In related news, Amazon has closed its two pick up and go supermarkets in London. I have no idea if this is due to shoplifting or just general trading conditions.
There’s no doubt that shoplifting has increased, mainly due to cost of living pressures caused by rapid price inflation. When you go to Aldi now, you have to put all your bags on the conveyor so the checkout person can look into them for hidden stuff.
Already answered in response to my own incredulousness at the concept:
I think that ties into the “months later” timeline, but not exclusively.
So you buy mayo, katsup, and a video game on July 1st. On August 15th the sheriff shows up and arrests you and tells you WalMart says you stole from them.
If you paid cash you have no independent record of what you paid, if you paid credit card you at least have a total. And sometimes you can get an itemized receipt.
It isn’t a slam dunk here because apparently this class of charges is mostly people accused of buying N high ticket items, buy paying for fewer. Like paying for the top item on a stack of two based on an inventory system coming up one video game short and grainy video footage of you buying stuff.
Personally it makes me want to avoid not just self checkout but also buying stuff in person at all.
I imagine it would be still useful but less so if they stop you on the way out of the store.
Worst. Spotify. Playlist. EVER.
And if they don’t think it’s worth it to pay people to watch the store, could it really worth it to pay people to watch all the security footage, especially close enough to find shoplifters?
This seems like, not a made-up problem, but at least an extremely rare one. I’m sure there are exceptions, but it’s not like Walmart is going to come after me because two months ago a camera couldn’t see me scanning a bottle of juice. It could easily cost more just to notify me, or send me a bill and collect payment, than the item is worth, let alone press charges.
Imagine going back in time just 25 years and explaining to someone that you couldn’t buy bananas because you left your phone at home.
I dunno. This sounds an awful lot like how toll road billing works in most states these days (except that shoplifters don’t display license plates). Maybe it is worth it to them? But I’m with you; it’s got to be the rare case where they go after some poor joe or jane for slipping an extra pack of gum into their bag.
Ha! Thank you for the reply! I wish I’d thought of including that with my post 
I don’t use them because they deprive real people of a job.
The worst part of the Apple Store is that they imply you are wasting their time if you try to walk in, talk to a sales associate, and then pay them for the item you were looking for. Didn’t you know to use the store icon on the device you don’t have to buy something?!
Apparently they’re closing three, but another seventeen are already open in London and two more are going to open; so it sounds more like these locations didn’t work or the rental on the premises was going to expire and it wasn’t worth renewing.
Interesting discussion with different checkout methods.
I wonder - if you use the scan and bag app (item off shelf, scan with phone, put in bag)… are you subject to less or more scrutiny than someone using the self-checkout section?
Sort of like a NEXUS card, you are subject to less scrutiny because they at least have your name, address and a credit card… where self-checkout there’s no ID provided (assuming cash).
Yes there’s a benefit to having that information, but does that translate to trust?
The stores themselves are to blame for theft and loss. There are ways to prevent losses, apps and self-checkouts and less staff eyeballs is not the way.
If your Apple Store experience is anything like mine, half the battle is just finding someone to ring up your stuff.
Yes, there seem to be a lot of them still there.
I was a bit surprised that the Ealing branch closed. It’s 5 minutes walk from the Broadway station on the District, Central, Elizabeth and ON lines, in a major shopping centre. That said, Safeways and Tesco went bust in the same location so maybe it is cursed.
When I worked at Selfridges a long time ago, I had a week’s training during which I was taught that 80% of “shrinkage” from retail outlets is done by staff pilfering. IDK if that is still true.
Thank you, Baker B. I got a computer science degree in 1978 and now I’m 67 (a senior!) I sure do understand technology.
I shop at five different grocery brands (Kroger, Safeway, etc) and self-check registers all have the bags sitting on a scale (does that really not happen at some grocery stores?)
Some, even today, are mis-calibrated to claim the scanned item didn’t go into the bag (or give you about 4 seconds to move the item into the bag). Yes, it has required the human to intervene multiple times when I have a big cart-ful. But we aren’t talking user error here.
The registers make a noise in that case. They make an even bigger noise if you lift a bag off the scale before paying. Of course, I prefer to shop on weekday afternoons (you’re welcome), so there’s isn’t crowd noise to obscure the beeps.
I rarely faced abuse at work due to unruly customers but the worst was always in customer service oriented jobs like being a valet at an “upsacle” hotel.
I once had a customer who was a complete jerk to my face. He berated me in the driveway and made a big show of tipping the bellhop in front of me. (Iirc I was helping another customer out so he had to wait a few seconds before I addressed him). He was laying in to me while kind of smirking that he was putting me in my place. He even asked what I thought of myself for my (perceived) transgression.
Now I’m not usually a confrontational person but sometimes my words are faster than my brain. The words that I heard escaping my mouth were to the effect: I find it really odd that you would berate someone publicly and try to shame them for your own personal enjoyment. I also find it really odd that you’d make a really big show about tipping someone who has maybe like $1000 worth of your clothes on a cart and you think it’s a good idea to piss off someone who’s about to drive your $70k out of your line of sight.
No one clapped and I did fear for my job after that encounter. Amazingly enough, I did receive an apology from that guest and remained employed there up until I quit a year later.
As for self checkout - meh. I’d rather wait in line and have a human help me. I kind of like the change in pace of waiting my turn and then making awkward conversation with my cashier an/or bagger.
The worst self-checkouts are at home improvement stores especially when buying lags and other individual bolts/washers/nuts. Every time I do that i curse myself for not going to an Ace hardware or local fastenal.
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