Ross Dress for Less — Local services in Santa Cruz

Look, I came here to find some discounted khakis and ended up feeling like I'd wandered into a covert military operation. Except the "commander" is a loss prevention guy who apparently received his tactical training from a YouTube video titled "How to Stand Everywhere EXCEPT Correctly."

This man—let's call him the General—marches around this store like he's patrolling the DMZ, except his posture is so hunched he looks like he's perpetually reaching for something on the ground. The irony is chef's kiss. He's got more gadgets strapped to him than a Swiss Army knife convention: a taser, multiple radios, earpieces, and a bodycam 📹. Sir, these are $12 graphic tees, not the Crown Jewels.

I watched him trail behind an elderly couple who were just trying to buy socks. SOCKS. The threat level? Absolutely critical, apparently.

But here's where it gets entertaining—when he's not role-playing as a soldier on a secret mission, he's at the door inspecting receipts like he's analyzing the Dead Sea Scrolls. Every. Single. Item. Gets examined. I clocked 30 seconds on a receipt for a few pair of jeans and t-shirts once. That's commitment I respect, but at what cost to my will to live?

The real comedy show is watching him walk. I genuinely come back sometimes just for the entertainment value. It's free theater, and honestly, more engaging than anything in the clearance bin.

HIGHLY...

I see a lot of comments about the security at this place. In my experience they are actually really nice and respectful, saying hello with a big smile and even asking how my day was going. It’s a rough area so I understand it can be tough being security there. The one at the door was a young ginger guy who was very smiley and the guy walking around was also very respectful to me and friendly when I asked how his day was going. Decent selection of clothes and no bathroom in the establishment but like I said rough area. I’d...

Nice selection of items. Although, my wife and I were being followed throughout most of our visit. It made us feel really uncomfortable with the secret shoppers/Asset Protection following us around. They made it pretty obvious since they saw us stare back, and then they looked at a random item for about 1 second before leaving. Happened multiple times! We get its not in a decent area of town, but not everyone is out here...