I have enough trouble making sure the clerk rings up products correctly, in the regular line.
Posted on 07/28/2019 6:10:45 AM PDT by Daffynition
Beneath the bland veneer of supermarket automation lurks an ugly truth: There’s a lot of shoplifting going on in the self-scanning checkout lane. But don’t call it shoplifting. The guys in loss prevention prefer “external shrinkage.”
Self-checkout theft has become so widespread that a whole lingo has sprung up to describe its tactics. Ringing up a T-bone ($13.99/lb) with a code for a cheap ($0.49/lb) variety of produce is “the banana trick.” If a can of Illy espresso leaves the conveyor belt without being scanned, that’s called “the pass around.” “The switcheroo” is more labor-intensive: Peel the sticker off something inexpensive and place it over the bar code of something pricey. Just make sure both items are about the same weight, to avoid triggering that pesky “unexpected item” alert in the bagging area.
(Excerpt) Read more at getpocket.com ...
I have enough trouble making sure the clerk rings up products correctly, in the regular line.
Other people’s thievery makes the price of my groceries go up.
Don’t sweat it - the thieves are way ahead of us - years ago.
Better idea: Occasionally use the line when it’s crowded and say “I love self checkout - think about how many people it puts out of work and on welfare”.
I find self-checkout lanes to be patently offensive so I’m not going to cry about the most obvious of ways to game the system being done. These things were a terrible idea in the first place and companies that implement them deserve to lose money.
You can’t sit there and tell me that the bean counters have decided that the theft of goods this way is cheaper than not hiring actual check out clerks?!
I wonder, when the losses are compared to the cost of an extra cashier, what the bottom line looks like?
I’ve heard about technology to allow people to shop, and the total is calculated automatically from electronic signals when they put an item in the basket. My détails could be wrong, but the bottom line is, no cashiers and automatic payment.
I’ve seen that stores usually have a clerk standing near the self-checkout. Also, Walmart usually has a person to check the receipt against purchases.
Regardless of the methods to try to prevent shoplifting, part of the retail price covers losses due to shoplifting. That partly explains why convenience stores have higher prices than groceries.
Which is why food and things cost more in poor areas. So to make up for their thievery, we give them EBT cards.
So to make up for their thievery, we give them EBT cards.
Gotta take care of the “poor” ya no.....
Retail theft is huge (shoppers and staff).
WM’s peak is past, no more easy 5% annual growth, so now it’s cost reduction and profit increases. They let go of employee drug testing, need the bodies. Their online order/store pickup model cuts theft, is probably their next thing.
Exactly right. You know they figured out every angle and determined self checkout to be the overall cheapest option.
Our grocery store has a total automatic option, where I scan in the item as I place it in my bags in the cart. When I am through shopping I put in my credit card at the check out area and am done. I asked the cashier who stands in that area, “What if I forgot to scan something in when I placed it in my shopping bag in the cart?” She told me that it was all built into the system and they allowed for people to get away with missing some items. So... unintended shoplifting I guess was built in.
If you can have one person watch four lanes. Then you profit by 3 salaries minus the price of the four machines. As long as the shrinkage is less, than that increase in profit and the shrinkage in the salaried lines then the store is better off.
I believe the stores are watching and recording the cards used by those suspected of stealing. If they lose too much then just like casinos they will deal with the problem people.
This article is fiction.
All meats are barcoded and cannot be rung up for .49 per pound.
If someone decides to switch scan-able tags, the weights must match almost perfectly. I once had a half gallon carton of chocolate milk. I opened it as I was shopping and took two small swigs from the carton. I went to check out and when I scanned it the alarm rang and noted the milk was not the correct weight.
Walmart seems to have turned off the “unexpected item in bagging area” at my local store self check out. I never get that anymore. They are going with cameras now.
To think that the local politicians are allowing thievery among its inner city population up to a certain dollar amount, no arrest, no jail time just a we understand there victimization and social injustice you are experiencing in a white supremisist society mind set. Those who are law abiding citizens are held to the law those who don’t are excused. Nice message
Walmart needs to forget the neighborhood markets and buy Dollar General along with convenience stores like Sheetz, Wawa and Go Mart in the East. Keep the brand names and use Walmart’s buying power and logistics to amp the profits. It’s time to unWalmart Walmart to extend the reach.
Liars and thieves.... I can tolerate nether.
...they figured out every angle and determined self checkout to be the overall cheapest option.
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Only as long as the majority is still essentially honest. Once that shifts, everyone will steal something until the cost/benefit ratio flips.
I hate self-checkout. Unless they offer a substantial discount for doing the work of the cashier, I use the remaining traditional checkout lanes. For 25% off,I’d go the self-checkout route.
When WM first implemented the automated lanes, I read somewhere that they had live mics in the remaining checkout lanes to monitor customer reaction. I asked the manager when he was manning a cash register. He said no one had told him that. I said, “Maybe they’re monitoring you guys, too.”
His eyes widened.
Without God, we become a nation of thieves, and a totalitarian state will step in like organized crime so that one group can better steal from the others.
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