May I See Your Receipt?

[twinrider1]

I show my receipt. Want to debate on personal rights, fine. I'm all for protecting our rights, but showing up some octogenarian at WalMart isn't doing much for the cause. What do you really gain by making this your line in the sand?

It's about time/risk management. It takes 5 seconds to show your receipt. It's easier and faster to just show the receipt than it is to make a scene. I put this in the same category as getting carded.

 

[boomhower]

I just show it. For the most part these folks are just doing whats asked of them making minimum wage, I'm not going to give them a hard time. If I felt that strongly I wouldn't shop at the store.

 

[shabby]

Bestbuy started doing this recently, the guy pretty much sits in front of the path from the cashiers so it seems pretty pointless. Im gonna say no next time just to fuck with them.

 

[yllus]

If there's a big line at the front due to receipt checking I'd probably walk by, but otherwise I don't mind the extra thirty seconds.

 

[Hayabusa Rider]

Theft is a real problem and so I have no objection to reasonable efforts to curtail it. If that means I have to show a piece of paper to someone at the door I have no problem at all.

 

[Balt]

This doesn't bother me at all.

That said, I don't think it's very effective at preventing theft.

 

[waggy]

Bestbuy started doing this recently, the guy pretty much sits in front of the path from the cashiers so it seems pretty pointless. Im gonna say no next time just to fuck with them.

I just got a new keyboard+ mouse combo pack from best buy (it was on sale!). I paid at the chashier station and not even 10 ft away the guy asked to see my reciept. I laughed and said "fuck man you watched the whole transaction!" and walked by.

why would you have him at the end of the registers? its pointless. he wasn't even in front of the door. i can understand being at the door but the end of the registers?

 

[MongGrel]

Can't even vote I usually just show it to em if it's convenient.

I think I've blown them off a few times and just walked out.

I think I've even had them ask a few times and made a "WTF are you even asking me" face and they said never mind.

If the guy is close enough he has probably seen me fold it up to save for a warranty and put it in my wallet all ready, hell no.

 

[Sonikku]

9 years ago I wanted an Xbox 360 and they were in short supply. A Best Buy was opening in my town and they were assured to have some when they opened their doors so I was sure to be there as they opened their gates. I snagged one immediately and checked out. As I was heading out the door the guy in between the double doors asked to see my receipt "to make sure I wasn't over charged for anything".

What a croc of bullshit if I had ever heard one. And yet, I was working for a call center at the time. I Was myself spewing all kinds of obligatory non-nonsensical corporate bullshit that must have sounded like it made perfect sense to some suits thinking the big thoughts but came off as completely ridiculous to any rational human being. But it isn't ones place to question, only to do what your told. So rather than give him a hard time or make an issue about it, I just handed him the damn receipt and went about my way.

 

[Kaido]

Theft is a real problem and so I have no objection to reasonable efforts to curtail it. If that means I have to show a piece of paper to someone at the door I have no problem at all.

When I started working retail after high school, I was AMAZED at how much theft there was. I worked at one office supply store in a really nice part of town and it was just incredible how much theft there was, despite that the affluence in that area. Even simple stuff like people hiding things in bags & then buying the bags. Before that, I thought shoplifting was a pretty rare thing, only done by punk kids. Retail changed my views on that pretty quickly

 

[Kaido]

My only problem is that I never remember where I stuffed the receipt three seconds ago. Sometimes it's in my wallet, or a pocket, or one of multiple bags, so then I have to sit there & dig through my stuff to prove that I bought what I bought, haha.

 

[yllus]

I just got a new keyboard+ mouse combo pack from best buy (it was on sale!). I paid at the chashier station and not even 10 ft away the guy asked to see my reciept. I laughed and said "fuck man you watched the whole transaction!" and walked by.

why would you have him at the end of the registers? its pointless. he wasn't even in front of the door. i can understand being at the door but the end of the registers?

When I worked retail, a not inconsiderable amount of theft was perpetrated by teams of "shoppers" and their friends who worked as cashiers; they would swipe one item but not the other more expensive one. This could be some new way of double-checking if that's occurring.

 

[Paladin3]

Receipt checking does nothing except piss off honest customers by treating them like thieves and forcing them to prove they didn't steal something. If an actual thief refused to show a receipt he didn't have, no Walmart greeter is going to do a single thing about it other than wave goodbye. Same thing happens when the tag alarm goes off. How does that help reduce theft when thieves know the policy has no teeth?

It would be better if they actually spent the hours the spend on a receipt checker on a real loss prevention employee or two. Go after real thieves, not the placebo of checking your honest customers who comply with the insulting receipt check.

I don't get outraged when I get asked for a receipt, but I'm likely to just smile and politely say "no, thank you" if I'm asked. There are better things stores can do to reduce theft.

 

[Anonemous]

ugh, I remember one time going to a Costco on the weekend. Felt like a TSA security checkpoint since the 2 lines for receipt checking were 30-40 carts long..

 

[who?]

One of the secrets to staying wealthy is to control how much money goes out. Some people do this by stealing. As has already been mentioned some cashiers help their friends by not ringing up everything.
When a furniture store in Albuquerque went out of business one of the stories the owner told the newspaper was about a famous actress haggling over the price of a sofa. He said to her "but you have all this money.". She replied "now you know how I have all this money.".

 

[GagHalfrunt]

One of the secrets to staying wealthy is to control how much money goes out. Some people do this by stealing. As has already been mentioned some cashiers help their friends by not ringing up everything.
When a furniture store in Albuquerque went out of business one of the stories the owner told the newspaper was about a famous actress haggling over the price of a sofa. He said to her "but you have all this money.". She replied "now you know how I have all this money.".

What hasn't been mentioned is that in retail employee theft accounts for 60-70% of stolen merchandise. The secret to keeping customers from stealing is actually pretty easy. At least it used to be. If your store staff is well trained and gives a damn about their jobs that can reduce shrink to a huge degree. Nowadays with mostly part-timers making minimum wage it's a lot harder. They can't be bothered, they're just trying to collect a check for hanging with their friends and if the store goes under another one will open down the street. No big loss. There are 1000 ways for even a dimwitted, stoned 16 year old employee to rob a store blind and it takes a big investment in trained loss prevention employees to stop it. The receipt checkers are more of a deterrent. They don't really catch anything, they're like scarecrows to keep away the more cowardly first-timer thieves. The rest don't care. They're not walking out the door with stolen merchandise in a bag. The customers thieves hide it under their clothes and the employees mostly go out the various back and side doors.

 

[SparkyJJO]

I've never been asked but I don't see how it would be such a big deal to show them the receipt and they glance over stuff for 20 seconds.

I think some people here just like getting all worked up over nothing. Can't be good for your blood pressure.