Self-scan shoplifting at local tesco

[justcurious4]

Checked instore stock at local tesco for DDs soya milk and it said they had some. Went in and they didn't. Asked and the member of staff said 'its showing 25 in stock but theres none here and none in the back so these have been shoplifted during self scan'

aibu to think that self scan is causing more problems than fixing them?!

@doingitalllagain If they trace you via your Clubcard number, the same number will show that you checked out and had xx points awarded on that day.

I don't know any of my friends who are well off who shoplift. Admittedly I did benefit from my ex lodger turning up with a rucksack full of steak, nice cheese etc she'd just stolen! But she was on benefits and had a lot of mental health issues. Same for the friend who self scans onions for everything. Same for my friends who are street homeless or in a hostel and smuggle out a bottle of gin or something to make life more bearable. These are not easy situations to be in.

Not saying there's not anyone who shoplifts just to profit but I don't know any (and I know a lot of shoplifters!)

The Sainsburys near me has installed gates that you need to scan your receipt on to be let out on the self-scan checkouts.

Of course no-one would think to only scan one thing then walk out with 3, would they?!

Ultimately there is a risk of theft, deliberate or accidental, with these systems. I have accidentally walked out with something I've not paid for as I was certain it scanned, but it must have been the next till that beeped. It didn't say "unexpected item in the baggage area" so I didn't notice until I got home.

The supermarkets have to balance up an increased loss of stock through theft against the costs of employing sufficient staff to man the extra tills they'd need.

these have been shoplifted during self scan
Not a valid conclusion based on zero evidence. How would they know it's self scan theft as opposed to straightforward theft?

Everything is stored in cages, if something is right at the bottom of a cage and you have to empty the cage to get it out it takes ages, so it’s easier to say they havent got any, especially if there’s only a couple of staff and that means someone’s out the back for half an hour.

Shoplifting is bad. But the supermarkets are bringing in literally BILLIONS in profit each year. They don't need to hike their prices up. I imagine the people stealing the milk need the milk more than the top dog at tescos needs his hundreds of thousands of pounds bonus. So to be honest, I don't feel any guilt when I accidentally on purpose leave something in my trolley at the self service and walk out without paying for it.

So because the shop makes a lot of profit it's Ok to steal stuff which then increases the prices for the rest of us?..

You sound both selfish and stupid

Shoplifting is hardly a new thing I used to work in supermarkets as a student over 20 years ago and it was rampant - very frequent occurrence for high value items. We were taught how to look for tricks such as “boxed trolled” where you’d put toilet roll packets etc around the edges and put carrier bags inside, stuff with higher value items, lift out and carry out the store. Plus excitement every so often as someone would try and run off with a full trolley of unpaid goods.

Certainly self scan increases the opportunity to shoplift is you or so inclined. But Increasingly I am seeing self service tills that have cameras and show you what it sees. Presumably to seek to deter people weighing expensive items as cheap ones etc or slipping items into their bags.

I love doing the self scan as I go round the store! It makes life so much easier when I only have to put things in my trolley once

I am sure it rather easy to use it for shoplifting but like to think most people are honest, maybe me being naive.

The only time it’s been a pain for me - I once got caught out on a spot check for having not scanned something but then it turned out to be an error in the system as loads of things weren’t registering properly on the scanner after an update. Most likely they anticipate these things happening and can still justify it when you look at the numbers.

as for stealing baby soya milk - I like to believe it was maybe an innocent mistake but I honestly don’t blame anyone doing that in this climate. Baby items like milk (especially non dairy) are so expensive, and to steal for your child to eat you must be in a pretty desperate scenario.

Never thought to before but you’ve inspired me to put free from items in the food bank donations!

There’s a supermarket in an area of London where DB lives which straddles rich and poor people.

I’ve seen at least twice people load up a basket scan it through then walk out without paying. People who on looking at them you’d think they could afford to pay. At a Sainsburys near where I work I looked up the other day and saw a cctv camera in my face at the self scanning hill which I didn’t mind at all, just a bit of a shock that not all of them have it!

Been going on ages. It's not just the self scan. Even self checkouts I've heard people talk about how they put stuff through as cheaper alternatives (e.g buy sweet potato and select jacket potato or put through as wonky or normal instead of organic) to try save a little bit on higher quality produce.

Not food but clothes. I heard the other day from a friend who runs a boutique that a woman well known to the area shoplifts in the boutiques and gift shops but she’s they think either mentally unstable and/or has a drink/drugs addiction.

The ex local Big Issue man was caught stealing from a charity shop, high value designer items which he planned to sell on.

I never feel sorry for shoplifters. I hope they are all caught. It's a shitty way to earn a living- which is what many of them do it for. It costs the rest of us.

I agree!

my daughter worked in fashion retail. It was rife. Daily. Huge numbers. Always people who didn't need the money, just doing for kicks or because they want to steal rather than pay for something.
A particular community nearby were/are the main repeat offenders too, but I know this sort of comment is deemed controversial despite being factually accurate.

Asda have the cameras at the self service tills
I'm surprised that it hasn't caught on at the other supermarkets near me as it's the only place I've seen them around here.
It reminded me of the E gates at airports!

I think the previous posts about it are probably referring to the staff app, which does tell staff members what the stock level is. Or it should do anyway - absolutely crap when I worked there.

@justcurious4 what do you mean when you say "self scan" is this different to using the self checkout?

(I don't shop in Tesco so am not sure how it works?)

The query was about the app that @justcurious4 has that shows the stock levels. It would be quite the reveal if she's a member of staff 😀

The big supermarkets have systems where you scan your own shopping as you go round. Different names and specifics but all the essentially the same thing

They've been in existence for years

'Self scanners ' you obtain by scanning your club card / nector card or whatever the shop uses for points or discounts
The customer scans the bar code on the items and you can pack and shop on the way round , then checkout at the end where your only checked if you have alcohol or any medicine or need a tag removed or your flagged up for a random check.
I've only ever used it in Sainsbury’s or Tesco
Not sure if Asda or Morrison's have them as not been in one of those for a while. Last time I went to my local Asda they didn't have these.
'Self check out 'is normally a different area of the store and you put it through a till etc
Only the very big stores have self scanning machines.

Seems weird to blame the machine. Could be any number of reasons. From the assistant who couldn't be arsed to do a proper look, to the stock system not updating.

We are creating sophisticated systems to assist us, but so often those systems rely on human input and humans make mistakes. Additionally those systems are often devised by people who have no experience of how the work place operates. In other words the systems are perfect in theory but not perfect in practice.

I love a self scanner , but you have to double check it's scanned properly and they still have to check things out occasionally. It does save time overall.
It's great for a medium shop I think