hrinkage

ome time ago Baron Von Lodge was the head of a small country near Switzerland known as Lilliland.

Vacationers and tourists from just about everywhere enjoyed going to Lilliland. The mountain slopes were just right for skiing, Lilliland Lake was large enough to enjoy sailing, and there were numerous equestrian trails for horseback riding. The picnic areas at lakeside or in the foothills all had wonderful views of nature.

The citizens of Lilliland knew how important a happy tourist was for a good economy so they were extra nice, even though without the tourists they would still have been polite and friendly.

Several times a year, the shopkeepers would go to the Lilliland Castle conference room and discuss some of their business problems.

At a recent meeting, the subject of shrinkage came up, which means customers stealing merchandise. In many other countries, it was not unusual for the person who stole the merchandise to be taken directly to jail until a trial was conducted. The Lilliland shopkeepers wanted the Baron and Professor Hamblin to do the same thing. After all, they said that they were in business to make money and earn a living and not to give merchandise away or allow shrinkage.

Professor Hamblin said that the few people caught were not thieves but people suffering from a mental condition known as kleptomania, the compulsion to take things without paying for them. One of the key questions that separated a normal thief from someone who had kleptomania was found in the item that was taken. If the item had no use or value to the person who took it was a good sign of the mental condition.

The Baron’s policy on shrinkage was to determine the value of the item and if it was less than two or three dollars. The person was given a talking-to about this type of behavior. Usually that did little good for the kleptomaniac really needed professional help.

If it happened again, or several more times, the person was turned over to the embassy of the country that issued the passport. He was given a few days to leave Lilliland and it was suggested that when he reached home, he was to seek the professional help that he needed. The family who traveled with the kleptomaniac always tried to watch the person but when it happened they were very sorry and deeply embarrassed.

The Baron felt that this was the right way to handle the problem.