A SHOPPER has slammed Walmart for giving greeters a hidden purpose that ruins relationships with customers.
The outraged customer said Walmart greeters used to tell shoppers to have a good day, but now they only ask to check receipts.
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Retail executives are employing diverse strategies to try and make a dent in the estimated $100 billion shoplifting crisis.
Some anti-theft measures include locking items behind plexiglass and installing cameras at self-checkout.
Some customers have heavily criticized the solutions and say in-store shopping has become so difficult, that they’d prefer to order online.
Out of the growing list of creative anti-theft techniques, one of the most divisive is receipt checks.
Often employed by Costco and Walmart, receipt checks involve any time a worker stops a customer to make sure they scanned every item in their order.
Checks have been slammed by some shoppers who feel that customers shouldn’t be forced to use self-checkout only to be tested on their work.
One X user mourned how receipt checks have changed his relationship with Walmart greeters from positive to dreadful.
“It used to be the greeter would just say, ‘Hi welcome to Walmart,'” the customer wrote.
“Now, they serve a dual purpose as they randomly check people’s receipts as they leave.”
The annoyed customer explained how the greeting means nothing to him now because he feels he knows the worker’s true intentions.
He also boldly admitted he outright refused the receipt checks and merely said “Have a good one” while breezing through the exit doors.
“Personally, I don’t comply,” he said.
“It didn’t have to be this way. I wish people would ask each other for help more often rather than stealing.”
Top 5 receipt checking tips from a lawyer
Camron Dowlatshahi, a Los Angeles attorney, spoke to The U.S. Sun about receipt checks and customer’s rights and options when it came to being asked to show your receipt.
- There has been a lot of debate around the legality of a retailer asking to see your receipt, but if it is within the store, it is completely legal. “There’s seemingly nothing illegal about that. You’re still on the company’s premises and their reason to do it is to prevent thefts,” Dowlatshahi confirms.
- However, if they are chasing you out of the store, that changes things, Dowlatshahi said. “Location matters,” he explained. “If you’re outside of the store you’re in the parking lot and they come and start accusing you of theft and that you have to show your receipt, I think that’s a bit of a different situation because now you’re on your way.”
- While customers are allowed to say no to receipt checks, it may cause issues if you do and the store suspects you of stealing. “You can say no, maybe it creates an unnecessary hassle for yourself because now you may have the police come to your house and follow up,” said Dowlatshahi.
- If you are being barred from leaving a store because you refused a receipt check, you could have a legal case — but the store must have held you for a long time. “Let’s say it’s for hours, that’s certainly false imprisonment, and they didn’t have any impetus for doing so,” Dowlatshahi explained. “If a customer has been emotionally traumatized by being held for false imprisonment, I would definitely encourage [them] to sue.”
- “I would say, show your receipt,” he concluded. “It’s just a really simple thing to do. If you didn’t steal anything, it’s relatively simple to do,” the lawyer advised.
RECEIPT CHECKS EXPLAINED
According to legal experts, shoppers technically have the right to refuse receipt checks at Walmart.
This is because customers do not comply with the checks when they walk through the doors.
Meanwhile, for membership-based retailers like Sam’s Club and Costco, receipt checks are enforced through membership contracts.
Despite this, most attorneys recommend that shoppers comply with the checks to avoid unnecessary drama.
At the end of the day, anyone inside a Walmart store is on private property when they are shopping, attorney Camron Dowlatshahi told The U.S. Sun.
This grants the business “shopkeeper’s privilege,” which can allow them to temporarily detain someone suspected of stealing.
The shopping frustration comes as one lawyer said that receipt checks vary depending on where you shop.
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