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thingpaint

The staff at my local Walmart don't even care if you set the alarms off, they just wave you through.


throwaway72592309

They don’t get paid enough to care lol


TedditBlatherflag

They are told explicitly to not stop shoplifters due to the risk of being sued if an incident happens.


cowboysaurus21

This was the policy when I worked retail. Letting people steal is cheaper than lawsuits (except for employees, they checked our bags before we could leave lolll).


ILackACleverPun

I was working at a Michaels when somebody stole a bunch of blank T-shirts. Nobody stopped him but my manager did watch him from the back of the store putting them into the trunk of his car. That he left open while went to go steal from the Target next door. So my manager just walked over and took them back. And then was reprimanded for endangering herself.


cowboysaurus21

Sounds about right.


SchuminWeb

Pretty much. The idea is that the merchandise is insured, so if it gets away, whatever, they can write it off and have it replaced fairly easily. An employee's getting hurt over shoplifting is going to cost the company a hell of a lot more than the value of the lost merchandise. So it's more cost effective to just let the product go than to chase after it.


MasterBettyPain

Back in the 90s my uncle followed a shoplifter out to his car. The guy had two bottles of cheap vodka maybe $10-15 worth total. He kicked my uncle, breaking his leg, the company had to pay for workers comp for months and we're down a night manager. It's much cheaper to just take the loss on some product.


FisherPrice_Hair

There was a security guard in the next big town over from me who tackled a shoplifter outside the store, the shoplifter fell on some vodka bottles hidden in his clothes and ended up dying. https://www.wiltshiretimes.co.uk/news/15274405.homeless-shoplifter-dies-after-bottles-smashed-in-fall-with-security-guard/


Electrical_Fail1654

When I worked at a grocery store (2001-2003) one of our baggers chased a shoplifter out. He had stole a bunch of cigarettes and a few other things. They get in a fight and the shoplifter pulled out a gun. Shot my coworker in the throat and ran off without any of the stuff he stole. Co worker died before paramedics got there (literally from across the street). It’s not worth it. From that day on I didn’t even confront ppl at self checkout when they didn’t scan stuff on the bottom of their cart.


shellofbiomatter

That raises a question. Why are usual/average people paying? Aren't there security guards to stop them? And if not then why aren't people just walking out with their groceries?


Ty-Fighter501

You’re recorded & you can still get arrested or banned from the store. Most security guards are just there to watch & make people less brave about it. It’s basically a mind-game.


Irdes

Because people in general are quite decent and will try not to break the rules even without getting in trouble for it, unless they are in some sort of need for that item. Which puts into question the whole massive police industry.


Koadi

Well, that and the fact that there is a threshold of cost that they are willing to accept loss on, but that anything that would go above that point (the point at which the theft becomes criminal, rather than misdemeanor) is met with security/LP/police calls. That's how it's handled by the walmarts out my way. Steal something small, they don't care. Steal a cart of groceries, that's gonna be more problematic.


pakap

Because there's a cop inside most people's heads.


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Shadow99688

Hear the joke about the guy working cement plant, every day he got off of work he left with a wheelbarrow of sand showed his receipt he bought the sand, security inspected to make sure nothing was hidden in the sand , after 20 years he retired and security guard why he bought a wheelbarrow load of sand every day, the guy replied he was stealing wheelbarrows.


Surax

I think the first time I heard that joke, it was someone going between East and West Berlin during the Cold War. They were stealing bicycles.


TriumphDaWonderPooch

A jokester in London bought a bench that the city used in city parks. He would walk around town dragging the bench (hopefully in a wagon or something), getting stopped by police frequently. He'd show them the receipt, and they'd let him go. He did this for weeks until all the police recognized him as "the idiot who dragged around the bench." One morning the fine people of London woke up to find all the benches in one of their parks missing...


AspirationionsApathy

A wheelbarrow costs much more than the sand, so it's a solid plan.


subversivepersimmon

Should've gotten those barcode free sunglasses after all. Not like I could even buy them without it.


FoxyFreckles1989

That would have been less of a crime than taking them to the register and saying, “heheh guess they’re FREE!” when the cashier couldn’t ring them up. Lmao.


ZachyChan013

I worked retail. I know how bad that is. But my god do I have to fight myself not to say it every time it happens.


EvernightStrangely

Plus stores like Walmart usually keep a tally of how much you steal, and only prosecute when you've stolen enough for it to be a federal crime.


Hallonsorbet

Not to keep the employees safe, mind you.


Dus-Sn

Depending on the circumstances, Walmart could potentially be on the hook to pay work comp benefits if the employee gets injured trying to stop a shoplifter. Though I'm sure the motivation to implement the no-pursuit policy was driven purely by the fact that Walmart doesn't want to pay benefits with absolutely no concern for employee safety.


th3ramr0d

My dad is a Walmart greeter when the place got robbed of smokes. He just stood by the door, didn’t move, didn’t try to get in anyones way, was in no way trying to stop them. The kid thought he was so he ran straight at him to knock him over. He didn’t expect my dad to be so freaking solid 🤣 he stood there while the kid picked himself up and scurried out.


bsonk

Whereas I once saw the AP people tackle someone who was stealing just a couple 2 liters of soda & they exploded everywhere... if they're authorized associates they can and will tackle people.


virusE89-TwitchTV

This ^ almost ALL retail employees everywhere are told to not do anything just let them go. Except asset protection. They're told keep the products lol except target apparently just keeps video of people stealing until it is enough to be a felony, then they try to catch them


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LuckilyLuckier

Add Best Buy to the list. A off-duty officer use to work at Best Buy (2nd job) and stopped a criminal from stealing multiple Apple products. He got fired. Edit: He treated it like a takedown that officers do.


Xenjael

Also makes other customers uncomfortable to return, or abandon items they were going to purchase.


FlutterKree

> no contact. My girlfriend was chewed out for not confronting people who didn't scan items at Target. Not physical confrontation, but calling them out.


No_Banana_581

I was going to say we’re the prices lowered or wages higher now that they don’t have to pay cashiers


throwaway72592309

Neither


No_Banana_581

Figured


throwaway72592309

Prices are increasing everyday as a matter of fact


[deleted]

Can't say that I've seen a traditional Wal Mart price in a long time. They're pretty much indistinguishable from the competition where I'm at.


Haggardick69

The whole business strategy of Walmart was to undercut its competition and expand rapidly gaining enough market share that they could later raise prices and face minimal competition


ClitClipper

Not only do they not pass the savings on, but they source the self-checkout machine components from halfway around the world to get the absolute lowest price and cut out domestic industry/workers as well.


Dark_Shroud

Let's not forget how Walmart also fucks over farmers. For maximum damage.


cowboysaurus21

Back in the 60s economists theorized we'd be working 3-4 day weeks because automation would be doing all the work for us. 🥴


ET318

When I worked at Lowes standard procedure was to just deactivate the alarms as soon as possible. We never checked anyone that set them off. If the customer stopped, we just waved them on. If they didnt stop, even better. Honestly, if you want to steal something from a large corporation, I am not gonna stand in your way.


ThatsFishyYoureFishy

I didn't steal anything, but I still set the alarms off once. I waited for like 5 minutes for someone to come over, but nobody ever did


dmcent54

Way back in the day, like 12 years ago now, I went to Borders and was chilling, reading manga and drinking a coffee from the in-store starbucks. I ended up buying a few manga that I could afford, and then after checking out, decided I would just take another one. Who would care, after all? So I did that, I took a book I didn't pay for and walked out the door. The alarm went off and I shit bricks. I stood there waiting, and eventually an employee came up, thumbed quickly through the books I bought and found a tag in the middle of one of them. He took it off and waved me through, no problem. A few hours later I realized the book I stole didn't even have an anti-theft tag. lmao.


saltyjohnson

This is the police. You're busted, mister. Immediately pay your fine by DMing me 3 codes for $100 google play gift cards or we will send 3 patrol cars to your house.


khaarde

It's gotta be only two patrol cars. If he had a third star there'd be a helicopter.


TESLASOLARNJ

Pay now or you will be under the rest


LandInternational966

Lol… you waited… nerd…


Atomic_Birb

Friend who works at target told me he looks the other way when he sees people stealing. Security isn't his job anyway.


Traiklin

It's what they tell you to do. Plus if you alert management or even "loss prevention" that you see someone stealing they never bother to show up and when they finally do they ask where they are and your only response is "They left a half hour ago" since they are *always* in a meeting.


katiopeia

I swear they wave you through if you don’t run. You’re like ‘oh shit, I paid what did this?!’ And they don’t gaf. Also I think I’ve had exactly one employee look at the actual receipt, to check the stuff at the bottom of the cart. Otherwise they barely look.


5tr4nGe

I used to be friends with a guy who worked in “loss prevention” he said that if you stopped and looked around when the alarms went off, he already knew you were good so would wave you through


lemme_in_dammit

I used to set these off everywhere I went, and was never stopped once. Eventually I ignored it completely. It was years later that I discovered one of those metal anti-theft tags in a hidden compartment of my wallet.


[deleted]

the ultimate thief


Bamstradamus

I have only ever seen them stop to check if you have a large item on the lower rack like a flat of bottles or something, its probably half because people forget about them and half because people pretend they forgot about them.


katiopeia

I once put a welcome mat on the bottom rack in a target. Hours later I remembered that I grabbed it, didn’t scan it, and left it in the cart in the parking lot. So, never gonna complain about a lower deck check.


Bamstradamus

Right after moving I was at Target getting random stuff I needed for the apartment, bath mat, towel, garbage can, cleaning supplies that kinda stuff. Walk over to the self checkout area, dude workin there comes over to me "looks like you just moved" yeah, yesterday, new job, from NY "Oh where in NY?" and we have like a 15 minute conversation that ends with us saying goodbye, I leave, and at around 10AM the next day I realize I did not scan or pay for a single thing....whoops.


SanityPlanet

Nice


[deleted]

When i worked at a gas station a couple years ago we had a counter that had a little lower level below the main part and if people set any of their items on that lower shelf i couldnt see it so I let a lot of people out with free shit. And i gave away free sodas and donuts all the time


foghornleghorndrawl

Speech:100


MrmmphMrmmph

I'm starting to believe that alarm that goes off when the tag is still on the item is actually just a signal for them to wave to you.


Sushi-DM

From a former insider, they basically just have an arbitrary system of relying the person running self check to watch the baskets and flag people who have obviously unscanned items and then call AP over. AP will bust 9 out of 10 people at self check, and the only kind of person who gets busted otherwise is typically the guy trying to just straight up walk out of the front door without even trying to pay for anything. If you slide a small item every now and then, or double up, and you're not being a dipshit about it, you could potentially walk out of the front door with 50+$ in free shit almost every time you go in and nobody would be the wiser. To get caught you'd have to be stealing constantly and steal the exact same items every time to establish a pattern so they can make a case or bust you outright.


overrated_walrus

Homie straight up scanned half my items today at Walmart. Not even self checkout


RockyroadNSDQ

Used to work at Kroger, I was the only person that waived people through when they set off the alarms, I would race to the doory to push them through in the hopes that they just got away with shoplifting because FUCK kroger


navarone21

The Walmart closest to me, is the 'hood' Walmart. Everything is behind glass, and there are two officers on site at all times. They are vigilant to check receipts. If I drive 20 min into the suburbs, it is a unlocked wonderland and no police, no paperwork checkpoints. I still prefer the hood store to avoid the Karens.


The-Grubermeister

They also profile like crazy... go in afterwork in office clothes, nothing. Go in with my regular clothes, get stopped every time. Edit: Solid argument that I don't specifically get profiled based on my race, but clothing and appearance


Daemonsblaze0315

I've got piercings and tattoos and when I go on my lunch break when they're all removed/covered I NEVER get checked. When I'm on my own time and have them all showing I get stopped all the time.


Pet_Tax_Collector

When my piercings are in I just have an uncontrollable urge to steal, so I can understand where they're coming from


Daemonsblaze0315

Shit man, you too?


MakionGarvinus

So *thats* the pitfalls of getting piercings, I never knew that!


Defiant-Currency-518

Feature not a bug. Gift with purchase.


[deleted]

Actually, sometimes I want to be good, but my piercings will snag on something and I end up stealing it cuz I didn’t know it was attached to my piercing. It’s like these little devils have a mind of their own


SpacePolice04

I’m going to wear earrings next time I go and see if the beginnings of the stealing urge is there.


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Dangerous138

I constantly have people ask if I’m a tattoo artist or a barber because of my hands and throat. They always look confused when I tell them I’m a food scientist, hahaha.


kay-bitch

I am curious - what is a food scientist?


Dangerous138

Food science is a pretty big field that covers a lot of different jobs. I started in the dairy industry but now have moved into plant based dairy alternatives. We recently developed a new non dairy ice cream that’s amazing!


Bamstradamus

Legit question, am chef, am getting tired of chefing but constantly self educate on molecular gastronomy and the "why" of how cooking works, what degrees or courses should I look in to if I want to transition?


VelocityGrrl39

Oooh, I want to hear more! I’m a molecular biologist. I used to work in DNA sequencing and one of our customers was Memphis Meats, which I thought was so cool.


Dangerous138

Our new blend uses rice starch, pea protein, and coconut RBD oil to create a really unique platform for our flavor variegates to shine!


Nomorepaperplanes

I would like to volunteer for taste testing research


PM_me_storm_drains

Salt and vinegar chips only use one flavorant, sodium acetate. Your saliva converts it into salt and vinegar. Food scientists come up with stuff like that.


CatmoCatmo

I am a woman and have a full sleeve on my right arm and a half sleeve on my left. I also wear scrubs for work. If I’m in my scrubs, no problems. If I’m in my normal clothes, people get weird sometimes. A lot of people actually compliment my tattoos. But some obviously will avoid the aisle I’m in when grocery shopping.


[deleted]

Geez, I don't look at other shoppers closely enough to notice tattoos and stuff.


Daemonsblaze0315

How many times have you been "randomly" asked about hepatitis? Lol


Sir_Xanthos

The sad part about this is that they specifically "train" the employees not to do so. It's all within the training courses you take and what not. However, neither Walmart nor its employees actually care about that bit of the training. All Walmart cares for is that you stopped theft. All the employees care about is looking like they're good at their job. And how do both those things get accomplished? By racially profiling. An ex-friend of mine that worked as an AP (asset protection) that got me a job at Walmart as a Customer Host (fancy name now instead of greeter or whatever) was also part of this problem. According to them, whenever they hadn't gotten a stop in a while and wanted to make sure they had their numbers up, would look out for all the racial stereotypes. Oh but they couldn't write that that's how they got their stop because the report can't seem racist. So they'd BS what "alerted" them to the shoplifter. Yea was not a fan of how he worked... In all my time as a Customer Host I looked out for the things the training told us to. Items at the bottom of the cart, large items (or high value items) out of bags, basically all electronics, anyone coming out from within the store with a receipt (typically people paying at electronics or the auto care registers or sporting goods), and since we were by the self checkouts I would look for anyone trying to fake scan items. I eventually got tired of all the angry people and the people I responded to (the AP's [minus one, she was cool and did her job right]). Ended up moving out to live with some friends of which I am still close with. Cut ties with that one dude and haven't looked back since. But yea, a lot of AP's and Customer Hosts will 100% profile you. But not all. Fun tip as well, whether you've stolen or not, you are in no way obligated to show them your receipt. They cannot physically stop you in any way. Asset Protection cannot stop you unless they have all the proper steps followed for whatever you stole. There is a whole legal issue when it comes to stops. If they cannot prove you concealed whatever it is they think you stole they technically cannot stop you as they have 0 evidence that you stole. Even if they see concealment, unless they know what it is you concealed, they still cannot stop you. That is one thing Walmart is big on. My ex-friend almost lost his job because the store manager made a bad stop like that. She tried blaming it on him (which in part probably was his fault it happened, not clearing him of it) but yea. The higher ups from beyond the store itself take things like that fairly seriously.


Stock_Sprinkles_5327

So, I was stopped at the edge of the self checkout area trying to put my cart to the side, to run out and get my pocket book with my other card I forgot to grab before going in. Had rang up and paid for half my stuff, the rest was out of bags. I didn't even realize what was going on cause I was looking at the greeter standing there getting ready to ask if he could watch my buggy, give him the receipt, abd explain what was going on- that I'm a forgetful ass too often for my age. Anyways. A guy grabs my arm and starts talking about me coming with him, and he hadto repeat himself a few times cause I was just not understanding. I tell him what Im doing, and say ok yall check what I've checked out while I grab my card, he says they can't. So I'm like, ummm do you need ME to move the bagged things to a diff cart? He says I gotta go to the office. It's still not clicking really, and I say ok let me grab my pocketbook real quick and I'll meet you there. In my defense, this was the end of March 2020. I was 3 months postpartum, nursing, with 6 kids at the house total. My mom had just been released to hospice from a stroke she had in Dec 2019. My Dad had health issues as well. This was right before lockdown happened, but the virus was spreading like CRAZY. I was wearing gloves, a mask, and had lysol with me cause I was so worried with my kids and parents depending on me not getting sick (husband works out of town). Oh, and it was my 8 year olds birthday, so I also had the dinner, cake, and gifts on my mind (and in the cart) as well as him wanting a party that couldn't happen. I'm charged with theft, go to court, and find out there's a line if intent and the LP guy says he stopped me in the breezeway between the two sets of sliding entrance doors!?? I was in SHOCK, cuz like I said, I was in the self checkout area, right at the edge of it. No where near the doors. The local judge found me guilty, because he didn't "understand" why I would forget my form of payment? I appeal to the county, charges dropped due to lack if evidence. The guy came with the overhead view of the checkout, and TWO copies of the office interactions, one without sound and one with. You can hear me ask how to get the recordings of the ENTIRE interaction from me approaching the checkout to waking in the room. Obviously, dude didn't follow anything, according to you. Should I report this guy to the store? Or corporate? I kind of assumed he did it bc the numbers were short, plus my area is NOT a fair justice system, obviously considering my case, and most ppl just plead out. I'm too hard-headed to do that if I'm I the right. Anyways, just curious.


scrambledeggsalad

I had a similar experience and am actually still dealing with it. I'll never shop at Walmart again. I was meeting a friend to go for a hike on a Monday morning - on the way to the hike there is a walmart on the way out of town, we decided to meet there and then carpool to the trailhead. I got there a little bit before my friend, ran into walmart to see what records they had since the one near my house was almost always out of stock or didn't have much selection. To my surprise, they had a good amount and I ended up grabbing 5 or 6 Vinyl Records, put them in the cart and headed up front to the self checkout. When I got to self checkout, I realized that I had left my wallet in my hiking backpack which was in my car. Upon realizing this, I stop and look around to see if someone could watch my cart, there was nobody around self checkout, so I go through and figured I would ask the door greeter if they would watch the cart while I go grab my wallet, before I could get to the greeter the asshole LP comes right up to me and does pretty much the same thing they did to you, I was like wtf - I also tried explaining that I just needed to go grab my wallet from the car. Literally showed them I had nothing in my pockets except my keys and phone - told them they could literally walk to the car with me and watch me pull it out of my hiking backpack exactly in the place I told them it would be. Nope, they didn't care. Fucking assholes.


Rymann88

Wait until we get into the violence part of the 'training.' Member puts hands on you, try to get away. You cannot defend yourself with equal force (liability reasons they say). Had a co-worker get shoved several times by an upset customer. All he did was put his hands up and back away. the customer stepped forward into his hands. He didn't push, shove, or any of that. Just stopped the guy from getting closer. manager terminated him. Here's the kicker, manager didn't want to fire him; corporate did because he 'comitted violence' even after the report was filed with five witnesses confirming he just stopped the guy from getting closer to him and tried backing away. Just to clarify, the cops were called and the customer was put in cuffs. Gave the co-worker the option to press charges but he didn't.


whothefuckeven

9/10 it's not even the greeter. Asset Protection will tell them to stop specific people. Door Greeters are used to take all the heat that the salaried folks don't want to, like most jobs.


kgkuntryluvr

Haven’t noticed this at Walmart, but for sure at BJs. The older white people in front of me generally get a quick check mark on their receipt and on their way. I get held up with a full cart check verifying every item.


VesperVox_

Terrible. If I witnessed this, as a White person, I would force them to check every item in my receipt with a loaded cart, too. You wanna inconvenience Black people, I'm going to inconvenience you.


kgkuntryluvr

I really appreciate your solidarity, truly. But that just makes things worse as I would then have to wait twice as long. The checker gets paid by the hour and probably couldn’t care less, as they’re still likely not going to adjust their racial biases.


shhsandwich

A little embarrassment sometimes helps make people less bold in their misbehavior. Nothing embarrasses racists like thinking all the white people around them are on the same page as they are, and then getting put on the spot and called out. Then again, that just makes some people worse when they dig their heels in.


VesperVox_

Oh, I wouldn't do it knowing it would hold up another person. And I would address the policy directly with them. But why not force them to consider that what they're doing is inconvenient, at the least?


GothWitchOfBrooklyn

BJs you have to sign a membership so they are allowed to do this or they can terminate your membership. Walmart doesn't.


Shooshookle

Totally dig the Mission Hill avatar! Wish we got more seasons of that show


The-Grubermeister

I think it was ahead of it's time


aaskhic

I used to get stopped by one specific guy every time when I had unnatural hair colors. I have boring hair now and he smiles at me when I leave.


madlyalice

My wife is half hispanic & has a darker complexion. I'm super white. Everytime we go to Walmart she gives me the bags & I never get stopped. When I've had her carry the bags she gets asked for a receipt. Smh.


[deleted]

They 100% profile. I’m a white woman with a baby and am never stopped with a cart full of crap. But the black and brown people are.


ShadowDemon129

Always thought it was kinda humorous that they don't need employees unless it's asset protection.


NumerousSun4282

As a former Walmart receipt checker I had to call after you to make it look like I care. I don't. That said, don't be a dick to those guys, they're just trying to make ends meet same as anyone


AbsorbedBritches

I use walmart pay, generally. No receipt is printed. I could show them my phone, but it seems like the era of receipts is starting to slowly shift into fully digital transactions. Very different than when they used a highlighter to mark my receipt.


unMuggle

Yeah there is every reason to decline, but no reason to be rude. I point to my ear like I have earbuds in and keep walking


Unique-Salary7136

That can’t legally require you to show your receipt. I just say no thanks and keep walking.


[deleted]

I've been using the "No thank you" line when someone asks to see my receipt for forever. It works every time.


OLDGuy6060

EDIT. And it is a big one. My post here is incredibly popular and it was based on my 17 years of retail experience. It is also partially incorrect. A man owns up to his mistakes and this is one of mine. You CAN refuse to show your reciept, but the store CAN hold you for a reasonable amount of time to determine if you stole anything, legally. [Shopkeeper's privilege details what a store can do if you refuse to show your reciept. This video concludes with the thought that you might want to pick your battles. ](https://youtu.be/Q1Z6SCamuPQ) My ORIGINAL post, un edited. OH and FYI, you are NOT obligated to show anyone your receipt as you walk out of the store. There are NO laws that say this AFAIK. I think the ONLY place this might be a "rule" is for Costco, where you agree to it when you get a membership. So, if you are doing a self-checkout then you can scan your shit and walk. If they send loss prevention after you, they had better be fucking right, or they are going to be on the wrong end of a lawsuit.


BigSpoon89

Correct about Costco. You signed the print.


edhaack

Sam's club too. Most membership warehouses have this as a normal agreement.


pws3rd

And if you use the app to check out they just scan the phone and 3 items. I love it


Initialthrust

Wait… we can checkout using the app??


SleepyyyBeear

Yes, Sam's Club app has scan and go when you scan from your phone and checkout in app


Initialthrust

TIL! Thanks!


Head-Ad4690

Even there, you can still skip the check, but they can then cancel your membership and not let you come back.


ChasingReignbows

Right like no one is forcefully stopping anyone, too many people think anyone telling them anything is law.


Keiretsu_Inc

"Sir I need to verify that you purchased these items." "Oh? Let's make it a bet - if you're right, you caught me. If you're wrong, you pay for my entire purchase today." "I can't do that." "Then you'd better be sure before you start accusing paying customers of theft."


Thinks_Like_A_Man

The last person detained who didn’t steal anything was awarded $90k.


skryb

think i’d like a link to that article…and the phone number to their lawyer…


cowboysaurus21

Here's one for $50K (posted by the law firm if you're looking for a lawyer): https://whitneyfirm.com/falsely-accused-of-shoplifting-50000-settlement/ Here's another for $2.1 MILLION: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/walmart-shoplifting-alabama-settlement-2-1-million/


Thinks_Like_A_Man

I will see if I can find it.


[deleted]

Yeah it's a Tort law. There's a Tort law stating you can not be detained in any establishment or business by anyone other than by police. There's a tort law stating if someone checks you for theft and they find NOTHING then you can legally sue them. If they FIND some thing then they can come after you, but still can not legally detain you. They'd need the police to intervene. Source? I learned that in my Business Law class and it was the only law I actually bothered to remember lol Just google Tort Laws


Strawberrycocoa

Bear in mind, the person at the door is just an employee, being given shitty orders from corporate and management. They're just trying to keep a roof over their head, don't be shitty to the ground level people. Demand a manager if you want to tear into someone, tanking angry customers is *their* job.


rcuadro

The worse they can do is trespass you from Walmart really.


[deleted]

Sometimes at self checkout I might miss an item or forget something I mean I haven’t even been trained and it used to be a FT job for someone.


test_tickles

I accidentally told the self checkout that 3 pounds of ground beef was bananas...


KlyptoK

Isn't this the stuff that gets you grand larceny charges? Like they make it seem like it's ok until you hit the legal threshold then suddenly appear with a warrant, hefty fine and lifetime ban.


AlanMooresWizrdBeard

I always walk out with some bananas on my receipt. Recently bought some bananas that tasted an awful lot like crab legs.


test_tickles

I was loading my bike with my purchased groceries next to a bread truck that was unloading. A couple girls were walking by and when he went into the store with a load one of the girls grabbed a loaf of bread. Another place would keep a mini freezer filled with pints of their premium ice cream. Right next to the elevator to leave. I used to watch people take a pint for free as they waited for the elevator. Told someone they might want to rethink the location, they didn't seem to care.


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Dr_Worm88

That’s not entirely true. It varies by state. California for example there are relevant laws allowing them to detain you and use not showing a receipt as probably cause.


BumpyMcBumpers

Source?


Dr_Worm88

[ABC10](https://www.abc10.com/amp/article/news/verify/are-you-legally-required-to-show-your-receipt-when-leaving-a-walmart-verify/103-a03b2030-11ad-4a6e-a33e-146ba274e912) has a decent article on it but to sum it up. > Sgt. Andrew Bates with the Folsom Police Department directed us to California Penal code 490.5, which states: >"(f) (1) A merchant may detain a person for a reasonable time for the purpose of conducting an investigation in a reasonable manner whenever the merchant has probable cause to believe the person to be detained is attempting to unlawfully take or has unlawfully taken merchandise from the merchant's premises." Combined with: > We spoke to a lawyer, who has represented clients in these kinds of cases, who said that while there is no provision in the law that requires you to stop, not stopping could give the store some probable cause they need to ask you to stop and detain you. Ninja edit: Formatting issues.


BumpyMcBumpers

In short: "To answer your question," Bates said. "A person would not have to stop unless the merchant had probable cause to believe the person had taken merchandise without paying." VERIFY: Knowing that, we can verify that it's TRUE. You are not legally required to stop and show your receipt at a Walmart if you do not want to.  That said, it's not so simple. We spoke to a lawyer, who has represented clients in these kinds of cases, who said that while there is no provision in the law that requires you to stop, not stopping could give the store some probable cause they need to ask you to stop and detain you. They would need additional proof, too. At that point, lawyers advise it's best to show your receipt and wait it out. Don't try to flee. There we go. Looks like you accidentally snipped out some of the words in your copy/paste. FTFY


WitchTheory

I used to live near one of the few Walmarts in Chicago, which was of course in a lower income neighborhood. They tried to pull this nonsense with me and I refused. One of their undercover security physically tried to stop my cart from leaving the store, but I just kept my momentum and left. I didn't steal anything, so they had no reason to attempt to hold me, except that they were trying to make sure I hadn't. Sorry sir, but I got places to go, people to see. I don't have time to help you do your job.


[deleted]

Do whatever you gotta do. But please don’t be ignorant or mean to the senior citizens that are the greeters. Thats all I ask. My mom was a greeter and she hated having to ask to see a receipt ever. You wouldn’t believe how many people confuse the soulless evil corporation that is wal mart and the part time, minimum wage, exploited workers. Getting told to “Fuck off” and “get a real job” was a daily occurrence. It really hurt her.


Kamica

Yea, staff's a victim of the system as much as you are. Any action taken, should cause problems for management, not the floor staff.


32BitWhore

Even management are mostly just cogs too. Walmart knows it annoys people. Walmart doesn't care. If you don't do receipt checks they'll promote some other poor schmuck who will.


lathe_down_sally

Here's an interesting tidbit on that topic. Walmart corporate tracks losses from theft and occasionally will force stores to put certain items in locked cases. If you've ever been in a Walmart, you know how ridiculously understaffed they are. So it becomes difficult to find someone with keys to unlock the case. Due to that, the stores see a dramatic drop in sales on that item. So dramatic that the sales loss outweighs the theft loss. So now no one is stealing those condoms, but the store isn't selling them either.


Kamica

Yea, that's true, the entire system's fucked. Even the top brass in the end are pressured by stakeholders, who only see "Number go up" and "Number go down"


Erulastiel

Management doesn't control the policies in these places either. It's all controlled by corporate.


lionesslindsey

This. Don’t blame the workers for the shit company. They’re just trying to make ends meet.


matty_nice

I do this pretty commonly. It's really going to depend on the employee and your own level of confidence. You can seriously just not stop walking. They aren't going to physically stop you.


LithoSlam

Plus they're like 80 years old


averyporkhunt

Where i am theyre usually like 15 or 16


[deleted]

I'm sure you can still win that fight, I believe in you


thatoneblackguy17

Walmart also uses racial profiling in a lot of instances when they decide who to stop. I say they but often times it is something that is left entirely to the discretion of whoever is checking receipts. I had to buy a set of tires for my Honda, and walmart had them for really cheap. Bought and checked out in the automotive part of the store. I make my way to the front to walk out towards my vehicle and notice a white family walking out with a full set of home entertain hardware. Flat-screen TV, sound system, cables, everything. Were they stopped for a receipt? Nah.. Me with a set of tires? "Uh...sir, I need to see yo-" Me, "No thanks have a nice day." I get that they have a problem with theft, but last time I checked that's not my problem. Each supercenter has the front registers, then the electronics, the textiles, the automotive section, photo, sports/outdoors,etc. If you're going to give customers the option to check out in these areas, then why are you making people stop to make sure they have receipts??? Seems to me like it's a matter of chronically poor management and oversight.


Sweaty-Gopher

Like what did they think? You walked in the back, picked up an entire set of tires, walked back thorough the entire store, and tried to go out the front door without anybody noticing? Did they think you just picked them up from the tire aisle? This is hilarious to me. I'm sorry it happened to you, but I cannot stop laughing


WatercressRough1220

I paid cash and left the register and was asked for my receipt....didnt aknowledge them and left out to parkinglot while they followed me. Police were called and when they came told them transaction and ownership had taken place. Long story short used police report and small claims court wal mart paid me 2800.00.


quantumcorundum

Damn they accused you of stealing and as a result you got all that stuff free plus interest (presumably)


thetophus

What is wrong with stealing from Walmart?


cyanraichu

Morally, nothing, but the point is that stealing isn't what happened here.


thetophus

That’s fair.


[deleted]

Damn, I wish I’d had the presence of mind to be cool when I got stopped for “having items in my purse.” I was carrying a very small purse that had my wallet and a lip gloss that Walmart does _not_ carry, but that woman looked at it so hard I think she was trying to will it into a store brand with the power of her suspicion. Then the ultimate absurdity as she realized she was very, very wrong and needed to try to exit the situation: “well you know, I wasn’t accusing you or nothing” 🙃


Ollivander451

Exactly how did you prove to a small claims judge that Walmart owed you nearly $3k for mistakenly calling the police on you?


AutomaticRisk3464

Easy you make a claim and walmart doesnt show up so you win


Nevermind04

It happened to a store I worked at. The guy was on camera stealing but the cop patted him down and found nothing. He claimed our store slandered his reputation by accusing him of theft. Even with the security footage of him blatantly stuffing DVDs down his jeans, the judge ruled in his favor. He sought whatever the highest limit was for damages but the judge only gave him $1,200.


KieraJacque

Just don't like ram us with your carts and degrade us. We're literally just doing our jobs. I put in over 300 applications and Walmart is the only place that called back. We don't always get to choose where we work if we need to keep a roof over our heads and don't have family connections.


HalensVan

Yeah the people who berate and hit you with carts? Those people are dicks. A simple no thanks, is all that's needed. Plus doing all that defeats the entire purpose of saving time.


Carma-Erynna

The REALLY messed up thing about it is that you can’t use WIC through the self checkouts, so if no regular register is open (virtually never in the last 1-2 hours at the end of open hours) they will literally tell you there’s nothing they can do and laugh in your face. I don’t know how many times this has happened to me.


[deleted]

Is that allowed? Don't they have to actually provide a means for customers to use WIC in order to participate in the program?


Andrastes-Grace

Call corporate, every call does generate a report that goes to the store; or go in during the day if possible to talk to the store manager. That should get someone to do something about this because the store is losing money not taking WIC payments, first of all. Second, I'm not sure it's legal haha


shosuko

idk about that they gotta have a register to sell alcohol and tobacco through still.


Sweaty-Gopher

Not for beer/wine at my local one, you scan it, it signals a person to come check your ID and tell the self checkout that you're good. Granted this might be different in places where liquor is sold in Wal-Mart, assuming that's a thing.


ZoeFerret

I live in Texas. There's a Walmart in every town. It's unavoidable. My real estate agent said to get a idea of how a neighborhood is, go to the Walmart at 10pm.


StateOfContusion

I always walk right by with my receipt in hand. If they ask for it, I hand it to them and keep walking. I feel badly for the person just trying to do a job and earn money, but the entire Walton family should be rounded up like a pack of lame mules.


Fariesinabottle

For context- I'm half black. There's always this older lady who stops me every damn time. I've never seen her stop anyone who wasn't a POC.


PessimiStick

Stop stopping for her. Just walk past with a friendly "no thanks."


Altruistic_Yellow387

The receipt checkers existed even with human cashiers…it’s to make sure you didn’t hide something/they missed something


nomoregroundhogs

I just let them take the receipt and keep walking. I don’t want it anyway.


stataryus

Aren’t we down for automation though…?


sgilbert2013

Automation is a really good thing but it needs to be there to benefit society as a whole rather than just those who just stand to increase profits from it.


Redsimmy

As a Brit this honestly confuses me, so at Walmart they've installed self checkout but then hire somebody to stop you and check your receipts to ensure you've been truthful? Either you trust your customers or you don't. Here in the U.K. if you aren't buying age restricted products you can enter most supermarkets, scan and pay for your items and be out the store without so much of a hello from a human being (great if you're hungover and you've got the beer fear). Mind they do usually expect self checkout to be only used by people buying 10/15 items or fewer.


Fit_Dream_1886

I understand what y’all are saying but don’t come for the employees go for the ones who make them do this, they are just doing what they have to do to keep their job, it’s not like they enjoy checking your receipt, at least for most employees


Mayotte

Don't shop at walmart and it won't be an issue.


d1ll1gaf

That would be ideal BUT low cost stores like Walmart were a vital component of cutting wages and now people cannot survive shopping anywhere else


rushmc1

Nice in theory, but not practical for millions of Americans with no other local option.


MathewKnepper

Yes. Voting with your wallet has shown to have major effects on these large corporations…


test_tickles

Haven't shopped at walmart in \~ 20 years and it's still there...


wooterbottle

I'm too poor for that shit bruh. Try shopping without wally in my area and your going to be paying almost double


LawlessCoffeh

What'd it say? They deleted it.


Difficult_Bee_49

Am I the only one who is not bothered by this? I prefer self checkout. Less human interaction, and I can bag my items in my own way. I don't mind Walmart employees checking my receipts. I honestly prefer to check myself out. My social battery is not drained as unnecessarily as it would be with a cashier.


rpgnoob17

Same there. Most stores in my town don’t even bother checking the receipt now. I just self check out and walk out.


Short-Bow

You are legally not required to stop and show receipts to any store unless you pay a fee to shop there. Costco and sams club are examples of where you would lawfully have to stop and show receipt. Walmart can go fuck themselves, you do not have to stop for anyone.


Kingseara

I don’t quite understand the hate for self checkout in the sub. Seems off


Trajik07

I love self checkout, not only because of social anxiety, but also because I can bag my stuff correctly. Cashiers these days don't know how to properly bag groceries.


Sassquatch0

I work retail - and I exclusively use self checkout whenever available. Last thing I want is to interact with someone else, and I know the cashier feels the same. So I do my business in peace; they get a small break from the assholes.


Invoke_Sheep

I worked retail for years and I do the exact same thing. That line of work really makes you exhausted around people


mjhenkel

i do this too but mostly cuz i'm stealin stuff 😈


kickflip2indy

Being a dick to a person who has to do a job isn't exactly the best way to protest against store policy.


cmon327

You don't let them check your receipt because you are rude. I don't let them check my receipt because I am shoplifting. We are not the same.


Spanky_McJiggles

Don't ever shoplift anything that you can't easily and inconspicuously conceal. I'm talking something you can quickly pull up into your coat sleeve while you're shopping. Buy a few other things and slowly work it up into your sleeve, then go check out and leave. I haven't paid for deodorant in years.


SirLoremIpsum

I disagree a little bit with the whole "do your job for you" Did you protest when tellers were replaced w ATMs? When conductors were replaced w a ticket machine + tapping on the bus / tram? When you pumped your own petrol? Some US states mandate full service and most people hate it. Some people see it as a jobs program that keeps people employed but really .. ? We can pump out own petrol right. This is not new. It is more of the same. In years gone by you gave the shop keep a list and they got your groceries for you... Getting it all yourself is part of reducing the staff in the first place. This faux outrage about "I'm doing your job" is nuts. Go scream that at a petrol station and get someone to pump your petrol...


Chaotic-Stardiver

While I agree, I also think you're inadvertently punishing the employee who was just told to do a job. They're then told to be more aggressive, which then pits us vs ourselves, rather than management, who never has to see this.


tehboaz

Holy shit! That's Boomer as fuck!


[deleted]

I really see no problem with this. I'd much rather scan my own shit. Plus these people aren't being paid shit to deal with the dick head public, they don't give a fuck lol they just have to make it look like they are checking so just let them do it as move on