PSA: Walmart Receipt Checking

[DebbieB]

I was at Walmart yesterday and there was a receipt checker at the exit. However, there were so many people leaving he could not check everyone, he was in the middle of someone's receipt, so I just walked by.

I would have kept the receipt because what if you get outside and it's leaking.

 

[npmommie]

I don't really know if our walmart checks receipts or not. I always go in and out the garden section door, because parking is a lot easier and checkout is short. the last time I went out the front door, there was someone standing there, but they did not ask for my receipt.

I like to move along at the register, so I tend to just stuff a receipt in my pocket and organize later if I need to save it.

 

[kaytieeldr]

Our Walmart checks receipts from Black Friday through Christmas. I have no idea what it's supposed to do, because they don't actually LOOK in the bags. They look at the receipt, mark it with a highlighter or hole punch it, and send you on your way.

Somebody upthread asked. Apparently one shoplifting scam is to come back later in the day with the receipt, pick up the same item(s), and leave the store with the original receipt...skipping the cashier the second time.

 

[mickeysgal]

According to the OP, the cashier didn't ASK her anything. She went to hand her the receipt and the OP told her to toss it.

I misread this too. I assumed that the cashier asked her whether she wanted it or not.

Even so, the cashier knowing the policy of her store was to check receipts, she really should have told the customer she had to show it at the door. It would have circumvented the entire mess.

For those getting all torked up over having the audacity of showing a receipt....Just hold the piece of paper in your hand, pause for the 10 seconds it takes to show it to the person at the exit, and get on with your life. Good grief the indignation, drama, and inconvenience (really?) over having to show a receipt! It's mind boggling - really. Not directed at anyone in particular, but really, I sometimes think people's coping mechanisms are in sad, sad shape. How do they handle a real problem in life is beyond me.

 

[PeterPan09]

I misread this too. I assumed that the cashier asked her whether she wanted it or not.

Even so, the cashier knowing the policy of her store was to check receipts, she really should have told the customer she had to show it at the door. It would have circumvented the entire mess.

For those getting all torked up over having the audacity of showing a receipt....Just hold the piece of paper in your hand, pause for the 10 seconds it takes to show it to the person at the exit, and get on with your life. Good grief the indignation, drama, and inconvenience (really?) over having to show a receipt! It's mind boggling - really. Not directed at anyone in particular, but really, I sometimes think people's coping mechanisms are in sad, sad shape. How do they handle a real problem in life is beyond me.

I agree. If holding onto a tiny piece of paper and showing it to some poor soul that's making crap wages to check it is that annoying, your life must be pretty good. Probably a lot better than the life of the person who has the job of checking it and taking your attitude.

 

[manning]

Some say they can and some say they can't. Don't know.

All I know is when I worked for a big company they didn't do anything until they ran it through the legal department. And those companies hire the cream of the crop lawyers.

I think I will take the easy way out and show the receipt. Too much time and money to spend in the legal system. Got more impotant things to do.

 

[kwelch10377]

Was the detergent in a bag? If not, I can understand them asking for a receipt, otherwise it just looks like you picked it up.

It was in a bag.

Usually in a situation like this I bet you would find that the 20 minutes was actually 2 minutes.

It was 20 mins....I know how to tell time.


Had I known that I would have been asked I would have kept my receipt and had no problem showing it to them. Since I have never been asked here or anywhere except Costco I had no reason to think that I needed to hold on to the receipt. I just figured I was going to throw it away anyway, why not just have the cashier do it since she had a trash can right there.

 

[mhsjax]

If THAT'S inconveniencing yourself then I'm simply

I agree and besides, anyone that has shopped at Walmart has been way more inconvenienced than having a receipt checked. Walmart, is the bottom of the barrel as far as I am concerned. They are over crowded and never have enough cashiers. Getting a receipt checked if the fastest and LEAST inconvenient thing to ever happen at a Walmart.

 

[Imzadi]

According to the OP, the cashier didn't ASK her anything. She went to hand her the receipt and the OP told her to toss it.

This is when the cashier should have notified her that she should keep the receipt as someone would check for it at the door.

And that it turned into a lengthy ordeal with a manager, etc., when she should have been able to point to the cashier and have the cashier verify she'd just been sold the detergent, one would think.

Yes, it shouldn't have taken 20 minutes. The cashier should also have been able to tell the4 checker that YES, the OP did buy the detergent and asked that the receipt be thrown out. How many other people through her line in the past few minutes asked the same thing? that cashier couldn't remember 2 minutes ago?

Plus, the receipt should have been at the TOP of her pile of garbage & receipts in the garbage can. How many other people bought only detergent from that cashier in the last few minutes?

Also, the fact that it took 20 minutes, getting the manager, verifying the receipt INFERS that the customer is a thief. The fact that they couldn't just take the word of the cashier, INFERRING that they are in cahoots to steal from the store is a second insult. So Walmart doesn't even trust their own store employees either. WOW! ALL the inference is on the customer being a thief, when the problem started when the cashier should have told the customer to hang onto the receipt.

If THAT'S inconveniencing yourself then I'm simply

If I have a receipt I have to keep for a return, I will put it away in my wallet at the register, while my hands are free. The bag is still on the counter, and my wallet is already open. I don't leave important receipts in the bag as the bag might get tossed out, or it could slide out of the bag before I remember to retrieve the receipt.

Yes, to be stopped at the door with my hands full, and my wallet put away IS an inconvenience.

 

[Planogirl]

Best Buy often checks receipts here. I see it as no big deal. I understand that theft is a big problem for these stores.

My Wal-Mart has never asked but those people have been there a while and I'm sure that they know me!

 

[Jennasis]

This is when the cashier should have notified her that she should keep the receipt as someone would check for it at the door.



Yes, it shouldn't have taken 20 minutes. The cashier should also have been able to tell the4 checker that YES, the OP did buy the detergent and asked that the receipt be thrown out. How many other people through her line in the past few minutes asked the same thing? that cashier couldn't remember 2 minutes ago?

Plus, the receipt should have been at the TOP of her pile of garbage & receipts in the garbage can. How many other people bought only detergent from that cashier in the last few minutes?

Also, the fact that it took 20 minutes, getting the manager, verifying the receipt INFERS that the customer is a thief. The fact that they couldn't just take the word of the cashier, INFERRING that they are in cahoots to steal from the store is a second insult. So Walmart doesn't even trust their own store employees either. WOW! ALL the inference is on the customer being a thief, when the problem started when the cashier should have told the customer to hang onto the receipt.




If I have a receipt I have to keep for a return, I will put it away in my wallet at the register, while my hands are free. The bag is still on the counter, and my wallet is already open. I don't leave important receipts in the bag as the bag might get tossed out, or it could slide out of the bag before I remember to retrieve the receipt.

Yes, to be stopped at the door with my hands full, and my wallet put away IS an inconvenience.

I'm not suggesting that being STOPPED is inconvenient (a small SMALL inconvenience in the grand scheme). I was responding to the poster that suggested that having to keep his receipt in hand for an extra 10 seconds rather than putting it away at the register was an inconvenience.

I say it's all hogwash perpetrated by folks who NEED to find something in life to be indignant and inconvenienced by.

 

[portocall]

We always have greeters check receipts for non bagged items. I insist on bags for everything because it is a pain in the rear.

 

[shaylyn]

Remember the days when Wal-Mart had door greeters? The sweet little old men and women who would greet you at the door with a "Welcome to Wal-Mart!" as they offered you a shopping cart.....

Now those little old men and women are there to check reciepts to make sure nobody is stealing and watch and laugh you as you struggle carrying twin infants and pull a cart out at the same time (happened to me 2 months ago).

 

[YodaGirl]

It's possible that the cashier could have been holiday help, and thus be a new associate. If that was the case, (s)he may not have realized that beginning with Black Friday, people tend to be stationed at the doors through Christmas (as a pp pointed out).

It's also fairly common (in the Wal-marts in my district, as well as the adjoining district) to ask for a receipt of any item that is not in a bag. If it was laundry detergent, the chances are pretty good that it wasn't in a bag.

Put yourself in the company's shoes: Sue exits store with merchandise, no bag, and no receipt. Sue claims that she told the cashier to throw away the receipt. I can see the need in verifying it. Should it take 20 minutes to clear up? No. People greeter should contact CSM, who should walk over to register and ask cashier, who would point to the receipt in the bag. It should have taken 5 minutes, max.

ETA: It sounds as though the people greeter opted to attempt to call management as opposed to contacting a CSM. That would explain why it took so long. Managers are pretty busy this time of year, and it's not unusual to have to wait a bit to speak to one.

 

[luvmyfam444]

They have checked reciepts here for years - but typically only when the purchase is not in a bag

 

[luvmy3]

I don't have any issue with receipt checkers, our Walmart has them, and they even hire local Police officers to stand at the door on weekends.
I think this was definitely a case of poor communication on the cashier's part and mismanagement on the manager's. I'd have an issue with that too OP.

 

[scrapquitler]

I think that was what annoyed me the most. I am guessing she didn't know there was someone at the door checking receipts and I have never encountered them doing it at this store so I didn't think twice about asking her to throw in away.

At my Walmart, they seem to randomly check receipts. I think it depends on how much of a pest the greeter feels like being at any particular time.

Once I had a cart full of stuff (I mean FULL) with everything in bags except for two big jugs of laundry detergent (Walmart brand, they were about $9 each). So the receipt checker asked to look at my receipt (with the 15 or so plastic bags full of GROCERIES) and kept checking the receipt very carefully for a LONG time, and I asked him what he was looking for, and he said "OH, I can't find the laundry detergents on the receipt, and I have to verify them because they aren't in a bag."

Of course they aren't in a bag, they are huge and would rip the bag, and there's no reason to put them in the bag. Did he think I was stealing laundry detergent?

 

[sbell111]

Annnnnd?!!!! The detergent was bought and paid for, they wouldn't have a leg to stand on.

Here's the problem with your plan to ignore the greeter and have WalMart call the police, rather than to take a few minutes to straighten out the confusion: You don't have a reciept.

When the police speak to you about the issue, you can't prove that you've made the purchase. This is going to lead to hours of your life wasted getting this straightened out. Heck, it could actually lead to your arrest and conviction on theft charges.

It's so much easier to just take a pause and work it out.

That being said, can anyone be shocked that WalMart would have people check receipts on Black Friday weekend? This is likely the time when most things get stolen. Also, it is no surprise that a checker might not be aware of the receipt checking.

 

[Jennasis]

At my Walmart, they seem to randomly check receipts. I think it depends on how much of a pest the greeter feels like being at any particular time.

Once I had a cart full of stuff (I mean FULL) with everything in bags except for two big jugs of laundry detergent (Walmart brand, they were about $9 each). So the receipt checker asked to look at my receipt (with the 15 or so plastic bags full of GROCERIES) and kept checking the receipt very carefully for a LONG time, and I asked him what he was looking for, and he said "OH, I can't find the laundry detergents on the receipt, and I have to verify them because they aren't in a bag."

Of course they aren't in a bag, they are huge and would rip the bag, and there's no reason to put them in the bag. Did he think I was stealing laundry detergent?

From my days in high school working as a Kmart cashier, I can tell you I've seen it all stolen...from large televisions to a box of tampons.

 

[MamaLema]

Our local Walmart checks EVERY person's receipt. I understand it, but it's a pain in the