To be annoyed with Sainsburys

[bigbluebus]

In recent weeks I have bought items of clothing from 2 different Sainsburys stores. On both occasions, upon leaving the store the alarm has been activated. The first time it happened, I went back into the store to the customer service desk and queued for 5 minutes to have my items checked. They were checked for tags - there weren't any - and I was told to just ignore the alarm as I left the store. Today I have been into the 2nd store and bought a pair of PJ's amongst other items. On leaving the store, once again the alarm sounded. I returned to the till I had just bought the items at and told the assistant only for her to say "it'll just be your PJ's, ignore it".

Now I am one of life's honest people - the sort who always used to go red when the whole school got a telling off even though I knew I hadn't done anything wrong. Today's store is in a relatively small town local to me where I know lots of people (none whom I spotted today fortunately) and I do not want to be leaving a store feeling like a thief! I would be interested to hear from anyone who has either experienced this same thing (and if so, do you ignore or go back in like I did?) or anyone who works in Sainsburys who can explain to me why this happens - as to my mind it damn well shouldn't.

I went into another store with a friend after coming from Ikea.

We beeped when we went in.
And when we left as well.
The security guard looked and came to talk to us we showed him our bags.He also went to talk to the cashier too.

I later found out there was a huge barcode sticker on my chewing gum box.So maybe that caused it.

I'd be very put out, too.

Happened to me years ago, twice at Asda - they said it was my phone - an old Nokia then.

But I once had the alarm go off again when leaving Asda. I'd been through the self service checkout and hadn't taken my receipt - never again!

The offending item was a piece of steak which I so rarely buy - there was a small security tag on the back of it - of course I hadn't noticed it - but nothing had registered to summon an assistant when I scanned it.

Since I had no receipt I had to wait while they went through a bin of discarded receipts to find mine. It was mortifying - thank God they found it.

ALWAYS TAKE YOUR RECEIPT WHEN USING SELF CHECKOUTS!

Sainsbury's soft tag their clothes - it's in the label and de-activated at check out. However mine once went off and I was told to leave. Upon unfolding the hood (was a toddler coat) there were loads of torn off tags in it so someone had obviously hidden them on the way round to steal!

I hate Sainsbury's so whatever your grievance is I think you are perfectly reasonable.

I’ll think twice in future about selecting no receipt

If you pay by card, they can call your transaction up in the till. including all the individual items. They did this for me when something set the alarm off and I managed to somehow lose my receipt that I did get because I'd bought an electrical item between the self scan and the exit. Asda self check out also has cameras on the scanner so they can record everything you scan and see if you are putting asparagus through as carrots.

Work passes can set off the alarms and a whole load of other things. Each time it goes off for me, I just sort of stand there and look around, waiting for a security guard to decide if they want to look in my bag, which they never do.

No idea how they decide who's a shoplifter and who isn't. Obviously some will look like typical druggies, but ordinary looking people also shoplift.

I used to have it happen to me in a couple of stores in the city centre, even if I hadn't purchased anything. It was something to do with the wheels on the pushchair I was using at the time according to security

I’ve had the opposite happen to me at Tesco (twice) and it was equally annoying. Went through self scan and didn’t notice those massive plastic tags which release dye if you remove them. No alarm upon leaving the store. Got home to discover tags on clothes 🤦‍♀️ Had to go back and ask them to remove them. Both times I went in with the receipt but they weren’t interested in seeing it!

I had this in a branch of M&S. I had bought a shopping trolley as I didn’t drive and lived in a very hilly town, it had one of those stick on tags that had been placed in a zip up pocket and not removed when I bought it. Only in M&S the alarms ever went off so I never thought to check it. After about the fourth time I searched it from top to bottom and finally found it.

I work in a different supermarket and it happens a,lot but no idea why. Where I work we have security by the doors so they check people's receipt and shopping.
I can't seem why you'd be annoyed by it, hardly a huge issue.

This is why I never use self service in Boots, despite all their (enforced) encouragement to 'just use the self service, it's quicker'. At least a real human being is more likely to cancel all the security tags.

Security tags/towers aren’t the best way to detect shoplifting. They are used as a deterrent to mainly prevent opportunistic theft & are used alongside other techniques.

I worked at a high footfall store in Westfield. One day, security was understaffed so I had to “man” the towers whilst our security guard was on break. The towers went off every 5 minutes and literally every customer had a receipt for an item that wasn’t de-tagged by a new cashier.

There were only 2 shoplifters who triggered the alarms within that hour, inc a posh man who placed a full suit in his bag🙄 turned out he was extremely drunk to the point of being paralytic

I’m sure other people stole, but it was undetected by the towers as they probably removed the tags!

You have every right to feel self conscious if the alarm sounds when you leave. I made accidental eye contact with my Daughters geography teacher when he triggered the alarm leaving our local Sainsbury. The look on his face said it all and I’m not even “one of those Mums “ I hope

Happened to me a few times and had our bags checked by the security guard outside the store. Apparently the alarm keeps going off and a lot of the time the staff ignore it. Not nice being stopped though

Anyone explain this...
Sainsbury’s, I did a big trolley shop, paid for it all, walked out, no alarm but trolley wheels become utterly paralysed. Store guard came over, Asked to see receipt, I showed him, and then he pressed something to reactivate the trolley (i wasn’t really paying attention) And then he apologies and I left. The Trolley now working.
No idea what happened!

It will be something on your person, OP, like your clothes/shoes/handbag etc. and this is even more likely if it’s just the one shop it’s happening at (Sainsbury’s).

I had this with JJB Sports with one particular handbag. Never had an issue with any other shop, but every time I used that bag while shopping at JJB it set the alarms off.

I always get the receipt now. Bought a food item from M&S recnetly, selected no receipt. The item was off. DH offered to take it back, and they would only replace because he hadn't got receipt. I would have argued for a refund as product not up to scratch, but he didn't. Always get the receipt!

At my old company security could manually trigger the alarms to stop suspected shoplifters. I guess your Sainsbury’s had something similar?

I think trolleys can be immobilised if they leave the premises/car park to prevent theft of the trolley, so the security at your store probably programmed it to stop when people leave the shop itself.

This happened in asda and the security woman came running over, I went to get the clothing item out and she said “don’t worry you don’t look the usual type” 😐

**
I think trolleys can be immobilised if they leave the premises/car park to prevent theft of the trolley, so the security at your store probably programmed it to stop when people leave the shop itself.**

No it’s a new thing as I have been to this one hundreds of time and always wheel trolley to car I’m car park directly at front of store
It’s an out of town store
More people take trolley to unload car and then put trolley in one is the many trolley parka scattered around the car park

nobody in my sainsbury's bats an eyelid at the alarm. i set it off practically half the time i've no idea why (not a shoplifter although i am usually accompanied by grabby toddler!) and have never been stopped. i just get out of there. i use scan and pack id be sooooo annoyed if i had to turf everything out.

My sister was plagued by this a few years ago. I had placed a security tag in an unused pocket in her purse to cause maximum annoyance.

In the Tescos stores the security guard is always by the door so it's easy enough to make eye contact for confirmation or just step over to have your bag searched - it's only ever happened once in Tesco extra and that was because tag was left on. Security aren't visible in Sainsburys and in the local store they have even got rid of the Customer Service desk which was near the door. I'd rather go back in to the store than have some heavy handed security guard collar me half way across the car park but now I know it is a common problem I shall brazen it out in future.

@Lovemenorca I just googled. Apparently this is how it works (or alternatively they use magnets instead, which trigger the wheel to lock when the trolley is in range). So guessing your Sainsbury’s just programmed it to immobilise trolleys by the shop doors that day.

Can Confirm I work for sainsburys and when it comes to clothing, RFID Tags, in the form of stickers are added to any clothes with a paper tag, usually either green or white under the fold. They are applied to any clothing which is £20+m some other products also have these tags included. If you find it goes off randomly without buying anything, e.g. Entering or leaving, it's usually something on the person that can interfere.
Hope this helps