[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.

[Chad Fairbanks]

I agree... based on my own observations, Employee theft and 'grazing' is a larger problem than customers stealing... Shoplifting, on the shrinkage list, is probably third or so - behind damaged/expired product and employee theft... perhaps they should search the employees before they leave...

[Cagey]

I like your theory, but think about something for a minute. Have you ever really taken a good look at those guys posted by the store exit? Does it look like they are capable of doing the mental math to see if the ticket matches the items in the bag or cart? I say they are there to intimidate. They always look like rejects from a Roller Derby team.

[lsee]

I have to laugh about Fry's because they check everyone who has made a legitimate purchase and allow all other people to flow out the door wearing backpacks, coats, baggy clothes, and large purses without a blink. I guess they believe their high-tech anti-theft alarms will catch the non-buyers if they have something on them or in their bags and purses. Meanwhile, the employees harrass the people who DID pay! I also agree that employee theft is probably the number one reason for shrinkage in nearly every business. Some businesses do search purses and bags of employees as they leave. Others have crooked managers who look the other way.

[Kaslin]

Wal_mart does it here too. They don't do it to everyone. As a matter of fact I don't remember ever being stopped. and when I am done with my purchases I usually go to the registers that are closer to the exits. (like I am trying to sneak out with something)

What bothers we more is having to show every time my credit/Debit card and drivers license every time I use it at this particular Wal-Mart. Even if I would shop every day, or after leaving the store and before driving away I remembered that I forgot some items so I go back and I will be asked again for my credit/Debit card and ID. I asked one cashier once why they do that. She told me this is the only store they do that. The store is close to Ft. Campbell Kentucky. Does that mean the people who go to this particular store are more likely to have "stolen" credit cards? I don't think so

We have 2 Wal-Marts here and I am never asked at the other store. And recently went to a Wal-Mart in Nashville a few times where they don't even know me and not once was I asked to show my ID along with my card. I have no problem if they ask once in a while but every day

[billbears]

Exactly. I worked in retail for about five years with Circuit City (no cracks, I won't even shop there myself now). The reason the check is done is because of the reason you've given. It was rampant, especially in the car stereo department where the products are small but expensive. No one checked their purchases and employees could sell their friends $1500 worth of car stereo equip for $50-60 bucks. The problem was that inventory was only done twice a year and by that time, the offending employee had usually quit.

[supercat]

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 would seem a solution to this might be to use an enhanced "proximity card" reader system. Randomly put a prox card into a fraction of products (say, 1% of products $10-$100, 10% of products $100-$1000, and all products over $1000) and enter it into the inventory control system. Then include the prox card reader at each register, and at the exit.

Unlike the normal "security tags" which are deactivated by the register without regard for what product was rung up, the prox cards would not be deactivated but merely noted as having been purchased. If a prox card is detected at a register but a corresponding UPC is not rung up, and the same prox card is detected at the exit, that would strongly suggest that the employee at that register stole that tagged product.

As an alterative method, I wonder whether it would be possible to design a multi-tier anti-shoplifting tag system with e.g. three styles of tags, for sub-$100, $100-$1000, and over-$1000 products. The register would only deliver the types of jolts appropriate to deactivate the tags of products purchased. Does that seem feasible?

On a related note: if an employee catches a "shopper" tampering with the tag of an unpurchased product, may the employee take immediate action against the shopper for tampering with store property?

[Joe Hadenuf]

Employee theft is a bigger problem than customer theft. Employees have much more opportunities.

Some just don't seem to realize this....Cashiers working with bogus customers is a billion dollar business........

[Chemnitz]

They have a name for collusion with the check out person. I forget what it is. That is the main source of shrinkage - in store thievery of one kind or another. I don't mind the check out in a big electronics store. I figure I am helping to reduce my costs. I have nothing to hide. The people are polite and friendly. CompUSA had a cop at the door who checked receipts against the bag. That policy faded away for some reason. I have not seen it done at Wal-Mart or K-Mart. The greeters at Wal-Mart were established to stop people from walking out with big ticket items. It works.