Call it irony. Call it self-fulfilling prophecy. I call it pure probability — it was just my turn.
The night after posting an 800-word screed on this very blog about the insulting prevalence of retail store receipt checks — those cursory and altogether voluntary searches of our private property — I was confronted, prevented from leaving and followed out of a Wal-Mart Supercenter for refusing to show my receipt.
A store greeter forced this standoff in the Wal-Mart at 3000 E. Franklin Blvd. in Gastonia, N.C.
Since merchants in North Carolina must have probable cause to detain a suspected shoplifter, and since I was briefly — but nonetheless illegally — prevented from leaving the store, I have complained to store management and asked for a written, signed apology to include a promise that employees will be retrained.
No shopper should be treated like a criminal because he doesn’t want his property pawed through less than a minute after he bought it.
I’m also contacting Wal-Mart corporate headquarters in Bentonville, Ark. and the chain’s Southeast vice president for communications, with whom I’m acquainted through my position as a newspaper reporter.
Updates will be posted after I speak to Wal-Mart’s high mucketymucks. Below is the detail-packed narrative that I scrawled on three and a half sheets of notebook paper when I returned home from the store. It’s in many places clunky and stilted, but I wanted to be as precise as possible in recording the chain of events.
I went to Franklin Square to shop early Saturday evening, leaving home around 8:20 p.m. I bought two shirts from Ross, a discount designer clothing store, and ate a meal at burger joint Five Guys in the Franklin Square plaza. I then moved my car into the parking lot of Wal-Mart Supercenter at 3000 E. Franklin Blvd. in Gastonia.
I took a shopping cart and selected 17 assorted grocery and household items to purchase. I waited behind one shopper in the checkout lane and and had my purchases scanned by a friendly cashier who noticed that my bag of scoopable cat litter was leaking litter granules on the conveyor belt. After she scanned it, she asked me if I would like to exchange it for another bag. She had me place the litter on an adjacent unmanned cash register and walk back to the pet supplies department to replace the litter. I returned with an identical bag of litter as the cashier loaded the last couple bags into my cart.
I asked the cashier if she needed to scan the new bag of cat litter, she said that wouldn’t be necessary, the original bag had already been scanned. I placed the litter on the raised top shelf of the shopping cart and walked toward the store exit, slipping my receipt in my left front pocket.
Passing the store greeter, a stout white woman whose name I didn’t notice or record, I walked through the first set of glass exit doors. Something in my cart — I assume it was the bag of cat litter that had not been scanned — activated the electronic alarm. The greeter shouted “Sir, sir!” in a loud voice. I slowed and looked back to see the woman walking swiftly toward me.
“You set off the alarm,” she said.
“I’m sorry to hear that, but I didn’t steal anything,” I replied. “Have a nice night.”
“I need to see your receipt,” she said, placing her hand on my shopping cart.
“No, thank you,” I replied, and began pushing the cart. The greeter then stepped in front of me to block my exit and demanded I show my receipt. Again, I declined.
As I pivoted the shopping cart to bypass the insistent greeter, she told me I needed to show her my receipt. Flustered, I told her that I had not stolen anything and North Carolina law prevented her from detaining me. I cited the shoplifting statute — N.C. General Statute 14-72.
I succeeded in pushing my cart past the greeter and left the store. My face red and heart racing, I walked down the row of cars parallel to the exit, though my car was parked one or two rows to the right. I crossed to my row between two parked cars, opened the rear passenger side door of my 1989 Buick Park Avenue and began to load my purchases from the cart into my car.
As I was loading groceries, several Wal-Mart employees — I counted at least four — arrived at my car. The women and men formed a loose semicircle around me, which I believe was an intentional intimidation tactic. A woman in a light blue shirt with a white lanyard whose name I did not notice or record approached me and asked for my receipt.
I replied that I had not stolen anything and did not have to show anyone my receipt.
She said I had set off the alarm, and it was store policy that I had to show my receipt. If I didn’t steal anything, she asked, why wouldn’t I just show her my receipt?
The groceries were my personal property, I answered, and I didn’t have to let anyone search my property. The woman said that the merchandise is not my property until I leave the store and that Wal-Mart has every right to insist I show a receipt, it’s the store policy.
“Store policy doesn’t trump North Carolina law,” I responded, very nearly parroting blog entries and newspaper columns I’d written about retail store receipt checking.
One of the Wal-Mart employees wrote down my license plate number. As I got in my car, a woman walking back toward the store said, “Oh, I know who you are. You’re that dude from The Gazette.” (I work as a reporter at The Gaston Gazette and wrote a July column encouraging shoppers to decline receipt checks because they’re confrontational, rude and anticonsumer).
“Yes, ma’am,” I replied. “You all have a good night.”
The same woman or another one said, “You need to get yourself a job here,” and walked off.
When I returned to my apartment, I refrigerated my perishable groceries and immediately sat down to write my full account of the incident in a spiral-bound notebook. At 10:52 p.m., I called Gaston County Communications to advise the dispatcher that my license plate number had been taken and Wal-Mart may have filed a false police report against me.
The dispatcher, who identified herself as Operator 125, told me that Wal-Mart had not reported me. I gave her the description of my car, my license plate number and my name and phone number in the event that a report was filed. The dispatcher said she would call me if the incident was reported.
I then found my crumpled sales slip from Wal-Mart, dialed the store number and asked to speak to the manager. I described the incident in full detail to Assistant Manager Tina (in Wal-Mart parlance, employees are identified by title and first name only), again citing the North Carolina shoplifting law requiring probable cause to detain a customer,
Tina was friendly and polite. “They shouldn’t be doing that,” she said. “They shouldn’t even be going out that door.”
I told her I had been detained — briefly, but illegally — by the store greeter and surrounded by numerous employees who recorded my license plate number, an implied threat to call police.
Wal-Mart needed to retrain its employees, I told her. The woman who mistakenly believed the store still owned the groceries I just bought needs to be told that merchandise changes ownership at the point of sale.
The greeter needs a lesson on keeping her hands to herself. Any attempt to detain someone without meeting the standard of probable cause is illegal. False alarm activations are commonplace in big-box stores; setting off the buzzer has never been and never will be proof-positive of theft.
I asked for a written apology from Yvonne Crawford, the store manager, which Crawford and the greeter would sign. I said the apology should include a promise that store employees will be retrained so that future customers are not intimidated, bullied or harassed for declining a voluntary receipt check.
Tina said she would investigate the incident at once. Loss prevention employees would review the surveillance camera footage and help identify the employees I described.
“They can’t treat you that way,” she said, later adding, “When the bell goes off, it is your choice [to show your receipt].”
Crawford wouldn’t return to work until Monday, Tina said. She or a store co-manager (the second-highest boss in the Wal-Mart chain of command, each store has two) would call me on Monday.
37 Comments
August 17, 2008 at 8:14 am
That is pretty funny, actually. But I don’t think it could be a coincidence. There appears to be some sort of cosmic tomfoolery happening here.
August 17, 2008 at 12:08 pm
Bravo, Corey, for standing up to the corporation. But, wouldn’t setting the alarm be probable cause to search? Or would they actually have to see you steal?
Either way, be wary. Remember that south park episode? You can’t kill the Wal-mart!
August 17, 2008 at 3:23 pm
To play devil’s advocate for a minute, asking to see a reciept after an alarm has been set off is a perfectly reasonable response. Further, it could be argued that you consent to abide by store policies (including reciept checks) by virtue of voluntarily setting foot in the store.
All that is rendered moot, however, if the law says otherwise. The issue here is that it does and Wal-Mart’s employees are staggeringly unaware of it. This ignorance may be systematic (likely) or it may be confined to this particular group of employees (less likely). Either way, the company should be doing everything it can to rectify the situation, starting with the appology you requested. Legal rammifications aside, it’s just bad business to harass customers over something like this.
By the way, I’d also like to commend you for the way you handled the situation. You stood up for your rights without giving them anything they could use to paint you as antagonistic.
August 17, 2008 at 5:15 pm
Great story! I love your reference to the NC code. I live in Arizona and I am always stopped when I leave a Costco (Price Club) and I’ve always wondered what the law says about it. I have heard that the door checking of reciepts is because theft is so out of control. I’d like to hear some theft statistics for Wal-Mart.
August 18, 2008 at 11:51 am
Let me start off by saying that you are within the law to do as you do. The store greeter should ask for your receipt if the alarm goes off and you have the right to refuse. Wal-Mart should follow you to your car and record the tag and then review the video taps to see if they would like to contact the police. This will never happen due to the cost and time it would take.
My volunteer work has exposed me to how some criminals work. Wal-Mart is the number one store that they all hit. Wal-Mart is the only store that I know of that they hit on regular bases. By regular, I mean more than once a week and they conceder this a “paycheck” for “a day of work”, ripping of Wal-Mart as their job. Wal-Mart knows this and must take action to prevent it.
During the busy Christmas season, a team of two can bring home $1,000 per day of working Wal-Mart. Two persons working about four hours each and driving twenty miles to several stores to purchase, steal, return, sell the extras and after splitting the “income” of $500 each. Wal-Mart is out $1,000 from their low margin and we are the ones who must make up the loss.
I work with ones that take from Wal-Mart and hopefully make a difference in their lives that stops the stealing. But Wal-Mart is the store in their sights and takes a hit everyday.
I show my receipt when asked, smiling and say sure. Except when I check out in the garden center where the person is a few feet away and watches as the clerk bags my goods and hands me receipt. There, when asked “do you have your receipt”, I politely say “yes” and continue to my car. Common sense comes into play and for me, if you watch an employee bag the goods then do not ask to see my receipt. Common sense says if the alarm goes off, I will allow them to check my receipt and goods.
Sorry to say, Wal-Mart needs for us to use common sense.
DJ
August 19, 2008 at 1:28 am
This is really funny. I can’t believe they went through all that just over a receipt. What if you’d be a crazy criminal and shot them all or something? It wasn’t that big a deal. Getting your license plate #? Give me a break! That was totally uncalled for. I’m going to start refusing to show my receipt too. Especially when it’s obvious I didn’t steal anything.
August 19, 2008 at 3:40 am
[...] check by federal officials, an unwarranted vehicle check by “law enforcement” or a Wal-Mart reciept check…if we continue to give in, those in power will contiune to take advantage of our loyalty [...]
August 19, 2008 at 8:14 pm
[...] Will Write about reciept checks made after you’ve handed over your money at the register. Corey Friedman’s Walmart experience, made me think of Arlo Gutherie’s Alice’s Restaurant Anti-Massacre [...]
August 20, 2008 at 3:37 am
[...] Wal-Mart Supercenter at 3000 E. Franklin Blvd. in Gastonia, N.C., reviewed surveillance video from last Saturday’s attempted illegal detention. A greeter stood in front of my shopping cart to prevent me from leaving the store and at least [...]
August 21, 2008 at 12:25 am
That would not happen at our store. Our policy is to check receipts only if offered by the customer, except for larger more expensive items such a big screen TVs and computers. I think that is reasonable. If we didn’t everyone in town, with a few exceptions , would have a new computer and big screen TV. If someone appears to have taken something illegally, we are advised not to follow the customer from the store.
You should not have been followed from the store and you have the right to refuse to show your receipt. And I don’t see anything wrong with asking for a handwritten ap0logy.
To repeat from a post or comment (I don’t remember which) at our last greeter meeting it was emphasized that we are NOT security.
August 21, 2008 at 12:27 am
I forgot to add that you should not have been restrained from leaving the store in any way.
August 21, 2008 at 1:19 am
Charles,
What if a customer buying a new TV politely declines the receipt check? This voluntary hassle can’t just morph into a mandatory one, can it? How would your store handle a shopper who legitimately bought a big-ticket item but won’t participate in the receipt check?
When it’s paid for, my property is my property, whether it’s a bag of apples or a new Apple computer.
-Corey
August 23, 2008 at 3:12 am
Courtesy is courtesy. And the law is the law. When the line which separates the two becomes blurred and smudged and eventually crossed, then the power vested in the law by our forefathers is no more.
What separates courtesy from law is the very thing that separates man from the beasts–the ability to reason and discern right from wrong. Without the law the line which separates right and wrong is subjective to each individual’s personal beliefs. Whether they be justified by logic, experience or even religion, they hold no power over anyone other than the bearer. Privacy becomes public domain; opinion becomes treason; self defense becomes murder; the truth becomes blasphemy–what line is there that hasn’t already been crossed in the past?
How quickly a nation forgets the very foundation it was set upon.
August 31, 2008 at 2:19 am
We should get a group of people together and do what you did, only do it all at the same time or within a few minutes.
September 21, 2008 at 9:13 am
[...] Here’s an account from a blogger who got the “strip search” treatment at a North Carolina Walmart store, where he says he was briefly detained, then threatened by overly aggressive employees for declining to show his receipt. [...]
October 1, 2008 at 12:38 am
http://www.coreyfriedman.blog.com
October 5, 2008 at 1:59 am
About the “alarm” going off at the door:
If you look at the little digital counter on the Sensormatic antenna (they are on each side of the doorway) note what it is say, today. And then take a reading a week or month later. Subtract the difference. Subtract another three (3) per day for testing – one on each 8 hour shift. This is the number of “alarms” that have been triggered between the readings.
Now, check with the local police to see how many shoplifting cases were filled by WalMart. My guess is you will have thousands of “arlarm events” and NO prosecutions by WalMart.
This is proof that their “system” DOES NOT WORK! It must be going off 1000 times for paid items before they catch a thief. If I had bought a system like this, I’d be asking for my money back.
The Sensormatic people will say that their system does work and that it is the WALMART employees that fail to properly scan the tag to prevent the alarm. This is most likely true. But the whole system includes employees — and it doesn’t work!
If you read through news reports about WalMart and shoplifting prosecutions, you will find that the people are usually caught IN the store before they get to the door. They have been observed by an employee who saw them commit the theft.
The greeters are a joke.
November 29, 2008 at 7:21 pm
I see no one has posted for a while but what happened a couple days ago makes me want to tell everyone what walmart is capable of.
I shake her loose and tell her to call the police as I kept on walking. I bet she shouted at me 10 more times before I even got out the main doors! Not 20 feet out the door, a different woman grabs one end of the box I’m carrying and tells me to stop. I spun around (NOT able to shake this one off) and told her to call the police too.
There was a large group of people at the exit/entrance of the store. I’ve already been put through enough stupidness to be in a bit of a hurry (item didn’t scan. when manually scaned, the price didn’t match the sale price.)
I saw the group, saw there was enough room to get around without blocking people coming in through the inner doors and walked around. I did pass through the scanners and did NOT set them off. Someone without a smock, nametag or anything says something that had a solicitous sound to it. I though to myself, “ah, there’s the reason for the holdup, someone’s selling something.” and continued on around saying, “No thank you.” This woman grabs my arm and says, “Sir! You have to stop!” It dawns on me in a split second that she’s not selling anything, she’s checking receipts. Another split second later and I’m pi$$ed that she’s grabbed me!!
Long story a bit shorter, by the time I got to my car, I had four guys around me. I’d like to point out that at no time did any of them actually ask for my receipt, only kept telling me to stop.
The saddest part is, I did finally cave and offered my receipt. What else do you do? Had I been carrying, I might have shot them. I mean really, four guys, no identification, not asking for anything, just telling me to stop in a dark parking lot? Sounds like a mugging ready to happen.
November 30, 2008 at 2:48 am
I’ve been stopped once at WalMart to see my receipt when the alarm didn’t go off. This girl working for Walmart (the door greeter) was mentally handicapped so I let her check my bags and when we walked out I told my wife the next time that happened without an alarm going off I wasn’t going to stop. I know one of the asst. mgr very well there and told my wife I’d just give them my name and tell them to tell Tony I wouldn’t stop since the alarm didn’t go off. He knows how to contact me and I’d just keep on walking to my car, since I hadn’t done anything wrong at all and certainly no “probable cause”.
February 14, 2009 at 1:14 am
Something similar just happened to be a couple of hours ago. I left the store and an elderly woman aggressively told me to hold on and I just walked off. Her last words were “You needa wait so I can check your bag.” It’s ridiculous!
March 30, 2009 at 9:06 pm
Does an alarm going off create “reasonable cause” or “probable cause” for a stop under NC law?
April 25, 2009 at 6:39 pm
electronic alarm was set off. This constitutes probable cause. Go grind your axe somewhere else
May 13, 2009 at 5:36 pm
Being a ex-loss prevention officer for 11 yhears i find this receipt check policy a bunch of BS. It is simply a way for the company to pay one employee one wage to do numerous tasks rather than hire a TRAINED LPO to walk the floors. Once i buy the item and pay for it and receive the receipt it is mine! No you can’t see my receipt. Stop me and i will sue you for false detainment or false arrest. Touch me and i will use the “Force continium” to get away from you. This happened to me yesterday due to a 6 pack of pepsi not being bagged. I said no thank you and walked away. She said she has to, i said no you don’t, it’s mine, i paid for it. I then left. The only company that can do this is private companies like Costco, Sams Club that you JOIN. It is in the agreement. If it was posted at the door at Walmarts then they could easily check my bags. “Upon entering this premisses you reserve the right for a Walmart employee to check your receipt at any time”. There, done. I am beginning to hate Walmart.
May 14, 2009 at 4:17 am
Ian,
Thank you for adding an insider’s perspective to this discussion. Well-trained and responsible loss prevention employees understand the legal requirements of detention and make certain a shopper is stealing before they attempt a stop. As long as they have probable cause, they are within their rights as private citizens to detain a shoplifter.
Certain warehouse clubs do have their members agree to receipt checks and bag searches in their membership contracts, but it’s important to understand that these agreements have no force of law. If a member of such a club refuses to be searched, employees would still have no lawful right to detain him. Stores can eject you, revoke your membership or refuse you entry for breach of contract, but they cannot hold you against your will absent legal cause.
A posted notice stating that all customers are required to submit to bag searches would not enable a store to forcibly search unwilling shoppers. State laws that regulate detention and confinement by private persons trump any and every store policy.
-Corey
June 11, 2009 at 5:31 am
Setting off the alarm is probably cause for them to check your receipt, or are they supposed to let everyone who sets off the alarm go just because they say they didn’t steal anything? Are you too good for someone to ask to see your receipt? I mean, just because you said you didn’t steal anything, how are they supposed to know you are telling the truth if they don’t know you from adam? You just seem to be one of those holier than thou type people who just need to find a reason to complain about something.
My point… you set off the alarm, they have a reason to at least check your receipt, they didn’t ask to search your bags, just make sure you had a receipt. After setting off an alarm, and them asking you to show your receipt, it does seem suspicious if you just refuse and try to walk right past them. Its not private information thats on a receipt, only store info and codes about what you bought to prove you bought them.
June 12, 2009 at 3:40 am
Michelle,
Yes, store employees are supposed to let shoppers go when they set off the alarms. Why? Because here in North Carolina, they cannot lawfully detain (prevent them from leaving) without probable cause to believe a theft has occurred. Electronic article surveillance alarms do not provide retailers with probable cause to detain.
The alarms simply detect inventory control tags; as I’m rather fond of saying, they are not magic shoplifting detectors. EAS alarms sound dozens of times a day in large retail stores like Wal-Mart, and only a fraction of these activations represent possible thievery. Most result from cashiers failing to deactivate security tags.
How are they supposed to know I’m telling the truth? Well, because they can produce no evidence that I’ve stolen (because, of course, I haven’t!) Remember, the burden of proof is always on the accuser and never on the accused.
Here are a couple resources on establishing probable cause to detain a shoplifting suspect in case you’re curious:
http://www.expertlaw.com/library/security/shoplifting.html
http://www.crimedoctor.com/false_imprisonment.htm
It’s certainly your right to choose to show your receipt when asked. I hope you won’t think less of those of us who politely decline. The important thing to realize is it’s our choice. We will not and should not be pressured, intimidated or coerced into letting anyone paw through our property. My sales receipt may not be my Social Security card, but when both are securely in my back pocket, I’m inclined to produce neither for inspection.
-Corey
August 15, 2009 at 9:08 am
No Wal-Mart cannot not detain a person without knowing for sure they were leaving without paying. However they can take and hold the merchandise until it has been proven it is paid for.
The whole purpose of an establishment giving you a receipt is for you to prove you paid for it. If you didn’t need to prove you paid for it then their wouldn’t be reciepts.
August 15, 2009 at 4:55 pm
A sales receipt does serve as proof of payment, but shoppers have no obligation to convince store employees of their honesty upon exit. Rather, the burden is on employees to prove that a customer has stolen before they can legally stop that customer from leaving.
It’s innocent until proven guilty, John. Not the other way around.
Under no circumstance can a store employee seize merchandise that you’ve lawfully purchased. Ownership of the goods changes as soon as the merchant accepts payment; those bagged groceries are as much your personal property as your car keys, wallet and shoes.
-Corey
August 17, 2009 at 7:48 pm
you look suspicious when you do not want to show your receipt dumbass
August 17, 2009 at 7:53 pm
why do you even give a damn if they looked through your stuff? you should have just shown them your receipt and your wouldnt have had to go through this mess you idiot. i am glad that they gave you a hard time about it
August 17, 2009 at 7:57 pm
They didnt know if you stole anything or not and they wanted to see what triggered the alarm. they were just taking precautions. You just made yourself look like an asshole
September 25, 2009 at 2:50 pm
Why should we have laws if walmart just gets to break them. It is Walmart burden to catch thieves in their store and policy for catching shoplifters is set by the state not by WalMart!
September 9, 2009 at 4:52 pm
It’s been a long time since this happened, and a long time since I read it last, but it has new relevance to me. There’s very little chance it was the litter at all, as low-ticket items like that don’t get one (not worth the cost of the tag, I’d wager) and even some high ticket items get bypassed. Items that emit radio frequencies, or excess static charge can supposedly set off those alarms although I don’t have any evidence of the sciencyness of that statement. Unless the individual looks skittish or if they pause expecting to be asked for their receipt most stores don’t pay much attention. At Staples, in fact, we used to have bored fun with the EOS tags. Many employees would find them on their shoes or belongings, put there for someone who got a mild kick out of the embarrassment the alarm causes to the person when it goes off.
Now, working at WalMart, I have actually been told by management to ask for receipts from time to time, usually when a mangled security cord has been found in a bathroom or the like. However we are told that if the person keeps walking (so cannot be asked without being chased) or if they decline to show the receipt, to let them go. More than anything, it seems to be a low-labour method of dissuading casual theft. In some stores there is also a paid individual (or multiple) who patrols the store in the guise of a customer watching areas for shoplifters. From what I have heard from others and seen for myself, those are the employees that make a real difference in loss prevention.
I don’t know what a good answer for the situation is that would be in line with the business models of today’s retail. There will always be a way for someone to steal, especially while speed and convenience are of premium importance.
If one feels the need to complain about the price that shoplifting adds to our merchandise, think about your own purchase habits. Have you ever noticed the cashier missed something, and let it slide? Have you seen someone shoplifting and let it go? What ever happened to the crime of standing idly by? That is what incenses me most about retail theft. The thieves are often pitiable or naive, which is no excuse of course, but those who see them and let it go are likely to think that despite their inaction they are not at fault and are an upstanding and honest person. Maybe I sound melodramatic, I’ve been reading Dante and that can make one a bit vindictive, but it’s true.
September 25, 2009 at 2:48 pm
In Missouri a store employee must see a shoplifter approach their merchandise, conceal their merchandise and then attempt to leave the store before making a stop and or detain the shoplifter. Unfortunatley most stores do not go through all of this trouble(Wal Mart) and the rest of us have to suffer. Do not shop at Wal mart if this bothers you. If it doesnt, dont show your receipt. If you paid for your items you are not a criminal and do not deserve to be treated as one.
September 25, 2009 at 10:46 pm
I think your very rude. why would you not show your receipt after setting off the alarm. really, how hard would that be? People stealing makes the prices of goods go up which hurts all of us. She was only doing her job and you with a notch on your shoulder are making things harder than it should be and probably got a good person in trouble just because you (knowing your wrong) would not show the receipt. I am a Soldier and proud to be an American. I smile and show my receipt every time and would even treat them to a drink for doing such a good job. Maybe I should write some articles on your lack of appreciation.
September 26, 2009 at 2:31 am
Mike, I don’t believe I was rude at all. The greeter asked to search my property, and I very politely said no. Stepping in front of a customer, grabbing his cart and refusing to let him leave the store is “rude” – not to mention illegal in North Carolina. Saying “No, thank you” is not.
If you think a greeter’s job is to physically restrain shoppers who don’t want to be searched, you are incorrect. Big-box stores have loss prevention employees who watch surveillance cameras and witness customers stealing. It is their job to approach and detain shoplifters, but they can only do this when they have evidence that someone has stolen. Of course, no employees are allowed to detain a shopper like me who didn’t steal. No, the greeter did not get in trouble because I would not show a receipt, though she was likely counseled for trying to keep me in the store against my will, which is against the law.
You have every right to proudly show your receipt, just as I have every right to say no. I’m curious, however, why it bothers you that I choose not to be searched. It doesn’t increase theft, because I have never shoplifted, and it doesn’t harm the greeters, because their job is simply to ask for a receipt. How I answer that question is entirely up to me, and neither answer compromises the greeters’ job.
-Corey
September 30, 2009 at 1:43 pm
Indieregister, I can understand your frustration. I too have a serious concern with this issue. I live in a small town in NC and shop very frequently at Wal-Mart stores. Upon entering the store the suppose to be greeters just stand there. They don’t greet you upon entering. But when you leave, they have a line out the door checking reciepts. No alarms!!! Just holding customers up. I find this ridiculous. Why should I feel like a criminal everytime I go to shop. And if all my items are bagged what exactly are you looking for? My receipt is in my hand not concealed. So why should a person have to stop just so you can scan it. This is foolishness. I would feel better if they changed their name tag from greeters (which they don’t do here) to security guard. At least I know what to expect then. I have now started to drive to another town to shop as a result..