Absolutely sick of the shop workers and there headsets

That’s appalling treatment and I would stop shopping at that branch after that experience.

Is Sports Direct the store where if you want to buy something just inside the door (football or socks usually) but to pay for it you have to go upstairs and walk to the back of the store? If so it must be very tempting to just grab and go!
Most shops manage with a rack of tills at the front why don't they give it a try?
As for the op, I would assume your description matches someone of interest so you are subjected to a more intense grilling than most.

Thanks for your reply. Yes, I think it's in certain areas, generally those which are poorer than average, such as my area. I visited another (Northern) part of the country recently, an even poorer area, and many of the stores had a similar set up with the spirits, gated self-scan area, etc. It's very depressing. Security companies must be making a mint.

Obviously if you want to avoid this, you go to M&S, but unsurprisingly they're not in my local area and it's a bit of a faff to get there on public transport. I visited a friend in a rural area recently and it was an eye-opener - I'd forgotten how easy shopping used to be! I do wonder if supermarkets know or care how fed up honest customers are.

Fail to see how describing your appearance helps prevent shoplifting. Fair enough inspecting bags against receipts as you leave if they have a problem, but it would certainly discourage many people from shopping there.

I never understand the anger around checks and cctv etc. If you've done nothing wrong what's the problem. Shops are private premises they can do what they want and you can either shop there or not. You're giving to much brain power into something you have 100% choice over

You're lucky, on holiday in one place and even the MacDonalds had security guards with pump-action shotguns on the doors. They checked your bags on entry and exit, to the locals it was normal.

This is batshit isn't it? Every effing shop asks 'do you want your receipt?' Well duh, how can I prove I have paid, especially if I have paid with cash! How silly. And as has been said Sports Direct tend to have their checkouts at the back. So with no receipt, how can you prove you haven't nicked the items you have (on the way through the aisles in the store, that lead you to the exit, that is sometimes a couple of hundred yards away?!)

I bought some solar lights from Wilkos a couple of years ago, and was asked 'do you want a receipt?' I said yeah. Lights were faulty. Guess what they asked for when I took them back?

Someone recently checked my receipt in Tesco and I good naturedly asked them what would have happened if I didn't have a receipt. 'Well we wouldn't let you have the item!' they said with surprise. But you actively have to click that yes you want a receipt so it's not a given you'd have one. Obviously in actual fact they'd need to check their electronic journal or CCTV but what a faff, having a checking system relying on receipts and yet having tills that don't give them out automatically.

I don’t shop there, but calling anyone waifs and strays is a bit extra.

Surely most Sports Direct stores are like this? Because of the types of people who shop in there. It’s a rough shop, totally understandable to me. When you attract the waifs and strays it’s essential to protect stock and staff at all times. I’m surprised they don’t operate more like Argos, their stock loss must be through the roof.

Oh wow! I wonder what they base decisions on, eg is this more common in cities? Or do they have shops with high crime rates where they use this to justify putting these measures in? As it surely can’t be good for business?

I’m sorry that’s the experience in some places. When I shop in large shops like that it tends to be in sleepish towns, or locations in between several villages, and I’ve honestly never seen/ heard of this setup 😏

I’m in the NW also.

It’s understandable if OP was a known thief but she’s not so it’s over the top behaviour which makes their shop an unattractive place to spend cash. I wouldn’t even purchase online from the same store if this happened to me.

for entertainment I’d be tempted to send a mini bus load of teens into the store to give them a minor heart attack

I don’t understand why they give a description? What benefit is there of everyone in the shop knowing a description of every single person who has walked in? That doesn’t give anyone anything to look out for or do? Maybe it will deter shoplifters who know the staff have seen them but I doubt it - but they’re not deterred by cctv, or being seen by staff in other shops.
If a staff member hears through their headset “man in dark jeans and white hoodie has just come in” what do they do that they wouldn’t have done if they’d seen him walk past them without previously hearing a description?

My daughter works in retail and has a headset. It’s far more subtle than that sounds though. They will alert people if known shoplifters come in, she has also used it to alert security when she has seen someone hide something in a bag. Funniest thing was when she heard an alert that there was a group of young teens coming down an escalator (they have a problem with them shoplifting makeup particularly) and her sister was one of them 🤣 (just to make it clear her sister is not a shoplifter was just brought to attention as being in a group of prime aged people for it)

No, you're not a criminal but there are plenty about that need stopping!

I’ve told the kids recently no matter what make sure you get a receipt, can’t imagine what you describe if it happened to one of my sons, he’d be terrified to go in ever again!

Yep, this is becoming the norm here, too (NW).

My local Morrisons has gates that you have to pass through when leaving self-scan. This is operated by staff. You can be waiting 2-3 minutes whilst they finish what they are doing to open the gate. There are also usually two security staff on duty too, one at the entrance, one walking around the store. The spirits are on the main shop floor but are behind glass doors and so if you wanted to buy them you have to find one of the non-existent shop floor staff to unlock the shelf.

My local (large) Tesco is similar. I've stopped shopping there entirely now after being stopped (seriously) every single time leaving the store last year. I am fed up of the overbearing security. I do not understand why they cannot put RF tags on all goods, not just the higher value stuff. Surely doing this would cost less than all the other security apparatus they're installing. It really is becoming infuriating and they're putting off regular shoppers. I'm certainly in and out as quickly as I can these days.

About 20 years ago I was in town and I became aware that in every shop I went in security staff were on their radios saying things like ‘I see her’ or ‘she’s in here’. I’d just gone in to Boots, where I happened to work but this was my day off, when I was stopped by a uniformed police man. He asked me where I was that morning. I told him I was at home until about ten and then came out. He then told me that someone matching my description, including a bright red trench cost, had robbed a post office that morning and the thought it was me. It was not me!

Where is this?

I’ve never had to scan a receipt to exit B&Q? And I don’t know what the rubber bumps are, are they an entry and exit barrier?

I live rurally in the north, shop in large towns mostly if I need B&Q/ petrol/ other, often visit London (although wouldn’t go to B&Q while there obvs!) and I’ve genuinely seen nothing like this or heard of it.

Have fun with it next time you go in, fancy dress is a must

I know right. I have experienced a few quite rude and ignorant retail staff lately. Most are not I have to say, but around 7 or 8 have been this past month or two. Just rude, or ignorant, (not acknowledging me or greeting me or smiling. Acting like they're bored, like they hate their job, and zero eye contact.) Like they wish they were somewhere else.

Yet I believe these same people would kick off if a customer was rude. One was a rude and snappy young woman in McDonalds the other day, who spoke to me like I was shit when i was just asking if my order was ready as it came up on the screen as ready. I have also found 3 or 4 staff on checkouts in Tesco and Morrisons quite grumpy, and as I said, Aldi spend half the time on their headsets chatting shit to colleagues out the back!

I am always nice and polite to them, but don't always get it back.

Things aren’t the same in shops anymore (especially when they’re telling you to buy online!). Was in M&S today, in a capital city, large queue. It’s lunchtime, a bank holiday weekend coming up, and they have a Sale on. One girl on the tills. She calls to colleague (on shop floor) to hop on.

Colleague says “can’t you ring the bell for someone?”. Girl (and all of us) give her the face. She says “I’ll jump on for five minutes” Once on the tills, she starts throwing the customers purchases around saying “They’ll kill me if they find me here!” (management), staring the other girl out of it. I won’t be back.

We hear an awful lot about retail staff being in the firing line of rude, unreasonable customers, and I don't doubt that this a major problem nowadays. But,some retail staff should look at their own behaviour. I have witnessed (although thankfully not been on the receiving end of) the most appalling rudeness from retail staff towards customers lately.

Sports Direct stores are utter piss holes

Our old sports D occasionally would report to the other staff if someone had purchased something with no bag so that they wouldn’t be apprehended at the door for stealing (I assume), but I never saw anyone stopped and bag/receipt checked. We have a new store now and I’ve not seen or experienced that at all. Sounds enough to put customers off.