After Macy's had been in charge of our store for a few years, they decided to cut the hours of the employees. Those of us who were full-time got more responsibilities. I still had an award-winning Luggage Department, but now I was expected to learn all I could about Housewares, Small Electrics, China, and Bed Linens. The ironic thing was I had no clue how to cook, so that area was very challenging.
So now, I had five departments to work in. Not just one. I didn't mind China, because there were fun people to work with. I also had to learn the Bridal Consulting job. I registered brides for gifts. With Housewares, Small Electrics and Bedding, I hoped they knew what they wanted already. After all, I didn't know what a sham or a duvet was. Maybe they did. I did learn something about China, and I could work a computer, so that was a big help. However, there were times when I had to work all five departments at once. I wished that the management would give us skates to get around. Customer service suffered during this time, and I am afraid that some people took some things out of the door without paying. It was impossible to watch everything. Sometimes I would hear these words from a customer, "Isn't there anyone to wait on me?" I would then come running. Consequently, I would walk from place to place on the floor and not stop anywhere unless I was ringing something up for a customer.
By 2007, the stress of having to make the rounds was wearing on me. I was coming home exhausted every day. And to top it off, I had not had a raise in 4 years. The raises were based on your yearly review. 30% of the review was whether or not you had made your quota in opening credit cards for customers. I didn't want to do that. When I filed for bankruptcy in 2006, I was overextended with credit cards. I knew that people that would open cards would also get overextended. These were the people that would want Macy's charge cards, so in good conscience, I wouldn't do it. So, I would not get a raise. It didn't matter that my Luggage Department was in the top 5 of the entire Macy's company. It didn't matter that I had very high customer service reviews. I didn't open credit cards, so I didn't get a raise.
With the cost of living going up, and me making the same thing for four years, I could no longer make ends meet. I started asking friends for money just so I could pay my rent. Some people suggested I should get food stamps, but I didn't think I was poor enough for them. I should have done it. I was eating cheap food. I could no longer afford to live, which sunk me into depression. I tried everything to get some money, short of robbing a bank. A friend, who lived in Greenville, offered me a free place to stay up there, if I would move. I said yes.
Right before Christmas 2007, I turned in my resignation at Macy's. It sent shockwaves through the store. The store manager asked why, and I told her that I had not had a raise in 4 years and could no longer afford to live. She offered me a 25-cent raise, if I would stay. There was no way I could do that. I was getting angry at everything and everyone. I knew that if I stayed any longer there, that I would go "postal" either on customers or employees or both. Then, I would be fired, so I took the only out I could.
Two days before my last day, our store's maintenance man died. He had a bad heart. He was a big fan of Big Brother as I was. I would tell him what had happened on the show before it aired having seen it online, and he would bet his wife that one person would win the veto or was about to be voted off of the show. He would win the bets, and his wife was never the wiser. He was much beloved in the store. I went to his funeral, which was a day after my last day at Macy's. There was a lot of crying. Unfortunately, there was a going away party planned for me that night. Instead of it being a happy time, the mood was rather somber. I didn't like leaving that way.
I really liked working at Rich's. When Macy's took over, the mood changed. I adapted the best I could, but in the end the demands were just too much. I had asked to transfer to the Macy's store in Greenville if I could work in Luggage up there. I knew all of the people there in the Home Store and management. Our personnel manager filled out the paperwork. I was ready to move to a better place.
Sunday, April 19, 2020
Friday, March 6, 2020
Safety
One day in 2007, Macy's corporate announced a contest to produce a one-minute video on safety. The winning entry would be used in all the stores in the company to promote safety. There would also be a cash prize for the winner. Our store manager knew I had theatrical experience, so she asked me to write a script and film it. I had a camcorder.
I wrote a story about a couple of customers who bought some comforters and headed to the escalator. The comforters were so big that they caused the two to lose their balance and fall on the escalator. A sales associate would scream out for "Super Macy" who would show up and save the day. I cast two associates in the Bedding Dept. to play the two customers. An associate from Housewares played the screaming associate, and "Super Macy" was played by the head of our security office.
We had to film the video before the store opened, so we wouldn't have any distractions. The first shot was the two customers paying for their items and dragging them to the escalator. I followed them with the camera. I had never shot video like this before, but I just channeled the times I had done film work to do the directing and technical end. We went through several takes of them walking down the aisle. The shooting also went on for a few days. It had to be perfect. Each night, I would take home the video I shot and put into my VCR to edit. I noticed that the audio wasn't coming through, and a weird noise replaced the sound. I came back into the store the next day and asked around if anyone else had a camcorder. An associate in Furniture let me borrow hers.
I started back from scratch. Over two days, I was able to shoot everything. When we got to the scene where the customers fall on the escalator, we had to do that a few times to get the fall right. The first woman had to lean back and fall into the second woman behind her who was supposed to grab the rail and fall down. On one take, one of the women fell on the escalator step and cut her leg. After we patched it up, we went back to filming. She was a trooper. Then came the scene for "Super Macy" to arrive at the top of the escalator. She was wear a tight body leotard with an "SM" on her chest and a cape behind her. She came down the steps and helped the two fallen women. Her line was something like "take the elevator with heavy items like these". The women said they would. The End.
I took the video home and edited it down to a minute. I brought the dvd into the store for the management to see it. They loved it and sent it into corporate. The requirements included creativity and getting the safety message out. I thought I had accomplished both criteria. So, when it came time for the decision, we lost. I think we might have come in third. I never saw the winning entry, but they kept our video, so maybe they used in in some of their stores. At least, I was able to put on my resume director and cinematographer of a video.
I wrote a story about a couple of customers who bought some comforters and headed to the escalator. The comforters were so big that they caused the two to lose their balance and fall on the escalator. A sales associate would scream out for "Super Macy" who would show up and save the day. I cast two associates in the Bedding Dept. to play the two customers. An associate from Housewares played the screaming associate, and "Super Macy" was played by the head of our security office.
We had to film the video before the store opened, so we wouldn't have any distractions. The first shot was the two customers paying for their items and dragging them to the escalator. I followed them with the camera. I had never shot video like this before, but I just channeled the times I had done film work to do the directing and technical end. We went through several takes of them walking down the aisle. The shooting also went on for a few days. It had to be perfect. Each night, I would take home the video I shot and put into my VCR to edit. I noticed that the audio wasn't coming through, and a weird noise replaced the sound. I came back into the store the next day and asked around if anyone else had a camcorder. An associate in Furniture let me borrow hers.
I started back from scratch. Over two days, I was able to shoot everything. When we got to the scene where the customers fall on the escalator, we had to do that a few times to get the fall right. The first woman had to lean back and fall into the second woman behind her who was supposed to grab the rail and fall down. On one take, one of the women fell on the escalator step and cut her leg. After we patched it up, we went back to filming. She was a trooper. Then came the scene for "Super Macy" to arrive at the top of the escalator. She was wear a tight body leotard with an "SM" on her chest and a cape behind her. She came down the steps and helped the two fallen women. Her line was something like "take the elevator with heavy items like these". The women said they would. The End.
I took the video home and edited it down to a minute. I brought the dvd into the store for the management to see it. They loved it and sent it into corporate. The requirements included creativity and getting the safety message out. I thought I had accomplished both criteria. So, when it came time for the decision, we lost. I think we might have come in third. I never saw the winning entry, but they kept our video, so maybe they used in in some of their stores. At least, I was able to put on my resume director and cinematographer of a video.
Friday, January 31, 2020
S&L
Back in the early 2000's, I wanted to do my series of Bible-character monologues in churches around South Carolina. I had been doing them since 1979. What better place to get advice than the South Carolina Baptist Convention headquarters, aka the "Baptist Building".
The head of the education division was a guy I went to seminary with and was in our drama group there. In fact, he had played "Satan" in the play I directed for my thesis called "The Harrowing of Hell". My father had been head of the Sunday School department at the "building" until is retirement in 1976. When I got there, I made mention to some of the workers about my father. Most said they had no idea that he had worked there. I was floored. My father was a pioneer in the Southern Baptist Convention. I realized that some people aren't interested in history. You need history to know where you are going.
I talked with my friend there, and he suggested I speak with a man who worked in the Music/Worship Arts Department. I knew the head of that department. His children had seen me in the play "The Butterfly That Blushed" at Columbia College some 20 years before and still thought of me as "Worm". I talked to this guy, whose name was Tom. He asked me what church I went to, and I said that it was St. Andrews Baptist in Columbia. His face lit up and said that was his church. He had been looking to put together a Drama group at the church and wanted to know if I would be interested. It was a volunteer position, and I said yes.
We got a few others interested in the project and then tried to get a name for our group. We finally settled on The Salt and Light Players. Tom used his library to find scripts for us to do. Our pastor at the time wanted us to do skits before his sermons to preview what he was going to preach on. He would tell us a week or two in advance, and then we would work on something to do. I wrote most of those skits. My favorite was one about explaining baseball to someone with no concept of the game. Our pastor was a big Atlanta Braves fan, so I was able to weave that into the skit.
The church had two morning services. The first was around 10am, which was a contemporary service. The second was at 11am, and that was the more traditional service. We would do the skits at both. The earlier service was a bit more relaxed, and the reception we got was also a bit different than the traditional. Years later, I met a woman at my current church who told me that she did the music at St. Andrews in the contemporary service, when I was there. She remembered my work. Small world.
We also did more formal presentations for Easter and Christmas which were scripted from other sources. We were in Biblical costume for one. I knelt down, and my robe caught on my sandal. As I tried to stand up, I couldn't. One of the other actors got me up. We covered it with throw away dialogue. The congregation never knew.
When I was in seminary, I wrote a Reader's Theatre one-act for Christmas. I found that reading a script could be done in a church setting. The other folks in our group like reading rather than memorizing, so we did that. I directed and helped in those works. The church also let me do some of my original Bible character monologues from time to time. We also hosted a statewide Drama conference at our church.
By 2007, we got another pastor who didn't want the same emphasis on Drama as our previous pastor, so the Salt and Light Players fell away. When I graduated from seminary, I had offers to go to individual churches to do Drama. I had declined those offers, because I wanted to teach Drama in a college. That didn't work out, so I started doing stuff on my own as a guest at a church or other venues. I ended up doing Drama for my local church, after all. A friend told me something profound once. It was about something else, but I think it fits here. Sometimes, you get on a detour, but eventually you will get back to the main road. My "main road" was Church Drama, at least for 5 years.
The head of the education division was a guy I went to seminary with and was in our drama group there. In fact, he had played "Satan" in the play I directed for my thesis called "The Harrowing of Hell". My father had been head of the Sunday School department at the "building" until is retirement in 1976. When I got there, I made mention to some of the workers about my father. Most said they had no idea that he had worked there. I was floored. My father was a pioneer in the Southern Baptist Convention. I realized that some people aren't interested in history. You need history to know where you are going.
I talked with my friend there, and he suggested I speak with a man who worked in the Music/Worship Arts Department. I knew the head of that department. His children had seen me in the play "The Butterfly That Blushed" at Columbia College some 20 years before and still thought of me as "Worm". I talked to this guy, whose name was Tom. He asked me what church I went to, and I said that it was St. Andrews Baptist in Columbia. His face lit up and said that was his church. He had been looking to put together a Drama group at the church and wanted to know if I would be interested. It was a volunteer position, and I said yes.
We got a few others interested in the project and then tried to get a name for our group. We finally settled on The Salt and Light Players. Tom used his library to find scripts for us to do. Our pastor at the time wanted us to do skits before his sermons to preview what he was going to preach on. He would tell us a week or two in advance, and then we would work on something to do. I wrote most of those skits. My favorite was one about explaining baseball to someone with no concept of the game. Our pastor was a big Atlanta Braves fan, so I was able to weave that into the skit.
The church had two morning services. The first was around 10am, which was a contemporary service. The second was at 11am, and that was the more traditional service. We would do the skits at both. The earlier service was a bit more relaxed, and the reception we got was also a bit different than the traditional. Years later, I met a woman at my current church who told me that she did the music at St. Andrews in the contemporary service, when I was there. She remembered my work. Small world.
We also did more formal presentations for Easter and Christmas which were scripted from other sources. We were in Biblical costume for one. I knelt down, and my robe caught on my sandal. As I tried to stand up, I couldn't. One of the other actors got me up. We covered it with throw away dialogue. The congregation never knew.
When I was in seminary, I wrote a Reader's Theatre one-act for Christmas. I found that reading a script could be done in a church setting. The other folks in our group like reading rather than memorizing, so we did that. I directed and helped in those works. The church also let me do some of my original Bible character monologues from time to time. We also hosted a statewide Drama conference at our church.
By 2007, we got another pastor who didn't want the same emphasis on Drama as our previous pastor, so the Salt and Light Players fell away. When I graduated from seminary, I had offers to go to individual churches to do Drama. I had declined those offers, because I wanted to teach Drama in a college. That didn't work out, so I started doing stuff on my own as a guest at a church or other venues. I ended up doing Drama for my local church, after all. A friend told me something profound once. It was about something else, but I think it fits here. Sometimes, you get on a detour, but eventually you will get back to the main road. My "main road" was Church Drama, at least for 5 years.
Monday, December 30, 2019
Nose
As anyone will tell you, the day after Thanksgiving is the one day that almost all retail workers dread. They have to put up with long lines and screaming customers. In 2006, I was working in the Home Store at Macy's. I got there at 6am and was put on the register in Housewares. When ringing customers on that day, you have to get into a rhythm. You say "Thank You" a thousand times. It was no different that day. Ring the merchandise; bend over to get a bag; put the stuff in the bag; and thank the customer.
I was supposed to have someone stand next to me and do the bag part, but not this morning. After two hours of this, my supervisor came up to me and whispered in my ear to take a break. I was very happy to do so. We had brought food and put it in the stockroom, so I was ready for some breakfast. I headed to the stockroom and opened the door. The food looked great, but I felt that my nose was running. I dabbed at it and found I was getting a nosebleed.
I had them from time to time. Once in a play in college after being hit during a fight scene. The audience asked after it how I got fake blood up my nose. It was real. I have been "blessed" with thin membranes that I inherited from my Mother. But, this bleed was nothing like that. I couldn't stop it. I pinched my nose, but that didn't help. I put my finger under my nose and pressed. It didn't work. I put ice on it, but that just made my nose cold. It still bled. I used the phone in the stockroom and called out to the floor. I needed to see my supervisor.
She got the message and came back there to find blood on the floor and all over my clothes. I was bleeding profusely. She got a towel for me to catch the blood, but it still wasn't stopping. This had been going on now for at least an hour. She saw that we needed more help, so she called our first aid person who was also in charge of security. I felt bad about her coming, because this was the biggest sales day of the year, which meant also the biggest theft day of the year, but she came with her first aid kit. She stuck gauze up my nose, and the bleeding started to subside. It had now been almost two hours since I had gone on break.
It was decided that I needed to go home, but how could I get to my car without passing by numerous customers. Macy's didn't have a back stairway like some stores had. I had to get upstairs and out to the parking lot with the minimum people seeing me. No need for them to get grossed out too. They told me to do my best and walk fast. I did walk by a man on the way who dropped his mouth open when he saw me. He probably thought I had been in a fight with a customer. I got to my car and drove home.
I was off that Saturday and went to the doctor. The bleeding had stopped, but it started up again in the waiting room. At least the doctor could see what was going on. They got it stopped and determined that dry air was the culprit. I had bent down many times the day before to get bags, and the store's air was dry. That started it all. I was told to keep my nose moist and drink fluids. One nurse suggested I get Vaseline and put a little up my nose. That really did the job. I have mentioned the Vaseline tip to other medical folks, and they have said they have not heard of that before, but it makes sense.
When I went back to work the following Monday, I was treated with kid gloves. That suited me okay. No need to be overworked.
I was supposed to have someone stand next to me and do the bag part, but not this morning. After two hours of this, my supervisor came up to me and whispered in my ear to take a break. I was very happy to do so. We had brought food and put it in the stockroom, so I was ready for some breakfast. I headed to the stockroom and opened the door. The food looked great, but I felt that my nose was running. I dabbed at it and found I was getting a nosebleed.
I had them from time to time. Once in a play in college after being hit during a fight scene. The audience asked after it how I got fake blood up my nose. It was real. I have been "blessed" with thin membranes that I inherited from my Mother. But, this bleed was nothing like that. I couldn't stop it. I pinched my nose, but that didn't help. I put my finger under my nose and pressed. It didn't work. I put ice on it, but that just made my nose cold. It still bled. I used the phone in the stockroom and called out to the floor. I needed to see my supervisor.
She got the message and came back there to find blood on the floor and all over my clothes. I was bleeding profusely. She got a towel for me to catch the blood, but it still wasn't stopping. This had been going on now for at least an hour. She saw that we needed more help, so she called our first aid person who was also in charge of security. I felt bad about her coming, because this was the biggest sales day of the year, which meant also the biggest theft day of the year, but she came with her first aid kit. She stuck gauze up my nose, and the bleeding started to subside. It had now been almost two hours since I had gone on break.
It was decided that I needed to go home, but how could I get to my car without passing by numerous customers. Macy's didn't have a back stairway like some stores had. I had to get upstairs and out to the parking lot with the minimum people seeing me. No need for them to get grossed out too. They told me to do my best and walk fast. I did walk by a man on the way who dropped his mouth open when he saw me. He probably thought I had been in a fight with a customer. I got to my car and drove home.
I was off that Saturday and went to the doctor. The bleeding had stopped, but it started up again in the waiting room. At least the doctor could see what was going on. They got it stopped and determined that dry air was the culprit. I had bent down many times the day before to get bags, and the store's air was dry. That started it all. I was told to keep my nose moist and drink fluids. One nurse suggested I get Vaseline and put a little up my nose. That really did the job. I have mentioned the Vaseline tip to other medical folks, and they have said they have not heard of that before, but it makes sense.
When I went back to work the following Monday, I was treated with kid gloves. That suited me okay. No need to be overworked.
Thursday, December 5, 2019
Scream
I was in Atlanta one Saturday around 1996 to go record shopping. I would usually do this a few times a year, because one of my joys was to find that special album. And, one of my favorite stores to go to was a store at Lenox Mall. They had almost everything one could want.
On that particular Saturday, I went into the store and found some filming going on at the back of the store. A film crew was in there shooting a scene for a movie. I asked the store manager what was going on and should I leave? He said the store was open for customers, but I needed to be quiet looking through the stacks of wax. The director had asked the manager to unplug his phone while they were shooting, but the manager refused because the business was open. So, they tried to shoot the scene.
Every time the phone would ring, the director had to yell "Cut". This went on for some time. Someone from the crew asked me if I wanted to be in their picture, because they were going to pan the camera around the store. I said okay, but I wouldn't be paid for my "appearance". So, I stood there looking through the same records each time, because it had to look the same each time. I spent much longer in that store than I had intended to do, but I thought another appearance on film would be cool.
They finally got the scene done. The director and cast left. I asked one of the crew what this movie was, and he just said "Scream". It was directed by Wes Craven. I don't know what cast was there. I sort of forgot about it until recently, when I saw the movie and sequels were on TV. I never saw them in the theater, so I have been watching them. I think my scene was cut out of the film, but I have one more of the three to watch. Screaming silently.
On that particular Saturday, I went into the store and found some filming going on at the back of the store. A film crew was in there shooting a scene for a movie. I asked the store manager what was going on and should I leave? He said the store was open for customers, but I needed to be quiet looking through the stacks of wax. The director had asked the manager to unplug his phone while they were shooting, but the manager refused because the business was open. So, they tried to shoot the scene.
Every time the phone would ring, the director had to yell "Cut". This went on for some time. Someone from the crew asked me if I wanted to be in their picture, because they were going to pan the camera around the store. I said okay, but I wouldn't be paid for my "appearance". So, I stood there looking through the same records each time, because it had to look the same each time. I spent much longer in that store than I had intended to do, but I thought another appearance on film would be cool.
They finally got the scene done. The director and cast left. I asked one of the crew what this movie was, and he just said "Scream". It was directed by Wes Craven. I don't know what cast was there. I sort of forgot about it until recently, when I saw the movie and sequels were on TV. I never saw them in the theater, so I have been watching them. I think my scene was cut out of the film, but I have one more of the three to watch. Screaming silently.
Tuesday, November 19, 2019
TTY
At Macy's, we had hourly sales quotas. Mine was $50/hr. That would not be hard to do, if I sold a piece of luggage, but it was harder when we didn't have any customers. So, I would hang out in Housewares to try and make that goal. That was when the phone rang.
I answered, and it was the TTY operator on the other end. She is someone who is a person who helps someone who may be deaf or mute communicate with someone on the phone. A person will type in their conversation to the operator, and then she will read it to the other person, like me. I then would respond, and she would type it out for the other person to read and respond. It is a long process, but very needed in this world.
So, she told me who she was and that she had someone wanting to know if we had 25 rice cookers which were on sale for $50 each. I checked and came back to the phone to say that we did. She then gave me a credit card number and an address to ship the rice cookers to. This sale would make my whole week for sales. I wouldn't have to do anything for the rest of the week. I could just chill. The address she gave me was in Miami. Wait a minute. I got to thinking. Macy's had a least two stores in Miami, and both were much bigger than ours. In fact, Macy's had a grading system for stores based on size and sales. Miami were "A" stores. Columbia was a "C" store for most things like Housewares. Why would someone from Miami call a small store and have to be a whole bunch of shipping, when they could go to one of the big Macy's stores in Miami and load up their pick up truck with rice cookers. It just didn't make sense. I had a number to call after I had figured up the shipping to give them a total.
Instead, I got the number for one of the Macy's stores in Miami and got hold of their Housewares Dept. When they answered, I just asked if they had a particular rice cooker that was advertised, and they said they did. I then asked if they had more than 25 in stock. The associate checked and came back and said they had at least 50. If a store was sold out of an item, they could do an "item locator" on the register to see which stores had them and how many. So, this person in Miami could not have gone to Macy's and had them to an item locator. In fact, there are many Macy's stores between Miami and Columbia that could have filled the request. The light went off in my head, and I asked the associate to transfer me to their security department. When I got that person, I told him who I was and what had happened. I asked him if he had a street directory to tell me who lived at the address I got from the caller. It turned out to be a UPS store that had a drop box. The security man said not to send the product. It must be a scam.
After I hung up the phone, I went to our security office and told our person about what had happened. One thing we figured out was that the card number I was given was stolen, because when I asked for the 3-digit number o the back of the card, they gave me the last three digits of the card number. The register rejected the transaction. I called the TTY operator, who in turn called the person back, and told them the card had been rejected. That person said that was not a problem and proceeded to give me another card number. That was rejected, too. That person said no problem and said they would try later.
Our security person was working with me on this strange call, and we decided it would be best if I would be the one to get the call if the TTY operator called again. The next day, she did. This time it was for sets of cookware. I went through the same procedure with her, and she gave me an address in New York. Un huh. The flagship Macy's store is in New York. Why call little old Columbia? It was obvious that there was something wrong, so our security person contacted the FBI. They told her that they had been trying to catch these people for some time. They were using stolen credit card numbers to buy large quantities of items for the Home. The store would then send the items to an address. That person would receive the merchandise and then resell it on Craigslist, eBay, or elsewhere, and then take 10% out for themselves. They would then send the rest of the money to some people in West Africa. That money would fund terrorist operations.
The FBI told us what to do. When the TTY operator called, tell her not to type what I was telling her. That it was for her ears only. I told her who these people were, and that we needed to get as much information as possible. Name, address, phone number, and when they could be reached. She would tell them the transaction went through (even though it didn't) and how much it was. We would have the card number which was turned over to the FBI along with these addresses. We had addresses all over the country including California, Ohio, Florida, New York, Georgia, and many more. The FBI used those addresses to arrest the people receiving stolen goods, and contacted the people whose credit numbers had been stolen. I heard later that a computer store in Ohio had also been contacted. The FBI put out a nationwide bulletin on these people and their MO using TTY operators. This computer store got the bulletin. They got a large computer box and filled it with cement blocks and porn magazines instead of a computer. I thought that was creative. I wished I had thought of that.
The money stopped flowing to this terror group in Africa. Their operation was exposed. I don't know if anyone did anything to him, but at least this scheme was stopped. I wonder what would have happened if another associate instead of me had answered that call for the rice cookers. I guess that I just have an inquisitive mind and a nose that smelled something fishy.
I answered, and it was the TTY operator on the other end. She is someone who is a person who helps someone who may be deaf or mute communicate with someone on the phone. A person will type in their conversation to the operator, and then she will read it to the other person, like me. I then would respond, and she would type it out for the other person to read and respond. It is a long process, but very needed in this world.
So, she told me who she was and that she had someone wanting to know if we had 25 rice cookers which were on sale for $50 each. I checked and came back to the phone to say that we did. She then gave me a credit card number and an address to ship the rice cookers to. This sale would make my whole week for sales. I wouldn't have to do anything for the rest of the week. I could just chill. The address she gave me was in Miami. Wait a minute. I got to thinking. Macy's had a least two stores in Miami, and both were much bigger than ours. In fact, Macy's had a grading system for stores based on size and sales. Miami were "A" stores. Columbia was a "C" store for most things like Housewares. Why would someone from Miami call a small store and have to be a whole bunch of shipping, when they could go to one of the big Macy's stores in Miami and load up their pick up truck with rice cookers. It just didn't make sense. I had a number to call after I had figured up the shipping to give them a total.
Instead, I got the number for one of the Macy's stores in Miami and got hold of their Housewares Dept. When they answered, I just asked if they had a particular rice cooker that was advertised, and they said they did. I then asked if they had more than 25 in stock. The associate checked and came back and said they had at least 50. If a store was sold out of an item, they could do an "item locator" on the register to see which stores had them and how many. So, this person in Miami could not have gone to Macy's and had them to an item locator. In fact, there are many Macy's stores between Miami and Columbia that could have filled the request. The light went off in my head, and I asked the associate to transfer me to their security department. When I got that person, I told him who I was and what had happened. I asked him if he had a street directory to tell me who lived at the address I got from the caller. It turned out to be a UPS store that had a drop box. The security man said not to send the product. It must be a scam.
After I hung up the phone, I went to our security office and told our person about what had happened. One thing we figured out was that the card number I was given was stolen, because when I asked for the 3-digit number o the back of the card, they gave me the last three digits of the card number. The register rejected the transaction. I called the TTY operator, who in turn called the person back, and told them the card had been rejected. That person said that was not a problem and proceeded to give me another card number. That was rejected, too. That person said no problem and said they would try later.
Our security person was working with me on this strange call, and we decided it would be best if I would be the one to get the call if the TTY operator called again. The next day, she did. This time it was for sets of cookware. I went through the same procedure with her, and she gave me an address in New York. Un huh. The flagship Macy's store is in New York. Why call little old Columbia? It was obvious that there was something wrong, so our security person contacted the FBI. They told her that they had been trying to catch these people for some time. They were using stolen credit card numbers to buy large quantities of items for the Home. The store would then send the items to an address. That person would receive the merchandise and then resell it on Craigslist, eBay, or elsewhere, and then take 10% out for themselves. They would then send the rest of the money to some people in West Africa. That money would fund terrorist operations.
The FBI told us what to do. When the TTY operator called, tell her not to type what I was telling her. That it was for her ears only. I told her who these people were, and that we needed to get as much information as possible. Name, address, phone number, and when they could be reached. She would tell them the transaction went through (even though it didn't) and how much it was. We would have the card number which was turned over to the FBI along with these addresses. We had addresses all over the country including California, Ohio, Florida, New York, Georgia, and many more. The FBI used those addresses to arrest the people receiving stolen goods, and contacted the people whose credit numbers had been stolen. I heard later that a computer store in Ohio had also been contacted. The FBI put out a nationwide bulletin on these people and their MO using TTY operators. This computer store got the bulletin. They got a large computer box and filled it with cement blocks and porn magazines instead of a computer. I thought that was creative. I wished I had thought of that.
The money stopped flowing to this terror group in Africa. Their operation was exposed. I don't know if anyone did anything to him, but at least this scheme was stopped. I wonder what would have happened if another associate instead of me had answered that call for the rice cookers. I guess that I just have an inquisitive mind and a nose that smelled something fishy.
Friday, November 1, 2019
Barbie
As you probably have seen from some of my posts, there have been some people that have taken me into their homes and welcomed me into their lives. One was in my last post, and another is in this one.
I worked with a woman named Peggy. Her husband died just before my Mother did, and we shared a common bond. Peggy was about 20 years older than me. She had won a contest at Macy's and was flown to England to see the Wedgwood China factory and have tea with Sara Ferguson, when she was still married to Prince Andrew.
One day, Peggy asked if I wanted to go to an apple farm in North Carolina. I had never been to one, but it sounded like fun. She told me to bring a jacket. It was warm in Columbia, so I didn't think I needed a jacket. When we got to the mountains, it was absolutely freezing. She said I could wear her granddaughter's jacket, which was in the car. I agreed, but found it had the Barbie doll logo on it. I put it on anyway. There were a lot of people there at the farm, and everybody pointed at me and laughed. The jacket was warm, so I just had to accept the stares. We had lunch up there at a good restaurant, and the workers there pointed and laughed. I think I cheered up a lot of people that day, and there are probably folks even today laughing about the 52-year old man wearing a Barbie jacket. That's okay. At least, I learned to take a jacket when going to the mountains. Don't be macho about it. Comfort is more important.
I worked with a woman named Peggy. Her husband died just before my Mother did, and we shared a common bond. Peggy was about 20 years older than me. She had won a contest at Macy's and was flown to England to see the Wedgwood China factory and have tea with Sara Ferguson, when she was still married to Prince Andrew.
One day, Peggy asked if I wanted to go to an apple farm in North Carolina. I had never been to one, but it sounded like fun. She told me to bring a jacket. It was warm in Columbia, so I didn't think I needed a jacket. When we got to the mountains, it was absolutely freezing. She said I could wear her granddaughter's jacket, which was in the car. I agreed, but found it had the Barbie doll logo on it. I put it on anyway. There were a lot of people there at the farm, and everybody pointed at me and laughed. The jacket was warm, so I just had to accept the stares. We had lunch up there at a good restaurant, and the workers there pointed and laughed. I think I cheered up a lot of people that day, and there are probably folks even today laughing about the 52-year old man wearing a Barbie jacket. That's okay. At least, I learned to take a jacket when going to the mountains. Don't be macho about it. Comfort is more important.
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