Partner Lifting: Dos and Don'ts
here is my general guide on lifting with a partner or group. honestly, as an experienced lifter i prefer to lift alone, but a a good number of times you go to the mall you’re with other people. lifting with partners is tricky. my best lifting partner is my best friend - she knows all the ins and outs of lifting, like what is and isn’t sus, the method/game plan for each store, when to bail, and the general lifting rules. when i go with her, it’s enjoyable and stress free knowing that neither of us are making each other look more sus, so i prefer going with her over my other newer-to-lifting friends. in this guide, you’ll fnd a lot more Dos than Don’ts, and for this reason i suggest going alone, but if you and your partner can properly lift together than go for it. there are many benefits to having a good lifting buddy - they’re an extra set of watchful eyes, someone to bring stuff to the fitting rooms, and it’s fun being able to swap your loot and get stuff for each other. so here’s how to make sure you have a good experience with your lifting partner(s) -
first, acknowledge that the odds are stacked against you when you are with other people. LP and SAs will monitor more closely teenagers, and groups or pairs of teenagers especially. for these reasons, in order to look as normal as possible you need to minimize any suspicious behavior.
Dos: you can walk in together and really act like you’re friends - it’s more sus if you walk in and start acting distant, they’ll know something is up. put aside any lifting anxiety and act like two friends just shopping normally. it’s fine to split up for a majority of the time, as this can be more efficient and it’s normal too. but if you’re staying close together, you must be perfectly normal. talk at a normal level and make your conversations regular teenage girl stuff (if you’re a girl of course) just gossip or talk about hot guys or that party this weekend. be stereotypical, you’ll fit in better. reference merchandise occasionally - “do you think this is cute?” etc. my lifting partners and i use this as code for “i’m gonna lift this.” it’s fine to leave alone, my best fried and i do this all the time so we can hit stors the other person might not want to go to or just to save time. if you see your friend in the next store you go to don’t be scared to greet them and follow regular procedure.
another method is to pretend not to know them. this is best for hard stores. it’s harder to execute as you or your lifting partner might want to break character to say something, but i’ve tried this before with success. the better actor your partner is the better off you will be. you will just have to enter and exit alone and keep your distance from your partner. once i was lifting with a partner using this method and i left a shopping bag on the ground - my partner thankfully did not break character but instead tapped me on the shoulder and said “hi, i’m sorry, did you leave this over there?” my response was a gracious “yes, thank you so much!!” and then she quickly said “oh no problem” and we parted ways. thankfully she was convincing and kept the act up.
communication is a key benefit of having a partner. to discuss lifting related things, only text each other, preferably when you are farther away from each other. this is nice for when you want to relay SA behavior or anything else happening in the store. if your partner does not know that there are rfids in the tag at a certain store, text them instead of verbalizing it. you can also text your partner to bring stuff to the fitting room.
Don’ts: do not be shifty or awkward. NO WHISPERING. if you need to say something that should be whispered, text them. whispering looks extremely sus. do not go to blindspots with your partner. no discussing lifting out loud. this is the most important thing not to do that most partners end up doing. i don’t care if the SA is out of earshot, you never know, and cameras can still see you whispering. no pointing out security tags, just text them. don’t hand them tools under fitting room doors (yes, i’ve had problems with partners doing this). do not show them an item and be sus about it. do not enter in a store and quickly split up immediately. make eye contact when you are talking to the person, do not look away from them as you talk unless it is normal to (you’re picking up an object and saying “this is cute” or some shit) it looks weird if you aren’t looking at them when you are talking and it probably means you’re talking about something sus which is a big no no. don’t go into fitting rooms with them. don’t swap bags at any time. [insert parks and rec “don’t be suspicious” video]
so there you have it! happy lifting, the mall won’t know what hit it lol.
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