Receipt checkers trigger me

Every time they try to stop me at Walmart, I just say, no thank you, and keep walking. Nobody's ever tried to stop me from leaving the store.

Sam's club and Costco are a little different. I begrudgingly stop there because of the membership. We technically agreed to it in the terms of signing up.

Walmart receipt checkers infuriate me but Costco receipt checkers do not because Walmart is a predatory shithole while Costco is the opposite of that. It's the same reason why I don't give a shit if people steal from Walmart.
- Costco is just as predatory. It is all about profit and they aren't your friend.

Just... Don't stop? Keep walking. They legally can't stop you and they know it. It's a psychological barrier, not a physical or legal barrier. Make direct eye contact, smile, say "No, thanks" and keep walking. It's worked for me so far.

I did this today as you suggested. I pretended I was deaf and didn't even look at them when they tried waving at me and calling me. Normal employees no yellow vest either so they're not even AP. Just kept walking

I once sat and chatted with one of these guys waiting for a bad downpour to stop. Being stopped sucks, I know, but here’s some insider information:

They are stopping you for appearances. They absolutely are skimming your receipt, they really don’t care about you personally. It’s all circus.

If they are looking, they are looking for the big loss items. That TV that gets rung up in the back, was it actually rung up? The water case under the cart coming from self checkout? Another big loser for the company. Coming with a tote or loaded cart from the wrong direction is a little obvious to everyone.

Every other stop is for show. To remind the tote runner they are watching. To make the TV thief skittish. It’s all about appearances and breaking down resolve. The door guys can’t stop you, but they can make you afraid that they are vigilant and someone who can is waiting(and the salarymen can, shopkeeper’s privilege apparently in the US). It does work, loaded carts abandoned near the doors apparently testify to the effectiveness.

Some door hosts get by with being passive, they are supposed to be pretty chill and friendly, and dial up the theatrics when someone is reported to be suspicious or when a “frequent flyer” walks in. But that just makes it seem discriminatory and unbalanced so apparently some managers want the theatrics 24/7 to avoid the complaints of unfair treatment.

But that just makes it seem discriminatory and unbalanced so apparently some managers want the theatrics 24/7 to avoid the complaints of unfair treatment.

This was in the back of my mind the entire time I was reading your comment. They may want to stop shoppers based only on when they see red-flag items in their cart, but that would leave things open for the door hosts to (consciously or not) stop shoppers based on the appearance of the shopper themselves. To mitigate that gray area, they decide to just stop everybody.
someone who can is waiting(and the salarymen can, shopkeeper’s privilege apparently in the US)

Can you elaborate on this? I've never heard of it.
- I understand that each state makes adjustments to this which may grant more or less powers, but here’s a Wikipedia on the overall concept:
  
  https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shopkeeper's_privilege
  
  So for example during the aforementioned security theater at the doors, someone who is legally a representative of the company ownership(generally the managers making salaries are bonded to this) is doing their best to catch someone in the act of stealing, putting something in a coat, loading a cart and bypassing the register, etc, and this gives them grounds for some mild detainment. This apparently covers them stopping you at the door or firmly requesting you join them in their office to clear things up(and wait for the real authorities), and means no one questions if they grab the cart which is company property and doesn’t let you leave with it.

As everyone has said, they have no legal basis to stop you from walking out, unless they're asserting shopkeeper's privilege, which has certain limits and opens them up to possible liability. This is why employees are trained that only managers and Loss Prevention can do that.

However, they absolutely are able to ban you from a store for not complying. How effective a ban is at a store that sees thousands of people walking in every day, I'm not sure. But it's something to keep in mind if you have limited other options nearby.

However, they absolutely are able to ban you from a store for not complying. How effective a ban is at a store that sees thousands of people walking in every day, I’m not sure. But it’s something to keep in mind if you have limited other options nearby.

This.

Don't take the advice of 'Ignore them and push past them'. You can get trespassed by LP and if you're caught in that store again it is a misdemeanor and you'll be arrested, processed into the local jail and have to post bond.

Your store may not do this but it is completely within their right to trespass anybody for any reason and if they're a store with a lot of theft then they're more likely to target the people who are attempting to bypass their screening.

They're standing there during time periods where there is likely to be theft so that, if they're clued in by LP, they can stop an individual and check their receipts. The average customer they're going to simply look at your receipt and let you go on your way because they have no reason to suspect you. If they thought that you specifically were stealing then they'd be inventorying your cart.

Decades ago, my father would have some fun with the receipt checkers at Costco. After a shopping trip, we'd commonly have lunch at the cafe in Costco. When leaving the store, he'd hand the receipt checker the receipt for lunch rather than the receipt for the items bought. More than half the time, the checker would just swipe the receipt with a highlighter (their way of marking it "checked") without noticing that it was the wrong receipt. So ya, it's complete security theater. Anyone with a modicum of thought can figure ways around it, and it only accomplishes inconveniencing the people who aren't trying to get away with anything.

I’d be surprised if that worked these days. They do much more than just a cursory check whenever we go. And they also now scan your membership when you enter, and your photo pops up on their tablets. I’d be curious what would happen if the photo didn’t match…
- Yeah, I see them counting the times in my cart every time I leave. The receipts have total number of items listed at the bottom.

Nothing like being treated like a criminal when I go into a store to give them money.

Stores lose a huge amount of money to shop lifting. They won't risk profits unless it is worth it.
- It’s actually down in most areas.
  
  Broader claims about trends in retail theft have not panned out. Walgreens, for example, cited spikes in shoplifting as an explanation for falling profits and store closures. The claim has since been retracted. Target blamed theft for a rash of store closures. But an analysis by researcher Jeff Asher showed that, according to the limited data available, the stores Target closed in Portland and Seattle had less crime than stores that were not closing. Reporting by CNBC in September 2023 also cast doubt on retailer claims about the impact of theft, noting that “certain retailers” have “pulled back” from blaming organized theft as “a primary cause of losses.” In fact, to the extent it can be relied upon, industry data cuts against the idea of a recent national spike in retail theft.

There are other shops beside Walmart, aren't there?

The idea is to make people who are stealing nervous

You don't have to stop. I never do. I might say hi in passing when I walk by them and catch eye contact. If one ever tells me I need to stop for them to check, I would tell them to check the security cameras. We are tracked the entire time we are in there. I'm not stopping for them to pretend to check for shop lifters.

I've seen people in line waiting to be checked. WTF is wrong with people. They are not entitled to your time. You already paid for it. The transaction is done. If they want to do something else with my stuff, go check the tapes.

Security theater, just like the TSA. They don't need to stop bad actors, they just need to convince their shareholders that they are taking action against losses.

It does work as it plays on your subconscious self.

Same thing with stuffed police men and parked police cars.

They can see my receipt for 10 bucks

What's even worse than a real cop is a poser cop. I love meanmugging them.

I only experience this at Costco and my theory is that they just check that it’s a receipt from today, and that it is about the right length for your size of cart. On top of just making sure you have a receipt at all, this would make it harder to walk out with a pirate cart. Plus there’s just an overall deterrence because you don’t really know how much they are checking. Maybe every 10th person gets a real look-over.

Iirc they just check the date to make sure you arent using an old receipt so that might explain why they look at it so briefly, not that they really get paid enough to do anything more

So, Walmart has a membership option now, which means, yes they can check your receipts. It's not required my law (lol) but it is legal.

And yes, security theater to scare thieves away. I remedy this by not shopping at Walmart.

I always wonder why people get annoyed at receipt checkers, but then again I only see it at Costco.

I don’t have a nearby Walmart, so avoiding them is trivial

Really depends on the person. Get a crotchety old guy and you may notice only certain people getting stopped. Or sometimes their tone obviously suggests you stole the groceries you just purchased, even though they have literally no authority or right to suggest such a thing. Or consider when I was ~12, a pedophile old man Walmart greeter tried to make moves on me. But that one might just be me.

The practice feels like/arguably is an accusation. From a multi-billion dollar corporation. When I legitimately bought this shit. Get out of my way.
- I just say "no thanks!" and walk by. Our interaction is done once I've paid for my stuff. Want to check my receipt? Too bad, I get it on my phone and I'm not showing you my phone.
Costco requires a membership so it's likely in their terms of service that you have to consent to their checks. Walmart does not, so you can refuse without any recourse.

I read that as recipe checker and got more and more confused reading that. Are they now having people checking your recipes in the shop to make sure you got all the ingredients?

My Walmart scans the receipt and then scans 3 items from your cart to verify they're on the receipt.

Good thing they didnt check that 4th item I stole

I don't live in the states but there's similar systems in some department stores here in Australia and I suspect, but don't know, that applicable law in these cases is broadly similar. The store and their employees aren't law enforcement and can't arrest you or have any legal recourse for you ignoring their demands to stop and allow your receipt to be checked. They likely also have the right to refuse service to you and deny you entry to their premises and so long as this isn't being done for a small number of specifically forbidden reasons (such as on the basis of race for example) they don't need a legal justification to do so. This would mean that refusing to comply with their receipt checking policy might be enough if they see fit, to decide to deny you entry to their stores going forward. Many large department stores are incorporating facial recognition and don't it seems feel the need for proper informed consent beyond some printed signage saying that but entering you're consenting, so the practicality of them doing this is at least a little bit higher these days but I guess there's no way to assess how likely this really is.

the club stores have been doing this for awhile. normalization of it is definately another step on the road to dystopia though.

Maybe we could stop shop lifting? It costs the stores money and profit loses to do this.
- NEVER!