Where do you work where a customer can get away with easily stealing something that's $500? Depending on the size of the merchandise, most stores I know either lock up $500 merchandise if it's kept on the floor or they keep it in the back.

Don't they usually security tag high priced items? How did he get pass that?

Always go after the customer because you work with the employee so you can catch him stealing another time.

You should have stayed with the customer. If an employee is stealing and getting away with it then he will continue to steal. Also make sure you have proof before to accuse that person of stealing.

you deserved it all the way. get your priorities straight.

You did the right thing. A stealing employee will cost you more in the end.

If you knew the employee was stealing, why had you not already fired them?

Congratulations. Like every other retail store out there, the focus was so much on preventing internal theft, nobody was trying to prevent actual theft.

Just wanted to clarify a few things. At the place where I work, internals take priority over anything else. When I watch an employee for theft, I am not allowed to lose them for even a second during their shift. We can't fire them right away because we have to build a case and then wait for my supervisor to come down from corporate to interview and fire them. As for the item the shoplifter stole, it was secured in multiple ways, but he had brought wire cutters to cut the shelf cable and security device off of the item. He was in and out in just a few minutes and had a get-away driver waiting for him. He actually did this two more times getting the case value to about $1500, but thankfully the police found and arrested him ?