Wal-Mart..

Anyone else get a bit Irate when they want to check your receipt on the way out the door?
It feels a bit odd to be accused of shoplifting. I always hand over the receipt but have been wondering lately, What can they do?
I don't want to get arrested to prove a point but if they are that worried then they need to put the checkers back in the lines and shut down
those self check out lines.

Just my thoughts

Happy Monday Morning

Jody

I just show it and move on. no biggie.

PITA receipt checks.

I understand the "Why" but I asked one day at my local WM and was told they have such an issue with theft from people switching tags on items. Evidently the bigger ticket items like electronics etc from what the manager told me.

When I'm in a rush to leave, I don't make eye contact. I just keep pushing my cart and look in a different direction. I've never had the employee try and stop me or say anything. I think if you look at them and smile on your way out, they will always stop you, even if you have 4 things in your cart

No big thing. I rarely get asked to show my receipt but when I do, I just show it and think nothing of it.

I just politely say "thanks I'll pass" and keep right on moving. They have zero right to stop you and there is absolutely nothing they can legally do about you not stopping. Costco now, that's another story. When you become a member, you contractually agree to be stopped and frisked. If you don't follow that rule they'll remove your membership. Last I recall Wallyworld doesn't have a membership card.

so why be "that guy"? douche move imo.

I just show them and tell them to have a nice day. I understand why they do it.

I rarely go to Walmart for other reasons, but do go to Sam's. They routinely check receipts. Doesn't bother me.

^^^This^^^

Another reason to not shop at Walmart.

If I'm in a hurry I just keep going. But most times I have the time to let them look.

It strikes me as a reasonable measure for a merchant to take inside their own premises. If the employee were using any physical force, I'd no longer consider it "reasonable".

My trips to Walmart are to buy car washes cleaners etc only. I go in by the service area and check out there also. There is usually no one in line and no one checks your receipt.

Talked to a manager of the Carrolton store. He said they have about $4k a day in theft. Wow

They never have anyone checking receipts at the Walmart I go to, sams does every time

Sounds like having more human checkers would slow that down some-

This

I'm retired now with nothing else to do, so I like to act real nervous and ask them a lot of questions. The next time I shop there they just wave me on.

No kidding. Those honor system self checkouts are ripe for thieving opportunities.

Wasting the time of 100% of customers to catch the .001% is the douche move. I'm polite about it, but it's a stupid wasteful policy. If they so desire they can hire real loss prevention staff like any other retailer. If they have probable cause, I 100% support them detaining and prosecuting those folks to fullest extend of the law.

The Malcolm Gladwell podcast with Joe Rogan has some interesting insights on this type of thing. Besides the fact it's ultra douchey, it's an extraordinary wasteful and ineffective way to stop crime.

I've been stopped a couple times to show my receipt, meh

Wal-Marts in Frisco don't play this BS cuz we all fine folk up this way.

I lick my receipt then paste it on my forehead, those old geezers give me the weirdest looks!

All the times I’ve been checked like that, there is no way they’ve actually checked my receipt and what’s in my cart. They just scribble on my receipt and hand it back to me.

yep. Not the persons fault, that's what they get paid to do. No need for me to give them grief.

The wife does all the grocery shopping so I could give a ratz Arse lmao

WalMart, Sam's and Costco have been doing this for many years. I have been stopped at WM maybe 6 times. No big deal, and I never think they are accusing me of anything.

The Walmart where I shop does this but is it mainly on un-bagged items. I just turn the item where they can scan the bar code and have my receipt out. I may add another 30 seconds to the shopping trip.

So, checking receipts is not a deterrent to theft.

Get over it. They are trying to be proactive and they do prosecute shoplifters which is a rarity these days. If you want to talk frustrating imagine catching a person with a carload of stolen stuff only to be told, “We don’t prosecute”. Happens here all the time.

Walmart would be much better served by training their employees to be observant while checking out customers. And maybe having more than one employee at a time working the registers.

Checking receipts at the door does nothing to slow theft. If you have shoplifted anything, it is already in the bottom of your bag and it wouldn't be discovered by the receipt checker.

Yes they really only check large un bagged items like T Vs etc. The reason Costco sees people out is to mark the receipt tp prevent reuse and as you know the never scan anything. The bellyachers on here should recognize the business opportunity to open a giant retail establishment and let their customers run wild and show Walmart how to run a retail business. I recommend you start in Dallas County and post signs that theft under $750.00 is not a crime. In electronics please put all iPads and iPhones on the shelf and let me know when opening day is.

In full disclosure I rung up organic bananas as regular bananas so I am a Walmart scofflaw,.

I have been checked a lot LOL not sure what that says about me. But, usually they take my receipt and look at the buggy and hand it back. No big deal.
This morning I only had a few things bagged and 2 cases of bottled water. The guy this morning walks up and asks to see my receipt to make sure I am paying for the water.
I guess being called out, like I would steal bottled water is what struck me odd. No worries now but walking to the truck I was wondering what if I had told him No.
also keep in mind. IT"S MONDAY MORNING ugh LOL

Jody

Try getting out of frys without showing a receipt

Grandpa had a big issue with it

I hold mine out visible in my hand and have only been checked once ever. I shop there every monday am at a minimum.

I do hate the self check they recently put a whole bunch more of those in one of our walmarts and people are protesting by waiting in line so much on monday am that they started a check here guy standing next to the open register and he will scan and bag your stuff if you have nothing that needs a scale.

My personal solution is that I put their customer service number in my phone and I call and ask them to open another register if I walk by and see 5 in line or when I get there and there is a line of 5 etc.

I went to high school with one of the greeters at my local Walmart. He was in special ed and cool as the wind. I always BS with him as I leave if he’s there.

Proof there is a job for anyone who want's one.

Doesn't bother me at all. They are trying to lessen theft which cost us all. Blame the scumbags that are stealing.

it's interesting to see how easily some people get their panties in a wad.

The checker at Frisco is usually a younger guy in a wheelchair. I let him do his job if he asks for a receipt which as of yet I have never been asked to show my receipt.

Back when I lived in the ghetto of Irving, I was checking out using the self check out when they were fairly new. I found a $5 bill in the bill return change, I got 3 candy bars and bought them, while my gf was checking out her grocery.

Two sweathogs females pushing about 300 lbs each, tried to detain me in the store and make me give the money back, since I already started to eat the candy bars.

I walked out the front door and toward my vehicle, they were yelling for help and making a scene. I finally got in my car and drove away.

Absolutely haha

I know, out of all the things that annoy me, and there’s a lot of them, this doesn’t even make the top 100

It all boils down to p/poor design . They should have the checkout stands where you can't get back into the store . When you check out you can only go out the door!!!!

I went in to Walmart about 3 am once,needed some cough drops or Advil,some medical problem I don't recall. Started to use one of the self-checkout machines,then noticed a fellow finish and walk away from one of the machines so I figured I'd use that one since I knew it was working. Started to scan an item and noticed all "info" was still on the screen from last transaction,waiting for payment. The guy had just walked out the door,full basket, without paying,468.00 on the screen. He was a fairly young guy,white,wearing a camo jacket. About that time an older lady employee walked up and I ask "did that last guy not pay?" She looked at the screen and took off running out the door after him. Quickly followed by a couple of male employees. As I was walking out they were leading the guy back into the store. I hate to be a Rat Fink but nobody hands me 468.00 for free, why should he get away with it.

I'd like to see the numbers on how much, if any, deterrent to theft this creates. I worked in loss prevention for a number of years catching shoplifters and stopping employee theft. I bet I could count on one hand how many people I saw walk out the door with a cart with some stuff paid for (and a receipt) and more stuff unpaid for. Shoplifters aren't that complicated. And if the greeter at walmart tries to stop them, they're just going to run. No greeter at walmart I've ever seen is going to be able to catch them even if they tried.

I yell RUN!!!! when the theft alarm goes off.

To be clear I get zero upset about this. They ask me to stop, I politely decline and keep walking. I think it's an ineffective waste of time and I know I have zero legal obligation to comply. Not something I've lost a minute of sleep over. Also be clear I go to a Walmart about 2 times per year. My wife does all the shopping. If I need something I buy it online.

I can't recall ever being checked.

Supposedly walmart presses charges on any theft as small as a pack of gum.

Most places these days dont confront thieves as the loss of goods doesnt out weight the loss of life should someone pull a gun.

Over the years I managed a retail store by far my largest amount of shrink came from my own employees way more than shoplifters-

Walmart employees are no longer allowed to touch suspected shoplifters but they can definitely "confront" them. The AP(asset protection) manager will take them into his office and offer the shoplifter 2 options:

1) set up a payment plan for the shoplifter to pay for the item s/he was attempting to steal,or

2) police will be summoned

Put the receipt down the front of your pants.

I get checked almost every time at the Walmart in Haslet, for me it makes no difference if I came from a self check out or an attended one. I can almost also guarantee that the geriatric greeter could not read the small print on the receipt as quickly as they give it back to me. Also if you go in and check out in the garden center all of the normal Walmart frustrations disappear.

Ok let’s talk about the real issue at Walmart-

If you gotta go to the bathroom their toilet paper is next to useless-
I’m not a toilet paper snob but I do care about my butt enough to buy charmin or cottenelle for my home use-

I sometimes judge an establishment by the quality of TP they buy with the money I spend there-

So glad to get that off my chest-

It would have to be an emergency situation for me.

The older I get Bob the more emergency’s I am on the verge of-

We are talking about the exits here. Not checking receipts at the bathroom doors.

Ok Boomer

Glad you broke the ice on this subject Steve. Actually it wouldn't technically be stealing if you just moved a package of Charmin from the grocery section into the mens room.

Lol-
Heck the last couple of years I was in the hospital 4 times from 5-15 day stays-
I always had the wife bring me my charmin ultra soft by the second day-
You would think for what it cost for a hospital stay they would have a quality tissue-
But I just handle it like the trooper I am-

sam's club has a receipt checker at the front door and if I can walk right up to her and show my receipt,I'll do it...if there is a line backed up waiting to be checked,I just go around the line and out the door....heard them holler at me once and I just ignored it and kept walking to my truck....
my thoughts on this are that I've gone the check out line,paid for the item and if they want to check my receipt,have enough people at the front door so I don't get delayed leaving the store....

how could they possibly know without doing inventory every day,

$4K a say . ................

WOW, do the math @ Times 365

They have in the computer what has been received through the backdoor-
If they are having to buy more of product x, but don’t show that it has been scanned through a register, it is likely theft-
Very easy in the modern retail world.

Stop and frisk works.

I think instead of watching people try and leave stores they should not let suspicious people in to begin with. That would work lots better.

I never get checked, but I see other people do.

I look dapper when I go. If you look elevated, they do not suspect!!!

...!

The computer would think they still had plenty of stock unless someone reported the stock out or they did a physical inventory. The 4K is probably an average, meaning they are losing 1.4M per year in shrinkage. Depending on how much inventory the average walmart has on the shelves this may or may not be an alarming number. 1-3% of total inventory is typical shrinkage for a lot of businesses. Stuff gets lost, stolen, never actually received, wrong quantity etc... From what I've read their shrinkage is about 38% shoplifters, 35% employee theft, and the rest falls in the everything else bucket.

Ratz is a fairly suspicious looking guy.

Yep

Nope, you know a lot about a lot, but this is not correct-

Which part Steve? The computer part? Every business uses some version of MRP (material resource planning) to purchase inventory. SAP, Oracle, etc... They all work the same way. They have safety stocks and reorder points. When an items sells enough to hit the reorder point, the system automatically generates a Purchase Order to the supplier to replenish stock. If stuff is getting stolen, the computer would have no way of knowing the stuff wasn't on the shelf (because it was never scanned out) unless someone reported it missing or they did a physical inventory.

I have never worked in retail, so the 1-3% numbers I was reported was related to manufacturing. It may be different for retail. The percentages of internal v external theft I reported were ones I read in a forbes article online.

I am pretty sure department managers at walmart constantly check sku levels on shelf. I see them with their little gun shooting them and typing non stop, especially early in am on their walk throughs.

LOL ..some stores would shut down rather quickly I presume

That would be a physical inventory. Anyway, I am out of my lane. I know nothing about retail, I'm a manufacturing guy. Maybe they do it differently.

It depends on if it’s a warehouse delivery or DSD. I was a bread man for many years, Walmart was one of the last to go paperless DSD for us. Basically, we could deliver and remove pretty much ANYTHING we wanted as far as our products. We were only paid off of register sales. The store, itself, was a big loss for us, since the deli department would take our products and use them to make ready to eat products. This went through the registers as a different SKU. We finally negotiated a 10% shrink allowance.

The sticker items that are NOT Walmart’s brand are handled the same way. Walmart only pays for what they sell. They ain’t losing much. Trust me.

Yes, it's not like they do every sku every day I doubt but a running deal. When I was a kid I worked in parts house for several years. It was kind of first generation pos system. We would print a min/max report with what the computer thought we had then audit so many lines of it a week. The manager would then make running adjustments. I never remember doing a Physical count of whole store at once like we do in my business now. With the technology they have now we could have done it way faster and probably would have done whole store. Now Walmart and parts house are 2 different things but there were 3 of us and 300 of them so I'm sure they could.

Not sure what this has to do with anything but I was in the market for a new TV some years back and called the Wal-Mart to make sure they had the one I wanted...they said they had 3.

Got there, they had none. Computer said they had three? Manager said it happens all the time.

Which I found out to be true as I called 2 other Wal-Marts who both confirmed they had one, drove out to them...neither had them. I asked where they went? They said most likely stolen by an employee.

RIGHT. you have to ask them to put eyes on it. Their inventory systems are never accurate. Hey could physically do a complete hands on inventory, and it would be inaccurate before they were actually finished. Lol.

I just bought 3 TV's from Wal Mart. 2-43" and a 55" for bedrooms. Samsung 4k smart TV's. Paid $855.00 total. That's why people shop Wal Mart and why it's the largest retailer in the world by a bunch.

I went to Walmart thanksgiving evening to buy some square bills and trick worms. BIG MISTAKE. there was a
Zillion people pushing carts with cheap [censored] TVs in them. I was laughing. I can’t believe folks go running to throw their money away on a cheap tv. Knowing the POS ain’t gonna look good, or last. I’d rather buy a Toshiba or a Sony XBR and have a great picture that will last years.

Been watching Samsung TV's for many years. Totally satisfied with the picture and they last as long as anyone else's in my experience.

Stopped in Rockwall store this morning. Aisles blocked with carp. Got cart stuck between bicycles and boxes in aisle. After several minutes trying to free it and knocking boxes all over lady says "you all right"?. I said yep just get your carp out of the aisles. One day I slammed one of the internet shopper's carts. Same ?. I replied just get your cart to one side. She says "oh you did that I purpose". I said dang tooting b$^#@. She ran off screaming she was reporting me to somebody.

I saw a guy take an appliance off of the shelf and then take it to returns and try to get his money back for it. They were onto him and he ran away

Dang Carp are always in the way

I quoted you. I didn’t mean anything by your choice of brand. It was a convenient way to get into the conversation about their Black Friday cheap tv deals. These cheap TVs were brands I’ve never heard of. Ever. Something like “Onn” or “Oon”. Something like that. Samsung is considered a quality brand. What can you really expect of a 48” LED 4K smart tv that’s $188?!!!! I bet it is worth $188.

I've had a few of those off brand black friday TVs over the years. They work perfectly for what they are. Unless you have them set up beside a Sony or Samsung you can't tell the difference. They will last 3 or 4 year before they [censored] out, and then you get the next black friday deal.

Now I wouldn't use that type of TV for your media room, or if you are like a serious gamer or something. But to watch jeopardy and seinfield reruns big and cheap is perfect.

As for the inventory issue... free delivery for items > $50 is almost standard. Order online and let them bring it to you. That way if they drop it its on them, not you.

We shop that store because no one in the Rowlett store speaks English or even a reasonable facsimile. And the Rockwall store has at least TWO checkout lines operating most of the time.

Last time in Fry's I was next to a lady using a stolen credit card to buy like 12-15 laptops. Manager came over and whispered to me what was going on. He could tell I was getting agitated. They were claiming some issue with the registers so they could delay long enough for the cops to get there. They finally completed my purchase when they knew the cops were there.

Cool! I love a front row seat.

It was tense this lady was starting to figure out that maybe they were on to her. She kept asking what was taking so long. I was just hoping that she was not packing. I thought she might just bolt. When I got my stuff and receipt I was out of there.