what happened in the shop..

[Butterflykissess]

i was at the shops earlier and had a basket full of shopping, i went to the self checkout (before anyone suggest i use the tills in future i want to state that i suffer from anxiety and find it difficult so i use the self service.).. anyway as i had quite abit of shopping the whole amount wouldnt fit so i decided it was best to do it in two transactions. after i had finished i decided to leave a few bits behind (left in the basket) anyway as i went to walk off the man shouted "excuse me do you want this stuff!" i said "no sorry im leaving that behind" thinking it was flipping obvious if i was walking away, but whatever.

anyway he then says to me "well what about the pampers" hanging onto my clip on the pram. i said i had already paid for them, he asked for my receipt, meanwhile bare in mind everyone was staring at me! panicked i started to go through the bags looking for it but couldnt find it. he then accused me of trying to steal them! i was so humilated. i asked him to check the cctv. at this point the whole place was starting at me.

anyway as he walked off to check the cctv i found the receipt in my pocket. i went over put the receipt down infront of him and said "there is the receipt." i didnt even hang around i walked straight out but i am so humiliated. safe to say i cant go in there again! aibu to think it could have been done more discreet?

What did he say exactly when he accused you of trying to steal them?

I don't understand why you'd just leave things in the basket - that is what drew the attention to you. You should have just put them back and paid for what you wanted.

Why did you leave some stuff behind in a basket? If you didn't want it you should have handed it over to a worker and said you're sorry but you no longer want these items.

Putting it all back would have been more polite, yes.

so took the basket back after i paid and put them back? i thought things were ok to be left at the tills as there is normally a basket they put them in. but i see your point.

I think staff should be sensitive when trying to ascertain if someone is shoplifting, so perhaps he could have worded it better if he just accused you of stealing. However, like a pp said, you’re not supposed to leave stuff in your basket or trolley. If you don’t want it it’s best to take it back.

If you'd handed them over to the man, there would have been no confusion. I did it once when I was using Apple Pay and had forgotten the £30 limit. I just explained to the lady and was apologetic and she said not to worry, she'd get it put back.

Anyway it's not nice being accused of stealing but you were obviously in the right, so you san go back there with your head held high! He should be feeling bad, not you.

People steal nappies quite regularly. He’s doing his job by checking.

I disagree that it’s obvious you didn’t want the things. Leaving them there was quite an unusual thing to do, it’s just as likely you’d forgotten them.

I understand that it was embarrassing but if you’d waited I’m sure he'd have apologised.

Well to be honest your behaviour sounds a bit erratic with two transactions and leaving stuff behind. That's what the staff look for so you brought attention to yourself here

Nappies are stolen all the time. You can't blame the staff for checking. I worked in a supermarket years ago and so many people would "forget" that they where hanging on the trolley or underneath the trolley

no i couldnt wait. i wanted the ground to swallow me! anyway its not theif unless i actually left the store so i could have been putting them back for all he knew. just think shouting it out like that was so humiliating. definitely cant go back again.

Yabu.

they couldnt all fit on the shelf star fish. is that erratic?

as there is normally a basket they put them in

The only basket type things I've seen at the tills or just after in supermarkets are the ones for donations to go to charities, it you it paid for items in them.

I wouldn't leave items in a basket next to a self service till, don't think I've ever seen people do that. At least hand the basket and goods to a shop assistant.

I do think they should be more sensitive when potentially accusing someone of shoplifting though. Also believe they ought to apologise when it's discovered they're not.

I don't understand why you think it's ok to just leave stuff. Either put it away or get their attention and apologise.
They are doing a job, yes, but it's so rude to just leave your unwanted stuff wherever you feel like and expect that they will clean up after you. They are not your personal shopping servants. They are doing a job, but still deserve a bit of courtesy.

Butterfly this was the biggest thing that happened to you today but honestly I bet the staff member didn’t give it another thought.

By next week he won’t even remember you.

Make a conplaint. Staff shouldn't be shouting at customers unless warning them of imminent danger.

I don't see the big deal.

Do you get help with your anxiety? I think what you are feeling is your anxiety talking.

I have often put things on the pram and forgotten to pay for them so have been reminded a few times by shop staff and I bet a lot of other people do too. It's no big deal.

Yes just leaving the things in the basket is odd and will draw attention, also nappies on the back of the pushchair is a classic shoplifting tactic even accidentally as people forget they are there. I also have anxiety and actually find the staffed tills better as very little can go wrong, a few words when they ask of you need bags and a thank you when you leave. Whereas self service tills throw up all sorts of issues where you have to talk to people and. Not only that you generally have to catch their eye and initiate conversation.

I still want to know what his actual words were.

How far away was he if he was “shouting”?

hmm i know. its my anxiety it tends to make me overthink things and now i wont go in there again :(. annoying as its my local shop and all the others will require a bus ride.

Am I the only one wondering just how much you managed to fit in a basket that you did two transactions & still had to leave some behind because it wouldn't all fit on the shelf?! 🤔

I used to work in a supermarket, I’ve seen loads of people hang lol roll or nappies on that trolley hook at the front then forget about them, he wasn’t being unreasonable to check. And it must be tough with anxiety but going to a self-scan with too many items, doing two separate transactions and not even buying all the items in your basket (FYI if any were fresh goods they can’t be resold and have to go straight in the bin) is rather odd behaviour and is bound to attract attention from staff.

Lol roll?! Loo roll...

he shouted as i walked away. as he was with someone else as i was leaving so i had walked down abit. he said i must be stealing them if i dont have the receipt. i was so panicked i didnt know if i had left the receipt at the checkout so was trying to work out what i had done with it. but i think he took that as me not having it and pretending to not find it.