As reported here previously, there have been three recent hidden camera stings of specialty stores selling adult merchandise to under-age customers. The first took place at Golden Apple Comics in Los Angeles (see 'Golden Apple Stung') and involved adult comics. The other two took place in Cleveland (see 'Ouch, Another Retailer Stung') and Pittsburgh (see 'Oops, It Happened Again') and involved adult anime. In all three cases, a local television station sent minor customers into specialty stores and filmed them successfully purchasing adult merchandise. The slant taken varied widely, but it's safe to say that no store wants this kind of publicity.
Although there's no way of knowing exactly how these stories came to be, we believe that the anime stings may have resulted from a New York Times article that ran January 28th (see 'Anime Makes the Front Page'); the Sunday edition of the Times is widely read around the country. The Golden Apple sting may have been related to that article or initiated for another reason. Regardless of their origin, these stings can be a source of extremely negative publicity for a retailer and could lead to criminal charges for the owner or the clerk involved. Obviously, most retailers want to avoid selling the wrong kind of merchandise to underage consumers in any case -- the stings just add another level of urgency to the issue. To help retailers avoid the problems that can result from selling adult material to underage consumers, ICv2 is providing some nuts-and-bolts suggestions on how to avoid this kind of problem in your store. In this article, we'll use the term 'adult' to refer to a product that would get an NC-17 (formerly X) if it were a movie, and 'mature' to refer to a product that would get an R rating.
The starting point for this discussion is to remind our readers that we are not attorneys, do not give legal advice, and that you should always consult an attorney for advice on the laws in your area. Given that caveat, there are some general issues of which you should be aware. First, you should familiarize yourself with the specific laws or practices in your part of the country. Obscenity laws are based on 'local community standards,' which vary from place to place. There may also be display or minor access laws that are specific to your local or state jurisdiction. Second, it's very difficult even if you're totally familiar with all of the laws to determine how to run your store in every situation. We advise a large dollop of common sense be applied in all cases, and that you exhibit a sensitivity to your customers, the parents of minor customers, and the community of which you're a part. Given these general issues, how can you keep the hidden cameras away?
First, we recommend developing a written policy for handling adult or mature merchandise in your store. Such a written policy can serve a number of purposes. First, putting it in writing can help you think through the issues involved in a systematic way. It may even lead you to change what products you carry or how you display and merchandise them. Second, a written policy is an invaluable training tool for your employees, since you will often not be the person interacting directly with the customer. And third, should the worst happen, a written policy is a sign to those outside the company that you've made a good faith effort to develop and enforce a consistent policy, which might ameliorate the negative effects of a slip-up. A written policy should address such issues as how to identify adult or mature merchandise, who such products can be sold to, when to ask for proof of age, how to regulate browsing, and so on.
Second, identification of adult or mature merchandise requires a substantial effort. Since there is no consistent labeling system for comics, graphic novels, or videos (unless they are of films that have been released theatrically), the storeowner has to deal with a dizzying array of different terms which are applied inconsistently by various manufacturers and publishers. It's probably safe to say that if something is labeled 'adults only,' it shouldn't be sold to minors, but that doesn't mean that all products not labeled 'adult' can be sold to teenagers. And there are probably some products in these categories that could be judged obscene for adult consumers in some communities as well. Once again, familiarity with your product line, your community, and your customers is critical -- you need all the information you can get just to have a chance at handling this issue correctly. Distributor and manufacturer catalogues, product packaging, and whatever product expertise you have yourself or can get from your clerks are all parts of gathering the information you need. A way of identifying adult or mature products to your clerks, whether through your POS system, physical location in the store (although that still has the risk that product can be moved by a customer), a paper list, your own labeling or other means is essential.
Third, train and enforce your written policy rigorously. Every employee that is involved in the handling of adult or mature merchandise should be trained in how to do so and should be given a copy of the written policy. The most important part of this process is how the owner and manager behave. Our management primer says that there are no small or unimportant actions by the boss. If a clerk or a customer sees you bending the rules, it creates an environment where the rules are meaningless. Once you've started down that slippery slope, you might as well throw your policies out the window. That means you have to be consistent in how you interact with customers yourself and in how you address the issues with employees. Treat violations of your policy by employees seriously -- they are jeopardizing your livelihood. If you are seen to be serious about the issue, it dramatically reduces the odds of problems in the future.
Last, remember that this is a permanent management issue that has to affect your actions every day. Your written policy should be an evolving document that's updated as new issues are identified and new nuances of the policy developed. It should also be referred to regularly to show employees that it's a document that they're expected to use and be familiar with. And as discussed above, your daily interactions with customers and with your employees all reinforce your policies.
