White SHite freaks out at Walmart

I usually avoid WalMart for a variety of reasons. But this has to be my #1 : Walmart receipt checkers!

I picked up a few things in a small basket and headed for the self checkout. Now I feel guilty checking out by my self and contributing to the loss of cashiers jobs but it’s one less person to have to deal with. I avoid picking up heavy items and use the little yellow gun to scan in the cart. Some of the small things go in the plastic bag, the larger items remain bagless.

I successfully scan in all my items and pay with a credit card. I stuff the receipt in my pocket and head for the door. I pass some woman and her buggy being held up by a receipt checker, she’s grumbling something about her constitutional rights. Passing her, I figure she’s just another one of those crazy shoppers you run into. An electric cart driven by someone who seems high on pills almost runs me over.

I’m almost home free when I see this craggy faced yellow vested older woman with one of those yellow wands in her hand, make her way toward me. I try not to make eye contact but she’s zeroed in on me and identified me as a potential shoplifter. Remember those items that haven’t been bagged. “Can I see your receipt.” First I think, no I paid for this stuff, it’s mine and she has no good reason to stop me but I stop anyway and fumble through my pockets looking for the receipt. I’m a naturally honest man to a fault. No good deed goes unpunished.

I whip out a crumpled up receipt which she takes and scans. Now she is in full border patrol search mode. She begins scanning items in my cart looking for theft. I tell her I’ve produced a receipt, which I didn’t have to and I’d like to go. I say, “Get out of my way you wretched beast.” Or something to that effect and begin mumbling things about violation of my constitutional rights. She is undeterred. Every last item scanned, I push my way passed and grab my receipt out of her paws.

Now I’m thinking, if they are going to scan my stuff anyway, why self check to get out of there? It’s a good question without a good answer. I vow to simply refuse next time it happens and keep walking through the door to my car. But what if the receipt checker thinks he/she has to detain me. Refusing would be a sign of a real thief, they might cause a big scene. While loading my stuff in the car, I start to feel like a criminal. They had no probable cause to detain me. True, it only inconvenienced me for a brief time but other stores I go in make me feel welcome or at least don’t suspect me lifting things without reason.

I’m thinking, what if the police just pulled me over without probable cause just to check to see if I have a license, registration and/or insurance? I’d be pissed. That’s the same situation right? It’s like a DUI checkpoint.

Just because WalMart’s self check program is resulting in huge losses to theft of unscanned items, isn’t justification to expect I give up my rights just because that’s the cheapest way WalMart can address the situation. They could hire more loss prevention agents to actually fulfill the requirements for shop lifting...see the person come into the store, see them select an item, see them conceal the item, observe them leaving without paying. No it’s easier to just search randomly every patron. After all who is going to sue the biggest retailer in the world?

No more Wally World for me.