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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Asda and being treated like a shoplifter!

129 replies

Lhddujvf · 25/03/2022 03:10

AIBU to think it's off for Asda to come and age verify me for a bottle of Baileys but not remove the tag until I've actually paid, meaning you have to then wait for someone to come over again for a second time). I was checking out around £200 of stuff, some of those gifts including an afternoon tea voucher worth £34. Surely if they think I'm going to shoplift, it wouldn't be the bottle of Baileys! Have never shoplifted in my life, was smartly dressed (not that that should matter) and didn't even have a handbag with me. I just thought the attitude of two of the staff was 'off' in their manner (" oh no, we won't remove that until you've paid!").

FWIW, I'm not going to overthink this, just wanted to do a quick AIBU!!

OP posts:
HouseofHolbein · 25/03/2022 09:32

Smartly dressed couple shoplifted a hot yup from my supermarket yesterday. Just walked out with it and loaded it in the car. The trolley collector spotted them and said to someone oh you sold a hot tub? And no one had. Fortunately he’d got the car reg so police are involved

CapMarvel · 25/03/2022 09:37

Do you think nobody nicely dressed has ever shoplifted?

They are just doing their (badly paid) jobs.

Blueuggboots · 25/03/2022 09:38

They would never question you for shoplifting until you leave the shop without paying.

Original poster
Lhddujvf · 25/03/2022 09:51

Thank you for all your replies Smile
I stand corrected, maybe I was being unreasonable. If it's supermarket staff policy, I guess the staff are just doing their jobs, it was nothing personal. This thread has certainly opened my eyes a bit more about shoplifters and like one of the posters wrote about shoplifting connected to psychological reasons such as a thrill etc. Nonetheless I probably underestimated how much shoplifting goes on, on these self serve tills.

OP posts:
AngelinaFibres · 25/03/2022 10:12

@Lhddujvf

Thank you for all your replies Smile I stand corrected, maybe I was being unreasonable. If it's supermarket staff policy, I guess the staff are just doing their jobs, it was nothing personal. This thread has certainly opened my eyes a bit more about shoplifters and like one of the posters wrote about shoplifting connected to psychological reasons such as a thrill etc. Nonetheless I probably underestimated how much shoplifting goes on, on these self serve tills.
Apparently it's another thing that menopausal women like to do .....no other thrills left in our lives presumably SmileSmile
HulaTheHedgehog · 25/03/2022 10:50

@Lhddujvf

LOL, of course YABU. And do you seriously think they assume 'smart dressed people' won't shoplift? Wink

This is a perfectly reasonable thing for them to do. I have seen people leg it with bottles of booze before (after an assistant has taken the tag off the top of the bottle,) and they absolutely INSISTED they scanned it and paid for it. Wink

An assistant runs after them as they can see the transaction didn't go through, and they're all faux shocked that the payment didn't register. No wonder Asda have started doing this now! Making you pay before they take the tag off.

CustardySergeant · 25/03/2022 11:43

[quote AllThatFancyPaintsAsFair]Are you new to shopping?

I thought from the title you were going to be the man I read about yeterday who was banned from Asda because thet didn't like the way he shopped

Then you might have had a point

www.examinerlive.co.uk/whats-on/whats-on-news/man-kicked-out-asda-because-23488034[/quote]
What a bizarre story! What on earth can they mean about not liking the way he shopped? Confused I feel sorry for that man as he can't get an answer to what exactly they found objectionable enough to make him leave the store.

youdoyoutoday · 25/03/2022 12:49

People get so precious about the smallest of crap these days!!

Person in shop does their job correctly, OP feels offended and outraged Hmm

slashlover · 25/03/2022 13:27

@chocolateorangeinhaler

Tesco do this too. I asked why as I'm 40+ and was told that a lot of not so honest people used to have the tag removed then leave with the bottle knowing the card they used would be declined. Staff are not allowed to challenge shoplifters for safety reasons so this just prevents it happening.

It's nothing against you being profiled as a shoplifter. It's one of the cons of self service tills. Sainsburys self service have a camera and screen over every till now.

What does your age have to do with it? Do you think people 40+ don't shoplift?
thecurtainsofdestiny · 25/03/2022 15:33

Was just in Asda this morning at the self service check outs and saw this very thing happening.

The customer joked "aw, you mean I've got to pay??" - they both laughed.

Think it must be their policy and not personal at all.

BanjoKnockers · 25/03/2022 16:32

Don't use the self-service checkouts is my advice. There's often this sense that people at those checkouts need "watching". Why get involved? I'm not doing their job for them while they regard me as a potential criminal. I'm quite happy to let the supermarket staff do the job!

SmellyOldOwls · 25/03/2022 16:36

This happened to me in Tesco too. I didn't have a £34 afternoon tea voucher though so maybe that's why.

OneTC · 25/03/2022 16:37

The barcode will be recorded with an item weight that includes the tag

If you removed the tag whilst it was on the scale then it would show a weight/missing item error

FridaynightCry · 25/03/2022 17:34

Funnily enough Asda is the one place I have seen someone steal alcohol right in front of me.

YABU. But you know that already

mogsrus · 25/03/2022 18:03

What’s wrong with shopping at Asda? It a shop that sells stuff, same as all the rest, doesn’t matter where or how much you spend,you only borrow it until you buy more

KatherineJaneway · 26/03/2022 04:59

Don't use the self-service checkouts is my advice.

Most of the time I don't have a choice. If I shop when it is quiet there are only a few tills open and they are really busy. Or if I go when it is busy, there are lots of tills open but they are swarmed by those with full trolleys.

girlmom21 · 26/03/2022 09:59

@KatherineJaneway

Don't use the self-service checkouts is my advice.

Most of the time I don't have a choice. If I shop when it is quiet there are only a few tills open and they are really busy. Or if I go when it is busy, there are lots of tills open but they are swarmed by those with full trolleys.

I went to Sainsburys yesterday lunchtime and there were 3 trolley checkouts open and all 3 were rammed. The rest were all self service basket tills where they moan at you if you use a trolley with them. I use SmartShop (where you scan the shopping as you go and transfer it to the till when you get there) so went to the basket till. People always eye roll but it's faster doing SmartShop than it is when people go to them with a basket of items!
LollyPollyPop · 26/03/2022 10:03

Meanwhile in Russia........🙄

ratspeaker · 26/03/2022 10:10

It's not just Asda I've had this in other supermarkets self service. The till won't let you scan if something removed from the bagging area.
Always leave anything with tags til last. Then they'll verify age and take away to remove tags as you pack and pay.
Tell staff if there's more than one bottle and they'll usually wait til you've scanned them.

girlmom21 · 26/03/2022 10:31

@LollyPollyPop

Meanwhile in Russia........🙄
Did you mean Ukraine?

We're allowed first world problems still xoxo

NickiWap · 26/03/2022 11:09

The staff have no idea who or what you are, why on earth would they break policy and remove a bottle lock before payment for you?

Octomore · 26/03/2022 11:14

Shops employ mystery shoppers, and if staff are identified by mystery shoppers as breaking store policies, they will potentially be disciplined or lose their job.

So you expected this employee, who is probably earning NMW or not much more, to risk their JOB just to preserve your naice, smartly dressed, middle class feelings?

YAB extremely unreasonable. I can't believe you have the self absorption and entitlement to be able to ask the question without feeling embrassed.

SnottyLottie · 26/03/2022 11:24

I got accused of shoplifting in Asda once because I had groceries from another store dumped in the basket of my pram. When I was ‘apprehended’ I snootily said “if you would look at the items you will see very clearly they are labelled M&S products and therefore I cannot have shoplifted from this particular store” 😆 I can be such a dick sometimes.

tillytoodles1 · 26/03/2022 11:31

I'm sure Richard Madeley didn't look like ke was going to steal the wine either

BanjoKnockers · 26/03/2022 14:42

@KatherineJaneway

Don't use the self-service checkouts is my advice.

Most of the time I don't have a choice. If I shop when it is quiet there are only a few tills open and they are really busy. Or if I go when it is busy, there are lots of tills open but they are swarmed by those with full trolleys.

I'm rarely in a hurry, I'm happy to wait for someone to do the job for me.

Some places are better than others. Our local Tesco sometimes has no tills open, and I don't go there, except for buying one or two urgent items, in which case I just go to the fags counter and pay there. (Also Tesco now madly expensive for those without loyalty card.)

Local Waitrose always has enough tills open.