Perhaps so...but a customer-wise shopkeeper would have observed that we remained in the store, continuing to shop and came to the cash register to pay for our goods. At that point, any "fear of shoplifting" would have been allayed and she should have zipped it.
Instead, she loudly berated us, continued to run her mouth while holding her hand out for my money, ran it still (even louder) while placing said $$ in the cash register, and inexplicably, even continued her tirade as we exited the store.
There is no excuse that could possibly justify such behavior towards a customer. Coupled with the rather sullen attitude we encountered at the seafront bar (I personally don't appreciate either myself or my companions being asked "what do you need it for?" when requesting a key to the bathroom, when we are paying customers), we came away from Placencia Town with a very negative impression. We have since advised other cruising sailors to bypass Placencia Town when planning their trips along the Belize coast.
This experience was very un-typical of our travels in Belize, including everywhere we stopped when sailing from Ambergris Caye to the Rio Dulce.
Obviously, tourists can be assholes like anybody else, and if they behave like drunken idiots, are certainly entitled to be put in their place..but we were not doing anything like that. We were simply thirsty, hungry and looking for a place to spend our money.
AmbergrisCaye.com 
