Submitted 2 weeks ago by MacNCheezus@lemmy.today to [deleted]
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It always gets under my skin that my local grocery store has two camera screens to deter shoplifting. The first is in the liquor aisle, which is fair enough, fine, whatever.
The second one, however, is in the baby supplies aisle. Absolutely go fuck yourself Kroger. This and the self-checkout that accuses you of stealing and calls an attendant if you rearrange your bagged groceries to fit on the stupid scale makes me wish there were better options where I live.
I’m a Food Lion man. The reason being is that aside from the checkout line, I’m rather certain no Food Lion has had its interior updated in 25 years. It’s a normal, bog-standard grocery store, that is so frill-less and basic that the only Shin Ramen is spicy and it isn’t because black and gold are out of stock.
Ok but green is so good…
To bad Reasors bought out our Food Lion and now Brookshires bought out Reasors groceries. So I have that or Walmart for choices where I live.
While I can’t speak for that store I used to put up and manage security for a blue store. The formula was put under higher watch mainly to make the drug dealers and the scam artists.
Had a case happen at my store a yongish guy came in and “swept” the entire stock he could reach into the cart and rush out an e door. Talking to pd he was linked to using the formula for the mix in of some drugs.
When it comes to shoplifting supermarkets, I’m of the opinion that that is a symptom of the state failing to, or worse, choosing not to, take care of those who, for whatever reason, can’t take care of themselves and those they are responsible for.
You don’t know what it’s like, you don’t have a clue.
And if you did you’d find yourself doing the same thing too.
~ R. Halford et al, 1980
I don’t report shoplifting people either because they desperately need it while the CEO of the franchise earns millions. When shoplifting is a common thing forcing the store to put products behind locks, society has failed as too many of the population are struggling financially.
This was back in 2023, but I once got the estimated losses from shoplifting from the four major UK supermarkets (Tesco, Asda, Morrisons and Sainsbury’s) and compared them to the shareholder/investor payouts. In all four cases, the latter was greater and it wasn’t even close.
It was 2020, covid was in full force, all prices went up. Ahold said they were forced to do so, due to extra shipping fees etc and shortages due to covid. Many people were struggling financially. Their personnel also couldn’t get raises while they were more exposed to get covid, had to work more due to colleagues being ill. The store chain said the profits on products was minimal, that they were struggling not to sell products at a loss. That they had no choice but to raise prices, while also bleeding themselves.
Turns out that year they had more yearly profits than ever before. Check this chart.
I’m unable to steal. I’m too honest for that, my autistic brain just can’t. But I so much believe companies like Ahold deserve to be stolen from. Fuck them.
Yeah, the locking products up thing is not happening here at all (except for valuable electronics, jewellery etc obviously) but also most of everyone can comfortably afford the necessities around here
Same in my country. It only happens in countries with vast amounts of poverty.
If you’re a good person, and someone desperately needs something, why don’t you just offer to buy it for them? Why make them go through the indignity of having to risk shoplifting?
If they get away with it, the store will raise its prices to make up for the shortfall, and you’ll be paying for it anyhow.
Literally gave a guy $100 once (everything in my wallet) so that he wouldn’t need to keep begging in the parking lot. I was working minimum wage. Problem is, now I literally don’t have enough money to do that again. Now see, maybe if the next person also did this, that might help solve the problem. Perhaps it might evolve into a community of people paying it forward and helping the brother next to them in a slowly strengthened network of support.
In other words, a much more expensive, unsustainable and unreliable version of a strong government funded social safety net.
This is naive. Sure, in a perfect world everyone helps people in desperate situations or they have support structures that can help them. This is not that world. Sure some shopplifting is for unnecessary stuff but most of it is from desperation because people struggle to afford necessities. It is a much better approach to blame the systems and structures that lead to people having no other options rather than blaming the poor people just trying to get by.
By your logic why aren’t you, presumably a good person, paying for every persons groceries who cant afford them. Is it because you are actually a bad person? No, its because that is neither feasible nor tenable. And the CEOs of large corporations actively work to maintain things as they are because they make incredible wealth.
As to increased prices, every corporate grocery store or big box store has insurance and works losses into their budgets. They can easily absorb it without increasing their costs. On the other hand do you know what the most common form of theft in the US is? Wage theft. So the same CEOs making bank also keep pay from employees who are already struggling.
In short, fuck the corps, shoplift if you need to, don’t be a snitch if you see someone else.
So I, someone who also doesn’t make much money, should use the little money I have extra to pay for others, while these stores make billions profit per year? You know how much people are poor? You’re doing exactly what mega corporations do: blame the consumer. I do help out some friends of mine who are poor AF. But the issue is mega corps creating vast amounts of poverty out of greed.
The CEO of the franchise doesn’t hurt at all from stolen products. If they see a product is being stolen often, they just increase the price so everyone else pays for it.
Why would they increase the price, that would only make more people steal it. Also, with the price wars between stores (which is huge here in The Netherlands), they can’t afford making things more expensive while their competitor keeps it at a low price. Usually they do more checks at the self checkout counters with certain products as certain combinations of products are common with stolen items. Also, contrary to what they claim, they also check certain people based on their looks. I know because I’m never checked, but when I dye my hair purple I’m checked 14 out of 15 times (yeah I counted). Also my darker skin colored friends are checked more often while the store keeps claiming it’s all random.
Next it will be curb pickup or delivery only. Customers won’t be allowed in the stores at all.
And, as soon as they can, it will be robots in the stores filling orders.
Honestly, I could see this model work for households who rely on large, predictable, repeat orders (i.e. families with small children), but I don’t think it’ll ever replace normal grocery stores, because a lot of profit is generated by people just browsing the aisles and buying stuff they didn’t even know they wanted, and online stores are still fairly bad at replicating that experience.
I agree that online stores don’t do it as well as in person ones (being committed to being in a specific place where you buy stuff I think makes people engage more intentionally and consider items in front of them), but I wish more people talked about how shitty seo is one of the ways online stores do this so I wanna take this opportunity to share that idea
Instead of having to walk to the back corner of the store to get milk or Christmas decorations, you have to scroll past a million items that aren’t quite what you’re looking for but are closely related by keywords. And in this metaphor the store can be infinitely big.
I hate shopping online 🥹
For prepackaged and bulk it would work good, but I’m not buying fresh produce sight unseen.
yeah, part of successful grocery management is knowing how often to rearrange the store that your customers don’t hate you for moving the damn kefir. my bagels need kefir!
I’ve had this thought for a while. I don’t know how big of an issue loss from theft actually is, but if you own a store and perceive it to be a major issue, why give the customer access to anything? You could make it distopian and shitty like you’re saying it could be, but honestly, if you do it right it doesn’t have to be. Reorganize the store so the customers can see what is available, but they get a code or ticket instead of the item. Then have the employees pick the items once the customer is ready to pay. We already have a counter serve model like this for a butcher or baker. Convenience stores do this for highly regulated items like cigarettes and liquor. Just do it for everything. If that was the premise from the start, I wouldn’t mind because it would be less hostile. The current half asses model of I pick most of my stuff, but then I have to call one of 2 pissed off overworked employees to unlock the other half individually is hostile to the customer and the employee.
That’s how stores used to work until I think the early 20th century
Stores will turn into warehouses.
They largely already are
Vending machines
What was old becomes new again
Both of these statements are correct. And if you blame the locked cases on shoplifting rather than blaming the shoplifting on the fact that greedy, soulless merchants will jack up their prices in response to sunrises, sunsets, or passing fancies, then fuck you along with capitalism.
Funny enough, the products locked behind glass at my store have actually been getting cheaper while everything else has been getting more expensive.
Turns out if it is inconvenient enough to buy certain products people will just not buy them there
Went to buy $2 nail clippers from Walmart. Locked in one of these cages. Hit the button, wait a few min, no one comes. Oh, they keep the overstock on top of the cabinet. Reach up and grab what I want and check out.
Unbelievably stupid decision making
As someone who used to have to make those cases. They don’t care about the clippers it’s the expensive makeup that’s in that same section and we only had a case that could do that entire area.
Some things are in the case by proximity more then anything else, thus it can be on the overstock because whatever
Yeah someone planogrammed cheap items into the anti theft case because there was extra room and they didn’t want it to look ugly. No thought was put into it beyond that.
if it’s not an expensive item that I can’t get elsewhere, then I just don’t buy it from that store. I have gone into stores and walked right back out when I saw that a pair of gloves was behind a lockbox.
it’s like Canadian Tire not allowing backpacks - I will always ignore that rule. I’m not waiting in line to leave my bag at customer service and let some random minimum wage worker have access to my things. the experience there is so shitty anyways, and why is it impossible to leave the store without going through the cash queue
Do I have a fundamental misunderstanding of Canadian Tire? I thought they just sold tires. If I’m correct about that, why the backpack policy? Do they really think people are going to be able to surreptitiously shoplift tires?
If what I want to buy is under $200 and locked up, I usually go to another store to buy the item. I am not waiting for an employee to show up and unlock $200 item.
It often only takes a few months of huge losses in sales for the shelves to all be unlocked at a store.
*next store has the same locked cage because they too don’t want their $200 items stolen*
From the store’s pov shit being stolen is worse than it taking a bit longer to sell
That really depends on how much is stolen.
If margin is idk 30% then losing 3 sales to prevent 1 stolen item loses you money, assuming you account for the stolen item at what you paid for it rather than the selling price (which makes sense unless you expect it to sell out, i guess you can add a bit for storage+set up cost but that’ll be near nothing for a single item).
the item doesn’t take time to sell. the item takes time to restock. you gotta think like a manager. where are the cost centers.
Last time I was at Walmart I asked an employee (who I knew. I’m a known quantity in my town. If I was shoplifting, the shop deserved it. Or I forgot like idk a watermelon at the self checkout my object permanece sucks) if they minded if I just popped the lock one of these days if i was in a hurry. They laughed and assumed i was joking, because I joke a lot. I just gave them that “no, I’m good with locks and don’t like waiting” shrug. You know the one. Then they quietly said no I like having a job. And I dropped it.
But man those locks suck and are always right under cameras.
I went to target once before they cancelled pride and we started boycotting them and they locked up the underwear. I’ve never been back to target
Bullshit 🤣
I am very tough internet shit.
The time it takes to call someone over is minimal. But yeah I’m sure you pay for your shit, then go into another store, wait for a person to unlock the item because you live in an area with theft and it’s all locked up 🤣.
Dude, no one comes. They used the door to replace a person, do you think they have the staff to man the doors they just installed?
People don’t shop for those items from those places unless they absolutely have to. I’m of the same opinion as OP, and I’m pretty sure it’s the majority opinion.
The social contract is just that, a contract. The unwritten contract of most developed countries has long been:
*Work hard. Get an education. Don’t steal. Don’t commit acts of violence. Don’t try to foment unrest or rebellion. Walk the straight and narrow. In turn, you’ll have a peaceful and adequate life. You may not be rich, but you’ll have all your needs met during your working years, and you’ll be able to retire when old with a bit of dignity."
For generations, the social contract was that anyone who played along and did things “right” would have a decent life. That decent life might mean living in a modest apartment your whole life, but it was achievable by the vast majority. Traditionally, if you couldn’t achieve self-sufficiency, it’s because you either were excluded from the social contract (like certain minority groups), you were born with some debilitating disability, or because you did something very wrong (like commit a serious crime.)
But contracts are two-way streets. When one side breaks the contract, it breaks for both sides. In wealthy countries, this old social contract has been broken by the rich. Millions are finding they did everything they were supposed to, and they still can’t get a decent life. So with the contract broken, there’s far less reason to follow it.
Most people do not avoid committing crimes simply because they fear the law. Most folks have an ethical belief that stealing and violence is wrong. Most people wouldn’t do these things even if there were no police or prisons. But when you break the social contract, the portion of the population that finds committing crimes to be morally acceptable will inevitably rise.
Honestly, this is by far the best argument I’ve seen so far ITT, but I will say it does require substantiation. Like many people who did just as you said, I feel cheated because none of my efforts were rewarded according to my expectations, but I’m afraid a conviction requires more evidence than that.
Seriously, I am on your side. If you have information that will help to convict the boomers, I’m all ears.
You seem to be under the mistaken impression that this is a court of law…
Nah, this is probably suppose to make the poster look hypocritical, but I think the sentiment of basic life essentials still stands.
Imagine this person lives in an area where fracking, data centers, and beverage companies have stolen or destroyed access to water; then complaining about bottled water being locked up because of shoplifting.
Tooth decay can kill you eventually, but hydraulic despotism can kill you pretty quickly. The slowly boiled frog vs the one dropped immediately into the pan.
I’d like to see a single town or urban area that is directly affected by all three, otherwise I’m going to assume you’re overreacting.
Stores should be grateful when people steal condoms.
Why, then their crotch spawn don’t grow up to need baby formula from nestle. Then they become good little consumers, as intended
/S
why /s? the insane pronatalist propaganda in the recent years benefits no one except fascists who need future meat shields and capitalists who need future buying power
All so that you can just steal the shit at self checkout anyway.
And they’re always understaffed. I hate having to wait several minutes for someone to come unlock the contact solution I didn’t realize I needed until I was trying to go to bed
One thung abiut me is that if I see a customer pull out their hammer and break the glass deodorant safe, I pretend I didn’t.
Ask them to unlock it then leave it on a different shelf.
nah they gotta walk the item up to the cash for you
Like you’re a criminal
That things are locked literally has nothing to do with capitalism. It is because people are shoplifting to such an absurd amount that it is cheaper for the store to invest in locks then let it happen. And if u shoplift, that’ll just raise the prices cos the store has to somehow compensate this loss. Not sure how it is in the US, but in germany grocery stores operate on a slim margin, so significant amounts of shoplifting can be really detrimental.
Ah no relation to capitalism got it, why are people shoplifting necessities?
People shoplift because their employers pay to little. But that’s not a problem of the grocery store, they can’t solve that.
No. LP can be done with people. It’s more effective (less shoplifting) and loses less sales. But, of course, hiring labor to do something that a door can do is something that bean counters hate more than anything. They’d rather stab their own eye out then have to hire labor. So everything becomes shittier cause every store needs to show 2% growth this year and every year into perpetuity, meaning a store that used to employee 4 people at a time needs to be able to function with only 3 people this year or it gets closed.
I guess it depends on the size of the store. Around here, every grocery store has their liquor cabinet locked up. Except Trader Joe’s, which only opened last year, and replaced a Rite Aid that used to be in the same location (and of course, had lots of stuff locked up).
Now, Trader Joe’s doesn’t sell most items that other stores keep locked up besides liquor. But they don’t lock up their liquor either (or anything else for that matter). However, it’s just a tiny shelf and conveniently placed right across from the manager’s desk, so pretty much always within direct view of a team member.
Also, they probably have almost the same amount of staff as the Kroger across the street that’s 4x as big, so I suppose what you say IS possible, but you do pay for it with a much more limited selection. Trader Joe’s has exactly one of everything (their store brand), and if you don’t like that, you’re SOL. Regular supermarkets have way more choices, and they’re paying a lot more in rent to afford the space to stock all of these items.
Stores: If anybody shoplifts, I’m gonna make everyone wait.
Stores, years later: Hey everyone is buying everything online these days.
Well I wasn’t planning on shotgunning a redbull but here we are.
Guess you’re gonna have to steal the apple flavor…
Local stores have very little locked up here. My area has industry, which provides wages. Wages produce taxes. Taxes are used for police. Through surveilance police arrest shoplifters.
Complacency only back-slides society. I will agree that a waning industry does as well, or that our hyper-fixation on growth is bad, but that’s another discussion.
If someone offers a free item, someone will take it whether they need that item or not, whether they can afford that item or not. Nature takes the path of least resistance. It’s easier to take than to work.
As such, there is no incentive to work if the item is free. If there is no incentive to work nothing gets made. Yet people will need things so you’re forced to make items people need. Which makes items not really free after all to the dismay of many an anti-capitalist.
Regardless there will always be some percentage of the population that will feel above the rest, mainly due to mental deficiency or addiction, independent of the economic system. For punishment of theft I would prefer to see forced induction into the municipal workforce for 5 years, flat sentence with a minimum wage earned in municipal bonds, held in a community barracks with a tapered reintegration into society. A sort of forced communism for those who can’t cope.
I’m ready for the downvotes.
…
You’re saying people will steal because they can? Do you? Small theft is not exactly hard to get away with. It’s a lot a easier than most professions, but then a lot of engineers and scientists don’t get inti the business for the money. People do difficult things for the hell of it, as long as they arent punished for it, and sometimes even if they are. Nature takes the oath of least resistance? Fucking really?
The reason surveillance is increasing, is because the NEED to steal, is increasing. And hence spending more to prevent ot is making more sense.
Food isn’t optional. If you decrease wages, theft goes up. No matter how hard you police it.
First-world mentality right here. If it wasn’t for people like you we could be more like Venezuela and Nicaragua
Hah, who would’ve thought the stores would want to protect their merchandise from shoplifting. It sucks for everyone now
That’s one way to look at it.
I see it as maximizing their profits instead. They’re posting record profits, they’re gaming the system somehow and gouging us on basic necessities. I won’t report shoplifting from billionaire conglomerates.
“Hurting people’s not a good thing! Sometimes it is… but not when it’s a bunch of people looking for something to eat!” - John spartan, demolition man.
I mean maximizing their profits by trying to prevent shoplifting. More shoplifting, stores will do more to prevent it.
I don’t know about your context, but in my country people say the same thing… but grocery store profit margins hover reliably around 3%. That’s not price gouging, and it doesn’t take much theft to seriously eat into it.
It sucks for everyone now
Honestly, this is better than having it suck for some, while most willfully ignore them.
This is why Walmart has lost almost all of my business to Amazon.
From one shitpile to the next.
suggested amazon alternatives? honest query, trying to reduce my use of bezo’s bullshit
You say that like Amazon isn’t just eWalmart
I’ve only ever seen this at Walmart, and to a lesser extent, Target. I don’t shop at either
Sludgehammer@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Yes, yes… if we just shit upon the poor and desperate just a little bit more, capitalism will finally work and we will all live in a Utopian meritocracy. Remember hygiene is a privilege not a right!