Wal Mart Receipt Checks

[Serendipity]

I'd imagine that Wal-Mart's policies about receipt checks vary from demographic-to-demographic. Unless I'm leaving a W.M. with an unbagged item, I don't get stopped. While I KNOW that a Wal-Mart employee can't legally detain me for walking through a receipt check, unless I'm in a great hurry to be somewhere, then a few seconds doesn't make that much difference to me.

As one matures (IF one ever matures!), "making moot points" becomes less relevant.

 

[Nehemiah Scudder]

They don't do hardly anything at all at Wal-Mart without policies from Corporate.

When I worked for them, we used to joke that they controlled the thermostat from Arkansas.

They check receipts everywhere, or are supposed to anyways.

 

[Lindenberger]

Serendipity

Straight up.

 

[Darth Muffin]

Just say "No, thanks." and keep on walking. 95% of the time this is enough and the end of the issue for me at Wal-Mart, Frys, and others.

Occasionally they will insist, saying "I have to/am supposed to check your receipt, sir!" and I reply with "I am not responisble for your flawed policy--I bought and paid for these items, I own them and the receipt, and I do not have to show them to anyone."

It's never gone past that, but if pressed and asked to stay for a manager or LP person, I would comply but also would not let them search it either. I would offer to stay until police arrive, and at that point they can explain to the police why they are detaining me, exactly what I have shoplifted and exactly where I am concealing it, and that would give the police probable cause to search me. In most states that info is required for a "good stop".

If instead of asking me to wait, they laid hands on me, that would first cause a loud, attention getting, accusation. If they persisted it would be treated as and responded to as an assault--because it is.

Note that at Costco, I believe that agreeing to the checking of the receipt is part of the agreement you sign when you buy your membership. If you don't like it, don't get a membership.

 

[Serendipity]

As I said, "IF one ever matures..."

 

[slzy]

news says walmart sales did not meet expectations and their stock is down.i have not suffered by not going in there. buy used .do without .reload.i've done my part.

 

[Sergeant Sabre]

YET, so far, no one will acknowledge my right as a consumer, nor my 4th amendment rights

The Fourth Amendment protections against unlawful search and seizuer apply to the actions of the Government only. The courts have found that two things consititute a search:

1. An intrusion into a reasonable expectation of privacy

2. Government action

In your Wal-Mart example, there is no Government action. Wal-Mart is not bound by the Fourth Amendment since it is not the Government, nor an agent thereof.

 

[Erebus]

I used to work at a Caldor many moons ago. I remember one case where they caught a cashier letting her friends go through her line and not charging them for merchandise. She would ring up a few cheap items and bag everything. To the casual observer it was a normal transaction. LP caught her and when the friend was grabbed at the door she had paid less than $30 for almost $1000 worth of stuff in that one trip. This girl was in the store buying things WAY TOO often and that's what caught LPs attention. There is no telling how much they got away with before getting caught. IIRC they targeted cosmetics, perfume, and small electronics. The cashier had been there less than 2 weeks when they got caught and there's no question she got that job specifically to rob the place blind. They were greedy and that's how they got caught. The cashier only worked a 4 hour shift and when the same girl goes by in the same outfit for the 5th time in less than 4 hours people notice.

Who knows how much sooner a receipt check might have caught them. Or with a regular receipt checker maybe they would have taken their scheme elsewhere.

 

[El Barto]

When Wal-mart opened a new store in our area, there were no door checks but that changed around the same time that the restrooms started getting tagged up and the store became a little "less neat" (dirty floors, merchandise disarrayed). They now have door checks, but I have never been asked or stopped. Actually, when I offer my receipt they usually just wave me through. I don’t know if it is because I am one of the only white guys* that ever go there or if it is because I always have mine ready and I display confidence as I approach.

Gun related: This weekend I bought a can of citrus stripper to clean my sks stock and the cashier visually checked my age to ensure that I am over 18. I think that it is a law that you have to be 18 or over to buy spray paint/stripper. Only when I buy paint or when I use my credit card do I ever get asked for id.

*The Wal-mart I go to is in a predominately Hispanic neighborhood and it is just my impression that most businesses here believe that us gringos are inherently law abiding and never do anything wrong. This does a great disservice to Hispanics, especially my wife that gets stopped every time when she is alone.

 

[HankB]

What bugs me is that over at Fry's they have an employee who tells you which cashier to use and they still want to check your bag & receipt at the door.

At the local Fry's in Austin they have the same system . . . except the last time I was there, a couple of weeks ago, only ONE exit door checker was on the job.

And people were meekly waiting in line without being told in order to have their bags checked and (presumably) be granted leave to exit.

I simply walked past the line, past the checker, and departed with my bagged purchase. No fuss, no bother.

I've had my purchases checked in the past, and no doubt will again . . . but I draw the line at waiting in line for that nonsense.

And not to get into a chest-thumping macho "keyboard commando" thing, but should anyone other than a uniformed LEO attempt to initiate physical coercion, he will receive an appropriately unpleasant physical response.

 

[Erebus]

In your Wal-Mart example, there is no Government action. Wal-Mart is not bound by the Fourth Amendment since it is not the Government, nor an agent thereof.

As I believe it should be. You are on their property you are under their rules. Same thing with smoking where there is no law or CCW where it's posted not to. Just because there isn't a law that says you can't smoke, carry etc or they haven't adhered to signage protocol with exacting precision the honorable thing to do is obey their wishes. Right, wrong, indifferent, misinformed, or just plain stupid, it's their business and property if you don't like their rules go elsewhere.

 

[Low-Sci]

I worked Loss Prevention for Best Buy a number of times. Best Buy actually has a zero tolerance policy for forcible detention of a customer. In fact, even pursuing a potential shoplifter out the front door is a terminable offense at the store where I worked. We were absolutely not allowed to touch the customer under any circumstances. Detaining them meant telling them we had all the evidence together and a video of them shoplifting, and would you please come with me into the office and wait for the police. If they walked past you and walked out, the most you were allowed to do is get the license plate number from their car as they left. You'd file a police report with all the information and things would get sorted out.

A surprising number of shoplifters comply with the request to wait for the police. In my experience there we only had one shoplifter run out, and the guy who chased him into the parking lot was fired the second he got back into the store. Didn't even finish his shift.

I don't know that there's any law behind the policies we held, but they were probably a good idea, and likely saved the company hordes of money from lawsuits.

As far as receipt checks, our policy was only check the receipt on the really big expensive stuff to make sure that when we loaded it up for the guy who was buying it, we loaded into the right truck and not someone else claiming he had just bought the $3000 plasma HDTV that actually belonged to someone who was still pulling his vehicle up.

We'd also check some of the high-dollar stuff like laptops, but usually if the reciept was in plain sight of the LP guy while the customer was on his way out, we'd skip that. Laptops are locked up, you need a manager just to access them, and they ring those up for customers immediately. Looks good to get that kind of service, but we're really just making sure they didn't steal it after wandering around the store for a bit.

But I'm fairly sure that you're under no obligation to submit to a search or receipt check if you don't want to. Just be prepared to be treated with a little suspicion on your way out. Not because you did anything wrong, but because that kind of behavior is very infrequent.

 

[Creeping Incrementalism]

You are on their property you are under their rules.

There are no rules that keep you from leaving a place of business if you want, unless they have evidence that you shoplifted.

 

[Jorg Nysgerrig]

They check receipts everywhere, or are supposed to anyways.

I've never seen a receipt check at at Wal-Mart here in Utah.

 

[Aguila Blanca]

Don't use the automatic door.

The "exit greeter" (if that isn't an oxymoron I've never heard one) usually hovers between the automatic exit door and the entrance -- and the automatic door seems always to be the one nearest the entrance doors. I generally use the door that requires me to expend massive physical exertion and PUSH the door open ... but I'm outside before the "greeter" even realizes I didn't pass close enough for him/her to try to stop me.

 

[mindwip]

There is only one true reason for receipt check/marks.

It stops a classic scam, Joe walks into bestbuy, and buys a $5000 plasm tv. But Best buy has no receipt check/marking.

So joe walks into best buy 2 hours later grabs a plasm tv(same as he bought before) and walks out of the store showing his old receipt. Joe just got a free $5000 plasm tv. Marcking the receipts lets the person know if they see one already marked then someone is scamming them. Or the "greeter" can just check the time to see if it matchs.


So please do a receipt check, it helps stop shoplifting. Stores lose alot of money this way, if you say no then scammer can run around all day making stores go broke. Please it helps stop thief.


But if they want to check your OWN bags i would just say fine, but you have to arrest me first, OPS you cant well that sucks for you bye

ps i hate walmart, but i wish more stores used this idea, it saves them tons of money

 

[p35bhp09]

peoples argument that I should show my receipt because stores lose a lot of money because of theft is garbage for one reason. I'm not stealing. If the thief was smart he would say no as well and make a clean getaway.

 

[mindwip]

I'm not stealing

The store does not know this, but i guess you have a different take on things when you own a business, and people steal from you and it takes 5 sales to just break even with the cost of 1 stolen item of the same cost.


I guess stores dont need camras becuase any one could just grap a cd and split, wearing a baseball cap. And i dont steal. Lets ban camras

I guess stores dont need those electronic tags becuase BG coulds just run out. And i dont steal. Lets ban Tags

I guess stores dont need undercover agents spoting BG becuase the BG could just shoot him and split. And i dont steal. Lets ban undercover.

I guess stores dont need locked doors, i mean i wont rob them at night when there closed. And i dont steal. Lets ban doors, there a fire hazerd too.

Why do we even have cops i mean people can just kill someone and get away with it. So lets ban cops.


Receipt checkers are just another part of the store, like skin protecting its vital organs

lose a lot of money because of theft is garbage for one reason

Yes your right thats why walmart is paying $12 an hour plus $3 an hour in taxs to a employ, because they just want to mess with there honest customers, they dont want to save money:banghead:

 

[Sindawe]

I guess stores dont need camras becuase any one could just grap a cd and split, wearing a baseball cap. Lets ban camras

The big retailers who are doing the receipt checking already HAVE cameras to the large part. If they don't by now, well thats just too stinking bad. I have ZERO issue with a private retailer using security cameras to protect their property.

I guess stores dont need those electronic tags becuase BG coulds just run out. Lets ban Tags

The big retailers have had tags of some sort for YEARS. If I set the thing off, I stop and get the issure resolved. People are human and mistakes happen.

I guess stores dont need undercover agents spoting BG becuase the BG could just shoot him and split. Lets ban undercover.

Do not the retailers already HAVE LP people? I remember K-Mart having them 20+ years ago.

Receipt checkers are just another part or the store skin protecting is vital organs

Once the property is paid for, its is no longer the property of the retailer, and protecting it is no longer the concern of the retailer. If losses are occuring due to property of the retailer being carried out by customers, then the retailer should expand the above noted means of protecting its property rather than treating me as a thief.

 

[mindwip]

Thats my point the receipt check is just another STEP, to go with the others like camra-undercover-tags, just one more step. Its not new, its just catching on.

The reciept checks are just checking to see if you paid for the goods on your reciept they dont know that you just paid, they dont have a 6th sense telling them this guy paid let him pass, ops this guy is useing the same receipt twice alert alert alert, hence why they check every one


And if you dont like it then DONT shop there, hum you like there low prices, but if they take measures to keep them low you dont like that. I guess they should just raise there prices.

And just so people know one ($16) DVD stolen takes over 10 ($160) to break even before they can make ANY more money off DVDs. That means that 11 cd sales were for nothing, no profit.

 

[Sindawe]

That means that 11 cd sales were for nothing, no profit.

Where is profit guaranteed to the merchant? What authority issued that writ?

Thats my point the receipt check is just another STEP,

It is an invasive, insulting step that presumes that I, having just finished a mutually agreed upon exchange with the merchant, am dishonest dishonest and must now PROVE that the property I purchased moments before is indeed mine.

It is interesting to me that small merchants are not pulling this crud.

 

[GrOuNd_ZeRo]

A view from a Wal-Mart Employee.

I am unfortunate enough to work at Wal-Mart, but generally the door greeters only ask you for a receipt if you have a FTD (Failure to Deactivate), this is when an item's magnetic strips aren't deactivated so the Alarm doesn't go off.

Also, when you leave with a big item like a piece of furniture they usually want to view the receipt just in case.

We NEVER want to see your receipt if you don't have a FTD or going out of the store with a big item, but generally they call me for those carry outs and people like me carry them out of you (i'm a Stockman or Cartpusher as they call us).

if they do randomly ask you for your receipt then I would go to a manager, accusing of shoplifting is against company policy.

 

[Highland Ranger]

I go way out of my way not to shop big box and do as much as possible on the net . . .

 

[Serendipity]

The information about the Fourth Amendment is correct. However, short of making a citizen's arrest, and accepting the commensurate responsibilities, a store employee can not detain you or touch you without your permission. If a store employee, or any other person touches you without your permission, that person can be charged with battery. If a person forcibly detains you, then he/she/their employer is in a heap of trouble, assuming that legitimate grounds for a citizen's arrest aren't present. Some states don't allow a citizen's arrest.

Touching you or otherwise forcibly detaining you against your will has absolutely nothing to do with a store's right to install cameras, tag detectors, undercover agents, etc., on their property. The analogy of those actions to the actions of a receipt checker is fallacious.

Having said all that, my maturity prevents me from causing a ruckus over nothing at a store. I don't mind showing my receipt, but that's my decision as a grown-up.

 

[mzmtg]

I feel that Wally World is well within their rights to request to see my reciept and check it against the items in my bag.

I'm also well within my rights to tell the greet/checker to piss off and go on out the door.