To be really annoyed by this at Sainsbury's

[dcsp]

I was at a large branch of Sainsbury's yesterday evening. None of the staffed checkouts were open, so I went to the self-checkouts. On the way out of them they have fitted gates which don't open until you scan your receipt.

If there was a person barring my exit from a shop until I showed them my receipt, I'd feel insulted by what was effectively an accusation of theft. Having a machine perform the same role felt similarly insulting.

I appreciate that retail theft has increased, but treating every one of your customers as if they're a thief until they prove otherwise is not the right thing to do! (also I expect most theft at self-checkouts happens by people who do still check something out therefore have a receipt).

Wear a helmet if you're so bloody precious, love. Or, better still, don't get out of bed in morning. FFS, how do you manage to get through life?

They may not pass on the savings to the consumer, but they certainly build in the cost of shoplifting.

Taking it as a personal affront is a bit extreme. Unless you are actually a shoplifter.

Look at it for what it is.

As with all these things, it inconveniences the majority of law abiding customers but probably does chuff all to stop shoplifting. People put stuff in bags without scanning, choose carrots when by weight instead of avocado etc etc

This is the case in my local Sainsbury's, yes. I would guess because its a very studenty area, perhaps.

Can’t get het up about it. Costco check the receipt against the goods in the trolley of everyone as they leave the shop and they only have manned tills. If you want to blame anyone blame the shoplifters. I’ve seen people make a dash for the exit with a trolley full of food when the security guard has been distracted.

So if we take your 'logic' on this OP, you will be offended every time you use a train and the ticket inspector comes round.

Yes?

Seriously, when 1000s of innocent people are being killed right now in Gaza and Israel, you choose to post something as petty as this.

Babies have been decapitated, and yet you moan about having to scan a receipt.

I think your head needs a big wobble and God help you if you ever have any real issues in your life to deal with.

Not really what she was saying.

They don't though, not at all shops.

Quite a lot of shops are trying to go green and reduce paper waste (especially the thermal receipt paper) so it's a bit of a backwards step.

On a personal level if I'm shopping with the kids I will always get a receipt because my youngest loves them, but I don't need a receipt for my meal deal cluttering up my pockets if I'm on my own!

Yes and no.

At the time I was there, only the self-scan checkouts were open, so it was everyone.

But if it had been at a time when the staffed checkouts were open, it wouldn't have been.

YABU. Checking receipts against items purchased on exit is standard practice in some countries. Literally someone standing at the exit to check everyone!

My friend works in a supermarket and says the amount of people who steal/scam self-scans is shocking. So anything that stops that from happening is fine by me.

Think about it. You're on CCTV most of the time when you're outside of your house, you're CONSTANTLY being monitored to make sure you don't do anything wrong, so I'm not sure why THIS would be the thing that bothered you.

Prior to these barriers a lot of losses were due to people tapping their cards against the contactless card reader grabbing their shopping and leaving but failing to notice that the payment had been declined. This system stops that unintentional walking away without paying by requiring a receipt.

Woah. Just going to step in to defend the OP here even though I don’t agree with them.

what do you think Mumsnet is exactly? Hardly a hotbed of solving the problems of the world is it? I mean, let’s ban all frivolity and be done with it. Or at least be consistent and post the same on every thread of AIBU not to spend twenty quid on my nephew this Christmas or What’s the best jumper for bonfire night?

I'm far more annoyed that the pet food, laundry detergent and frozen food is all in the same section at my local Sainsbury's than the receipt barrier. What on earth were they thinking?!

YABU

Agree with PP...it's standard practice in some countries and has been for years.

I remember there used to be queues to get out of Costco and Makro in this country in the early 2000s, as your receipt got checked.

I'm glad they're doing something to try to combat shoplifting. All the prices are going up because shops are having to cover their shoplifting losses.

More gates as far as I'm concerned. I've only used Sainsbury's ones so far. I hope more supermarkets take this on.

I work at a supermarket.

Pretty much every day we have someone that tries to pay by contactless, but doesn't realise that they need to use chip and pin, and they (try to) walk off without paying.

This could well be aimed at them, rather than just at shoplifters.

This doesn’t bother me much but I do see elderly people struggling all the time with it. It also pisses me off that self checkouts were introduced to minimise queuing but now they open so few actual checkouts the queue for the self checkouts is worse than the original ones at a conveyor belt! So you’re queuing longer to scan your own stuff!

Ofgs. Of all the things to get upset about now and you choose Sainsbury’s…..
I hate self checkout but sometimes I have to use them, I get over myself. It’s a business model which obviously works for all the supermarkets and we have to accept it. Times change, remember having to write out a cheque to get cash? Who cares now?

I feel insulted that the supermarkets take more and more of our money yet employ less and less people.

That’s the bigger problem.

A bigger problem is that people insist on using 'less' rather than 'fewer' in this situation.

Apt poster name

Edit .. [Quoted the wrong thing can't be bothered to re-find it

sorry if someone has already said this, ...
But isn't this exactly what the do at Cosco (it's been sometime since I've been, but) about 8 years ago they had a security guard on the door who looked over your trolly and checked and stamped your receipt as you left (everyones) so you couldn't just come back in grade another tv off the shelf and walk out using the same recipe

And what's to say sainsburys doesnt have a person in an office watching on cctv if you have a receipt for 2 oranges but walk out with a massive trolly full of food and then the gate won't let you out.... or you try to walk through with an airfryer using the same reciept twice (a person wouldn't know you didn't get the receipt from your mate but the scanner would)

Oops I quoted the wrong thing!

I would be more annoyed that a large store didn't have any staffed checkouts open than by having to scan my receipt to leave the self-scan area. I have been known to abandon a full trolley in those circumstances.

I went up to a self service machine recently after this bloke had moved off. Went to scan my first item the I noticed he had not paid for his purchases. Just went through the motions and left.

It happens a lot.