Help! Family Buying Appliances Were Locked Inside Sears
A family shopping for appliances were locked inside a Sears store in Maplewood, MN, says the local Fox affiliate. Anthony (who was scheduled to have hip surgery the next day), his wife Kathy and her sister Crystal were just about to buy a stove, a fridge and a dishwasher when they heard an announcement that the store was about to close. They asked an employee if they should just come back another day. He said no.
Fox Twin Cities says:
They asked the clerk if they should they come back the next day, he said no, they made the purchase, and headed for the exit.
They looked around and saw no one. Anthony, already in pain, went upstairs looking for the clerk.
They tried calling out from a store phone, while Anthony tried Sears on his cell phone, but then the lights went out.
Finally, they reached Maplewood police...
Eventually police arrived and sorted everything out.
Police checked the Brown family's IDs and receipts, and the Sears representative eventually let them out.
Hey, it's too bad Anthony was scheduled to have hip surgery the next morning -- it might have been fun to spend the night inside a Sears.
Customers Accidentally Locked in Maplewood Sears After Hours [MyFox Twin Cities]
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Comments:
Why didn't the commissioned sales clerk escort them to the exit?
I've always had a weird fantasy about living inside a mall.
Salesman: "Someone's actually buying our appliances! What should I do?"
Manager: "Lock the store down until we can get video proof. I need to send this to corporate!"
Now the police are in the receipt checking business.
With the right Craftsman tools, it might have been possible to do his hip surgery in the store.
@rdm:
The only horror would have been the SCARY prices they would have paid elsewhere, had Sears not SLASHED their already everyday low pri... yeah ok I'm not doing their commercials for them.
Has Sears become so desperate that they have to trap people in order to stop them from shopping elsewhere?
Dawn on the Dead style?
True Story. My wife when she was a kid, stayed a few nights inside a Montgomery Ward riding out a hurricane. she said that they played hide and seek in the entire store and ate all of the cafeteria food up. Sounds like a blast for a 8 yo..
What is this the insta-close mall? I've never been in a store that announces the store is closing and then REALLY closes like 2 minutes later. Weren't there any clerks around, wtf?
Wow, it's a total childhood dream come true to be locked in a mall/grocery store/candy store/toy store.
Holy crap, that's the Sears near my house. Been there many times, though unfortunately it's a bit of a dive. Looks like the last time it was remodeled was back in the 70s. Considering the general unhelpfulness of their staff, I'm not terribly surprised this happened.
@everclear75: Anyone remember the cute teen film from 1984(?) called NIGHT OF THE COMET? The first thing the girls do after the comet hits is hit the mall!
I went to my local mall to get a lawnmower blade from Sears. I had to run to the bathroom, which was just down the hall from Sears. I saw that they were closing in 10 minutes and didn't think anything of it. There were still salespeople and customers inside of the store. Well, when I returned to the store 2 short minutes later, the lights were off, the door was locked, and not a soul was to be seen inside. So I went to Ace Hardware to get my lawnmower blade.
Don't these stores have Emergency exits? Either way the cops are going to show up, so you might as well push the door.
@Oranges w/ Cheese: Well, if it's anything like the Sears by me, it takes about half an hour to check out. Of course, that's just for a simple off the counter tool, so for something as complicated as an appliance that requires delivery, I'm betting 45 minutes to an hour minimum checkout time.
Sears - seriously, get you f*&%ing act together (or sell craftsman tools somewhere else, then I guess I wouldn't give a rat's ass if you went out of business)
Not a horor movie....But there is already a movie like this
Career Opportunities (1991)
[www.imdb.com]
Was Jennifer Connelly in there wearing a tight wife-beater? If she was I see this as a win-win for everybody. In fact, I would have insisted on spending a few night a week locked in the big box store.
@Git Em SteveDave loves this guy->★:
And drive away in YOUR BRAND NEW RIDING MOWERRR!!! COME ON DOWNNN!!!
Ugg, I have how they are playing off that the guy has hip problems. It is totally irrelevant and designed only to drum up sympathy.
And this is news how?
I worked at Sears for a year and I know of 2 occasions in my store alone where a customer was locked in the store. I know of more times at stores in the region where it happened too.
I don't think this is a consumerist issue. It is just an honest mistake that happens from time to time. It isn't just SEars, but all stores.
It happens.
It is an accident. I'm sure Sears didn't mean to lock the family up.
Why didn't they use an emergency exit?
Reminds me of the joke about the family that was stuck on an escalator for hours waiting for a repair man.
This story needs to be heavily edited. It doesn't make much sense. They were about to buy some appliances, and the store was about to close. And then the clerk locked them in? Where does the fault lie?
Or how about the guy that fell down the up escalator. He kept falling and falling and falling...
I used to work at Sears awhile ago, and the Sears where I worked at was fitted with motion detectors, which should have picked on the movement in the store after it closed and sounded the alarm (well, I think it's a silent alarm) which would have prompted the security company to call whatever manager was on call, forcing that manager to come down to the store to silence the alarm. At least that's how things used to be at the store I worked at...
Also, after they made the purchase, the salesperson would have had to close down his register and take the money and checks collected throughout the day downstairs to the office. Meaning that there were employees in the store for several minuites after the trasaction was complete. What exactly was this couple doing that caused them to stay inside even longer?
@uncooperative: I was thinking more along the lines of a horror movie because, well, we're talking about Sears.
@undefined: @downwithmonstercable: I swear I read a book about this when I was a kid...maybe it was about the mannequins coming to life after closing. Or was that the plot of the same book? Aggghhh...holey childhood memory :(
@downwithmonstercable: There was a story about some guy that lived in the parking lot of a shopping mall, unnoticed, for months.
perhaps people should actually check stores before locking them up for the night? i mean who the hell ever heard of a a store clearing out of customers the second the announcement is made?
I'm so jealous. This would be so much fun!
When the cops asked to check their receipts, they should have said no and asked for a manager!
Am I right, guys??
@spazztastic: He was already halfway to the nearest drinking establishment, basking in the glow of Sears' only sale in the past 4 months.
@MyPetFly:
I think the joke works pretty well, just in a figure-it-out-yourself style.
As for "what they were doing", it's entirely possible that the transaction took a long time after the announcement (notice that when they mentioned it, they weren't anywhere near done as they mentioned just coming back the next day). It wouldn't surprise me if most of the employees had already left, especially considering that it's Sears.
I used to work at a Sears, and I can see how this happened. Likely what happened is the commissioned salesperson made the sale, and sent the family to package pickup to get their appliance. After they left, he went home. Meanwhile, the minimum wage package pickup people left at 3 mins to closing, without letting anyone know or actually checking to make sure no one was waiting there.
Not saying its a good excuse, but I bet thats how it happened.
It seems like it would be pretty darn easy to go hide yourself somewhere and stay in a big box store overnight if you wanted to. If you stash yourself somewhere before it opens and pop out during store hrs you could likely leave before anyone knew you were there.
Otherwise... how is this a story? If the family doesn't have a cellphone, the store has landlines, right? They'll be locked in for what, an hour at most? Indoors. With bathrooms. With chairs. Big whup...
If they were purchasing the product how come they weren't with the sales person, or somebody else? I am guessing these aren't the sharpest tools in the Craftsmen line. I hope the police charged these idiots for the cost of sending a police car to Sears because they cant leave a store at the announced time.
@syndprod: The "cute teen film" about the people turning into crazed killers and nightmares about homicidal zombie cops?
:)
chaching lawyer says wrongfull imprisionment
A few months ago I almost got locked into an Old Navy. I was in the back of the store looking at stuff, then as i walk up up to the registers to pay, I notice it sure is empty all of a sudden. Then I see the gates were closed.
The employees were making fun of me, but the idiots never made a PA announcement. I'd much rather get stuck inside a department store with comfy beds and such, rather than a smelly Old Navy.
@SarcasticDwarf: The man's hip surgery is probably the reason why this even made the news. If it were able-bodied persons who had nowhere special to go the next day, then I doubt this would have been considered newsworthy.
Horror movie based on this in 3.. 2...