The New York Times reports (Make sure to burn one of your 20 free articles a month on this one) stolen laptops, phones, purses, bags have become almost as common as a double chi no foam half skim lattes anymore. You sit in Starbucks with your bag or phone nearby under a coat or you get up to use the restroom, you come back and suddenly you're minus some high ticket items. NYC police have said the sheer number of Starbucks make them perfect hunting grounds for such items. From the article:
From Times Square to the Village to Brooklyn Heights, Starbucks pops up again and again on police blotters. Officers have set up stings in the chain’s stores. A commander even asked one branch to put up a sign warning customers; the manager demurred, saying such a sign required corporate approval.
As that clip mentions police are setting up stings in Starbucks and outside in the patio seating but clearly there just aren't enough police who can be put on this kind of detail. “I think it’s great people are so comfortable with New York City,” said Lt. Dan Hollywood, who is on the Grand Larceny Task Force in the Manhattan South precincts. “But we’ve turned it around enough; maybe they’re not quite as raised up as they used to be.”
It's not JUST New York City experiencing these robberies. The story mentions such far away lands as Toronto, Berkeley California, Birmingham Michigan and *gasp* Hoboken.
It's our opinion that you can't blame Starbucks for these thefts, the onus falls on the owner of the equipment to keep it as safe as possible. We sure would like it if Starbucks would ADMIT there is an issue in their stores to help protect their mealtickets electronics but until that day comes (never is our guess) folks will just have to rely on stories like these to get the word out.
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