Might've just cried in the supermarket car park

[theweebabydonkey]

Well it was just one of those things that just tip you over the edge.

I just went to a well known supermarket to do a half-weeklyish shop. I always use the scan as you shop thing because I love just going in, headphones in and getting the shop done without having to chat to anyone.

Well, I finished my shop and went to put it through and I was selected for a random check. Let me just stress right now, this is absolutely fine. I'm happy with the random checks. I saw on the handset it said five items would need to be scanned so I stood back at an appropriate socially distanced distance while the young man started scanning some shopping.

Next thing, he starts scanning way more than five items. I think "oh shit did I accidentally not scan something so it's come up with a problem?!"
So I said "is there an issue" and he said "no I would just feel more comfortable if I could scan your whole shopping"

I was eh?? I said, more comfortable? Why do you need to scan it all is there a discrepancy? He said "no, I would like to scan your whole shopping as I'm well within my right and I think I would feel more comfortable to do this rather than just the five items"

Omg i got so flustered. I asked him was I making him feel uncomfortable? He said "no I just want to scan your whole shopping, I would feel better if I could do that and once you pick up the scan as you shop handset you enter into a contract statin we can scan your whole shop"

So clearly he thought I had been on the thieve but after he rescanned and re bagged my WHOLE shop there were no issues, I had scanned everything and he sent me on my way.

Ive had a terrible week (long story, won't go into it) and tbh it was kind of the straw that broke the camels back. So I went to the car packed in my shop and sat there and had a little cry. It's bloody pathetic of me I know. But he totally singled me out for thinking I looked like I would shoplift. I was in a (what I thought was on trend) tracksuit bottoms and oversized sweater from Zara but now looking back maybe I looked a bit scruffy? My hair was scraped back and I certainly had no make up on although I was wearing a mask.

Anyway I know this isn't AIBU but would I be U if I asked the head office if this is standard procedure? It really embarrassed me and has put me off going back tbh. I totally understand the random checks of 5,10 items. But for a cashier to decide just by looking at me he should rescan my whole shop, it just felt too personal.
Although i mentioned my head isn't in a great space right now so maybe I took it more personally than I should.
Please be kind, I've already cried once (in a supermarket car park) today

[covetingthepreciousthings]

Enjoy your choc OP

[theweebabydonkey]

Cony

Honestly. I said to him something like "it asked to scan five items, is there a discrepancy? Why are you scanning my whole shop?"
And he replied that no there wasn't but he would just feel more comfortable if he could.

That is what happened.

[StealthPolarBear]

Op he either messed something up slightly and was easier just to rescan the whole thing or he has to do this for a certain %.
It's happened to me and it genuinely has been my fault. Most recently I had a few bars of cooking chocolate and had failed to scan one. She had to rescan my whole £150 trolley, I felt awful. But it happens and I didn't feel accused as such, even though I was in the wrong iyswim.

[theweebabydonkey]

@covetingthepreciousthings

Enjoy your choc OP

Thanks it's rather lovely

[chaosrabbitland]

iv never used the self scan thing and now after reading this i never will , i was under the impression it was supposed to save you time , but i guess not if you have to have the whole lot of your shopping rescanned and rebagged . can easily see why anyone would feel singled out having all the whole lot turfed out to be gone through again

[Gliblet]

I wonder if T&Co have had a few 'brown onions' incidents and decided they need to step up the checks a bit? I can see how people might rely on staff being flustered or feeling uncomfortable about checking and just looking in the top bag in the trolley...

www.recruiter.co.uk/news/2013/10/recruiter-guilty-%E2%80%98loose-onions%E2%80%99-scam-sainsbury%E2%80%99s-self-service-checkout

[theweebabydonkey]

Chaos
I usually love it, it does save time and the random checks are usually painless and quick anyway. Honestly I'd recommend it even after this (tho I now will never show my face there again, M&S for me )

[Chatanooga1]

He’s probably given a quota to check X amount of random shoppers each day.

Nothing to do with what you look like whether you were looking scruffy or were wearing a ball gown and pearls.

You got upset because your feeling a bit low at the moment and took it to heart that the member of staff was deliberating targeting you.

It’s the human condition to cope with life’s problems until some little incident occurs and then we turn into jelly!

Having a weep is a good outlet for bottled up emotions.

[FloofyHeckonChonker]

Three times I've decided to scan and bag my own shopping since this became a thing and each time my shopping was completely rechecked making the whole escapade longer than just shopping and paying the traditional way. My dh reckons its because I have a bitchy face.

[EarringsandLipstick]

@chaosrabbitland

iv never used the self scan thing and now after reading this i never will , i was under the impression it was supposed to save you time , but i guess not if you have to have the whole lot of your shopping rescanned and rebagged . can easily see why anyone would feel singled out having all the whole lot turfed out to be gone through again

It's very occasional that you'll need to be re-scanned.

[Quirrelsotherface]

I think that's downright weird and I would have questioned that with someone more senior I think. I've never heard of an entire shop being scanned! Surely you want to save time by avoiding someone scanning it for you and he's gone and done just that. Can also see how this would be upsetting if you were having a rubbish day anyway

[GeorgieTheGorgeousGoat]

Thing is, the more you protested to him about scanning the whole shop, the more guilty you would have looked. It's a normal thing to be required to do, you weren't accused of shop lifting.

[theweebabydonkey]

Oh in other news, the other week I used the new scan and shop in M&S and I actually got given my whole shop for free!
The till let out a little drrring drrriiiing and they came over and congratulated me for winning a free shop . Then asked if they could take a photo of me with my shopping for their SM page. I politely declined and dashed out of there with my free goodies. Just wish I had scanned some wine too!
Ok maybe this is just the universe balancing everything out haha
I feel better now, thanks you vipers

[Quirrelsotherface]

Ah there you go, OP. It's your karma, gotta take the bad with the good

[EarringsandLipstick]

@Quirrelsotherface

I think that's downright weird and I would have questioned that with someone more senior I think. I've never heard of an entire shop being scanned! Surely you want to save time by avoiding someone scanning it for you and he's gone and done just that. Can also see how this would be upsetting if you were having a rubbish day anyway

It's completely normal for a whole shop to be rescanned. It was explained upthread.

It's really not personal to OP.

[user113424742258631134]

But he totally singled me out for thinking I looked like I would shoplift. I was in a (what I thought was on trend) tracksuit bottoms and oversized sweater from Zara but now looking back maybe I looked a bit scruffy? My hair was scraped back and I certainly had no make up on although I was wearing a mask.

Maybe the problem is that you walk around judging people negatively based on their appearance and therefore expect others to do the same to you. There's no evidence he was, it was all being generated internally.

Most of us don't judge people like you do. It's not very nice behaviour, which is presumably why it upset you to think it was being done to you this time.

[Ariannah]

This morning at Morrison’s I used the self checkout for one item and the scale beeped because it didn’t recognise the weight. The assistant looked in the bag, took the item out, looked in the bag again, looked under the bag, then turned the bag inside out! Almost like he didn’t believe I only had one item. I have to admit I thought “twat” but I wouldn’t have cried about it. I think perhaps you’ve had a hard week and are finding small things triggering?

[EarringsandLipstick]

No need for that User 🙄

[conywarp]

@theweebabydonkey

Cony

Honestly. I said to him something like "it asked to scan five items, is there a discrepancy? Why are you scanning my whole shop?"
And he replied that no there wasn't but he would just feel more comfortable if he could.

That is what happened.

Like I said, he can't override the system. If it said scan 5 then he scanned them all he must have found a discrepancy which prompted a full scan. There is absolutely no allowance in the software for the assistant to decide how many items to scan.

[theweebabydonkey]

Maybe the problem is that you walk around judging people negatively based on their appearance
....
Most of us don't judge people like you do

yikes.

[theweebabydonkey]

I think perhaps you’ve had a hard week and are finding small things triggering?

Yes. This is definitely part of it.
I'm glad I made this post because it has put things into perspective and made me realise I was probably being too sensitive.

(Still not sure I'll ever show my face in there again though lol)

[Purpledawn]

I don't think it was personal OP, previously worked at the mentioned supermarket and i mainly worked on 'scan as you go'...even though it said to scan only 5 items we could override it by doing a full scan of all shopping, it's do with targets and highly encouraged, especially with smaller purchases. If we weren't seen to be doing enough checks we received warnings etc. Hope your week improves

[Roadtohades]

I can see why you were upset, OP, but just enjoy your chocolate and put it out of your mind. My poor DH was stopped for scanning and they found one minor item that he'd not scanned by mistake (he's getting old and absent-minded). He was really upset because he felt that they treated him like a criminal and now he never uses the self-scanning any more. You might want to do the self-service checkouts - or even the staffed ones - for a while until you feel better .

[toocold54]

His wording was strange! But I’ve had this happen to me several times. You get randomly selected to scan 5 items and then it changes to the entire shop - making the easy scan as you go a lot longer. I was told that there are secret shoppers and so they scan the entire shop every now and then to show any secret shoppers around them that they are thorough - so he may have thought you were one.

I’m sorry it made you so upset. I am similar I keep everything in and then something just snaps and it all comes flooding it.

[theweebabydonkey]

@Purpledawn

I don't think it was personal OP, previously worked at the mentioned supermarket and i mainly worked on 'scan as you go'...even though it said to scan only 5 items we could override it by doing a full scan of all shopping, it's do with targets and highly encouraged, especially with smaller purchases. If we weren't seen to be doing enough checks we received warnings etc. Hope your week improves

Thank you I really shouldn't have taken it so personally I understand that now

Cony - this poster worked in the supermarket and has confirmed it can be overridden if the cashier chooses.