Stores Losing Millions Due To Theft Via Self Check Outs

[Been There]

The stores where I live have expanded the self check out lines. I think the cost of a machine that after installation only needs occasional maintenance vs. a human, has to have been evaluated by people skilled in cost analysis.

But just for grins & giggles maybe this has something of value to consider.

The machine

Can work 24/7 using electricity, doesn't need paid holidays, vacation pay, pay raises, a health care plan [albeit maintenance if it fails] recording hours worked for tax & Soc. Sec. payroll deduction, distribution of those taxes to federal, state or even counties. Bagging your own items is a plus especially since bagging by a checker can leave you with tomatoes under canned goods. And other unpleasant damage to purchases by a disgruntled employee. And this handy little gift by the IRS.
What Is Section 179? Section 179 of the IRS Tax Code allows businesses to write-off the full purchase price of any qualifying piece of equipment or software in the year it was purchased or financed.

And typically is programmed to thank you for shopping at whereever.

A human checker

8 hour shift with breaks, overtime pay if needed to fill in for another employee that calls in sick. Wages & benefits that can increase yearly. Wage documentation for tax purposes could increase corporate staff needed to process human employees required documentation.

I think we all get the idea that it's more conservative to the store to use a machine for checkout, but when you start considering losses by theft, is it? I have noticed on the news that stores that have taken big loses state they will not be returning. That's a loss for that neighborhood and for those who don't drive or own a vehicle and now have to take a bus or taxi to get groceries. People nee to stop thinking about just themselves and start considering how this will effect the entire neighborhood, unless they just don't absolutely care about anyone else, except themselves.

 

[Indiana Joe]

Yes, I guess honesty is a thing of the past for many of us. I doubt if my mom or dad would be very proud of me if they knew their som is a thief. My mom is still living and I know it would break her heart if she found out her only son was a thief.

If criminals would have had a decent family, like a decent mom, they probably wouldn't have become crooks.

 

[Indiana Joe]

"Usual minorities"??

Shh! Don't you dare go there. THEY are listening.

 

[Indiana Joe]

Seems weird but Walmart doesn't care much about losses. They sell trillions of 50-cent items for $14.99, so it balances out.

That is not true regarding their pricing. We shop no where else. Haven't for decades. I figure we save almost $100 on each full basket of stuff we buy there compared to our neighborhood food markets. I cannot understand the thinking so many have that Walmart shopping is beneath them. The savings are enormous. And at our age of almost 90, saving expenses is all important.

 

[helenbacque]

Stores call it shrinkage and use it to justify raising prices so that honest customers end up paying for it.

 

[caroln]

If criminals would have had a decent family, like a decent mom, they probably wouldn't have become crooks.

OMG, I want to say something so bad.....

 

[Knight]

I think we all get the idea that it's more conservative to the store to use a machine for checkout, but when you start considering losses by theft, is it? I have noticed on the news that stores that have taken big loses state they will not be returning. That's a loss for that neighborhood and for those who don't drive or own a vehicle and now have to take a bus or taxi to get groceries. People nee to stop thinking about just themselves and start considering how this will effect the entire neighborhood, unless they just don't absolutely care about anyone else, except themselves.

Maybe profit/loss will take a more serious investigation. A factual check of the cost of self check out & the cost of paying for a human checker. I did mention that where I live self check out has increased in quantity of machines. 20 machines vs. maybe two at the most human checkers on busy shopping days is the norm. Those 20 machines are always busy while a few will line up to be checked out.

As for code dated meat ,fruits & veggies not all is lost.
Meat past its expiration will go into the “bone and fat” cans with all the other butcher trimmings. These cans are picked up regularly by a company that processes this into your cosmetics, livestock feed and oil. Ugly produce can be reduced/marked down, utilized in the prepared food department or given to the food bank. Spoiled food is thrown out.

This thread began as.

Walmart Worker Shows How They Know When Customers Steal From Self-Checkouts​

BY KATE FOWLER ON 8/17/21 AT 12:06 PM EDT

So theft may not be as rampant as it might seem to be.

 

[RadishRose]

OMG, I want to say something so bad.....

Yep.

 

[hearlady]

I am going over to the self checkout side with a few items. I was totally against it until I got tired of seeing mistakes on my receipts. Yes, I know I should check all along but trying to empty my cart while they're scanning is too hard.
Now I can be sure prices are correct. I wish I could give myself a raise. I do a damn good job with the bagging.

 

[JimBob1952]

A chain called Wegmans (I think it's East Coast) has dropped self-checkout, citing losses.

There is no doubt that shoplifting has become big business, aided and abetted by self-checkout. I blame the thieves, not the stores.

 

[jimintoronto]

I NEVER go to self check=out. I tell the cashiers I want them to keep their jobs.

Do you ALSO go to the bank tellers in person , OR do you use the ATM ? Lets be consistent, right ? JimB.

 

[Indiana Joe]

Seems weird but Walmart doesn't care much about losses. They sell trillions of 50-cent items for $14.99, so it balances out.

OMG, I want to say something so bad.....

I have gotten nonsense Alerts and comments on the some of the most simple and obvious truths in some of my posts. I'm sick and tired of those "elitists" who look down on Walmart and savage it with untruths. That company has saved us thousands of dollars over the decades.

 

[JimBob1952]

Walmart's profit margins are about 2%. Running a supermarket is a low-margin business.

Everybody loves Apple. They charge a thousand bucks for a phone and have a profit margin of about 25%.

 

[jimintoronto]

If criminals would have had a decent family, like a decent mom, they probably wouldn't have become crooks.

Ever heard this one...Too lazy to work, and too dumb not to get caught stealing ? Some people are just not interested in a job, when they can make couple of thousand bucks a week selling crack on the corner. That figure is NOT a made up number. Why would a uneducated 18 year old school drop out want to work for $9 an hour, when they can make hundreds a day as a small time drug dealer ? JImB.

 

[fuzzybuddy]

Once you install a checkout machine, it does not cost all that much more to operate. But having human clerks are constant costs, both in terms of cash, but also in terms of "grief"- hiring, firing, sick days, vacations, days off, fights, etc...... If the store's losses are less than the salaries of the ex-clerks, the store is still making a profit.
My complaint about checkout machines is that they really don't work all that well. They haven't worked out the bugs. Like how can you put a 40 lb. bag of dog food into a small plastic bag, in the "bagging area". And the damn machine won't work unless you do.

 

[caroln]

Once you install a checkout machine, it does cost all that much. But having human clerks are a constant costs, both in terms of cash, but also in terms of "grief"- , hiring, firing, sick days, vacations, days off, fights, etc...... If the store's losses are less than the salaries of the ex-clerks, the store is still making a profit.
My complaint about checkout machines is that they really don't work all that well. They haven't worked out the bugs. Like how can you put a 40 lb. bag of dog food into a small plastic bag, in the "bagging area". And the damn machine won't work unless you do.

The machines I've used will let you keep scanning and checking out but I have to hit the "skip bagging" key. Then I would put a small bag on each end of the dog food just so I wouldn't have my receipt checked when I walk out. Guess that's "bagged" in their eyes! Hate to waste bags like that, though.

 

[jimintoronto]

The machines I've used will let you keep scanning and checking out but I have to hit the "skip bagging" key. Then I would put a small bag on each end of the dog food just so I wouldn't have my receipt checked when I walk out. Guess that's "bagged" in their eyes! Hate to waste bags like that, though.

OF course the small bags can be used to "pick up after your dog " right ? My grocery store here in Toronto has an employee who puts a lime green sticker on large items, to show you paid for it at the self check out lane. Not a problem for me. JimB.

 

[caroln]

OF course the small bags can be used to "pick up after your dog " right ? My grocery store here in Toronto has an employee who puts a lime green sticker on large items, to show you paid for it at the self check out lane. Not a problem for me. JimB.

Using the bags for poop on walks...absolutely! The green sticker idea is fabulous! More stores need to start that.

 

[jimintoronto]

Using the bags for poop on walks...absolutely! The green sticker idea is fabulous! More stores need to start that.

The sticker has been a standard thing across Canada for at least 10 or 15 years. Put on large items like cases of pop, or bottled water, by the cashiers, or now at the self check out. I see many Americans on here complaining about " no cashiers open when I shop " My local grocery stores all have a policy that ALL cash positions will be open on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday from 9 am to 6 pm, plus the self check outs, too. Two of the national Canadian grocery chains have frozen the prices on all their "No Name " food lines for the next 3 months, so we know what the prices on our favorite items will cost, before we go into the store. The No Name lines cover a wide range of food and non food items. JimB.

 

[1955]

While checking out the other day I noticed when I dragged a bag full of groceries across the scanner back to the cart it managed to scan an item through that bag. I didn’t try to figure it out because of all the other mistakes that were in my favor.

 

[fuzzybuddy]

The machines I've used will let you keep scanning and checking out but I have to hit the "skip bagging" key. Then I would put a small bag on each end of the dog food just so I wouldn't have my receipt checked when I walk out. Guess that's "bagged" in their eyes! Hate to waste bags like that, though.

Well, if you know that, it's ok. But I never went to checkout machine school. I like a human at the check out. I found that if you start beating on the machine with something big and hard, one always shows up.

 

[jimintoronto]

Well, if you know that, it's ok. But I never went to checkout machine school. I like a human at the check out. I found that if you start beating on the machine with something big and hard, one always shows up.

My contention is that if you can operate your home computer, you can use a self check out machine, which has screen prompts on it. JimB.

 

[debodun]

The last time I was at Walmart, there was a person at the exit that examined the sales slips!

 

[Knight]

My contention is that if you can operate your home computer, you can use a self check out machine, which has screen prompts on it. JimB.

Makes sense to me.

I've never had a problem with bulky or large items. That is what a scan gun is for.

 

[caroln]

The last time I was at Walmart, there was a person at the exit that examined the sales slips!

Makes you feel like a criminal, doesn't it? At my Walmart they just check your receipt if you have unbagged items. Does your Walmart check everybody?