One of my frequent topics over the years has been the amateur security efforts that many antiques co-ops employ. As a father of two daughters who would go antiquing with me as children, I always found it irritating to have the mall staff following us as we went through. With the kids now grown, I thought I had reached a point where that was done, until last week. I had some extra time on my hands during the week and decided to stop at a local antiques mall located not far from my home. I had been in there about a month before and purchased a number of things with my family (requiring several boxes and bags). I figured I would do a quick sweep of the mall to see if anything was new and be on my way. I waved as I entered and then began my sweep, working from the right side of the mall to the left. About halfway through, I realized I was being followed. It was almost comical at first, but then as I was down the aisle of locked showcases, I heard the unmistakable sound of a camera phone taking a picture. Looking up into the mirrored back of the case in front of me, I saw my picture was being taken by one of the shop employees. I should have accosted him, but I just walked out the door. Mall security has always been a challenge. I recall when my mother and I were in malls in Carlisle and Hershey back in the 1980s, and we saw a certain number of things that got shoplifted. The malls then, like today, generally do not employ paid and highly trained staff. Instead, many of the people working at the mall are booth dealers who are performing sweat equity rather than paying all or part of their booth rent. Its a common and known practice. What it also means is that many of these folks have little to no understanding of security practice. They are aware of the issues with theft, but their solution is to pretend to be security and follow shoppers. What they often dont realize is that their assumptions of guilty parties, families with children or prior cash paying customers are not always accurate. In fact, I would venture to say that the real targets are those individuals who carefully stalk and plan their thefts. I have wanted to go back to the co-op and ask them what they planned to do with my picture and how they thought this would help them solve their problems. Cameras, booths with a good line of sight, and staff who are trained are going to dissuade more shoplifters than well-intentioned amateurs. So what is the moral of the story? The mall has lost a good customer. I am sure they would argue that their security is worth more than a customer. But this kind of behavior turns off a lot of people, especially in an America where we are all sensitized to the behaviors of others. Training is critical in every industry, including customer service in antiques malls. Perhaps its time that some of these malls learned that lesson. Born to collect should be the motto of Peter Seiberts family. Raised in Central Pennsylvania, Seibert has been collecting and writing about antiques for more than three decades. By day, he is a museum director and has worked in Pennsylvania, Wyoming, Virginia and New Mexico. In addition, he advises and consults with auction houses throughout the Mid-Atlantic region, particularly about American furniture and decorative arts. Seiberts writings include books on photography, American fraternal societies and paintings. He and his family are restoring a 1905 arts and crafts house filled with years worth antique treasures found in shops, co-ops and at auctions.