Waitrose incident.

[SensitiveSallySue]

I am not sure if I am being sensitive or if I should complain.

Every Sunday morning I go out for a coffee and read my book, then do the weekly shop without the children. I like to be back before midday so I can spend the rest of the time with my children, including 9 month old baby. We have every supermarket local to us, Sainsbury’s, Waitrose, M&S, Asda, Tesco, and I always use the ‘scan and shop’ to make the shopping as quick and easy as possible. I’ve never had an issue until today in Waitrose. I’ve only used it a couple of times in Waitrose and never for a big shop.

After scanning my entire shop, strategically packing it so it’s easy to unload at home, I went to pay. When I beeped the scanner, it flagged up as needing to be checked. I thought that was fair enough, it happens sometimes, and I haven’t done a weekly shop in Waitrose before using the ‘scan and shop’ option. The worker came over and said she needed to rescan 30/58 items. I thought that was ridiculous, in every other shop they scan a random selection of a few items, not over half your shop. It seemed pointless to me to have even used the option in the first place, but I didn’t say anything and the worker started to empty shopping bags full to rescan items. This was taking ages, but I just stood patiently waiting for her to finish.

Then, she came across one that I apparently hadn’t scanned. I know I did, but it was a yellow sticker packet so I can only assume that it hadn’t registered properly. She repeatedly asked me if I had scanned it, and I repeatedly told her I had but it clearly hadn’t registered.

She told me she would need to rescan my entire shopping trolley, then took me over to a till, and I stood on the end whilst she unpacked every single one of my bags and scanned every item individually. It was completely unsubtle, in front of all of the other customers, and obvious that they were rescanning the entire shop in case I was attempting to steal things. I felt like an idiot and a thief. To make matters worse, I am a small business owner working with children, and had already bumped into several of my clients in the shop. I was absolutely mortified thinking that they may think I am a thief.

I was thoroughly embarrassed and teary eyed, and hastily shoved everything back into bags whilst the Waitrose worker apologised. Half of my shopping is crushed as I was shoving things back into the bags indiscriminately. I promptly paid and left but it has really upset me. By that point, I’d spent around 20 minutes having everything rescanned.

AIBU to think that if Waitrose are going to have a system that is open to abuse, they need to have a solution that doesn’t involve treating customers like thieves? I have never had an experience like this in any other store and whilst I realise they have to protect themselves from theft, surely this is not the correct way to go about. It’s not the Waitrose workers fault, it just seems like a very poor system and they shouldn’t offer ‘scan and shop’ if this is the way they treat customers.

Intention absolutely matters, she was not a thief. It was a mistake, maybe human or maybe technical by she is in no way a thief and Waitrose wouldn't consider her a thief.

I am very sure of this as I recently walked out of Waitrose after scanning everything and tapping my card, I walked out and didn't realize my payment hadn't gone through. Had no idea until I popped in a few days later and the security guard very kindly approached me and told me what had happened. He did not treat me like a thief, he treated it for what it was, a human error and told me explicitly I wasn't a criminal, it happens quite frequently.

@SensitiveSallySue ridiculous way to treat customers, I wouldn't go back either! To be honest once she got to the end and confirmed the price was accurate I would probably have said I'd changed my mind and no longer wanted to purchase anything from there! Yea they are doing their jobs but there is always a more dignified way to do things. Their loss though 😘

This happened to us in Tesco and they didn’t even find anything that hadn’t been scanned, just went through every single thing. Clearly they thought we looked dodgy! In fairness though we always do online shops we had only gone in store because we had been on holiday and forgotten to book a delivery for when we got home, I think the more you do it the less likely you are to get chosen for a rescan. It’s just one of those things, we won’t use it again because of that experience but I wouldn’t say it was humiliating or that the people in Tesco did something wrong, it just is what it is and we have the ability to not bother with that service again.

Middle class problems 🙄

I totally get the embarrassment, I bought 2 packs of frozen fruit, threw one in the trolley and scanned the other one twice, got checked and they were actually slightly different so I had to have my whole shop scanned, thankfully it was the same price as the scanner so I went out slightly smug but I felt like a thief, now if I buy multiples I always scan separately just in case!

All the supermarkets do this - had the same experience in both Tesco & Sainburys. It's not a Waitrose issue

YABVU

What a fuss about nothing. I don't imagine anyone passing even noticed

LOL what a fuss. Standard procedure for self scan as the point is to stop mistakes likes this. I self scan everywhere been checked many times never had any issues as I double check as I go.

I don’t shop in Waitrose but I often ‘forget’ to scan several items when I use scan and shop. No one’s ever checked my shopping (so far).

Not really. The technology is extremely accurate particularly on bespoke barcodes which the yellow tickets are. So it's either scanned in the basket or it isn't.

Retailers tend to know when people have made genuine mistakes, like OP, and the people who are deliberately playing the system.

Randomly, the most nicked item at self scan is an almond croissant. People scan it through as a normal croissant - a lot of people on purpose

I couldn't care less who is having their shopping checked at Waitrose. If I saw someone I knew in those circumstances no part of me would wonder if they were a thief. TBH the fact that you were tearful and shaking or whatever would be the only thing that might make me think that.

Forget it happened and carry on with your day OP. There are bigger things to spend your energy on!

I was set to give you a fairly robust response @SensitiveSallySue but I won’t. I think you’re giving yourself a far too hard a time as it is.

firstly, if any of your clients saw you they would have assumed a random scan check. They wouldn’t have thought anything bad about you at all.

Secondly, is this kind of reaction normal for you? Is this the sort of thing to throw you into panic normally? You mention getting away from it all for a bit, you mention a baby, so I’m going to ask you if you think you could have PND? If I were you I’d talk to the health visitor for a bit of support.

But if this happened at Tesco the exact same thing would happen. Just one of those things that I wouldn't give headspace to once the inconvenience had passed.

Randomly, the most nicked item at self scan is an almond croissant. People scan it through as a normal croissant - a lot of people on purpose

That's the most MC crime I've ever heard of.

It's happened to me dozens of times, from a few items to a full weekly shop. No drama, happens to everyone.

Make yourself a cuppa and laugh about it.

Such on overreaction by the OP. We're all human and mistakes can be made. No one thought you were a thief, but the technology probably did show there was something more in your trolley than had been scanned.

For anyone this happens to, ask the assistant to put the items back in the trolley then you can re-pack at your car.

tbf i would not self scan a whole trolley

Literally why I stopped using the scan and shop option about five years ago. I was absolutely sick of being treated like a criminal every week. It got very old.

I had a "Tesco incident" recently. I'd bought 5 items and scanned and paid for them all. They have trollies where they can jam the wheels so you can't push them and they did this as I walked out the door. I showed the receipt and they let me through. Its embarrassing but just one of those things. You did have an unpaid for item, even though it was an accident. I didn't and I suspect it was actually the person next to me with a trolley piled high with items not in bags who hadn't scanned something as we left at the same time. They didn't check them though.

As in everything there will always be dishonest people who try to 'game' the system! That's why quality checks on scan and go's are done, every customer registered will be checked from time to time.

If you had scanned your shopping correctly the employee would have scanned until their scanner said enough items had been checked. Unfortunately you didn't which means they employee has to put everything through a till. The employee would get into trouble otherwise for not doing their job properly.

It's in terms and conditions when you sign up that quality checks are carried out etc. If you're unhappy with that why not just wait for a manned till. You'll probably be quality checked more frequently now as your details will flag up.

I expect them to have staff for this sort of thing. I send my.maid for house supplies.

Bloody hell, you weren’t falsely arrested !

I have never used the scan-and-pack as, like others have said, technology hates me and I know it would go wrong somehow.

However, those posters banging on about how people who do use this system have been gaslit into accepting doing the supermarket’s job for them are missing the point that this system (when it works) is less work for the shopper than going to a traditional till.

Scan-and-pack: pick up item, beep it with scanner, place it into bags as desired. Continue until finished, pay and leave.

Traditional till: pick up item, put into trolley. Continue until everything you want is in your trolley. Go to till. (Possible queue here but that’s not necessarily relevant to the point I’m making). Take everything you’ve just put into your trolley back out again, putting it onto the conveyor, possibly in some vague kind of sensible order that will aid you in your next task. Which is, yep, pick up the items for a third time in order to pack them into bags to take home.

It’s loads more inefficient, involving much more work for the customer. Ever since the big supermarkets arrived and took over the model of shops such as bakers, butchers and greengrocers serving us individually they have been getting us to do ‘work’ for our shopping in various different ways.

But if you are a thief that might not work as you could pocket an expensive item rather than put it in the till?

But then the OP would have wasted all her time, got upset and STILL wouldn't have her shopping. While the checkout assistant has had some time wasted that they're being paid for (and are literally doing their job) and had a mildly unpleasant encounter with a stroppy middle class woman. So I'm not sure who's losing out more.