It's miserable now in my local small Sainsbury's

[paddleboardingmum]

They have for some unknown reason moved absolutely everything. I think they got rid of the door security person and have put plastic sliders in front of everything even bars of chocolate so that it's hard to reach them. Coffee with security tags on, big screens in front of the tills like you're in a bank. I get that there are reasons but it has made shopping there quite miserable.

They can confront people but can’t touch them and can’t recover anything they’ve stolen.

Security guards could touch people and they could retrieve stolen good by just grabbing them back but they are instructed not to. I think this is part of the reason why society feels so lawless. Stores used to have 'prisons' basically a holding cell where the arrested shop lifter is put until the police arrive. I don't know if anywhere still has this now.

I saw this with my own eyes in a Boots chemist in London. Two men were just theft shopping - pulling loads of stuff off shelves into bags like they were on Supermarket Sweep. I reported it to the cashier who called the security guard. It wasn't a big store and the security guard walked - nay sauntered - up to these men, just stood there watching them and saying 'you are on CCTV'. It was a joke. The urge to intervene was huge - just to grab the bag off him - but I was perplexed why this guard wasn't doing anything. The men finished their speed thievery and walked out the store. They weren't even running - it was more a fast walk. There was no sense of jeopardy from them at all.

I asked the cashier why the guard didn't do anything and she said they are instructed not to in case they get hurt!!! I can really see why people struggling financially who wouldn't normally be shoplifters in the first place would see something like this and think we'll if they don't have to pay, I'm not either - so I expect it creates a domino effect to a degree in some sectors of society.

We have a brand new Sainsbury's near us. I go there if I want to go for a look in case I want anything, not to do a proper shop.

I don't know why it's just not inviting, but it isn't. Additionally, I've never seen anyone on the tills and I much prefer a till to having to wait for someone to come over and help when using self services.

One fair sized Sainsbury’s in the next town along from me actually went down to two ‘ manned’ tills only , right up the back almost out of the way. A deliberate move towards self scanning or self service tills only.

The self scanning tills need to work properly if they're relying on them rather than manned tills. It's no good if you put something fairly light in your shopping and then it doesn't register when you put it in the packing area then you have to call a staff member every single time. Plus of course you can't start packing until you've put everything through. No good for a weekly shop.

It's when they have one harassed person manning a whole area. It's just not pleasant because the stress is literally remembering from them. They're so brusque once you finally do get their attention. Usually it's needing something age restricted okaying.

Who would have thought that being thrown into poverty and bad conditions of life would make people behave like that? It's so unexpected!

If we use Sainsbury's, our only local " supermarket " , it's ALL self scan tills. You definitely get to know the staff with all the 'computer says no' interactions. 🙄🤣. Thankfully, they're mostly really nice.

You are so naive. These people aren’t shoplifting to feed their kids, they’re shoplifting to order or to flog for the money for fags and booze. Brazen scummy thieves.

None of these steps seem to be stopping the shoplifting anyway @whatwouldlilacerullodo Something definitely needs to be done about shoplifting and as you said @SirQuaverofSkips people used to get detained at the back of the shop until Police arrived, so it did used to be tackled.

Shoplifting will always happen but obviously putting items in cages so that the scummy lowlifes can’t steal those items means that shoplifting will reduce and that can only be a good thing.

Yes, because their lives are shit and fags and booze are the only pleasures they can have. Mind you, they would probably pay for the fags and booze if they had the money. I save my anger for the bastards who make the decisions. The people who allow companies to hire people on zero hour contracts, or the people who reduced funding for schools and childcare. I refuse to demonise the poor fuckers stealing fags.

Shoplifting will always happen but obviously putting items in cages so that the scummy lowlifes can’t steal those items means that shoplifting will reduce and that can only be a good thing.

Will it reduce though? People will still shoplift. Fags were always by the counter so it's not like shoplifters could reach across for those or spirits. Staff in cages brings its own problems.

Why do you think supermarkets have installed these cages? Not just Sainsbury’s?

Personally, i think that the many, many videos of people brazenly shoplifting and walking out of shops just proliferates the activity.

‘All those people do it, and don’t get into trouble for it, so, i’ll do it too’.
They know staff can’t/won’t intervene, including security guards, so where’s the deterrent.

The kids who shoplift before school have actually been banned from Sainsbury’s in the morning, and the Pound Shop staff are so sick of it, they open an hour later than they used to.
So, the poor staff in B&M have to put up with it. All ladies, while the male staff members (managers of some description) sit in the office and watch it on the security cameras.
They had a token security guard there, once or twice, but it has to be a regular thing.

The staff in Sainsbury’s are ok giving me a hard time, though, to check I’ve paid for a bag. Which I always bloody do.

Why don’t they challenge the mouthy kids who go in, or the man who goes in almost every day to take armfuls of food and puts it in his rucksack, and strolls out??

I have a Sainsbury Local in the village, I haven't been in since before Christmas, but it was still 'normal' then. I also live a 5-10 minute drive from a big one with Argus/Srarbucjs & several other 'concessions! & Petrol station. It became predominantly self service a few years ago. I HATED self service before I became disabled, now i find it even more intolerable & like AutumnCrow I'm limited how long I can stand for.

but no 'cages' last time I went (also before Christmas)

I get my Groceries delivered weekly by Tesco (for me they are brilliant) I only go to S for leggings/other casual clothes & household/seasonal stuff, so can take it or leave it, thankfully. I'd lose the will to live if I had to do my food shop there!

My sincere condolences. I agree with you, but theft is theft and these measures are in place to prevent this.

Our local Co-op is a help yourself without paying shop. The staff know full well what’s going on but have been told to do nothing. Kids go in and steal eggs and then throw them at the houses around here. I don’t know what the world is coming to.

This about culture. This kind of behaviour never used to happen in the UK for a number of reasons -

firstly parents and schools properly disciplined children. I'm not talking about corporal punishment btw. I'm talking about being raised from a young age to respect parents and teachers, do as you were told and respect authority and respect others. If the majority are raised like that then they are better behaved. Now there is a culture of 'the child is always right'. They must be allowed to run riot in school, supermarkets, restaurants. They can kick the backs of seats on aeroplanes and be loud and disturbing to others. When I was a child, I was raised to believe that I should stand, being young and healthy, and offer my seat to any older adult. That is the total reverse of culture today. Children run for seats and would be horrified at being expected to stand. Any complaints today about a child's behaviour are met with 'but they are just a child' and an attitude that discipline and criticism (especially criticism) will irreparably damage the child's self esteem. I know not everyone raises children like this but this is now the majority attitude and it has a massive impact. It's like letting a dog piss in the house for years from when it was a puppy; you will struggle getting it to do anything else. It's too late.

second, is social willingness to intervene. This has waned totally for loads of reasons - lack of policing. We all know the police don't even turn up and don't do anything. So who is going to risk their safety of their employees if you know you won't get police back up? That means the security guards don't do anything. Which in turn means the public, who might otherwise come to the aid of a security guard doing their job, don't do anything either.

third, is fear. the lawlessness you see everywhere - this sort of open shop lifting, drug taking, knife crime - means that people are frightened to even speak and just 'tell off' verbally kids even stealing eggs or throwing them at houses. They are frightened they will get attacked or maimed.

fourth is lack of leading from the top by example. We have had a long run of lawless behaviour at the top of society. You may laugh about 'partygate' but ultimately it was the most senior politicians showing a disregard for the law. Same with all the other events - failing to pay tax, leaking info (allegedly) to Epstein - wherever you look there is no good example at the top of society showing quietly day in and day out you obey the law, respect others and their property.

Those I think are the main reasons but it really shows. You don't get people behaving like this so openly lawlessly in many other countries. Shoplifting has always happened but the scale of open, sweeping stuff into bags is unbelievable. I've seen it myself several times having lived years without ever seeing anyone shoplifting.

More police would be a good start dealing with actual crime rather than mucking about with WhatsApp chat groups and social media non-crimes.

Employ more staff.

And treat their customers with a bit more respect. We spend at least £100 a week on our food/household items shop so over £5000 a year. I think that's quite a lot of money and I'd like to be treated as a welcome customer not a potential shoplifter.

And it's not shoplifting anyway - when a gang come in and sweep things off the shelves, that's looting and is a completely different sort of crime.

I don't mind using self-service for a few things but I had to abandon a card the other day because the stupid scales simply wouldn't pick it up. And I wasn't hanging around for a member of staff to come and approve it.

Our local Sainsburys did have the scan receipt thing but I haven't used it since they introduced it so I don't know if they are still doing it.

Employing more people costs money and it’s not as if staff can physically tackle the customers.

Looting is similar to shoplifting because both constitute theft, although your definition of looting in this context is wrong anyway.

Why would the supermarket owners / shareholders / directors / managers want to respect you? They don’t give a shit about you, me or any other customer. They’re running a business, not a charity - they care about profit, bonuses and dividends. We know and they know they’ve got us where they want us.

My local convenience store has build a metal cage around the till. There's a gap for the member of staff to put their hand through and scan my product, but the gap is spilt in half by a vertical metal bar. It makes it much more awkward for them to reach forward and scan. This is a cigarette kiosk type till. I've never seen any trouble in there. It looks so depressing and must be annoying for the staff.

I hate ours too now. Our local Sainsbury's is in a semi rural, low crime area, but now has the tills and cashiers in a glass tank. It horrible. The whole point to me of the Sainsbury's local shops was a friendly corner shop type feel (they did, as we know, replace corners shops), but with the cages now it's made it feel hostile. Very sad. The main thing for though me is that the staff feel safer at night.

And it's not shoplifting anyway - when a gang come in and sweep things off the shelves, that's looting and is a completely different sort of crime.

There is no crime of 'looting' in the UK. Taking something from a shop without paying for it is an offence under the Theft Act 1968.

sentencingcouncil.org.uk/resources/common-offences/shoplifting/

It's common to see individuals not 'gangs' chucking loads of stuff into bags openly as part of shoplifting. Looting is normally understood anyway to mean theft when there is wider public disorder like rioting.

If they trap me there, I force my way out.