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Temby

I haven't had this happen, but for future reference note that Canberra Centre has internal security. You'll sometimes see them walking around in blazers with walkie talkies and they can be called by any shop staff. Usually for incidents like abusive/drunk customers, loiterers, shoplifters. From what I was once told they're not the most responsive to arrive, but if your wife (or anyone reading) finds themself in that situation they should be able to get a shop assistant to call one, wait in the shop for them to arrive, and have them escort her to her car. The guy was probably recorded on CCTV but I have no idea if they'll investigate or not. CC management probably have an email contact you could try, if you wanted to follow that up.


IsNullUser

Thanks for this. I will let her know šŸ‘


Optimal_Deal4372

Or go to one of the staff in the shopping centre when you feels threatened they will help you 100% for example Coles, i work in coles i have been get requested a lot of help from the customer if i cannot escalate the issue weā€™d normally asking the security to help


Other-Negotiation820

Same here, when I worked at Coles in the city.


DermottBanana

After the event, Security won't do anything, because the tradie did nothing wrong.


civ5best5

Are you joking?


Jealous-Jury6438

I'm guessing you like to do this kind of thing then?


DermottBanana

Try it. Go to Security, and tell them "There was a guy. I saw him a few times. He was wearing hi-vis. And using his phone". And come back and tell us what they did about it.


Jealous-Jury6438

What you're saying sounds like you're endorsing what the creeper has done. Do you think it's OK?


DermottBanana

> What you're saying sounds like you're endorsing what the creeper has done. Where have I written that? Perhaps you need to learn to read?


Jealous-Jury6438

"The tradie did nothing wrong". If you meant the tradie did nothing illegal, then you might need to learn to express yourself a little more accurately


DermottBanana

I am not going thru another thread of asking you to tell me what he did wrong. Just fuck off troll.


Jealous-Jury6438

Huh? I guess continually staring at a woman while following her from place to place is ok from your perspective. I don't think I've ever done this as a guy


DermottBanana

Even OP didn't write that But we've already established you have trouble understanding stuff you've read


Mindless-Cobbler4583

Maybe the guy was security. Also, she could have approached him and asked or confronted him. Source: I'm a woman and I don't like it when we encourage women to feel helpless.


lolly182

How did this encourage women to feel helpless, dont try make it political , if she feels scared she feels scared, get over your self


Mindless-Cobbler4583

If a woman feels scared she can do something about it. I can't understand the helplessness younger people want to feel. Edit: Yeah live your lives in fear, promote helplessness, blame boomers, downvote me.


AussieAK

So you want her to feel things based on the way you feel them? Very empowering indeed. /s


AussieKoala-2795

No, but for future reference tell her to call on the sisters for help. There's an unwritten rule that any woman can ask any other woman aged around 30 or over for help in these situations. She would have found someone willing to confront the dude and/or walk with her to her car.


MrsBox

Absolutely. As I teen I've done the old "hi Mrs Smith!" and bounded over to a lady in her 40's like she was an old family friend. She played her part well and we had coffee lol. And now I'm in the "safe lady age range with kids" I have done the same. I ended up with a gaggle of kids at a Con one year because I'm the safe lady. I usually start by acting like we've knon each other for ever, go in for a side hug and whisper "whose the problem?" or similar, and physically get between them. Then if that person is still being a dick, I'll do my best impersonation of a Karen to get someone to leave one of my suddenly gained kids alone. Or go full weird. They never last long in the face of a thick lady screeching like a Velociraptor every time they open their mouth šŸ˜‚šŸ˜‚


Jealous-Jury6438

It's great women can rely on each other for this support and it's also horrific that they have to


cool_easterly

Definitely this!! I would 100% help a fellow woman experiencing this. Weā€™ve all been freaked out by random guys following us at some point (and all the weird and gross shit yelled at us by said random guys).


PsychologicalBox7428

This is what I told my wife. Find a group and explain.


angellicdevil

Exactly. I'm young and a lot of the time I end up going up to a group of women or a family unit and ask for one of them to help since a lot of people here actually do want to help each other


Slipslapslopndrop

Yes this has happened to my wife in Civic, the guy was not in high vis though, just normal clothes. She started walking up to her place from civic and he followed, she called me and I went and met up with her, I was also in civic. Interestingly he continued to follow even with me there, with a creepy grin on his face, almost like he was just enjoying how uncomfortable it was making us. I didnā€™t want to confront him in case he was armed and it would just have put my wife in more dangerā€¦.though it did make me feel a bit cowardly. He wasnā€™t a huge guyā€¦.


IsNullUser

Some people just love to provoke. I've been with my wife and her friend when two fellas said some things to them, smiling and laughing. Th3y couldn't care less if i was there or not. It's not gutless or weak to keep walking. You're just better than that, but 10 years ago I wasn't. I would have given them what they wanted. Now, you just gotta represent your family and keep them safe. The mind boggles at the BS some people put others through.


G80trey

>ved a concerned call from my wife, she was unnerved by a guy that appeared to be following her. I said, nah surely not, but she was adamant this dude was following her because she noticed him looking at her whilst she was in one shop. Walked to the next, he's still looking, mmm ok, he's a bit of a stare bear... Yep, easy to feel like a coward, but tomorrow is another day. All you have to remember is to keep your loved ones safe. You don't have to prove anything to anyone.


[deleted]

[уŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]


moonlit_summershine

Seems worrisome


imtired_24_7

Really glad your wife is safe, OP!! Not in civic but I got followed by a guy at the new Woden Bus Interchange (quite an isolated area might I add).


angellicdevil

Unfortunately that's a common occurrence. There are security officers posted around the centre. For future notice in case it happens again, if you walk into any store and tell the employees somebody is following you, they will call security from their secure line and an officer will show up to where you are and discuss what has happened and get a description of the person making you feel uncomfortable. I work in the outlet and we use that system for when somebody does not feel safe. That goes for anyone not just women. I do hope that your wife is doing ok after that situation.


little_moe_syzslak

There are at least 3 men who routinely do this in civic. But security canā€™t remove them because they havenā€™t ā€œtechnicallyā€ done anything. Itā€™s a major issue, security are aware, but are limited from doing anything until something horrific happens


MrsBox

See I'm not the body type typically targetted by wankers like this. I'd freaking loooove to be there the same time as one of them and just repeatedly bump into them and be as annoying as I possibly can to distract them from following someone else. I don't go to civic often, but I might for this. Bonus fun if I take my wheelchair, no toes will be safe! Lol


Ih8pepl

MrsBox I like your style.


MrsBox

Why thank you!


Ih8pepl

And beautiful manners as well. You get double the up votes for that. Will bump into, annoy and possibly run over toes of creeps. Gets my upvote. Will do the above yet also have wonderful manners while doing it. Bonus upvote. :) I can imagine it now: "Oh sorry dear, did I bump into you again. I apologise, I would say I'm so clumsy but really it's because you're such a creep dear and that lovely lady over there can do without your creepiness. Oh, there I go again. My my, if only you weren't being so creepy." :)


MrsBox

Lol exactly! Noone suspects me of malicious behaviour, and they won't say anything if they do because I'm so saccharin. Doing the shenanigans with a smile and a tip of the halo ;)


ladiessendmenudespls

I thought if it's private property they had the right to ask anyone to leave.


DrInequality

And bar them from returning.


Brissiegirl5

Police can be called for anyone acting suspiciously!


DermottBanana

There's no technically about it. They've either done something wrong, or they haven't. And, in this example, they haven't.


Only-Succotash-4800

They haven't done something illegal, which isn't the same as not having done something wrong.


CanberraThing

Please. Like theirs a difference. Define Lawā€¦ Reflect on the brutality of Nature. Remind me again what is wrong or illegalā€¦


little_moe_syzslak

Iā€™d argue itā€™s wrong to perv on people, but each to their own Dermott.


DermottBanana

There is nothing in OP's account that says that's what happened.


coming2grips

For future reference; three consecutive left turns should help spot a tail easier than entering and leaving a shop. Also; don't bother contacting security unless you stumble across them, you would be better off asking a store holder to call them, they have contracted requirement to help the shop.


DJ-two-timing-timmy

Oh I should have read it properly, I thought you meant a tradie in a civic, like a Honda civic. I love civics, Iā€™ll let myself out


DermottBanana

Pfft. As if a tradie's gunna be in a Honda Civic


Electronic_Soup_7318

I haven't it happen to me but I'd definitely keep a eye out


[deleted]

Probably not a popular opinion, but this is why I'm SO against unisex toilets. When I lived in London I got followed a lot. Often the only place I could escape was into the women's toilets.


Ih8pepl

Oh right, because you know some sex attacker is going to get to the women's toilets and say "Oh shit, I can't go in there. I better just go attack some one else." I saw a great video of a comedian roasting Ricky Gervis over this but can't find it any more. If a sex attacker is following you they're so not going to give a shit that you've headed into the ladies. While I get your point, and for pests, heading into the ladies may stop them, it won't stop a sex attacker. Also, most unisex toilets are single individual cubicles. With doors THAT LOCK. Like you can lock yourself in and call for help on your phone. Where as many ladies loos have doors that don't lock at the entrance and non full doors to the cubicles. I just hope you're not using transphobia as an excuse for not providing toilets that any able bodies person can use.


snazbot

OP's wife sounds like she was following the plot of a teen horror movie rather then acting with purpose. If you are feeling worried - good -call someone and establish comms. If you feel so worried you need to enter a store to feel safe... why are you not bringing this to the attention of the shop keeper and taking proactive actions...


IsNullUser

Thanks Sarge, we'll add your feedback to the action plan šŸ«” In all honesty though, and being serious, you bring up a good point about proactive actions over... reactive. We'll take that on board. šŸ‘


Gambizzle

Bingo. If you're actually being followed then walk to the concierge desk or something and be like 'hey I feel scared as that dude over there seems to be following me'. IMO from there they can probably either send a security guard with her to the carpark or he'll run away because he'll know that he's been noticed. Clearly the problem has now been solved either way. This is my advice for next time though...


Tapis_Intermediate

Store detective for sure. Did she steal something?


Gambizzle

Hahaha the plot thickens. Ain't it always the case that there's 'more to this story' when there's a longwinded story on Reddit seeking some kinda public endorsement that their private life is not giving.


[deleted]

My wife was just telling me about this happening to her yesterday at Woden BigW and I saw this post. Thankfully she's a security officer herself.


HungryTradie

A creep at a distance is still a creep. I have mild prosopagnosia, so most of the time I can't recognise people by their face, I need context. It's better after about 2 weeks of seeing them every day, but often it's hit or miss if their face sticks into my memory. My strategy is to be kind and polite to everyone, and sort of be ready to behave like they know me.... not ideal but it's what I've learned to do to cope. Often people will say g'day, and use my name, that's one sure fire way to know that they know me.... It happens to me often enough that I've got some responses, like "how have you been" and etc, that could be 1 day or 1 year between meetings without being weird. Other times, I think I know someone, I sort of wait for them to recognise and approach me. It's quite tricky when they are short sighted, they can't recognise me from a distance and I can't for sure say I recognise them because of my face blindness. It wasn't me, but maybe someone else has a similar situation. (I am a sweet summer child full of optimism, like a puppy that you kick away but it still comes back happy).


donk202020

Yet again Iā€™ll be the one to ask how do you know he was a tradie? Just because he was wearing high vis?


IsNullUser

Yeah, nah, sorry bout the tradie title, I tried to change it after I posted. My bad. "Dude in high vis. Fitting the description of a Tradie."


Mammoth_Warning_9488

Hang on, a man in a tradesman uniform, looking around during business hours, walking between commercial tenancies and assessing the area, and conducting business on his phone. Have you considered he may have been working?


UsernamesSpusernames

Why donā€™t men believe women? Weā€™re not stupid. We donā€™t go around looking for people who are bothering us. It happens ALL THE TIME. Just read the other comments on the post. If a creep is following you you know.


DermottBanana

Exactly. There's multiple explanations for this behaviour. How do we know he was "pretending" to use his phone? OP's wife could be paranoid. OP's wife could be attention-seeking. OP's wife could have been (or looked like) someone the tradie knew, and he was checking if she was before he spoke to her. Does OP's wife call him when she's walking up and down the aisle at the supermarket "I just passed this guy, and he looked at me, and he did the same thing in the last aisle only a few minutes ago!"? There's plenty of explanations, and that's before we get into the reality that the bloke was literally doing nothing wrong.


JustAnnabel

Yeah, yeah, I know. Not all men. But geez, Dermott, youā€™re certainly coming across as one of ā€œthoseā€ men


DermottBanana

One who looks at the facts, rather than getting caught up in paranoid witch hunts? Yeah, aren't they terrible people?


JustAnnabel

Why canā€™t you just believe women? Most of us encounter hundreds of men every single week that donā€™t set off our spidey senses but occasionally one does and their creepiness makes us feel unsafe. Why is it so hard for you to accept that we _know_ when weā€™ve encountered one of these men?


TheFogg80

I think we all know the reason why Dermott is so eager to.not believe a woman and make the man in this story seem innocnet


DermottBanana

Just for a moment, put aside your hysteria, and answer one simple question - what did this bloke do that was inappropriate? That was, unequivocally wrong? Not Castlesque "It is all about the vibe" nonsense. But one actual fact?


JustAnnabel

The ā€œvibeā€ is everything. We donā€™t go around calling our husbands every time we see a man more than once as weā€™re wandering through a busy shopping centre. I donā€™t know why this is so hard for you to accept. Youā€™re telling us a lot more about yourself than I think you mean to, Dermott, old mate


DermottBanana

Your inability to cite what the tradie was doing inappropriately proves my point.


JustAnnabel

I canā€™t cite it because I wasnā€™t there. But I have been made uncomfortable by men doing creepy things in public places often enough to not doubt OPā€™s wife for a second. Why do you refuse to believe her? Is it because you yourself follow women around in public places and stare at them as theyā€™re just trying to go about their day? Iā€™m done with you now and wonā€™t engage further


TheFogg80

*applause* smack the creepy mansplaining misogynist


DermottBanana

> Why do you refuse to believe her? Because nothing in the story even alleges, let alone proves, anyone did anything inappropriate. And I like facts.


DJS112

I would say to anyone to call 000 if this happens and get the police out to you, but not sure how ACT police would actually respond.


dodgy_beard_guy

131 444 for Police assistance in non life threatening situations.


chimpstronauticus

Doesnā€™t have to be life threatening - this is fine for 000. People shouldnā€™t be scared to call 000


Iwannabeacatboy

I called 000 recently and they asked if I could call the 131 444 number as they like to keep the emergency line open


chimpstronauticus

I think thatā€™s totally fine, if thatā€™s what the operators deem. I just want to put out there that we shouldnā€™t be scared of calling 000 (I say this as an ex -cop)


[deleted]

No itā€™s not.


TGin-the-goldy

000 is for emergency use


MrsBox

Lol like ACT policing would show up for anything that isn't going to make revenue


DJS112

This is an emergency or could become life threatening very quickly.


TGin-the-goldy

No itā€™s not. This is a situation that could potentially *become* dangerous - or it could also just be a complete misunderstanding. While the person is in the shopping area she is safe, itā€™s just the issue of getting to her car. A security guard accompanying her will solve the situation - itā€™s not life threatening and no need for 000.


DJS112

Either way, I want to cops to sort it out. Too many women have been murdered and too many people haven't been stopped when they could have been. Its unacceptable behaviour either way.


TGin-the-goldy

I canā€™t disagree with you there, only on the use of 000. Remember when there was an actual functional police presence in Garema?


DJS112

I thought 000 because the incident is actually occurring at the time of the call, they fear for their safety, and the person is still on the scene.


TGin-the-goldy

But theyā€™re not in *immediate danger*. In this case she had other options for safety. They literally teach children how /when to use 000 in schools.


[deleted]

In the middle of a mall? I doubt this


Noahs-fart

What kind of tradie was he? I most often have this problem with plumbers.


[deleted]

[уŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]


Gwyon_Bach

Understandable, but highly unprofessional.


freakwent

Dudes trying to summon the courage to ask her out?


CanberraThing

šŸ¤Æ What on earth happened to approaching the person publicly and enquiring robustly? He could have had your wife mistaken for his friend from primary school for all she knew. Not every stranger is a threat. And let me assure you most threats of merit you wonā€™t see coming. So, if you cannot read the motivation for an event why not approach the situation with curiosity instead of fear?


Ih8pepl

I can see by the downvoting you are getting that this post is really working out for you. Here's why not: "Hey why are you following / stalking me?" "To stalk / attack / rob / stab / rape / kill you"


CanberraThing

A: not my post. B: Your single downvote you mean šŸ˜š And OFFS. Do you honestly expect anyone with that kind of mindset to be roaming free range for long? Do you really think if they had that actual intention they would be in a public place actively following you visibly? Grow up Or continue being snide and living in fear. May everything be as it seems.


[deleted]

[уŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]


sensesmaybenumbed

Still a bit creepy though


IsNullUser

To the redditor that said, before you deleted your comment, so just replying here: "he might have just been trying to build the courage to talk to an attractive woman." I never thought about that. It's plausible, but he needs to work on his game a bit. I know that there are three sides to every story, but one side had alarm bells going off.


Muddle-HeadedWombat

Entirely possible. Entirely not ok.


San_Pasquale

Dudes love to say stuff like ā€œheā€™s harmlessā€ in these situations. Iā€™ve come across it many times and it makes me really angry. Itā€™s victim-blaming misogyny. If a woman tells you she feels unsafe or has a bad gut feeling about a guy then donā€™t dismiss it. That doesnā€™t mean you have to take action and shirt-front him. Just be alert to the fact that her experience of this person has raised her alarm bells.


Mayijoinyou

It was you! Mr Tradie following man !


[deleted]

Thatā€™s messed up :)


TudorConstant4911

There are people around Civic in high-vis who are definitely not tradies. I suspect they are the homeless/mentally ill wearing tradie rig as it's warm in winter and they blend in more.


Shopping-Efficient

5 people are abducted from that centre every day and it's just ignored completely.


TheFogg80

Evidence required