Guide To The GAP,

First, let me point out that GAP sweatshops were uncovered in Oct 2001 in the Dominican Republic, Where workers report unsanitary bathrooms, no drinking water, no overtime pay, and no cooling system in the tight overcrowded work place (about 1,500 workers). They work 10-12 hour shifts 6 days a week, recieving 500-600 pesos a week (about $30-$35.00 a week)

so with that in mind, here is some information from someone who gets my vote for employee of the month !

Things you should initially know...
1. No clothing item under $16.50 has a censor on it, unless the initial price was above $16.50 and the item went on sale for a price under $16.50, it will still have a censor.

2. Cashiers forget to take off all the censors on the clothes, which means, when the cashiers forget to take the censor off, the alarm goes off at the door when the customers are leaving. This happens so much, and our store is so busy, that when the alarm goes off, no employee even looks at the door, no one cares, and the customers just walk out and keep walking.

3. On almost any piece of clothing, the censor is removable by hand, it may put a tear in the clothes that is a few centimeters long, but GAP usually places the censor in a place that the eye doesn't really notice, so when the cashiers take the censors off, there isn't a little hole in the middle of the shirt. If the item has a censor, and one doesn't simply want to run out the store with it, a quick trip to the dressing room, and the removal of the censor lets you leave undetected.

What the store doesn't want you to know...

1. Employees, for legal reasons, are never allowed to accuse any customer of stealing; instead, we must use a " recovery statement ", like if the customer has a stolen shirt in his shopping bag, we can only say something like, " oh, I know of a pair of pants that would go great with that shirt. ". When saying this, you are telling the customer that you know that he has a stolen shirt in his bag, yet, you aren't being offensive because it is not a direct accusation, and it really is a selling statement anyways.

2. Now, from here on, this is very important, it gets technical, and for these reasons, is why GAP loses so many clothes every day. The MANAGER has to see the customer actually steal the item, know where the item is concealed, and if the MANAGER loses sight of the customer for one second, the manager cannot accuse the customer of stealing. The reason for this is, while the manger loses sight of the customer for one second, in that second, the customer could drop the stolen item, and if the manager accuses the customer after the customer dropped the item, the customer can file a lawsuit, and sue the company.

3. For someone to get caught, not the employees, but the MANAGER, always remember only the manager can do anything about theft, the manager has to see you steal the item, has to know where you are concealing the item, and has to never, ever lose sight of you. After all of this, the manager, if he/she stops you at the door, must give you a chance to put back the stolen merchandise, and then they will let you walk out with out any trouble. Even with this, my manager, who has been working at GAP for over twenty years, said she has only tried to grab a thief once, in her entire career.

With all of this information, you must realize it is almost impossible to get caught stealing at The GAP, and even if you do get caught, you are given the choice to put the items back and walk out without any trouble. So... do yourself a favor, and go hinder and harm a giant corporation by obtaining free clothes from the stores they own.