. I'm a very private sort of person. I don't know if this is something regular people wouldn't be bothered by. Maybe it's just me. I actually felt a bit nauseous thinking about that for a while. I was dreading the end of the night. I was hoping that I'd happen to be following someone else out so I could see what happened first, just to feel a bit less awkward about it. Luckily it was one of the managers waiting at the door tonight. Usually they don't bother to check bags, so it was no big deal this time. Not looking forward to this in the future though. Trouble is, I can't even speak up and say I'm uncomfortable with it, for fear of looking suspicious. Just gonna hafta deal with it, I guess. Ugh.
On a related note, security cameras make me a little uneasy at times. Obviously, they serve a good purpose. They're important. But sometimes I just don't like feeling like I'm being watched. There's that attitude that if you don't have anything to hide, you don't have anything to worry about. While there is some truth to that, it isn't enough to make me feel comfortable with randomly being watched. I can be minding my own business and somebody could just zoom in, follow me on the camera and watch what I'm doing, just because I happen to be there. A little creepy, to be honest. I try not to think about it too much, but every now and then I can't help wondering this sort of thing and it kinda weirds me out.
It's a good thing I don't have much need to travel because airport security is just nuts. It has to be. It's just unfortunate for the majority of people. The law abiding citizens that have to take off their shoes, open up every bag, don't pack liquids and this and that. And even more so now with all these body scanners and pat downs that everybody hates. At least I know that's something a lot of people aren't comfortable with, not just people who have issues like I do. It's even more of a pain for me though, because I'm diabetic and have to travel with needles. Extra pain in the ass. But someone like myself is more likely to just avoid traveling if at all possible because all this security crap ends up taking the fun out it. It becomes more hassle than it's worth, sometimes.
Anybody else have any similar issues? Or am I just overreacting or too sensitive?
I work in a department store. Most days, one of the loss prevention officers waits by the door at the end of the night while we're leaving. If you have any sort of bag, like a backpack or whatever, they'll usually check what's inside. They never worried about purses or lunch bags. And it's not like they'll dig through your stuff, but they just want you to open it up so they can peek inside. This always sort of bothered me. I realize why they do it, but I've still never been comfortable with it. But I just kinda put up with it. Can't do much about it. I usually just took a tote bag if I had anything extra to carry, since I could just pop it open fast and be on my way. A few months ago, my supervisor mentioned that we were now supposed to get a "parcel check" tag attached to any extra bags on the way into the store. Previously these were only used for staff purchases, which had to be left at customer service and picked up on the way out. I never bothered doing any shopping before a shift because I thought it was too mush hassle dealing with these things. Anyway, at that point I quit bothering to bring a tote bag anymore. I just carried a lunch bag and if I happened to need a shirt to change into after, then I stuffed it in my purse. It seemed they never bothered with this anyway. I saw plenty of people in the break room without these parcel checks on their bags. I never once saw anybody get one, actually. So, today I noticed a note posted that said, "All bags may be subject to inspection by management or loss prevention - this now includes purses. They will not check zippered compartments." WTF?! I find this to be an invasion of privacy. I know they're not digging around, but still. I don't like having to show anybody what's in my purse. I'm a very private sort of person. I don't know if this is something regular people wouldn't be bothered by. Maybe it's just me. I actually felt a bit nauseous thinking about that for a while. I was dreading the end of the night. I was hoping that I'd happen to be following someone else out so I could see what happened first, just to feel a bit less awkward about it. Luckily it was one of the managers waiting at the door tonight. Usually they don't bother to check bags, so it was no big deal this time. Not looking forward to this in the future though. Trouble is, I can't even speak up and say I'm uncomfortable with it, for fear of looking suspicious. Just gonna hafta deal with it, I guess. Ugh.
On a related note, security cameras make me a little uneasy at times. Obviously, they serve a good purpose. They're important. But sometimes I just don't like feeling like I'm being watched. There's that attitude that if you don't have anything to hide, you don't have anything to worry about. While there is some truth to that, it isn't enough to make me feel comfortable with randomly being watched. I can be minding my own business and somebody could just zoom in, follow me on the camera and watch what I'm doing, just because I happen to be there. A little creepy, to be honest. I try not to think about it too much, but every now and then I can't help wondering this sort of thing and it kinda weirds me out.
It's a good thing I don't have much need to travel because airport security is just nuts. It has to be. It's just unfortunate for the majority of people. The law abiding citizens that have to take off their shoes, open up every bag, don't pack liquids and this and that. And even more so now with all these body scanners and pat downs that everybody hates. At least I know that's something a lot of people aren't comfortable with, not just people who have issues like I do. It's even more of a pain for me though, because I'm diabetic and have to travel with needles. Extra pain in the ass. But someone like myself is more likely to just avoid traveling if at all possible because all this security crap ends up taking the fun out it. It becomes more hassle than it's worth, sometimes.
Anybody else have any similar issues? Or am I just overreacting or too sensitive?
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