More Awesome Than You!

Oh my!  There I was with my home business going fairly well, when along came a professor.  I wasn't sure if she wanted to shop or to walk by, but decided to show her the lovely oriental lion statue we'd just got in that day.  She was so impressed!  She absolutely adored the statue and decided to purchase it.  Into her bag it went.  Then, the next thing I knew she was walking down the sidewalk, bag in hand, leaving my lot.

I had my sim go inside the store and tried calling her over thinking maybe she'd go ahead and pay.  She came back into the store, but again attempted to leave.  Stupid me, I decided to show her an inexpensive little bauble to see if maybe she would pay after that, but no dice!  By the time she was done, she'd lifted the lion statue AND a Mario mushroom!

Has anyone else had shoplifting profs in their games?  I'm wondering if this type of problem with their behavior could be causing a lot of the issues in other people's games, too.

There seems to be a general shoplifting problem, and it's not restricted to professors.  Presumably it happens because some legacy section of the visitor code sends them off the lot, due to being too sleepy or something, and doesn't check if they need to pay for purchases.

Fortunately it's not common enough to wreck retail businesses, so it's an annoyance, not a critical problem.

 - Gus

If you invite them over and chat them up for a bit they will eventually get in line and pay up.  It's just hard to keep track of everyone who comes into the store sometimes.

Alternately, if you have a hack that makes people selectable, just use it on them and have them select the Register to Pay for Purchases.

Yes, I have shoplifters too, but not professors. I made a note to check if the value of the goods in his bag will be added back to my owner's fund. Sounds like no from you guys.

Yes! I've had this. It's sad, too, because you know on their salary they should be able to afford it. I think they're just doing it for kicks.

Seriously, it's a pain!

Nope--you indeed do not get paid for the merchandise.

You do, however, get the money when a customer gets irritated and throws the bag on the floor and storms out of your store.  You just 'clean up' the bags and get paid then.

All my shoplifters have been walkbys instead of regular shoppers who specifically come to the store to shop. It think it's a problem with the code, the game forces them to leave even if they've been greeted or didn't need to be greeted (because of being outgoing or just ended up that way).

I've also had a problem since OFB with sims who have been greeted just up and leaving soon after that and it's not a needs thing either because no need bubble pops up and they just got there. If I make them selectable, they have the exit to portal or something along those lines queued up. Some bug is causing sims to get that even if they have been greeted when they shouldn't.

I think this is the source of the shoplifting. I had one with a profesor (walkby) and another with a townie teen who was also a walkby.

Maybe JM or twojeffs could make a fix that eliminates walkbys while home businesses are open?  ;) Sorta like the noplayable sims hack. Anything to fix the shoplifting.

Although I think if they ever DO come back as a store customer they will pay for everything. I know I've gotten some VERY large sales from someone who just bought one thing.

Walkbys during business hours are pretty annoying anyway. They probably cut down on the number of paying customers you can have on your lot. I don't want my sims to run out and greet people when her store's open. Too busy!

While walkbys may be the primary source, they're not the only source.  I've yet to run a home business, but I've had shoplifters on a community business lot.

 - Gus

They must have felt guilty.

I actually like walkbys and shoplifters. They make it more realistic. Not everybody walks by have to buy from you.

Community lots have walkbys too. They always have. Those professors are walkbys and I had them shoplift on my community lot business. I don't think npcs normally show up as shoppers. Maybe if they have relationships with your sims but otherwise they generally don't. The University sims are supposed to only walk by in the uni neighborhood but for some reason those professors always walk by in all the neighborhoods.

My one shoplifter so far was a cook I think

Hmm, I had a cook do a walkby on my downtown restaurant and I greeted him and he came in. He couldn't shoplift though because it automatically deducts the money for their order. ;)

Well silly me dazzled him into aout 11k worth of "fine art" before he took off with his little shopping bag of priceless statues. lol

Questions about restaurants:
When does the money be deducted, when the food is served or when the customer finishes eating?
Do they order more than one course/plate?
Have you seen more than one sim come in together and eat? In Nightlife, they almost always come in pair.

They always come in single and eat by themselves.  :( They will sometimes order a second helping or dessert or whatever and sometimes not. Not sure what triggers it, maybe if needs are low they leave sooner. I think the money gets taken out when they are done. I'll have to pay attention next time though.

I don't have OFB yet, but certainly I've never had professors turn up anywhere apart from University lots. I haven't even had university students turn up Downtown unless I've specifically taken them there! So I'm not sure why they'd suddenly start showing up as walkbys in OFB's shopping area.

However, I'm remembering the "it's not a bug, it's a feature" that stops you buying groceries for a sim if you're in a different "sub-Neighbourhood" than the one they live in. (e.g. can't buy food for sims from the main Nhood while Downtown). Could this be the source of the bug?

I have had the professor buy stuff sometimes. It just seems like sometimes he gets the action leave queued up. But then again, I'm having trouble with this with regular townies too when they walkby and lately half the time when I greet a walkby they just leave anyway. I guess there's a check to make them leave if they aren't greeted and maybe it's not recognizing that they are greeted?

Alright, I thought maybe you were just loopy but this happened to me today. It wasn't a professor though, it was a couple of teens.

I could have sworn though, that as one of them was leaving he had a red toilet above his head. Maybe his needs were low and he just took off with the loot (a $500 sprinkler toy).

At least if they were shoplifting they could have the decency to run off of the lot like a real shoplifter. :P

LOL I just had someone come onto my lot carrying a bag. Presumably one he shoplifted previously. Maybe he felt guilty? ;)

Oh my word!  That very same thing happened to me earlier!  Again today I had another shoplifter.  The next sim day he came walking down the sidewalk, little blue bag in hand.  I opened up the store real quick and grabbed him with Merola's multi-mirror and made him pay for his purchase!

I haven't had any more trouble with shop lifters (maybe the word's getting around town ;)).

I also had a prof visit this little home business and do some real shopping--different one from the shoplifter--she hasn't been back since.

I had a number of npcs and walkbys tonight. A pizza guy tried to run off with his shopping bag but I persuaded him (read made him selectable) to pay for his purchase.  ;D

I had a maid come by too. She did end up paying for everything, but I sold her one expensive painting and went to try and sell her another one but she said she was broke. I didn't realize npcs didn't have limitless funds.  :o

I have customers that come in and I try to show them something and they'll pat their pockets and have a speech bubble with a simolean sign with a red x through it.  Apparently some are more affluent than others.  The first time that happened, my sim took a major relationship hit because of it.  I thought, 'Geez!  Why on earth be upset at someone because they can't afford the whatzit?'  Later on she didn't do that, though.

I also discovered tonight that all these goodies these NPC sims buy are indeed going in their inventories!  Pity the sim in my neighborhood who ends up marrying the one who bought the pink gorilla statue!  :o

I haven't done a community lot yet because I've been too afraid of the bugs.  I'd like to build one (sim hubby wanted to be a personal trainer--get real!) but have been hesitant.

Just take a cab instead of driving a car, it should be fine. It has been for me. As far as I know, the main bug issue has to do with driving an ownable car to the community business lot.

Well, who doesn't hate poor people? Frikken bums.

I know I've read that should work.  I've also read, though, people having problems taking the taxis while not having problems taking ownable cars.  I'm stumped!  LOL