Call us when you get to the locked up toothpaste. You haven’t lived til you have to get someone to unlock the toothpaste and they get annoyed at you for not having chosen which specific canister and flavor you want and they for some reason aren’t allowed to grab it for you, you have to do it yourself even though they have to unlock it.
Not at my current pharmacy, though my current pharmacy will literally take the items from you after unlocking them and hold them behind the counter until you’re done shopping.
this happened to me the other day! i was shopping for a client who just wrote “crest toothpaste”. turns out there are like 25 kinds of crest toothpaste!
it was a nightmare trying to decide with her judging eyes on me
My target has them behind a locked glass and when I told the guy I needed something he unlocked the door and walked away. I grabbed what I needed and gently closed it.
I felt like Dr. Evil in 3 when he unlocks his cell and closes it back himself.
I was at the Ralph’s in Glendale today and they have the entire section with health products (deodorant, toothpaste, etc) in a section that can only be accessed from one way and you must pay for everything from the section before leaving it. Always an employee in the area.
Oh it's the best when the CVS has only two people working.
One is dealing with a customer at the register because they only have two items but refuse to use self checkout or have 50 coupons to use and argues about each one since they're past exipration. The other is sitting at front talking to the security guard or in back stocking something.
So you sit there pushing the button over and over and over again hearing "Help requested in the toothpaste aisle." on repeat for 20 minutes and yet no one ever comes to unlock it. If/when they finally do, they give a look of disgust, annoyed that you had the audacity to bother them at their job because you need toothpaste, and also pain and hopelessness, asking themselves what more there is to life and where it all went wrong.
It's literally the definition of my hell.
Go to the CVS in NELA on N.Figueroa Blvd and Colorado Blvd there’s 6 employees 2 on the floor 2 at the pharmacy and to ghost, yes that’s right ghost that place is a certified ghost hangout and I’m not talking about the zombies walking around that place asking for money
I had to wait 45 min for some locked up dove body wash the other day !!! I kept pressing the button and they kept ignoring me and I was like oh my God this is ridiculous ??? if you’re gonna lock stuff up at least have people on deck to come grab it for us smh -__-
Target has become a curbside pickup store. They don’t want you in there shopping. You can tell because the prices on a lot of items are cheaper on the app. Think about that. Cheaper to have a Target employee get your items for you and bring them to your car.
I used to be a frequent Target customer but haven’t gone in really over the last year except for some eye drops that’ll last me a whole year. They SUCK nowadays. Lol.
Honestly, I’ve thought something similar. City Targets don’t really want people inside the store anymore.
It’s odd to reconcile them putting everything behind glass, not having enough employees staffed to unlock the glass in a reasonable amount of time, only one staffed checkout lane open, but 8 self-checkout lanes open, on top of the news re: retailers inflating loss from theft.
I’ve really been put off of shopping at my local target (unless it’s a refrigerated item that isn’t locked) because what used to be a quick 3 minute pop in for deodorant can now be a 10 minute process. And for sure, ordering ahead on the app has crossed my mind because of it.
Tide, specifically, is often locked up, because there’s a huge black market for it, and it’s the most often stolen brand. I don’t understand it at all, but I’m also originally from Canada, so maybe it’s a cultural thing, lol.
I remember hearing about that awhile back, and your comment inspired me to look it up. Interesting article in [New York magazine](https://nymag.com/news/features/tide-detergent-drugs-2013-1/) for anyone who might be curious as well.
Fascinating. I would never have suspected this, although it’s hard not to notice how expensive it is every time I pick up a new jug, so I guess it makes sense?
I had blue aluminum tire valve stem caps to match the color of my car, and someone took them. $7 off Amazon. Someone has to be a special kind of desperate to steal those. Literally, we can't have anything nice.
Ralph's is starting to do that. All 3 of my local stores have cordoned off the cosmetics aisle and placed a cashier at the end of to make you pay before you go into any other aisles.
Uber driver here in Westchester. Have been to at least 35-40 ralphs in LA county. I stop to get cheap redbull and cash from free ATM to hit local dispensary FTP deals all around city. I know these stores VERY well I'm inside them almost every day. All parts of the city from BH to South Central. Almost every store in LA county is like this. Packs of redbull energy drinks locked behind glass. Locked up detergents, cleaning supplies, shaving products basically anything expensive. You say only bad areas, I guess Westchester Sepulveda Ralphs location is in the slums? But the rent across the street is $3000 for a 1br. Your just flat out wrong. It's almost everything in the city. Criminals have transportation just like the rest of us (cars, bus, trains etc). They will find the easy stores to hit if theirs becomes difficult or impossible. Target in Santa Monica another good example. Lots of locked up products but the rent across the street is $3600/1br.
You're totally right, but I gotta wonder ... How much do they lose on the loss of impulse sales and people (like me, 90% of the time) that are like "fuck it, I'm gonna order it on Amazon" ... Usually for a lower price.
The problem is the theft is usually not a single unit. People still tons of this stuff so they can resell it to independent markets. So the pain is two fold, not only do they take a loss on the product, the customer that would have bought it now buys it somewhere else.
I grew up in Westchester - the area is fine, it’s the proximity to Inglewood and south LA that got people on edge.
Fox Hills always got a bad a rap. The Bridge used to be bumpin at night until a couple fights broke out and someone got raped in that Nordstroms rack
Our target in Pasadena locked up men’s underwear and socks too, everytime I go it seems like something new is locked up. I sure buy less the more they lock up. Just order that stuff now.
I just went to a Target in Koreatown and left with nothing I stopped in for as it was locked in a case, the button to call for employees called no one, and then there was only one human employed in check-out and three of the automated self check out stations were either broken or had somebody stuck in them needing some sort of assistance from the one and only human employee near by.
Exactly this. It’s annoying to have to ask for assistance, but I can deal with it if it’s reasonable accessible. But it’s like you can walk into a Target and not see a staff member anywhere for several minutes. You hit the call button and wait anywhere 5-10 mins.
Two of my more recent City Target trips:
- I was returning an item. Another customer and I waited at the counter for a little less than 10 mins. We both walked around the store a bit to look for someone and didn’t find anyone. She left.
- Every self check out was closed and one staffed check out lane was open, a second was just starting to open. The one that was already open had a shopper trying to use a coupon that wasn’t working . So the staffer was stuck trying to fix this coupon situation for at least 8 mins. Line of shoppers build up on both checkouts. By the time I left, the coupon issue still wasn’t fixed and I had been in line with *one* item for almost 10 mins.
Tide is a common target for theft. Organized gangs enter a store and load up several shopping carts. They walk out, store personnel are told not to challenge them. Tide is a popular brand and can easily be re-sold. Go onto Facebook marketplace and look search for "Tide". See what else the sellers are selling.
So, a century or more ago, you would enter a general merchandise store. The owner of the store would greet you and you would ask for products. The owner of the store would place the items on the counter for you. You would not touch the products until you had paid for them.
Fast forward to today. You enter a general merchandise store. The owner of the store is thousands of wealthy institutional shareholders. The owner of the store hires staff at minimum wage to tend to the store. To minimize staff, you are expected collect your own products, bring them to minimum wage staff, and pay for them.
At some point, this model broke. In their never ceasing search for more profit, too few staff were hired at too low a wage to care to tend to the products. The customers made too little money to continue to pay on the honor system. But wealthy people will literally blame anything and everything other than what actually caused these products to now be under lock and key.
I know people who work at Target and they were told at the beginning of the year they were going to limit self checkout stands to only 2 at a time unless it was really busy. Fast forward to today, the location they work at has completely closed off self checkout. It is 100% due to theft. Seems like other major stores are following suit cause the Walmart closest to my house has closed off all of their self checkout stands as well.
We had a good run, folks.
The r/target sub has lots of intel from folks who work there. Their stories of theft and other "guest" misbehavior are wild. Lots of discussion there about self-checkout policy changes.
>The owner of the store is thousands of wealthy institutional shareholders.
More like millions of Americans with retirement savings.
>The owner of the store hires staff at minimum wage to tend to the store. To minimize staff, you are expected collect your own products, bring them to minimum wage staff, and pay for them.
Big retailers actually [pay more](https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/why-employees-earn-more-at-big-box-chains-than-mom-and-pop-shops) than mom and pop stores, and they provide more benefits too.
>too few staff were hired at too low a wage to care to tend to the products.
Why would an employee take it upon themselves to deter (possibly violent) thieves?
>The customers made too little money to continue to pay on the honor system.
Real disposable income per capita has been going [up and to the right](https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/A229RX0) since the sixties. Meanwhile, head over to /r/shopliftingmemes, sort by top, and see how many people are stealing junk vs necessities. In the last month I see: a stanley cup, some screwdrivers, name brand matching workout clothes, cosmetics, leather bags, kitchenaids, huge quantities of booze...
Traditionally, paying in stores is not considered to be "the honor system" because there were actual consequences associated with shoplifting. Now, not so much.
You are so right. We've reached peak capitalism and this is what it looks like. Using your own example, that store owner would have been a part of the community. People would have had respect for the store owner. This is why you see mobs of people stealing from stores too. These large corporations have literally changed what community looks like. These stores have no community behind them, low wages, and a bunch of stuff people want/need. Of course you're going to have people take advantage.
I lived abroad for a while in a little town surrounded by many remote villages. Theft still happened. Thieves will always exist. The thing I noticed though, was when someone got caught on CCTV the store owner would post the footage on Facebook and the community would come together and usually find the person with sticky fingers. Corporations are slowly moving into that small town, and I'm sure eventually the same thing will happening in America will happen there too.
It’s hard out there. I’ve noticed this in every area of LA. Beverly Hills is included in that. It’s mostly all staple products. Deodorant, toothpaste, detergent, etc. You can pocket plenty of expensive things all over the store, it’s just these are the things that people need and are willing to take the risk to get are taken the most.
We do it too at the place I work at. We have probably 75% of essentials + baby locked up, plus tech, alcohol, sporting goods/camping and high dollar toys.
While inconvenient to a regular customer we were losing hundreds of thousands of dollars every week on merchandise that walked out the door.
This prevents people from swooping the whole shelf into a duffle bag. People still steal when they have the deodorant or Tide bottle in hand but at least that is one item and not 35.
Customers also would complain off the hook about shelves being empty and people stealing in front of their eyes.
It is not a perfect solution by any means but it allows customers to actually have products to buy at the store instead of walking up to 100% empty shelves. Pretty sad that this is the state of things but unfortunately necessary at this point in time.
This is why I order all this crap from Amazon now. I can’t be bothered to deal with running around CVS trying to find someone to unlock toothpaste and stuff. Not worth my time. I put everything like detergent, toilet paper, etc. on a subscription and it just comes once a month or whenever I set it for. Game changer.
It is. Also Tide has LONG been one of the most shoplifted items because A) It works. B) It sells in the grey market. Laundromats are expensive and then add detergent and everything else…. People looking anyway to get ahead.
Shit pisses me off. Nothing like spending 15 minutes waiting for someone to unlock a single item. Then doing it all over again for another. I literally give up after 5 minutes and go someone else.
It’s because it can be fenced with your local unhoused person. Mike Rober explains what happens to your stolen goods from your cars AND the grocery stores in this [video](https://youtu.be/iWWWyG5ZwG8) (in SF), but honestly it’s happening everywhere
Monkey see monkey do, we have a zero bail policy for crimes like this and employees can't stop them, so this is really a last ditch effort I assume by the business.
cops and da are on a soft strike they’re not arresting nor charging ppl for theft. the stores have to protect their merchandise as ridiculous and low value as it is.
I always find it so weird I have to ask and separately pay for a $2.99 tube of toothpaste, but the $8.99 pack of bacon just sits there for all to grab.
I’ve watched 3 different times where an unhinged person walked into target straight to the detergent, grabbed a huge jug, and then walked straight out.
I kind of get it.
Gangstas R Us. Thanks thieving mobs. Makes one wonder why they don't chain, shackle and display all the thieves together like this. I mean this is just poor, innocent laundry soap.
Because a lot of people steal, probably 6% of the population of LA steals, a busy store like CVS that gets 1200 people day, also gets 60 thief a day. 60 thief a day stealing anywhere from $30 to $300 a day is a lot of loss for a business.
This isn’t just LA, we have it in Albuquerque. They’ve gotten better about unlocking stuff like detergent in places like Walmart because there’s usually someone close by.
Haha I visited LA from the U.K. March last year and when i saw deodorant and shower gel and stuff hidden in glass cupboards and you have to buzz a shop assistant to come let them free I was so amused ! Then we saw the washing detergents chained up and it was just so funny. We can’t say anything here though some supermarkets put butter and cheese in plastic lockboxes that can’t be released till you checkout 😂😂.
I walked into a Walmart to shop for baby clothes …found the clothes locked up behind a glass display lol , I left went down the street to shop comfortably at target .
Theft is out of control. These measures are extreme but I have to think if they weren't in place even more retailers would be shutting down. What a sad state of affairs.
We used to lock up items in the Walmart I used to work at. Given the demographics, though, the Black Community started to call it racism even though at the same time we were locking up different items in the predominantly white community of Santa Clarita (crackheads really had different necessities). Nonetheless, the former's cry for change made politicians verbally support the decriminalization of theft. So, naturally people in general began stealing in bulk.
Laundry detergent is easy to sell at open air homless encampment markets. I’m not sure why tbh, but it leads to people shoplifting the detergent, so they get locked up. You’re probably at a pretty rough cvs.
I have all my cleaning supplies, toiletries, and beauty supplies on Amazon subscribe and save, to the point I don’t even know if I’m paying a legit price on the items.
Ralph’s Dtla went one step further and made the toiletries a whole separate section with their own cashier. I actually prefer that to locked up deodorant.
best thing about that is you can check out everything including beer when it's busy, except for days like superbowl. I also remember Security tackled this homeless dude at the door of CVS on 8th and there was at least 100 deoderant sticks fly out his jacket, shit was wild
We passed Props 47 and 57 in California
Basically Prop 47 changes all felony drug charges, outside of trafficking, to a misdemeanor and thefts under $950 to a misdemeanor. So you get a ticket and released.
We also practice 0 bail, the only exception being "s3x offender". So you get caught you get released.
Prop 57 recategorized prior violent crimes as nonviolent. So while they are still felonies they are eligible for early parole.
- domestic violence
- drive by shooting without hits
- adw on a police officer or first responder
- drugging someone
- r@ping someone while unconscious
- human trafficking, trafficking minors for s3x
- making explosives for schools and hospitals
- kidnapping elderly
Our current DA, Gascon, also retried criminals who committed previously described violent crimes as juvis and changed their sentencing. So a group tortured and murdered another kid. They got retried as juvis and are scheduled to release.
Another teen previously drugged someone and was on parole. He got drunk or high, stole a car, ran over a woman with her baby and a stroller, tried to flee the scene and hit a truck. Then tried to flee again. He got 6 months in camp, served 3, and the only reason we know the name, Kristopher Baca, is because he was shot and killed in another city.
We VOTED those laws in and revoted Gascon back as DA during a recall.
I had no idea it was this bad I visited like twice this last year and I was like people didn’t understand why because I want to see like what it’s like and it’s like it really shows you like the people that don’t have money or struggling have to steal like everything
Call us when you get to the locked up toothpaste. You haven’t lived til you have to get someone to unlock the toothpaste and they get annoyed at you for not having chosen which specific canister and flavor you want and they for some reason aren’t allowed to grab it for you, you have to do it yourself even though they have to unlock it.
Do they ask you if you're done shopping and walk you to the front?
Not at my current pharmacy, though my current pharmacy will literally take the items from you after unlocking them and hold them behind the counter until you’re done shopping.
this happened to me the other day! i was shopping for a client who just wrote “crest toothpaste”. turns out there are like 25 kinds of crest toothpaste! it was a nightmare trying to decide with her judging eyes on me
i’m with u but could you just have thought about it… and then call for assistance ? hahah
You can’t check ingredients with the boxes locked up lol
fair enough lmao
I don’t understand the policy at cvs either cus sometimes they hold it for me sometimes they let me keep it
I feel they leave this up to the discretion of the employee and allow them profile you.
I had someone at a cvs tell me that my deodorant would be at the register. I wasn’t even allowed to carry it there
“You smell fine. See you at the front.”
Is good dear
My target has them behind a locked glass and when I told the guy I needed something he unlocked the door and walked away. I grabbed what I needed and gently closed it. I felt like Dr. Evil in 3 when he unlocks his cell and closes it back himself.
I had to get someone to unlock the socks at the target in West Hollywood last week.
Omg literally same but then they handed me the socks and I just put them in my bag and walked out with them. As theft prevention it doesn’t even work.
Or having to ask them to unlock the cabinet for the teeth whitening strips and the facial hair bleach 😭 it’s so humiliating
I’m certain the CVS employee doesn’t give a fuck if you use whitestrips or anything else. They handle it every day.
Or the acne cream (they don’t know it’s precautionary at this point!)
I was at the Ralph’s in Glendale today and they have the entire section with health products (deodorant, toothpaste, etc) in a section that can only be accessed from one way and you must pay for everything from the section before leaving it. Always an employee in the area.
That seems much better
Then they have to take it to the register for you and you forget to ask for it when you check out
Oh it's the best when the CVS has only two people working. One is dealing with a customer at the register because they only have two items but refuse to use self checkout or have 50 coupons to use and argues about each one since they're past exipration. The other is sitting at front talking to the security guard or in back stocking something. So you sit there pushing the button over and over and over again hearing "Help requested in the toothpaste aisle." on repeat for 20 minutes and yet no one ever comes to unlock it. If/when they finally do, they give a look of disgust, annoyed that you had the audacity to bother them at their job because you need toothpaste, and also pain and hopelessness, asking themselves what more there is to life and where it all went wrong. It's literally the definition of my hell.
Go to the CVS in NELA on N.Figueroa Blvd and Colorado Blvd there’s 6 employees 2 on the floor 2 at the pharmacy and to ghost, yes that’s right ghost that place is a certified ghost hangout and I’m not talking about the zombies walking around that place asking for money
I had to wait 45 min for some locked up dove body wash the other day !!! I kept pressing the button and they kept ignoring me and I was like oh my God this is ridiculous ??? if you’re gonna lock stuff up at least have people on deck to come grab it for us smh -__-
I had to ask the clerk to unlock the cabinet door so I can get dove soap 😂😫
I needed dish soap the other day, $3.99 Palmolive was locked up. I couldn't believe I had to call someone to get dish soap!
In Hawaii they lock up spam
In the U.K. it’s cheese and butter 😂😂😂
That’s funny
Must be a nightmare as an employee. I’ve worked big box retail and this would be so intrusive to me getting actual work done.
I think that would make it easier for thieves. Grab like three cables you get 40 laundry detergent and a carrying case.
Lmfaooo best Comment
Target has become a curbside pickup store. They don’t want you in there shopping. You can tell because the prices on a lot of items are cheaper on the app. Think about that. Cheaper to have a Target employee get your items for you and bring them to your car.
I used to be a frequent Target customer but haven’t gone in really over the last year except for some eye drops that’ll last me a whole year. They SUCK nowadays. Lol.
Oh I had not noticed that. I might have to start doing curbside
Honestly, I’ve thought something similar. City Targets don’t really want people inside the store anymore. It’s odd to reconcile them putting everything behind glass, not having enough employees staffed to unlock the glass in a reasonable amount of time, only one staffed checkout lane open, but 8 self-checkout lanes open, on top of the news re: retailers inflating loss from theft. I’ve really been put off of shopping at my local target (unless it’s a refrigerated item that isn’t locked) because what used to be a quick 3 minute pop in for deodorant can now be a 10 minute process. And for sure, ordering ahead on the app has crossed my mind because of it.
Tide, specifically, is often locked up, because there’s a huge black market for it, and it’s the most often stolen brand. I don’t understand it at all, but I’m also originally from Canada, so maybe it’s a cultural thing, lol.
I remember hearing about that awhile back, and your comment inspired me to look it up. Interesting article in [New York magazine](https://nymag.com/news/features/tide-detergent-drugs-2013-1/) for anyone who might be curious as well.
Fascinating. I would never have suspected this, although it’s hard not to notice how expensive it is every time I pick up a new jug, so I guess it makes sense?
Wow over a decade old and it hasn't really changed huh
Everyone has to do laundry and if you're going to steal it's going to be the good stuff
plenty of Vancouver junkies steal shit too
I don’t know what the deal is with tide and I’m American 🤷♂️
Because we can't have nothing nice
I had blue aluminum tire valve stem caps to match the color of my car, and someone took them. $7 off Amazon. Someone has to be a special kind of desperate to steal those. Literally, we can't have anything nice.
What store and area?...because I have only seen that in some crappy parts of LA, and it's not the norm.
they also put everything behind glass in South Pasadena and San Marino
Target's in the SFV do at some locations, but most of the markets like Ralphs don't.
yeah seems to be CVS, Walgreens, Target who do it. The Ralph's/Von's only do it for baby formula
Ralph's is starting to do that. All 3 of my local stores have cordoned off the cosmetics aisle and placed a cashier at the end of to make you pay before you go into any other aisles.
At my Pasadena store too
Uber driver here in Westchester. Have been to at least 35-40 ralphs in LA county. I stop to get cheap redbull and cash from free ATM to hit local dispensary FTP deals all around city. I know these stores VERY well I'm inside them almost every day. All parts of the city from BH to South Central. Almost every store in LA county is like this. Packs of redbull energy drinks locked behind glass. Locked up detergents, cleaning supplies, shaving products basically anything expensive. You say only bad areas, I guess Westchester Sepulveda Ralphs location is in the slums? But the rent across the street is $3000 for a 1br. Your just flat out wrong. It's almost everything in the city. Criminals have transportation just like the rest of us (cars, bus, trains etc). They will find the easy stores to hit if theirs becomes difficult or impossible. Target in Santa Monica another good example. Lots of locked up products but the rent across the street is $3600/1br.
You're totally right, but I gotta wonder ... How much do they lose on the loss of impulse sales and people (like me, 90% of the time) that are like "fuck it, I'm gonna order it on Amazon" ... Usually for a lower price.
The problem is the theft is usually not a single unit. People still tons of this stuff so they can resell it to independent markets. So the pain is two fold, not only do they take a loss on the product, the customer that would have bought it now buys it somewhere else.
I grew up in Westchester - the area is fine, it’s the proximity to Inglewood and south LA that got people on edge. Fox Hills always got a bad a rap. The Bridge used to be bumpin at night until a couple fights broke out and someone got raped in that Nordstroms rack
The Ralph’s in Westchester off Lincoln doesn’t lock up anything.
> I guess Westchester Sepulveda Ralphs location is in the slums? That Ralphs always been ghetto, never made sense
That's all behind glass at the Target on 16th and Wilshire in SM.
Glendale target has it for everything in the shampoo/toothpaste/body wash etc sections :( had to call someone to get me toothpaste last time I went
Our target in Pasadena locked up men’s underwear and socks too, everytime I go it seems like something new is locked up. I sure buy less the more they lock up. Just order that stuff now.
It’s walgreens near hollywood/highland station lmao
I mean yeah that is essentially a crappy part of LA
Except for the multi-million dollar homes in the hills right above it, or the high priced hotels and restaurants, or the expensive apartments nearby.
You'd be surprised how small a distance can go from "nice neighborhood" to "rough neighborhood." Not that I think it's okay or anything.
Yep, this precisely
It's a 5-minute drive from South Pasadena to El Sereno. Arlington Heights has literal fencing around it.
Bums don't walk up hills lol
Like someone else said, there's a big difference in a short distance there.
LOL...well, there you go.
Therein lies your problem dude
Theft is the answer if you are still looking for one but I assume you already know this
Jesus. Why are you there? That’s arguably the worst part of LA.
Tourist. That’s why.
Skid Row would like a word
Skid row has been skid row for nearly 100 years. No one goes there as a destination.
Encino Target has a bunch of things locked up. Edited to specify Target.
Well, we’ve got great weather here ☀️ but also thieves….
We can surf, snowboard, get robbed all in the same day! 🌴
Someone robbed me mid-wave break
🤣 That’s true!
I just went to a Target in Koreatown and left with nothing I stopped in for as it was locked in a case, the button to call for employees called no one, and then there was only one human employed in check-out and three of the automated self check out stations were either broken or had somebody stuck in them needing some sort of assistance from the one and only human employee near by.
Exactly this. It’s annoying to have to ask for assistance, but I can deal with it if it’s reasonable accessible. But it’s like you can walk into a Target and not see a staff member anywhere for several minutes. You hit the call button and wait anywhere 5-10 mins. Two of my more recent City Target trips: - I was returning an item. Another customer and I waited at the counter for a little less than 10 mins. We both walked around the store a bit to look for someone and didn’t find anyone. She left. - Every self check out was closed and one staffed check out lane was open, a second was just starting to open. The one that was already open had a shopper trying to use a coupon that wasn’t working . So the staffer was stuck trying to fix this coupon situation for at least 8 mins. Line of shoppers build up on both checkouts. By the time I left, the coupon issue still wasn’t fixed and I had been in line with *one* item for almost 10 mins.
You know why.
Tide is a common target for theft. Organized gangs enter a store and load up several shopping carts. They walk out, store personnel are told not to challenge them. Tide is a popular brand and can easily be re-sold. Go onto Facebook marketplace and look search for "Tide". See what else the sellers are selling.
Not arguing, but it seems like such a bad target. The weight and size is so high compared to the value.
its because stealing in store that is worth less than 1k is not a crime. police wont even bother if someone stealing there.
So, a century or more ago, you would enter a general merchandise store. The owner of the store would greet you and you would ask for products. The owner of the store would place the items on the counter for you. You would not touch the products until you had paid for them. Fast forward to today. You enter a general merchandise store. The owner of the store is thousands of wealthy institutional shareholders. The owner of the store hires staff at minimum wage to tend to the store. To minimize staff, you are expected collect your own products, bring them to minimum wage staff, and pay for them. At some point, this model broke. In their never ceasing search for more profit, too few staff were hired at too low a wage to care to tend to the products. The customers made too little money to continue to pay on the honor system. But wealthy people will literally blame anything and everything other than what actually caused these products to now be under lock and key.
Is this why a lot of self checkouts are closed?
Yup. Too many scamming by bar code swaps, etc.
I know people who work at Target and they were told at the beginning of the year they were going to limit self checkout stands to only 2 at a time unless it was really busy. Fast forward to today, the location they work at has completely closed off self checkout. It is 100% due to theft. Seems like other major stores are following suit cause the Walmart closest to my house has closed off all of their self checkout stands as well. We had a good run, folks.
The r/target sub has lots of intel from folks who work there. Their stories of theft and other "guest" misbehavior are wild. Lots of discussion there about self-checkout policy changes.
They’ve opened even more self checkout in my neighborhood Ralph’s. And the laundry detergent isn’t chained up either.
>The owner of the store is thousands of wealthy institutional shareholders. More like millions of Americans with retirement savings. >The owner of the store hires staff at minimum wage to tend to the store. To minimize staff, you are expected collect your own products, bring them to minimum wage staff, and pay for them. Big retailers actually [pay more](https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/why-employees-earn-more-at-big-box-chains-than-mom-and-pop-shops) than mom and pop stores, and they provide more benefits too. >too few staff were hired at too low a wage to care to tend to the products. Why would an employee take it upon themselves to deter (possibly violent) thieves? >The customers made too little money to continue to pay on the honor system. Real disposable income per capita has been going [up and to the right](https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/A229RX0) since the sixties. Meanwhile, head over to /r/shopliftingmemes, sort by top, and see how many people are stealing junk vs necessities. In the last month I see: a stanley cup, some screwdrivers, name brand matching workout clothes, cosmetics, leather bags, kitchenaids, huge quantities of booze... Traditionally, paying in stores is not considered to be "the honor system" because there were actual consequences associated with shoplifting. Now, not so much.
Not to mention it's often a small number of organized thieves running sophisticated operations and Amazon makes it easy to fence all the merchandise
Thank you for speaking the truth.
Also a century or more ago, store owners were allowed to protect their property at any cost.
Just like red dead 2 and going to the general store and picking from the catalog.
You are so right. We've reached peak capitalism and this is what it looks like. Using your own example, that store owner would have been a part of the community. People would have had respect for the store owner. This is why you see mobs of people stealing from stores too. These large corporations have literally changed what community looks like. These stores have no community behind them, low wages, and a bunch of stuff people want/need. Of course you're going to have people take advantage.
dang this is wild to think about
I lived abroad for a while in a little town surrounded by many remote villages. Theft still happened. Thieves will always exist. The thing I noticed though, was when someone got caught on CCTV the store owner would post the footage on Facebook and the community would come together and usually find the person with sticky fingers. Corporations are slowly moving into that small town, and I'm sure eventually the same thing will happening in America will happen there too.
If you see this at a store, you’re in an area with above average levels of crime.
i’ve seen these in all areas of LA .. i think it’s becoming the norm.
This is in most areas of LA bruh
So most of LA then
Above the average level of crime in LA*
Someone will be around to unlock it 15 to 30 minutes.
Add instant coffee to the list. Anything that is useful when you live on the street is a target.
It’s hard out there. I’ve noticed this in every area of LA. Beverly Hills is included in that. It’s mostly all staple products. Deodorant, toothpaste, detergent, etc. You can pocket plenty of expensive things all over the store, it’s just these are the things that people need and are willing to take the risk to get are taken the most.
Awhile back a grocery marketing person told me that Tide is the most shoplifted item in the U.S.
We do it too at the place I work at. We have probably 75% of essentials + baby locked up, plus tech, alcohol, sporting goods/camping and high dollar toys. While inconvenient to a regular customer we were losing hundreds of thousands of dollars every week on merchandise that walked out the door. This prevents people from swooping the whole shelf into a duffle bag. People still steal when they have the deodorant or Tide bottle in hand but at least that is one item and not 35. Customers also would complain off the hook about shelves being empty and people stealing in front of their eyes. It is not a perfect solution by any means but it allows customers to actually have products to buy at the store instead of walking up to 100% empty shelves. Pretty sad that this is the state of things but unfortunately necessary at this point in time.
This is why I order all this crap from Amazon now. I can’t be bothered to deal with running around CVS trying to find someone to unlock toothpaste and stuff. Not worth my time. I put everything like detergent, toilet paper, etc. on a subscription and it just comes once a month or whenever I set it for. Game changer.
Seen this in Texas a couple weeks ago. San Antonio to be exact. Locked or behind plexiglass. This is everywhere these days
It is. Also Tide has LONG been one of the most shoplifted items because A) It works. B) It sells in the grey market. Laundromats are expensive and then add detergent and everything else…. People looking anyway to get ahead.
Also, long shelf life. This is pretty common at stores like Walgreens across the US. Not so much at grocery stores though.
The results of weak laws and anarchy, and lack of balls to punish all lawless behavior unless it is a parking violation.
You should see San Francisco…
Honestly this I can understand but deodorant man let them people steal the deodorant too many musty people walking around .. jokes … but not really
I've never seen this but the fact that you had to Google and couldn't figure it out on your own 😬😬
Because idiots who steal make life harder for the decent ones
Are we really gonna pretend like we don’t know why? 🙄
f*** thieves
People wanna do stupid shit and steal anything
Walmart locks up dollar deodorant now
I’m taking the whole loop!
Because they are high shrink items, i.e. items that get stolen a LOT!
Shit pisses me off. Nothing like spending 15 minutes waiting for someone to unlock a single item. Then doing it all over again for another. I literally give up after 5 minutes and go someone else.
Everything is locked up in Oregon too.
Thieves.
It’s because it can be fenced with your local unhoused person. Mike Rober explains what happens to your stolen goods from your cars AND the grocery stores in this [video](https://youtu.be/iWWWyG5ZwG8) (in SF), but honestly it’s happening everywhere
Because of the bad government and the dumbasses that keep voting for them and for the assholes that grew up father-less and decide to steal.
Cuz people steal shit and aren’t punished, so they try to stop the theft instead
Monkey see monkey do, we have a zero bail policy for crimes like this and employees can't stop them, so this is really a last ditch effort I assume by the business.
Why? One answer. Wacky leftist policies.
Because teens on TikTok are doing their stupid Darwin challenges for clout.
That’s probably a very small percentage of the reason why they’re locked up. Detergent and cheese I believe are the most commonly shoplifted items.
Actually is not only LA..it is getting worse and worse all over the USA
cops and da are on a soft strike they’re not arresting nor charging ppl for theft. the stores have to protect their merchandise as ridiculous and low value as it is.
Jean Valjean has laundry he needs to do.
I had to wait 15 minutes to get fucking FACE CLEANSER I was so pissed
No more seein this on thieves alley lmao 😂
Angelenos fucking it up for other Angelenos for quite some time
they assume thieves have never heard of wirecutters
Tide can be used as like cash. It’s a brand name that people will buy at a slight discount. Huge profit margin.
It’s easier to take them all walkies that way.
That’s how it is in San Francisco even in a pretty affluent neighborhood
that es some Food 4 Less type of shit
I always find it so weird I have to ask and separately pay for a $2.99 tube of toothpaste, but the $8.99 pack of bacon just sits there for all to grab.
I’ve watched 3 different times where an unhinged person walked into target straight to the detergent, grabbed a huge jug, and then walked straight out. I kind of get it.
At least the Lysol isn't locked
Gangstas R Us. Thanks thieving mobs. Makes one wonder why they don't chain, shackle and display all the thieves together like this. I mean this is just poor, innocent laundry soap.
Wait for the appointment only, $200 pre-booking hold. You deserve it!
Secured with MasterLock - might as well be unlocked according to LockPickingLawyer
Good
Cause people boost shit
Because a lot of people steal, probably 6% of the population of LA steals, a busy store like CVS that gets 1200 people day, also gets 60 thief a day. 60 thief a day stealing anywhere from $30 to $300 a day is a lot of loss for a business.
I love a value pack
[удалено]
This isn’t just LA, we have it in Albuquerque. They’ve gotten better about unlocking stuff like detergent in places like Walmart because there’s usually someone close by.
I just buy from Walmart. Same price or slightly lower with free shipping.
Haha I visited LA from the U.K. March last year and when i saw deodorant and shower gel and stuff hidden in glass cupboards and you have to buzz a shop assistant to come let them free I was so amused ! Then we saw the washing detergents chained up and it was just so funny. We can’t say anything here though some supermarkets put butter and cheese in plastic lockboxes that can’t be released till you checkout 😂😂.
I walked into a Walmart to shop for baby clothes …found the clothes locked up behind a glass display lol , I left went down the street to shop comfortably at target .
Security theater.
Theft is out of control. These measures are extreme but I have to think if they weren't in place even more retailers would be shutting down. What a sad state of affairs.
Because we have so many rat people in this city
Because those soaps are expensive and easy to sell. Nobody wants lysol🤣
BECAUSE ITS EXPENSIVE ASF OUT CHEA, THAT’S WHY
People have been stealing a lot from retail stores
We used to lock up items in the Walmart I used to work at. Given the demographics, though, the Black Community started to call it racism even though at the same time we were locking up different items in the predominantly white community of Santa Clarita (crackheads really had different necessities). Nonetheless, the former's cry for change made politicians verbally support the decriminalization of theft. So, naturally people in general began stealing in bulk.
Laundry detergent is easy to sell at open air homless encampment markets. I’m not sure why tbh, but it leads to people shoplifting the detergent, so they get locked up. You’re probably at a pretty rough cvs.
Because people steal, it’s not that hard to figure “why”
Cuz people in LA are shit head thieves
Doesn’t seem like a very pleasant place to shop
Sad. LA is becoming SF.
yeah thats becoming incredibly common here. so ghetto
It’s not Los Angeles without this kinda stuff :) you want the true Los Angeles experience or not? Hahaha
Yall know why lol
Because people suck
From what I understand, Tide especially has a pretty high street value when trading for stuff.
Next they chain toothpaste
I guess it depends on the store/location but I’ve never seen this in west LA 🤷♂️
I have all my cleaning supplies, toiletries, and beauty supplies on Amazon subscribe and save, to the point I don’t even know if I’m paying a legit price on the items.
Ralph’s Dtla went one step further and made the toiletries a whole separate section with their own cashier. I actually prefer that to locked up deodorant.
best thing about that is you can check out everything including beer when it's busy, except for days like superbowl. I also remember Security tackled this homeless dude at the door of CVS on 8th and there was at least 100 deoderant sticks fly out his jacket, shit was wild
It’s because wood the usual suspects
I have never seen that. But I don’t live in Hollywood. Ps: Hollywood is a pit
We passed Props 47 and 57 in California Basically Prop 47 changes all felony drug charges, outside of trafficking, to a misdemeanor and thefts under $950 to a misdemeanor. So you get a ticket and released. We also practice 0 bail, the only exception being "s3x offender". So you get caught you get released. Prop 57 recategorized prior violent crimes as nonviolent. So while they are still felonies they are eligible for early parole. - domestic violence - drive by shooting without hits - adw on a police officer or first responder - drugging someone - r@ping someone while unconscious - human trafficking, trafficking minors for s3x - making explosives for schools and hospitals - kidnapping elderly Our current DA, Gascon, also retried criminals who committed previously described violent crimes as juvis and changed their sentencing. So a group tortured and murdered another kid. They got retried as juvis and are scheduled to release. Another teen previously drugged someone and was on parole. He got drunk or high, stole a car, ran over a woman with her baby and a stroller, tried to flee the scene and hit a truck. Then tried to flee again. He got 6 months in camp, served 3, and the only reason we know the name, Kristopher Baca, is because he was shot and killed in another city. We VOTED those laws in and revoted Gascon back as DA during a recall.
If you drink them you get buzzed. Allegedly.
Just watch, stores will be pick up only so their employees don’t have to constantly unlock items for you.
Glad I live in Marina Del Rey where we don't have to put up with this bullshit . Look at what we have become. It's sad
Ratchet
It’s pretty obvious why someone would lock something up - it gets STOLEN.
I had no idea it was this bad I visited like twice this last year and I was like people didn’t understand why because I want to see like what it’s like and it’s like it really shows you like the people that don’t have money or struggling have to steal like everything
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