OT - Walmart receipt check - what's the point?

[imsayin]

I just went to Walmart. I can't stand the policy of stopping & showing your receipt on the way out. By the time I get to the door, I have already shoved it deep in my purse or one of my bags. Does anyone know what the point of this is?

 

[Free4Life11]

I've never had my receipt checked at Walmart. I thought they only do it if you set off the alarms.

 

[Cindy B]

I don't bother stopping. I just keep walking.

I have heard that it is illegal in public stores to ask consumers to produce receipt. In private club type stores, like BJ's Sam's or Costco, this is part of the membership agreement so you are abiding by the club's rules.

However, in a public store, they would have to enforce every single person with every single bag. That is an impossible feat. In fact, you could claim that Walmart is profiling you by only selecting you if they are not stopping every single consumer.

 

[Minnie's Pal]

Does anyone know what the point of this is?

To help prevent shoplifting ::cop:

 

[Cindy B]

To help prevent shoplifting ::cop:

Well to be technical it doesn't prevent shoplifting, but gives the appearance of preventing shoplifting.

 

[sorcerormickey]

I never undestood the receipt check thing. I just keep walking on the rare occasion I go into WM.

I HATE HATE HATE IT at Sam's and Costco!!!! There is nothing to steal between the registers and the door!! And the cashier can see your cart that you have not forgotten anything in it. Sometimes it takes 10 mins just to get thru the receipt check area if the people in front of you have cart loads of stuff.

 

[Siouxstone]

I don't believe all WalMarts do this. But, I do know the point. If a potential shoplifter sees this action in place, the idea is that they will find somewhere else to steal. It creates an awareness of security. It's the same when a door alarm goes off. If shoplifters see the store employees react to the alarm, they know they will react to him. If they see the employees ignoring the alarm, they know they have a good chance of not being stopped.

It's a shame we all have to pay the price for shoplifting. That's why things are cheaper in lower crime areas and higher in problem markets. The stores have to make up for losses somehow.

 

[iluveeyore]

I shop at the Walmart in Buffalo all the time - I only get asked for my receipt if I have something in my cart that isn't bagged (dog food, pop case, etc.).

 

[Crazoo]

I've only had mine checked once at my local Walmart in maybe 50+ trips there.

Also once I had my gym bag and shoes with me (gym is right beside Walmart) and they looked at my shoes asking to see the receipt for them, even though they weren't even close to new looking

 

[mickeyfan2]

I don't bother stopping. I just keep walking.

I have heard that it is illegal in public stores to ask consumers to produce receipt. In private club type stores, like BJ's Sam's or Costco, this is part of the membership agreement so you are abiding by the club's rules.

However, in a public store, they would have to enforce every single person with every single bag. That is an impossible feat. In fact, you could claim that Walmart is profiling you by only selecting you if they are not stopping every single consumer.

One of the Walmarts by us does check every customer's receipt. Not too hard really.

 

[luvdzny]

I work at a large grocery store, we were just talking about shoplifting in our manager's meeting today. One popular method is to build a "wall" around the outside of your cart with large items that usually are not put in bags (toilet paper, soda cases, milk etc.) And then put stuff in the middle and leave the store without paying. If someone sees you they may assume you have already paid for these larger items even though they are not in bags. Checking receipts at the door would prevent this. It is not illegal to check receipts in Wisconsin (as far as I know anyway) part of my job as a manager is to watch for suspicious looking people and make sure they have a receipt when they exit the store. I guess if you know that they are going to check your receipt at the door you could just leave it out, that would make things easier on everyone. At our store if someone will not show a receipt when requested we have the authority to follow them out, take their license plate # & call the police. We have caught a few shoplifters this way. I would never take the chance of ignoring the request for a receipt, you may end up being questioned by the police.

 

[LadyyRedd]

This really doesn't do anything. Even if you stopped me with a cart full of unpaid merchandise and asked to see my receipt, if I didn't have it, you couldn't do anything about it until I was out your front door anyway. Even if you see me blatantly put a big Christmas Ham down the front of my shirt, you can't do anything about it until I walk out the door. Because if you do, I can just say that I hadn't paid yet and had every intention of paying.

I learned this ever retail place I've ever worked.

Kimya

 

[luvdzny]

This really doesn't do anything. Even if you stopped me with a cart full of unpaid merchandise and asked to see my receipt, if I didn't have it, you couldn't do anything about it until I was out your front door anyway. Even if you see me blatantly put a big Christmas Ham down the front of my shirt, you can't do anything about it until I walk out the door. Because if you do, I can just say that I hadn't paid yet and had every intention of paying.

I learned this ever retail place I've ever worked.

Kimya

This is true, but then you would either have to go back and pay (if you didn't) or we can follow you out and ask you again. If you still refuse then we can call the police & they can question you.

 

[Avonlady1001]

All the times I've been stopped at Walmart, they don't even look in ANY of the bags. They just check the receipt with a highlighter, or punch a hole in it.

I think they just don't have anything for these people to do.

 

[imsayin]

I don't bother stopping. I just keep walking.

I've decided that this is my new strategy. Pretend I don't hear or understand them.

 

[mrsklamc]

This really doesn't do anything. Even if you stopped me with a cart full of unpaid merchandise and asked to see my receipt, if I didn't have it, you couldn't do anything about it until I was out your front door anyway. Even if you see me blatantly put a big Christmas Ham down the front of my shirt, you can't do anything about it until I walk out the door. Because if you do, I can just say that I hadn't paid yet and had every intention of paying.

I learned this ever retail place I've ever worked.

Kimya

Maybe this varies by state? I worked places in college where we called the police and had people cited for putting things in their clothes.

 

[kaw1218]

All the times I've been stopped at Walmart, they don't even look in ANY of the bags. They just check the receipt with a highlighter, or punch a hole in it.

I think they just don't have anything for these people to do.

They are also checking the date and time. Some theives will purchse something, put it in their car, and then go back into the store and grab a 2nd set of what ever.

 

[bumbershoot]

Well, when I was in chiro school in SC in the early to mid-90s, many of the people I was around (in school and locals) seemed to think that it was part of the End Times, getting us all ready to be Marked with a certain set of numbers...it was all gearing up for the change to the new millenium (which they all said was 99 going to '00, but that's not right, it was '00 to '01). And Clinton figured into all of that, him being the sign of all this stuff that was going to happen, and the world would be done in 7 years.

Uh oh, it's 2007.

Oh wait, if things started at '01, then we've got another year. Whew



All that said, I have NO idea why they do it. Some sort of control measure, I'm sure.

 

[uratoon]

Here in Arkansas all of them check the rec. if you have anything that is not in a bag.

I hate Wal-Mart and I try my best to not shop there for any reason!

 

[nybound]

This really doesn't do anything. Even if you stopped me with a cart full of unpaid merchandise and asked to see my receipt, if I didn't have it, you couldn't do anything about it until I was out your front door anyway. Even if you see me blatantly put a big Christmas Ham down the front of my shirt, you can't do anything about it until I walk out the door. Because if you do, I can just say that I hadn't paid yet and had every intention of paying.

I learned this ever retail place I've ever worked.

Kimya

Actually that's not necessarily true. It varies by state.

An example of Massachusetts law can be found at

http://www.masscriminal-lawyers.com/pages/massachusetts_shoplifting.html

As to checking at the door, I don't mind. The time it takes is minimal, and I have nothing to hide. In fact, my kids like to ask for smiley faces on the receipt (from the stores that mark them).