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.

@SensitiveSallySue I understand your embarrassment. I would have felt the same.

I have never used a scanner or a self service till. Thai is because I am a customer, not an employed till operator. I refuse to stand in an unreasonably long queue, unless many tills are open and the store is busy-in which event, that's part of life and I stand and suck it up.

However, if the queue is long, simply because the supermarket- with complete disregard for shoppers- only wants to open an inadequate number of tills for the number of customers, then I always ask for another till to be opened.

I do this by asking the checkout operator if they can buzz for another till to be opened, catching a random member of staff who may be passing by-vanishingly rare-or going to the kiosk or customer services.

They usually do open another till. If not, I ask if they will give me a staff discount for becoming a temporary checkout employee or, if I have time to go elsewhere, I leave the trolly and do just that. If more of us did, more tills would open.

I am not an employee of Waitrose-I am entitled to any staff benefits for doing their job and so, I won't be doing it.

notprincehamlet · Today 14:19
YANBU. Big businesses in the UK want us to spend online so they create a crap in-store shopping experience where we're all treated like criminals. It's rubbish”

Nonsense. At 60, I’ve never been treated like a criminal, in a shop or elsewhere.

Repeatedly questioned and not being allowed to touch the shopping until it had been rescanned would make me feel like a criminal. I’ve experienced similar for an item which cost under £2 as part of a shop that cost over £100. No common sense is applied so I don’t shop at Waitrose any more as a result.

Op, I mean this gently, but you were selected for a random check and they did indeed find an item you’d not scanned and would have stolen had they not checked, yes I’m sure accidentally and you are not lying but can no part of you see that that’s what a thief would say and it is on you to check your items are scanned, and if they don’t, then seek help?

crying, squishing your shopping is all very extreme.

The OP is right thought.
The maximum I've ever had checked is 10 items

And seriously, if it's a reduced item, who'd bother to steal it? It's pretty obvious it's a mistake

I totally get why thus affected you so much.
Many years ago in Waitrose, the security guard stopped me at the till and asked me where the camera was that I had picked up and asked me to start emptying my pockets. I was really upset as this was while I was shopping with a new boyfriend. He absolutely humiliated me because I had asked him upon arriving to the store, if they had any disposable cameras. He pointed them out, then walked away. I picked one up but then later left it on another aisle, because I decided I didn't want it. He proceeded to watch what I was unloading on the conveyor belt. The manager eventually came over and apologised. I explained that he only needed to ask me if I jad left it somewhere. I had even offered them to check my things. I had bought 2 shopping bags worth of stuff and I was hardly going to steal a disposable £5.99 camera.
I vowed never to go back and I haven't. It's been 15 years.
Very upsetting experience.

That's because it doesn't. In order to be convicted of theft you have to have, and be proved to have, an intention to steal. No normal amount of carelessness equates to an intention to steal without further evidence.

That's exactly what has happened to me when I've had a complete rescan, and I've also been taken to a closed till just like you've described. It had never crossed my mind to think that I'm being treated like a criminal or thst other people will be thinking that - I just think that I was unlucky to have to spend time getting everything rescanned again. The sales assistant has always removed my shopping carefully, not turning things that matter upside down to scan, and has repacked my bags equally carefully. That is the standard way they do rescans at waitrose. Incidentally, the first time I did a big self scan shop at waitrose I had to get a large proportion of my items rescanned and I was told by the sales assistant that was because it was the first time I'd done a big shop at that branch.

Exactly this - if I saw a someone I knew in that situation, I would be thinking "bloody modern technology", not "ooh, so Linda's a common thief, then - didn't see that coming".

Good grief. Waitrose incident?!

I was one of the first ever users of the Waitrose scan system 25+ years ago when it was trialled in my local branch.
I’ve used it weekly ever since and have had partial and full scans almost every year since.
The scanner failed on one occasion and I got a full week’s shopping for free when it all had to be rescanned….
’ It wasn’t Quick Check madam, so it is on us’

Rescans are all part of the system for heavens sake . You aren’t being accused of being a thief.

When the system first started, 2 members of staff did the re-scan and it was always a full one, never partial. However, one scanned and the other repacked your bags for you.

I always use self scan where it's offered. Anything with a club card and I'm whoopie-dee, off we go. Get to the designated check out, beep the little gadget at the screen, answer a few questions, pay and I'm gone - no queuing at the only open till and standing behind Mrs Dolly-daydream who wants a convo with the assistant and then can't find her reward card. I always listen for the gadget to beep with each purchase and I keep an eye on the screen if I'm unsure. I've had the odd check done (usually half a dozen items) and if there was an error it wouldn't bother me in the slightest as that's the risk they take installing the system. I regularly use self service at M&S, Tesco, Sainsbury's and Waitrose. I love it.

You see, that is shit.

The branch manager even apologized.

Please do try Waitrose again. That security guard probably doesn't work there anymore and was probably bollocked for his conduct.

No one is taking her to court for a yellow label item, for goodness sake. And every single shop lifter ever says it was a mistake.

Nobody cares. Other people will just be thinking your sceneries broken or it was random or didn't even notice

I don't understand how this would work? Surely you still have to unload all your bags and send your stuff through one by one? And an assistant will still have to supervise because, if you had been stealing, they will have to consider whether to take action as a result.

This is why I always ask them to get someone on the till if I have a full shop. Waitrose do this relatively speedily. Not my job to do their scanning. If more people did it, they'd balance out tills with this self-scanning nonsense.

I use self scan at Waitrose every week.

I can go months without a rescan, then get a random rescan (usually when I'm in a rush and have a larger than usual shop). Sometimes the scanner is satisfied scanning 2 or 3 items, sometimes it flags a full rescan. It's just one of those things. Nothing to be embarrassed about.

That manager was completely out of order I would lose my shit if my manager acted like that

It is also apparently a law of the universe that rescans happen when you're in the most hurry

Erm they really aren’t. Scan it and bag it as you go and 1 min to pay and you’re done.

No, it didn't register it because you didn't scan it properly.

No it doesn't. You have to prove intent for a shoplifting charge.

The manager did what was right for a very good customer.
And if you 'lost your shit' id make sure you lost your job.

Iv had this in sainsburys a couple of times as an item hasn't been scanned over the years. Iv asked to go to a till so I can unload all the items onto the belt rather than try and unpack everything from the bags in the tolley. Yes it's a bit embarrassing and yes I apologise profusely but I'm human, I mess up and they are just doing their job

I was living abroad (no self checkout where i am) got off a long flight went straight to sainsburys, packed my shopping at self service and left without paying. I was chased down by a yelling security guard and a member of staff.

I was mortified, but they were just doing their job.