Retail stores - customer assistance boxes

[cubn]

Found a trick if you really want to quickly know what frequency a store uses, you can push one of the help buttons and then see on Close Call what pops up on your radio.

I did that at the At Home store. I legitimately was wondering if they carried spray paint. I did get their frequency confirmed though. I kind of felt bad because all the radios throughout the store kept saying "customer needs help". I have no idea how they clear it out.

467.850 054 DPL At Home Store

 

[62Truck]

Found a trick if you really want to quickly know what frequency a store uses, you can push one of the help buttons and then see on Close Call what pops up on your radio.

I did that at the At Home store. I legitimately was wondering if they carried spray paint. I did get their frequency confirmed though. I kind of felt bad because all the radios throughout the store kept saying "customer needs help". I have no idea how they clear it out.

467.850 054 DPL At Home Store

When I used to work at target we had similar boxes. Depending on the box there was a reset button on the back or you long pressed the call button to clear it.

Another fun thing was the Target I worked at if you knew the extension (which could of been found in the cabinet where the price scanner was mounted too) you could dial into the store radios. In the IT room there was a Kenwood TK-862 that was hooked into the stores phone system.

 

[wtp]

the wife hates it when i listen to stores.
but liked it when a restaurant we were in had a small fire in the kitchen.
i only told her "if i just leave, follow me".
it did not get to that.

 

[cubn]

the wife hates it when i listen to stores.
but liked it when a restaurant we were in had a small fire in the kitchen.
i only told her "if i just leave, follow me".
it did not get to that.

My wife has no use for the scanner except for one time we went through the car wash and the employees were talking on the radio about the misunderstanding they had just had with my wife. Then my wife was glued to the radio to hear what they were talking about.🤣

 

[wtp]

cubn, i understand.

 

[afchev]

I've been meaning to do something like this. I carry a small little uniden with a stubby antenna and some headphones when I'm shopping to listen in to what the workers are saying.

 

[IC-R20]

That was how I discovered my local home depot when I first moved here 12 years ago. Those UHF call buttons were really strong and I could hear them at my house and most of town. Sadly they stopped using them around 2019.

The way I would get business frequencies was to use a bit of pretexting by asking employees stupid questions that I knew would trigger a transmission to a manager or other department. I would also act in a way that wouldn't alarm floor staff but was just enough to build up the paranoia all loss prevention staff bear within to cause them to radio floor walkers if there were any, they're easy to spot visually as well once you know what to look for so I would still make note if they used cellphones instead at that location and confirm there were no additional RF channels.

Nice to see other fellow business band monitors lurking here still. I got a 436HP for Christmas 2014 mainly for this kind of listening, being able to record internally along with metadata was a game changer. I would put it in an internal coat pocket and go for a walk inside a casino for a little bit to pick up their security channels when going to visit Vegas an hour away, I also bought one of those clear acoustic tube surveillance earpieces from scannermaster at the same time back then so I could also stealth listen at the same time if the occasions allowed.

 

[ecps92]

That was how I discovered my local home depot when I first moved here 12 years ago. Those UHF call buttons were really strong and I could hear them at my house and most of town. Sadly they stopped using them around 2019.

The way I would get business frequencies was to use a bit of pretexting by asking employees stupid questions that I knew would trigger a transmission to a manager or other department. I would also act in a way that wouldn't alarm floor staff but was just enough to build up the paranoia all loss prevention staff bear within to cause them to radio floor walkers if there were any, they're easy to spot visually as well once you know what to look for so I would still make note if they used cellphones instead at that location and confirm there were no additional RF channels.

Nice to see other fellow business band monitors lurking here still. I got a 436HP for Christmas 2014 mainly for this kind of listening, being able to record internally along with metadata was a game changer. I would put it in an internal coat pocket and go for a walk inside a casino for a little bit to pick up their security channels when going to visit Vegas an hour away, I also bought one of those clear acoustic tube surveillance earpieces from scannermaster at the same time back then so I could also stealth listen at the same time if the occasions allowed.

Yup, most (Not ALL) Orange and Blue Big Boxes have gone Wifi/Cellular, altho I do see the CART persons still carrying something, not the Phone/PDA Device

 

[ecps92]

Found a trick if you really want to quickly know what frequency a store uses, you can push one of the help buttons and then see on Close Call what pops up on your radio.

I did that at the At Home store. I legitimately was wondering if they carried spray paint. I did get their frequency confirmed though. I kind of felt bad because all the radios throughout the store kept saying "customer needs help". I have no idea how they clear it out.

467.850 054 DPL At Home Store

Home Depot	467.7625	D065	Ch.01 Primary
	467.8500	D331	Ch.02 Talk-Around
	467.8375	D263	Ch.03
	467.8750	D413	Ch.04 Delivery and Customer Service Voice Automation
	467.9000	D466	Ch.05 Managers

 

[IC-R20]

Yup, most (Not ALL) Orange and Blue Big Boxes have gone Wifi/Cellular, altho I do see the CART persons still carrying something, not the Phone/PDA Device

Yeah, on the plus side it clears more pirate radio room for me, even though I mostly use commercial LoBand but still. The non-phone/pda at walmart is probably Motorola DLR radios, 900 MHz FHSS. I've been seeing my local one and some nearby slowly transitioning over. Also "At Home" is a completely different chain from Home Depot.

I also notice a some public safety doing the same as well, using cellular/computer terminals most of the time with the two way only for more urgent things like chasing someone.

 

[IC-R20]

My local Ross store has a the circular counter for registers at the front door and also jewelry cabinets and only the managers can open it so there's a customer assistance box on the counter there that mostly the staff use when someone wants something from the cabinet.

I first started picking hearing it around late 2023 at my local store Anyone else ever pick up UHF help buttons at Ross Department store?

 

[rf_patriot200]

My wife has no use for the scanner except for one time we went through the car wash and the employees were talking on the radio about the misunderstanding they had just had with my wife. Then my wife was glued to the radio to hear what they were talking about.🤣

Similar moments with my wife like that, but mine was a flat out bully ! I had a" spirited" conversation with a mechanic who was doing service on my truck, and he wanted to argue with me and my wife threatened to break his nose if he didn't stop ! I had to send her to her car !! I couldn't take her Anywhere !

 

[rf_patriot200]

Yup, most (Not ALL) Orange and Blue Big Boxes have gone Wifi/Cellular, altho I do see the CART persons still carrying something, not the Phone/PDA Device

Some of the Cart machines have a wireless remote on Uhf , so the employee can guide a long line of Carts. IF you transmit on the Same frequency with a mobile radio, you can make his machine take off by itself !! ... Not that I would do this lol!

 

[rf_patriot200]

I've been meaning to do something like this. I carry a small little uniden with a stubby antenna and some headphones when I'm shopping to listen in to what the workers are saying.

I bring a talkie with me at Hellmart all the time, for entertainment.

 

[rf_patriot200]

Meier stores I've been to, don't use radios per se, but instead use in-store network phones which can answer outside lines, or page other phones in the store, but they lose service beyond the parking lot.