Anyone seeing a "pack" of kids in a store know what kind of disruption they can cause. I'd love to see the store videos that prompted this action!

To keep down shoplifting?

I've worked retail for years, and in my experience shoplifters are generally well dressed and good mannered 20-40 year olds.

Perhaps it's just because I live in the epicenter of a retail shoplifting ring...

Sure, it sucked when I was a teen....probably sucks for them as well. So what? Life isn't fair, get over it (as many of us have)!

Who the fuck cares? Any company is allowed to enforce restrictions like this. Perhaps what Lisa isn't telling us is that she's under 18. Perhaps she's been busted for shop lifting or has friends who has. Maybe her mom is a meth addict and taught her how to steal all the high priced items so her boyfriend could resell them. WOW! Lisa doesn't exactly look like a fine upstanding citizen now. I guess that's because we're only getting one side of the story. Next we'll have a story on how someone is upset that they had to go through a man trap to get into a jewelry store and how they feel discriminated against.

Lisa needs a chill pill!

I worked for CVS... probably the best company I ever worked for (in terms of quality of management and morale). This isn't a company-wide policy, and if you've got a complaint, call the 800 number. It'll actually be reviewed by the District Manager. If he/she doesn't agree with it, you'll find it gone very quickly.

In high traffic areas, I could understand why this is being enforced... but the store should instead invest in a good security system and hire more staff for LP purposes.

This is definately nothing new. There's a couple stores where I went to HS that did the same thing. CVS, 7-11, etc. Hell, even a burger king did something like this to a smaller extent. They had signs that were posted with something limiting the number of teens during certain hours. Those hours were usually like 2-5 or something like that. Right at the after school hours. That lady can eat it. If she has a problem, go parent the little bastards with the sticky fingers.

@Bevill: Um, yeah. I'd love to see the verbal scourging she'd get if she'd posted all that.

Many convenience stores and gas stations near high schools do this - "5 student maximum" or some such - ostensibly to discourage shoplifting, but also because some teenagers tend to congregate in loud, oblivious, indecisive groups that don't end up buying much.

Certainly this isn't true of all of them and certainly it's discriminatory, not to mention annoying. But it's legal, and a store owner may consider it smart business.

(Not to mention it makes my experience more pleasant when I just want to get in, get my coffee and get out without having some kid glare at me for trying to move past him, then demand that I bum him a cigarette.)

I'm torn.

- CVS can do what it wants to I suppose, and if the teens didn't want to wait they could go shop somewhere else, or as mentioned, be standing out front with signs. That's the fast answer, I do understand it's not really that simple...

- The part where the teen asked a woman to purchase for him, and he was scolded, the CVS employee seems out of line to be telling one customer (whom you've already made stand in a line) to not bother other customers. Especially if they are lined up outside, and aren't even in the store yet, I'd have started mouthing off big time if someone tried to pull that power play on me.

- I'd have a little more sympathy if CVS didn't fall back on the old "because of shoplifters" excuse. Sure people steal, but really, I feel that the 2 at a time rule might be more about simple (though agist I guess) crowd control. Teenagers can wreak havoc... picking up items, putting them in the wrong spot, opening packages for kicks, walking down the aisles in groups of 6 or 7, being noisy and making other customers feel uncomfortable (& old) :). I wouldn't like to be picking up a box of tampons and have to deal with a bunch of 16 year old boys giggling at the boxes of pads on the other end of the aisle while loudly making rude jokes. Certainly, crowd control doesn't justify keeping them waiting either, just seems more likely than shoplifting worries.

- What if a teen and an adult are visiting the store together? Whether it's a parent and child, or a 22 year old with a 17 year old friend? Are they checking IDs at the door and seperating people from their companions?

@Bevill: Who the fuck cares that you wonder who the fuck care?

I live across the street from a High School, and even though there is only 12 years difference in age between them and I, I really despise high school kids. They are annoying self-important bastards. They are the result of too much self-love and no discipline. They think they have all of these rights and that laws don't apply to them. Everyday at 11am, some peel out of the parking lot b/c they have half days of school. I wouldn't mind that, but a month doesn't go by when some kids all pile into a car, and get into an accident. They ignored a bunch of laws put into place to avoid such things, b/c they didn't think the law applied to them.

Hmmm. Not seeing a huge problem with this. The enclosed shoping mall our company operates has an unaccompanied minors program which requires parental or guardian escorts for peeople under 16. The reason was more safety than shoplifting. Parents would drop off freaking busloads of kids who roam the corridors like gangs. There were some actual gangs as well. It has worked very well and no one complains anymore.

I admit that as a teen, this would bother me, but being a business owner, I see first hand the damge kids can do.

unless I am mistaken, a court case ruled over 10 years ago or so that yes this is illegal. Say what you will about the kids (and I agree that parents suck these days, and put no responsibilities into these kids so that they act like total dirtbags) that doesn't change the fact a law is a law and that you cant discriminate based on age.

@Git Em SteveDave can't think of a clever way to mention Lin...: Yeah, and I have to keep yelling at them to get offa my lawn!

Its part of being a teenager...

Its an outrage until you hit 20. Then you realize 90-100% of teenagers are temporarily retarded until they grow out of it.

Also, I fundamentally disagree with the term ageism. The vast majority of young people are stupid. The vast majority of old people are impaired. Nothing wrong with treating them as such.

Lisa: I hate being a kid! No one listens to me!
Abe: I hate being old! No one listens to me!
Homer: I'm a white male age 18-30. EVERYONE has to listen to me!

/I struggle daily with rampant Skyoodpovism in my community...

Just to prove them wrong, OP, you should shoplift the hell out of that CVS.

Or just not care. CVS can restrict who they want to restrict based on factors like age, and a lot of minors DO shoplift.

I hate a group of rowdy teens in a store. Just loitering and swearing because their mommy isn't there to see them. I'm fucking glad they are limited to 2 at a time. I think it would have been easier to just put up a sign that just said patrons under 17 not admitted without adult, and anyone who contests this can go suck eggs. Would be easier to eliminate the problem all together.

My understanding is that the two groups that cause the most shrinkage are employees and caucasian females in their forties.
Or at least that's what I remember hearing from a retail manager about 10 years ago.

Internal theft isn't theft, it's called getting even.

@ameyer:

*Snicker*

@Bevill:
Who cares about your comment? Any idiot is allowed to post nonsense like this. Perhaps what Bevill isn't telling us is that he's an old fart who hates teens. Perhaps he's been sneered at by a teenager or has friends who have. Maybe he's a meth addict who's compulsively posting nasty comments because it feeds his desperate need for attention. WOW! Bevill doesn't sound like a fine upstanding citizen now. I guess that's because we're only hearing how perfect he is. Next we'll have a comment on how Bevill is upset because proper spelling is now a requirement.

the manager may have said it's to reduce shoplifting (& may actually believe it), but quite honestly i never had a problem with teenagers shoplifting when i worked in retail.

the problem was they would loiter in my store, occasionally break display items as they were grandstanding to their friends, play hilarious games like "fill a cart & leave it at the door" or "how many questions can i ask this employee before he asks me to leave", or the always funny "pay with pennies" routine & generally be boisterous & disrupt other shoppers.

lisa - you may not be like this - the truth is that the majority of teens are not. it's when you get into your little social groups that even the nicest, most respectful, down-to-earth individual becomes a bull in a china shop just to impress his/her friends.

so, in short, sorry. wait it out a couple of years & everything will be fine.

I doubt they're doing this b/c of shoplifting. Rather, as I'm sure someone else said, they're doing it because too many teens get into the store, are loud, run around, make it difficult for others to shop, and some probably wouldn't by anything. The store becomes the next hang out spot for the kids; the store is not designed for that.

I can't believe there's actually a LINE to get into a CVS. Around here, I'm usually the only person in the one around the corner from my house.

I'm wondering how they determine who is a 'teen' and who isn't. I know some 21-year-olds who look like teenagers. Are they carding people at CVS now?

The convenience store next to my old high school had the same restriction since 15-20 of us would all head over there during lunch break. None of us had a problem with it since it didn't cause us any delay. Plus, we were all going to loiter in the parking lot anyway while we ate. The employees didn't bother us and we didn't bother them.

If the students don't have a problem with CVS, Lisa shouldn't worry about it. Even if the kids do have a problem, let them handle it themselves.

CVS has the freedom to run their store the way they see fit, just as everyone has the freedom to shop someplace else.

This is a decision which will clearly be bad for sales so it's important not to view it as arbitrary or casual. No store restricts access in a way that may alienate paying customers needlessly. Clearly, this is a response to a problem the store has been having. Whether or not the problem is shoplifting or unruly behavior is irrelevant. The point is that there was a problem and the store chose this response.

You can argue about whether or not it's an appropriate response or if it's fair to limit the access of all for the behavior of some, but I think most people tend to only view these situations as customers and not as the store owners or employees. It could be that teen behavior was upsetting other customers and that led to this decision. It may be a response to customers rather than the store's desire. If that is the case, the store may be reluctant to admit it for fear that teens will harass adult customers.

Any way you look at it though, this can't be seen as something that was decided upon just to be mean to teens or deny them fair service.

Certainly where I am a lot of places have the "only two schoolchildren at a time" type signs up - especially places near to a school. There's no doubt plenty of things lifted for comedy purposes - more than once I've seen them pretty much outside the shop discussing what they've picked up, but I imagine loitering groups is a bigger issue.

That said I've never seen any lines to get into anywhere, all that tends to happen is one or two go in whilst the others lurk outside the doorway.

This *is* age discrimination and is illegal by the letter of the law, but in practical terms, age discrimination is only ever enforced when it's against older people.

@Jon Parker: Just two days ago, I had some high schoolers park their car in the end of my driveway. I had to call the cops to run their plates and go over to the school to tell them to move so I could leave for work.

@punkrawka: Isn't age discrimination only illegal when it comes to employment? B/c then you could say it's illegal age discrimination that you have to be 21 to by alcohol.

This is no different than malls banning unsupervised teens at certain times of the day.

I love how it's OK to discriminate against people if there's a stereotype against them. Wait-

I'd love to see the reactions of those defending CVS if they tried to do this to blacks. Or Jews. Maybe women. Women shoplift a lot, you know.

Teens aren't kids. They are either emo babies or young adults. If they're going to an age discrimination lawsuit, more power to them.

@Bevill: You're a douche. That is all.

@Git Em SteveDave can't think of a clever way to mention Lin...: As far as I know, age discrimination is written into all of the same laws as racial discrimination. Would it be legal to limit store access to two African-Americans at a time, and make them stand in a separate line?

I am _not_ saying those two policies would be equivalent in any moral sense (they wouldn't), but I think that by the letter of the law they fall into the same category.

@Git Em SteveDave can't think of a clever way to mention Lin...: SteveDave, you should know by now that some commenters here really like to spout off imaginary laws, or twist laws that do exist to apply to situations that they don't cover. It's really annoying. I mean, we're on the internet, people - do some research.

On a forum the other night, a guy was "explaining" how this private company couldn't prevent you from cursing on their private internet voice service because it would violate your freedom of speech. He then went on to explain that if they were a government body then they could take away your right to free speech legally, but not a private company. Pretty much the exact opposite of how it works, but whatever.

@punkrawka: And again, I don't think age discrimination has ever been enforced with regard to young people in any practical way, right or wrong.

I guess with the closing of traditional malls happening across the US... teens are migrating towards loitering in individual shops.

I stopped going to malls years ago... fed up with all the teens just hanging out & basically blocking the walkways. So I can guess you can lump me in with the "man, I hate those annoying teens" crowd.

Around here though, I dont see them hanging out in shops.... they tend to hang out in fast food parking lots (taco bell being the worst).

@InfiniTrent: This is a comment section. I'm having a discussion with people, as I would at a bar, not writing a law textbook. If I were deeply passionate and interested in this topic I would go read the relevant laws, do hours of research and compose a brilliant response. As it is, I'm just talking about what I think I understand about the situation, and I'm more than happy to be proven wrong by some douchebag who wants to make personal attacks on me just for making conversation.

@punkrawka: funny side story about that. a few years ago, i was looking for an apartment & i answered an ad for a place that (i didn't realize) was in a retirement community. i walked in to speak with the receptionist in the main office about the place they had for rent - RIGHT ABOVE HER HEAD is a massive 10' sign that says "DISCRIMINATION IN HOUSING DUE TO AGE IS AGAINST THE LAW...".

she then proceeds to tell me i don't meet the age requirement to live there. XD

who wants to live next to a bunch of old farts anyway?

I think a more appropriate action would be to allow the teenagers in. When they start causing problems, kick them out, permanently, and tell them if you come back in, you will be arrested for trespassing. Punishing every teenager because of a few idiots isn't the best idea in the world.

If CVS was that worried about theft, they should get more monitors to record the store and instead should worry more about internal losses and prevention since that is where most loss comes from. Leave it to a typical country bumpkin idiot store manager with a GED/High School Diploma and no higher education to run a store.

I'd love to enlighten people about my former CVS manager but, this website is called consumerist.com, not employeeist.com.

Fuck CVS. One of the most unethical pharmacy businesses around.

-Phex
-3rd Year PharmD/MBA Candidate

Ironicaly, CVS sells birth control devices.

my local cvs isn't just about "age-ism", they are downright nazi's when it comes to anti-shoplifting measures.

they have this ridiculous machine to get razor blades out of, that you practically need a manual to operate. and one time i bought a printer cartridge there - kudos to them for having it, it saved my ass at midnight when i had to print out some important paperwork - but they had it in a locked cabinet, and the CVS associate needed to carry it up to the register for me. they wouldn't let me so much as touch it until i actually paid for it. and when i even playfully joked about it being a ridiculous policy, i even got some attitude about it..

i feel like a criminal every time i walk in there, and i try to avoid the place whenever possible.

talk about punishing the masses for the crimes of the few.

not that walmart and a bunch of other retailers who search your cart every time you leave are any better...

Teens in groups can misbehave, damage things and deter other customers from the store. I don't think shoplifting is the real issue either.

I also think CVS is going about this all wrong. They are acting like bullies and being abusive to all teens. Having a security guard man a line outside and store staff yelling at them for talking to someone is making things worse. The reaction to misbehaving teens is misbehaving adults? This solves nothing. The proper solution would probably be to limit store access between 2-5pm to nobody under 18 without a parent.

Yes yes yes...only teenagers ever act like jerks. I'm sure that nobody complaining about them in this thread was ever a jerk teenager.

Kids are kids and it's been the same since the beginning of time. They act impulsively because they haven't fully matured and because they are entwined in peer groups which increases peer pressure.

Every generation has bemoaned the behavior of the one succeeding it. Kids haven't changed, only your attitudes about them have as you've matured. If you can't put up with kids, stay inside. Living alongside one another is part of the social contract, as long as nobody is going over the lines. And there is no evidence in this story that the kids behavior has crossed that line.

Now, I need to find out where this CVS is located because it sounds like a great business opportunity to open up an age-neutral convenience store right next door.

I'm still pretty sure it's legal to not let everyone in at the same time, or everyone in a specific group, or whatever.

Again, yes, totally discriminatory - but depending on the jurisdiction, I agree that there aren't many laws on the books saying you allow a customer or group of customers, even based on discrimination, to come and go as they please.

As the OP's post itself said, they weren't refused service, they were just asked to wait. I seem to remember this happening in restaurants as well.

What the hell... anyone want to start the site employeeist.com? Make it a sister site to this one? Can incorporate lots of labor laws and good and bad business practices and peoples horrid experiences with employers and how to handle them.

Customer service..is usually defined as "serve me, you work retail". I've posted more than once that slavery was outlawed and you-all need to understand that retail employees are at a job, not toiling in the fields for you whiteys.

This tale seems a bit sparse on background. Is the local skool having gangs, is the teen presence lowering paying customers, is her story leaving out details? Two lines may mean that those with scrips are given priority to teens picking up some huffies. It could be that cash is one line and Medicare/Medicaid is another.

This is so funny b/c the local mall by me is now instituting a curfew for kids under 18 on Friday and Saturday nights. They are checking IDs at every entrance and ushering out teens who area already in the mall at 5. Apparantly anyone underage caught in the mall is going to be threatened with prosecution for criminal trespass. I kind of support it b/c I'm sorry but a raving group of 14 year olds is scarier than anything I can imagine....

I'm waiting for the day when we revert back to the old general store model with one person getting all your stuff for you. Of course, that "one person" will be a touch screen computer, thus minimizing the need to pay actual humans for their time.