My trip today to Walmart....

If an associate did try to stop the thief, the associate would be fired. It’s happened before. There was a case on the news about a store employee who filmed shop lifters taking a basket load of stuff and putting it in their car. The employee did not try to stop them. But he was fired. We live in a backwards world.
 

CarolfromTX said:
If an associate did try to stop the thief, the associate would be fired. It’s happened before. There was a case on the news about a store employee who filmed shop lifters taking a basket load of stuff and putting it in their car. The employee did not try to stop them. But he was fired. We live in a backwards world.
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I did learn that Walmart associates are not permitted to stop a shoplifter. Only if they have hired security. The manager told me that Walmart even frowns on their managers that approach a shoplifter.

Northeastern PA has their share of low income people, which doesn’t give them any right to steal, but in this case, I was only looking at items costing less than $25. To pay a $500 fine didn’t equate to me. These people were in need already.
 
I've totally given up on any Walmart shopping as of 3-4 months ago.

Prices may be cheaper for many things, but the hassle of finding quality in goods, and dealing with their working staff can ruin your day.
 

In 2016, bought a heavy item online from Walmart that was defective and rather than repackage and ship it, I opted to return it to a store. The closest Walmart is about thirty minutes from me.

I never had such a hassle trying to return something with a receipt. The clerk kept insisting that she had to scan my driver's license. I told her that she could look at it to verify that I was who I said I was, but she couldn't enter it into the system. I showed her my license, and she tried to take it from me. I wouldn't let go and asked to speak to a manager immediately.

Meanwhile, a long line of customers was forming behind me. I didn't care. I refused to be intimidated. A manager finally showed up, and we went through the same rigmarole again. At the time, I didn't realize that they copy driver's licenses to keep track of people who too often return items (see the links below). It was the one and only time I've bought anything from Walmart. I put up such a stink that she finally returned my money.

That was it for me, never again. I don't care how cheap their prices are, I'd rather pay a little more elsewhere than be treated like a criminal and be able to return something without having to fork over such personal information to do so.

Returns, Driver’s Licenses and The Retail Equation > https://privacyrights.org/resources/returns-drivers-licenses-and-retail-equation

More retailers requiring driver's license swipes > https://abc7news.com/archive/7441118/
 
Every time I've gone to WalMart in the last several years, an employee stops me at the door and asks to see my sales slip, then proceeds to check it against what's in the cart. I'm surprised it isn't a full body and cavity search.
 
I've found that all Walmart stores are different, some do this & other don't. It been some years ago they started to ask for the drivers license when returning something at my Walmart & the girls explained then at my main store why (as @Bella said in post #29). The only time they check your cart is if something isn't in shopping bags, at least for me. I really don't have a problem with it as this store has no problem calling the police on shoplifters. This all started after Walmart closed down a store located farther into the city due to the high amount of theft. The thieves migrated to several others stores along with my local one as well.

Most of the stores we like to go to in my area are really spread out. For our main shop every month, we go to the town north of us where all of the shopping is in one area. It's quicker for us to get this done with less driving between stores.
 
Bella said:
That was it for me, never again. I don't care how cheap their prices are, I'd rather pay a little more elsewhere than be treated like a criminal and be able to return something without having to fork over such personal information to do so.

Returns, Driver’s Licenses and The Retail Equation > https://privacyrights.org/resources/returns-drivers-licenses-and-retail-equation

More retailers requiring driver's license swipes > https://abc7news.com/archive/7441118/
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It would be interesting to know if there's a watch dog group making sure these companies are following these regulations.
 
I have a love/hate relationship with Walmart. The one near me is very convenient.
But , like all retail these days, they are catering to online orders. Big carts competing with vendors for aisle space while I'm squashed between them.
Also, stock is low because online orders get the merch first.
But, I still go because it's safe, clean, and just a mile down the road.
 
911 said:
Up in northeastern PA, there is a Walmart in the country and is served by a small PD. I was called to the store because the 2-man PD was investigating an accident, so the 911 operator called the PSP, which is not the protocol, but we took it anyway to help out the other Blue department.

The manager told me he didn’t stop the man, but he was seen by an employee of pocketing shavers from the mens’ section in drugs. I spoke with the witness and she confirmed what she saw. The manager then handed me a piece of paper with the suspect’s license plate number. I ran the tag and saw that he lived about 8 miles away. I went out to his home and saw the pickup that matched the description of the one he drove to Walmart, so I contacted our barrack’s operator and requested they start a backup. That means no rush, no lights or siren. The man had no priors.

I wanted someone there to support me in case my meeting with him went south. When approaching a house with a suspect in it, if he sees me walking up the walkway, he knows why I’m there and you never know what kind of reaction you’re going to get, we come around to the door from the side the door opens.

The suspect answered the door. We talked and he was nice and accepted responsibility by admitting that he did take 4 razors. He told me a very sad story and I did buy some of what he said, so I made a deal with him. He gives me back the shavers to return and he writes a letter of apology to the store and I see it and mail it. He agreed. I warned him of the consequences and his face turned red and said if he was arrested, his mom would be very disappointed in him. I also told him, we don’t want to come back here because next time, it may not be so nice. He agreed and thanked me.

I’m not going to make a guy that has next to nothing and drives an old pickup pay a $500 fine and possibly spend 15 days or more in jail, even though he would have been eligible for work release. My barrack’s Sgt. agreed with the way I handled it. The shavers were returned. To me, we call that “small potatoes.” About a week later, he returned to the barracks and dropped off his letter. When I came into the barracks, the letter was in my slot. I read it and sent it. Sorry for the long post.
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Wow! You did a good deed! Sometimes that's all it takes to learn a lesson. He'll probably remember you for the rest of his life.
 
911 said:
I did learn that Walmart associates are not permitted to stop a shoplifter. Only if they have hired security. The manager told me that Walmart even frowns on their managers that approach a shoplifter.

Northeastern PA has their share of low income people, which doesn’t give them any right to steal, but in this case, I was only looking at items costing less than $25. To pay a $500 fine didn’t equate to me. These people were in need already.
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Years ago, when I was young and worked part-time at a department store selling women's clothing, we were trained not to approach shoplifters because of the potential danger involved. I never saw one, but was vigilant.

A few months ago, I was leaving a department store and entering the mall. A young woman walked quickly past me at the same time out the door, followed by the sound of the alarm. I looked around as I also exited at the same time, wondering why it would beep since I had not bought anything. I thought nothing of it, but did notice she kept walking fast ahead of me. Then she abruptly stopped, turned around and slowly walked another way, looking composed and calm. That's when my gut instinct said that she may have triggered the alarm, especially when she abruptly changed. I might be wrong, though.
 
palides2021 said:
Years ago, when I was young and worked part-time at a department store selling women's clothing, we were trained not to approach shoplifters because of the potential danger involved. I never saw one, but was vigilant.

A few months ago, I was leaving a department store and entering the mall. A young woman walked quickly past me at the same time out the door, followed by the sound of the alarm. I looked around as I also exited at the same time, wondering why it would beep since I had not bought anything. I thought nothing of it, but did notice she kept walking fast ahead of me. Then she abruptly stopped, turned around and slowly walked another way, looking composed and calm. That's when my gut instinct said that she may have triggered the alarm, especially when she abruptly changed. I might be wrong, though.
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Same exact thing happened to me in a department store. A man wore a jacket out right front of me. It triggered the alarm. I stopped, he walked on. They checked my bag while I told them that I thought he just stole a jacket. They didn't care.
I won't fall for that again!
 
The Walmart in the next town, about 10 miles away, is the closest place to buy my weekly groceries anymore. All the local grocery stores have been replaced by dollar stores. What a rip-off those places are. Our Walmart values its customers for the most part. I agree that their online order shoppers have become a pain for real life shoppers though.
 
I avoided our local Walmart due to the large Homeless encampment next to it.
People were waiting by the doors and I got tired of running the gauntlet to get in and out.

The encampment has been removed for a while now and the store is cleaner and a much better
shopping experience.

(Where the encampment was is now being developed with single homes and apartment building, but that's for another
thread)
 
Typical Big Box. Many working there do not care about the welfare of the store. In fact, less sales and customers mean less work.

Compare to a family-owned and staffed store where every sale is important, every customer is precious, and if some yahoo sales out the door on a stolen bike, their 17 year old track star son or daughter working for them is going to run them down.
 
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Judycat said:
The Walmart in the next town, about 10 miles away, is the closest place to buy my weekly groceries anymore. All the local grocery stores have been replaced by dollar stores. What a rip-off those places are. Our Walmart values its customers for the most part. I agree that their online order shoppers have become a pain for real life shoppers though.
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Just wondering why dollar stores are a rip-off. Shoddy merchandise, maybe?
 
caroln said:
Just wondering why dollar stores are a rip-off. Shoddy merchandise, maybe?
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The prices are high for the things people need and too many shelves filled with stuff they don't need. Get a pack of cheap cookies and you sometimes get less than a dozen for what you are saving. No produce. Over priced frozen foods. These stores are small. How often does anyone need rugs, plates, shoes, houseplants, several kinds of water hose and would you buy them there? I go if I need something I forgot to buy at Walmart, like paper towels, or have a craving for something sweet. Lots of snacks. Lots of paper products. Lots of soda. Parking lot has only a few cars every time. Just not a place to do weekly shopping that's all.
 
Judycat said:
The prices are high for the things people need and too many shelves filled with stuff they don't need. Get a pack of cheap cookies and you sometimes get less than a dozen for what you are saving. No produce. Over priced frozen foods. These stores are small. How often does anyone need rugs, plates, shoes, houseplants, several kinds of water hose and would you buy them there? I go if I need something I forgot to buy at Walmart, like paper towels, or have a craving for something sweet. Lots of snacks. Lots of paper products. Lots of soda. Parking lot has only a few cars every time. Just not a place to do weekly shopping that's all.
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Yes, I can get a little overwhelmed when I walk in a dollar store...so much stuff. I generally don't buy anything at a dollar store except greeting cards, wrapping paper/gift bags and laundry detergent. I've noticed some dollar stores are set up much more nicely than others. Some you can hardly walk down the aisles, and I avoid those.
 
Remy said:
Yeah, stupid us, paying for purchases. I've read almost every, if not every, Walgreens closed in San Francisco due to armfuls of theft.
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Umm....no. Not even close. Walgreen's closed quite a few downtown stores because they literally had one every 2 blocks. Fine when the SF Financial District was booming, but not so good when almost everyone started working from home (WFH) which is still EXTREMELY popular here in the SFBA. I have a dozen Gen X friends who literally have not gone into the downtown offices since 2020. Five have transferred to suburban offices, which many companies now utilize, splitting up lines of business into regional offices instead of downtown SF HQs.

A recent estimate was that foot traffic in the FiDi was still only 40% of what it was in 2019. It will recover, but may never return to previous heights. Few large corps are left - BofA, Chevron, and Schwab have all moved their HQs elsewhere. The tech layoffs and start-up shut-downs (many start-ups are called 'unicorns' for a reason) have also hurt the city of SF.

Walgreen's has the same degree of theft as any other retailer. It has long been in financial difficulties as the commuter and business growth has shifted nationwide to the suburbs where people drive to do their errands. Walgreen's specialized in small urban storefronts, a kind of CVS-lite/7-11 mash-up, for pedestrian traffic. That's why you don't see Walgreen's "superstores"; it was never their business strategy.

Many cities are struggling to revitalize their downtowns, unfortunately, not just SF, nor solely because of theft. Younger generations shop differently than the older generation; they are more comfortable shopping at on-line boutiques and buying cheaper, throw-away items. Both car and home ownership have dropped among Gen Z and Millennials, meaning buying patterns will continue to shift in new ways.
 

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