Undervalued retail employee gets written up for attempting to prevent a $400 store theft

Retail is like the Wild West: it's vast and untamed. And who needs to maintain composure in the midst of such mayhem, in your humble opinion? That's the customer service agent, of course.

The story that follows is from a disappointed sales department employee. The Original Poster (OP) holds a job at a small business located in the neighborhood shopping center.  The business has had to deal with an increase in theft lately. Unfortunately, due to the shopping center's numerous rules and restrictions, there isn't much OP can do to halt the shoplifting phenomenon. Because of this, instead of thanking OP for his loyalty to the company, his manager issued a formal warning when OP sought out one of the most notorious thieves and tried to stop him from stealing again. I know it's disappointing, but not unexpected… 

That being said if you're interested in learning what happened between OP and his manager and whether OP was able to prevent the thief from sealing again, read the story below! And once you're done, don't forget to read the story of the manager who encouraged the laid-off employee to see his dismissal as a 'learning opportunity'!