[vikingchick]

That's because Martha Stewart is their spokeswoman, so they assume everybody is a criminal. :)

[facedown]

Sam's Club has been doing this forever.

[RedsHunter]

I agree with your position. If I do not like to shop at retail outlets where I will be asked to confirm the contents of my shopping bag against my receipt, I can stop giving that outlet my patronage. Moreover, in fairness, I also should let them know that that is why I will no longer be their customr.

[babylonian]

I was in K-Mart an hour ago. No problem. No search. Must be your neighborhood.

[alisasny]

I am going to do this if it happens again. I am constantly stopped at our local Target store and find it pathetic as the person at the door has clear view to the checkers...

In addition I worked in retail for a very long time and let me tell you, shoplifting is on the lowest scale of the totem pole. In fact it is so obtuse that to get convicted of it is near impossible and a store never gets its stolen property back. I liken it to a street punk breaking someones car window....never will restitution be seen.

In addition the risk to store personel to stop an offending shoplifter is outright dangerous. I was attacked once by a loser shoplifter 100 lbs heavier then me which I will never forget and had me thinking twice before I ever tried to stop one again. I never did.

Also, doesn't the offender have to leave the store with the stolen merchandise? You did not steal it until you left the store.

[NerdDad]

Every Wal-Mart I have been in in the last 5 years has been doing this. I assumed it was a slop-over from their Sam's Club policy and have never considered it a big deal. Just for grins, I may follow your example and put the "door-nazi" on the spot.

[dalereed]

The Home Depot stores in the L.A. area are doing the same thing.

They haven't re instituted it in the San Diego County stores yet, they did it years ago, but one of the ones that I am in regurlarly in Oceanside has been losing over $100k per month to theft and I expect them to start checking people exiting the stores shortly.

Not only can't they survive with that kind of a loss rate but honest customers have to pay for that loss in higher prices.

[Dog Gone]

The Fourth Amendment only applies to government searches. Always has.

I'm appalled by the amount of shoplifting that goes on in this country, and I'm paying for it through higher prices. It's a minor inconvenience to have someone compare receipts to merchandise, but if it deters crime, it's a small price to pay.

My opinion would be different if they demanded a strip search or something really intrusive. But to check your bag is no big deal. Really.

[DC native]

Walmart in Southern Maryland started doing this to me 3 or 4 years ago. I asked to speak to the manager and told him I didn't appreciate being treated like a criminal and that because I have 3 children, I spend a lot of money in their store, and maybe I would take my money elsewhere...yada yada yada. The manager was polite but unimpressed, repeating the mantra, "it's company policy." However, I noticed that the crack security force left me alone from that point on.

Now that I'm in Virginia, the whole thing has started again...but I'm tired and old now, so I fight back by taking my business elsewhere.

[BulletBrasDotNet]

Then turn around and return your purchase. That REALLY pisses them off. Two weeks ago, I returned a $600 cell phone at Comp USA after they asked me to see a receipt. I said, "Sure, let's go over here (customer service/return counter) and let's process my return!"

This attitude started with airline "security" and is becoming rampant in American society against mature WASP, 7th generation middle-aged business men. And yes, I'm an MCP and don't believe in this political correctness crap! Those that slurp that scuz can go invite Nelson Mandella to join them to live in France.

[blackbart1]

(This is why I don't have a Costco membership.)

You are missing a lot of bargains my FR frined. If I owned a store and was loosing money the way most places of business are I'd check too. No biggy unless you have something in your basket you didn't pay for.

[Chad Fairbanks]

I don't know what the practice is in your locale, but here, they must see you select an item, conceal the item, and attempt to leave without paying in order to legally detain you. Of course, if you voluntarily agree to be detained then that is your choice - If you DON'T, and they DO try to detain you, they are up poop creek without means of propulsion...

[Dr. Frank fan]

In Fry's I just walk right on through. Never had any problems. It's good of you to get the word out, though. Not everyone is aware that they have the right to do this (sadly); even I had to be told by a friend of mine.

[Sam Cree]

I sort of think that if that is their policy, you agree to having your shopping bag (not your person) checked when you agree to do business with them.

Costco briefly checks everyone's cart as they exit (equality before the law), I find that much less objectionable than selective checks (arbitrary application of the law), which I've not experienced anyway. My apologies for the analogy.

[Cagey]

Excellent advice. And, I got a kick out of your line:
(Sometimes this is hard to explain, because the checker is not an American citizen.)

[No Truce With Kings]

Surprisingly, the reason for this is not shoplifing. It is employee fraud. Think about it. You go from the checkout stand to the door. What opportunity to you have to grab someting? Very little. What are the odds that the cashier is going to miss your playing jiggery-pokery with the contents of the shopping cart, transfering goods from the cart to a bag of rung-up merchandice? Pretty small.

OTOH, if you are in cahoots with the cashier, the cashier can ring up half of your goods, put the rest in the bag uncharged, and even staple the bag shut with the receipt on the bag. You walk out with $300-400 in electronics, sell it at a flea market or pawn shop and split the take with the cashier.

It gets written off as shoplifting, and store security cannot figure out why they ain't seeing folks boosting stuff. Employee theft is a bigger problem than customer theft. Employees have much more opportunities.

[Sonny M]

I've seen both sides of the coin here. For the record, most shrinkage is done by employees or employee related. Some stores do have the "door nazi" to protect themselves from liability of a racial discrimination lawsuit. (political correctness affects us all). If you treat a specific group that is more prone to stealing and catch a number of them, you are profiling, but if you treat everyone like a criminal and still catch the same people, then you're off the hook for the racial aspect. Also, they see it as a deterrent to possible shoplifting, since its noticible. This being said, its also stupid, ineffective, and probably does absolutley nothing, since most shoplifters, make no purchases and just steal and hide the items. They will produce no receipt, and without probable cause, and fear of a lawsuit, can't be searched. Notice they ask to search the bag, not your person. This is stupidity in the highest, and you do not save any money on price, since theft is still high, but your now paying additonal for the security.

[WFTR]

I haven't shopped at K-Mart since the Rosie O'Donnell flap, so their policies have no effect on me in any case. At Best Buy in Houston, there was always someone standing at the door to see that I was carrying a receipt or at least some other piece of paper with numbers and a shopping bag. I don't remember them asking to see inside the bag.

While they are within their rights to ask to see what's in the bag, we are within our rights to go elsewhere. I really wouldn't have a problem with their actions except as an example of how people are forgetting the intent of the Fourth Amendment. I think what we're seeing on this thread is that the problem occurs mostly in urban areas where there are all kinds of social problems anyway. The real solution will be changing those areas so that many of the problems are under control.

WFTR
Mostly afraid of your ignorance (of the 4th Amendment)
Bill

[Texas Mom]

Recently I was stopped on my way out of KMart by an employee asking to see my receipt and contents of my bags. I asked if I was suspected of doing something illegal to which he replied, "No, it's just our policy to match purchases against your receipt." I told him that unless he had reasonable cause to believe that I'd done something illegal there was no way I was going to let him inspect either one. To his credit, he did not press the issue and allowed me to leave.

They have done that at Sams Club and Walmart for years.. Maybe because they have had so many shop lifter in the past.

[Libloather]

4. Quit yer bitchin' and get over it.