“Organized retail crime across the entire industry is a serious issue, and has only gotten worse,” said spokesperson Catherine Thomas. She did not provide data to back up the claim.
Yes this statement was quite frankly hilarious. I’m certain that the mafia has moved onto stealing bread for black-market redistribution. Or maybe they themselves can no longer afford to shop at Lowblaws.
Arent the self check outs right next to the exit anyways? At least here in germany they are so it really is a non issue to just carry them 1 metre and scan them. They have a bin right outside so you can throw them away then.
This is great if we can find a way to exploit it. Otherwise it’s just saving pennies on the dollar and costing people jobs so the elite can get another .000001% income. Not worth it. But they’re arrogant pricks and won’t see it that way :)
I hate this “costing people jobs”. It is a sign of our broken society.
If this gate suitably replaces someone standing there we should implement it, raise taxes .000001% and put that money towards welfare/UBI. I’d rather just give people money than forcing them to do a useless job. Of course our society doesn’t function nearly well enough for this to actually happen.
In this case the problem isn’t the lost job but that this gate is an inconvenience for every shopper. They are wasting my time because it saves them .000001%.
What seems to actually happen is that they implement this, raise taxes .000001% on the working class, and put that money towards more corporate welfare technology grants for the companies that implemented it.
With the amount of effort it takes to raise the cow, and the amount of environmental damage it does, beef only costing $9 per pound is almost criminal.
While true, I think the point here is that Loblaw collects a high margin irrespective of the beef’s cost to make. But yes, the cost of meat has been historically absurdly low. Another example of the market not pricing in externalities.
Customers who go through self-checkout must use the device to scan their receipt’s barcode — confirming that they paid something — which opens a metal gate, letting them leave.
How can scanning a receipt prove that you scanned all the items, and are leaving with only what you paid for?
Also, how does this locking metal gate fall under the municipal fire code?
It is probably wired up to the fire alarm like many emergency exits are. They typically fail-open so that if the wire is cut or the power goes out they can be opened without trouble.
It is probably wired up to the fire alarm like many emergency exits are.
And if there’s no fire alarm? Maybe an active shooter or other situation that causes a stampede of people to try to leave the store?
Seems like an unnecessary risk to public safety in the name of loss-prevention.
These gates, if they plan to use them, should only lock if a security tag has not been deactivated (triggering an alarm).
The way it seems to be designed is that everyone is guilty of theft until proven they haven’t stolen anything. And it doesn’t seem like scanning the receipt actually proves this.
We’ve had these in Finland at some stores. Seems to work fine imo. Sometimes I forget I put the receipt in my pocket and it’s annoying but usually I do that mistake once and next time I remember.
Customers who go through self-checkout must use the device to scan their receipt’s barcode — confirming that they paid something — which opens a metal gate, letting them leave.
How is that supposed to help at all in stopping theft? “Oh, you paid for something, you definitely aren’t leaving with anything you didn’t pay for.” I can’t see a way “organized crime” could possibly work around that. /s
Yeah, as much as I think this is a stupid idea I don’t think it’s as bad as Walmart trying to implement Costco style receipt checkers. The less human involvement the more I’m likely to screw up and miss scanning something. Definitely by accident obviously, I wouldn’t want to steal from a faceless corporation that only reluctantly employs anyone.
Small caveat, but Walmart isn’t copying Costco. Sam’s Club has always done the receipt checking, too, and Walmart/Sam’s Club are owned by the same people. So in a way, they’re bringing their Sam’s Club behavior over into general Walmart. What makes this infuriating is not only being treated like a thief and having to go through more steps to get out of the fucking store, but I didn’t pay for any perks or sign any contract that allows you to search my shit.
We don’t have Sam’s club in Canada so I was not aware, but regardless my point was a human looking at what’s in your cart and verifying your receipt vs. a machine checking that a receipt simply exists.
Its the DRM of shopping.
Impacts legit customers, does very little for everyone else.
After the media hype of a shoplifting crime spree hitting world wide, i imagine this is some businesses answer to that, and they managed to sell it to supermarkets
At self checkouts I get it, its annoying but at least makes sense. But there is a Willy’s grocery store near where I live where they do that for the normal cashier checkout too. I forget every time I need to keep my receipt to get out. That’s just bullshit.
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More money wasted on security theater instead of fixing actual issues lol
New York Subway comes to mind.
Its clear the law is not going to enforce justice, and justice needs to be taken into our own hands.
Am I the only one who is more annoyed by the lack of efficiency for the consumer. Integrate the checkouts into the exits if you want to do this.
Y’all, just bust that gate down and keep walking. The alarm gives you extra style points.
Riiiight
Yes this statement was quite frankly hilarious. I’m certain that the mafia has moved onto stealing bread for black-market redistribution. Or maybe they themselves can no longer afford to shop at Lowblaws.
You know times are tough when even the mafia isn’t recession proof.
Nah, she’s being truthful. The retail stores have illegally collaborated in secret to raise prices to criminal levels, which is a serious issue.
“You can trust us to know this,” she went on to say. “We’re the criminals, after all!”
Is she talking about how Loblaws is essentially an organized crime outfit?
The grocery cartel.
Arent the self check outs right next to the exit anyways? At least here in germany they are so it really is a non issue to just carry them 1 metre and scan them. They have a bin right outside so you can throw them away then.
I wonder what happens if you go in, don’t find what you wanted and decide to leave without a reciept?
The one in Woodstock was short lived, I hope it stays gone.
This is great if we can find a way to exploit it. Otherwise it’s just saving pennies on the dollar and costing people jobs so the elite can get another .000001% income. Not worth it. But they’re arrogant pricks and won’t see it that way :)
I hate this “costing people jobs”. It is a sign of our broken society.
If this gate suitably replaces someone standing there we should implement it, raise taxes .000001% and put that money towards welfare/UBI. I’d rather just give people money than forcing them to do a useless job. Of course our society doesn’t function nearly well enough for this to actually happen.
In this case the problem isn’t the lost job but that this gate is an inconvenience for every shopper. They are wasting my time because it saves them .000001%.
What seems to actually happen is that they implement this, raise taxes .000001% on the working class, and put that money towards
more corporate welfaretechnology grants for the companies that implemented it.All of this crap to avoid paying for a few cashiers.
3rd mansions aren’t going to pay for themselves, yo!
My local zehrs setup those one-way gates that everyone just ignores. I’ve never stolen from them and yet I’m treated like a criminal.
Whats criminal is $9 for ground beef.
With the amount of effort it takes to raise the cow, and the amount of environmental damage it does, beef only costing $9 per pound is almost criminal.
People buying the premium cuts pay for the cow. Ground beef is the parts they can’t sell as steak or roast or stir fry
It should be cheap
Low fat ground beef should be a little more expensive as trimming the fat before grinding takes skilled time
While true, I think the point here is that Loblaw collects a high margin irrespective of the beef’s cost to make. But yes, the cost of meat has been historically absurdly low. Another example of the market not pricing in externalities.
How can scanning a receipt prove that you scanned all the items, and are leaving with only what you paid for?
Also, how does this locking metal gate fall under the municipal fire code?
The article makes it sound like you can push the gate open without a receipt, it will just set off an alarm.
It is probably wired up to the fire alarm like many emergency exits are. They typically fail-open so that if the wire is cut or the power goes out they can be opened without trouble.
Stupid idea, but probably not a major fire risk.
And if there’s no fire alarm? Maybe an active shooter or other situation that causes a stampede of people to try to leave the store?
Seems like an unnecessary risk to public safety in the name of loss-prevention.
These gates, if they plan to use them, should only lock if a security tag has not been deactivated (triggering an alarm).
The way it seems to be designed is that everyone is guilty of theft until proven they haven’t stolen anything. And it doesn’t seem like scanning the receipt actually proves this.
There is also a good chance that they can be pushed open, just triggering alarm. Based on TFA that is the case.
I hope so. But then it begs the question: will that alarm also be ignored as all other in-store alarms tend to be? LOL
Of course. My argument isn’t that this is a good solution, I don’t think it is. I just don’t think safety is a notable criticism.
Fair point. I don’t know how their metal gates work, so safety came to mind.
edit: corrected Freudian slip.
There is no way I would fucken do this.
We’ve had these in Finland at some stores. Seems to work fine imo. Sometimes I forget I put the receipt in my pocket and it’s annoying but usually I do that mistake once and next time I remember.
How is that supposed to help at all in stopping theft? “Oh, you paid for something, you definitely aren’t leaving with anything you didn’t pay for.” I can’t see a way “organized crime” could possibly work around that. /s
Yeah, as much as I think this is a stupid idea I don’t think it’s as bad as Walmart trying to implement Costco style receipt checkers. The less human involvement the more I’m likely to screw up and miss scanning something. Definitely by accident obviously, I wouldn’t want to steal from a faceless corporation that only reluctantly employs anyone.
Small caveat, but Walmart isn’t copying Costco. Sam’s Club has always done the receipt checking, too, and Walmart/Sam’s Club are owned by the same people. So in a way, they’re bringing their Sam’s Club behavior over into general Walmart. What makes this infuriating is not only being treated like a thief and having to go through more steps to get out of the fucking store, but I didn’t pay for any perks or sign any contract that allows you to search my shit.
We don’t have Sam’s club in Canada so I was not aware, but regardless my point was a human looking at what’s in your cart and verifying your receipt vs. a machine checking that a receipt simply exists.
For sure, I wasn’t trying to gotcha or anything. Just adding context for others reading the thread
Its the DRM of shopping.
Impacts legit customers, does very little for everyone else.
After the media hype of a shoplifting crime spree hitting world wide, i imagine this is some businesses answer to that, and they managed to sell it to supermarkets
That’s how it works in Swedish grocery stores
At self checkouts I get it, its annoying but at least makes sense. But there is a Willy’s grocery store near where I live where they do that for the normal cashier checkout too. I forget every time I need to keep my receipt to get out. That’s just bullshit.