7-Eleven Opens in news space on H Street, NE features Growing Window of Shame(?)

by Prince Of Petworth May 10, 2016 at 11:25 am 25 Comments

8th and H St, NE

A reader reports:

“This opened up under the radar to me at least, where that old shoe shop was on the corner of 8th”

Ed. Note: we first learned about the coming H Street 7-Eleven shuffle back in October. Already has a randomly placed growing window of shame(?):

Anon

What is the window of shame? Shoplifters? Shouldn’t the photos be facing inwards so employees can spot these people when they come in?
Matt

What’s up with the window of shame? What did these people (allegedly) do?
- Philippe Lecheval
  
  They allegedly poured Slurpees directly into their mouths, straight from the machine. Every one of them did this.
  - Rick
    
    Wheezing the juice is a serious offense
Anon

The only thing shameful about the window is that hideous color!
- Anonymous
  
  That’s what I assumed the post was about when I first saw it.
  - Matt
    
    +1
- textdoc
  
  Alas, the new paint job for Petworth Cafe makes this color look almost subtle in comparison.
- anon
  
  All 7-11 windows are pretty much ‘windows of shame’ with oversized glossy pictures of the disgusting food sold inside. I find the alleged shoplifter photos far more pleasant than standard 7-11 corporate signage.
  - Anon
    
    I thought gross fast food photos was where they were going with this.
justinbc

Didn’t even notice the window when we rode by the other night. Some of those people look like they’re posing for photos…that can’t be security camera footage?
- CHGal
  
  They do look like they are posing, but no smiles. I need to know about this!
- K
  
  I used to work a lot of part-time retail jobs back in the day. It is a pretty common tactic to make the shoplifters take a photo for a wall of shame while they are waiting on the cops.
- JoDa
  
  Of all the security camera footage I’ve seen re-posted from the cops, 7-11’s is the best, by far. Some of these do look like “we gotcha” photos, though. Don’t you remember the photoshoot scene from Empire Records with “Warren?”
Anon

Unrelated, I was in there one day when an employee was standing between a shoplifter and the door. He was telling the guy to just hand over what he took and go on his way, talking about how he didn’t want to mess with the guy’s life by calling the police, etc. It was pretty moving.
- bloomingdale
  
  did he give it back??
  - Anon 12 10
    
    Yep, and then he took off. Seeing some of the other interactions that happen at that store, it was handled absolutely perfectly. I’m a big fan of the people who work there, they put up with a ton and are still very friendly/professional.
    - Anon
      
      Was it the store owner? When I was in retail we were instructed specifically to NOT engage with a shoplifter because they don’t want to be liable for an employee getting hurt.
DCMau5

would love for the CoHeights 7-11 on 14th and Columbia to do this. Place is a cess pool of criminal activity 24/7.
Cap Hill

The Sunoco Gas Stations at 13th & Penn SE did this, although I don’t know if they are still doing it. There was a news segment about it last year.

http://legacy.wusa9.com/story/news/local/dc/2015/05/06/fighting-crime-by-posting-alleged-criminals-photos-online/70905208/
jeffb

They are also moving into the old liquor store space at the intersection of 15th/Mass/Independence SE.
Madeleine

According to the manager, ever since that 7-11 was forced to move to a new location, there has been a huge spike in shoplifting. The way that particular location is set up, it’s very easy to steal. Unfortunately, I think this is the best way they can try to cut down on their losses.
Elizabeth

Someone mentioned to me last week that her opinion is that 7-11 will always draw a significant amount of undesirables, no matter where they open. Thoughts?
- Shaw
  
  I live in Shaw near the 7-11 at the corner of Rhode Island and 7th. Although the entire neighborhood has been going through huge changes throughout the past 5 years, the 7-11 remains unchanged in terms of cleaning up, so to speak, like the rest of the neighborhood. There is always a needy someone holding the door open for customers, hoping to get change on the way out; lots of seemingly homeless folks milling around; and, saddest, there are frequently ambulance/EMS crews that have to come help homeless drunk/otherwise incapacitated folks get medical attention. Not sure what it is about 7-11, but no such issue exists at the nearby Giant (which has a police officer on duty inside) or at the nearby family-owned convenience store just one block away near the southeast corner of Q and 7th.
- jay
  
  @Elizabeth and @Shaw, can we please give the classism a rest? “Undesirable” is such an offensive and privileged term—I’m sure the very individuals you find undesirable may find your new presence in their neighborhood undesirable. As a frequent patron of the 7-11 Shaw (I live nearby), I don’t really think it’s in need of much “cleaning up” (nor does the rest of the neighborhood). The people there are friendly (holding the door without really being too demanding for help), and there’s a women’s shelter across the street, so yes, I’d imagine there are a few folks who may have the misfortune of inconveniencing you with their homelessness. Take a walk around Shaw on a Saturday night and you’ll see plenty or drunk and otherwise incapacitated white kids spilling out of Dacha, caring very little about the neighbors trying to sleep.

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