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.

I’m sorry, OP - I’m sure you were embarrassed. But I doubt everyone else was looking at you and thinking, “that thief!!”
You’ve heard of Walmart in the States, I’m sure - they have more & more self-check-out stations, but even before they did, they’d station an employee at the exit who’d demand to see your receipt so that your purchases matched your receipt - lol as if they paid enough to hire a mathematical whiz.
It’s sooo insulting. How could anyone shoplift between the till & the exit? And what’s even more insulting is that they only do it at certain stores, depending on what part of town you live in - like rich people don’t steal…
I agree - if you don’t trust your customers, then ditch the self-service checkouts.
And stop insulting the very people you rely on to stay in business.

@MoMo999

Sorry to get geeky about this but you are very much in the minority. I work in retail strategy - spent time in all the big grocers.

The vast majority of customers who shop in a branch just want to get in and out ASAP and have full availability of what they would like to buy. There are other factors (location) but honestly speed and availability are always in the top 5.
Self scan is used by loads of shoppers who find it preferable to unloading their goods to get scanned then be packed away again.

Older people or those with more time to like manned checkouts - basically everyone else prefers speed.

Interestingly Booths took out all their self scans because their customers didn't like them (they do have the oldest demographic in grocery retail)

Except that she wasn't, as the shop acknowledged. Zero evidence of intention to steal.

They could have done this tactfully away from public gaze. No customoer service anymore.

Human error is much more likely than computer error, OP.

Try telling that to the Post office inquiry, @countcalculia

So I'm assuming at your job you have rules to follow now how would you feel if your following them rules and a customer doesn't like it and has a tantrum and then your manager appears out of nowhere and says ignore everything shes told you you can just have your way.( bearing in mind the people who usually suddenly have to go are the ones stealing and they've been caught so they want to make a quick exit ) thankfully iv never worked for a manager who acted like this and our system couldn't be overiden anyway and I'm struggling to believe how any scan and go can be as their all basically the same.

I'm sorry you had a shit day, but I think your reaction is down to you rather than them.

Hope your evening is better.

@Jadedbuthappy82 Totally agree with you, well said!

It is good to have choice though. I don't and won't use it when I have a full shop and whenever I ask for a till to be opened in either Waitrose or Sainsburys it is and a queue forms behind me. I would only consider self scan if I had one or two items.

I tried self scan once with a larger shop there was hassle with some items not scanning or needing a member of staff because it is alcohol etc. To be quite honest in my local supermarket I often hear people complaining loudly not only about self scanning but about overly restrictive carpark restrictions and insisting everyone scans their receipt to be allowed out of the supermarket as there is now a barrier. I object to being treated in a manner that makes me feel either I am not a person or I am obliged to do a supermarket shop. Next restaurants will be insisting you act as a waitress for your own table! Not for me!

This does sound a nightmare system and exactly why I just get my shopping and pay for it the old-school way.

But the way I see it, you didn’t scan everything properly. You thought you did but you didn’t check. So they had to follow procedure (and were probably as annoyed as you!) it wasn’t really an ‘incident’

Next time, just make sure you pay more attention or just go to a checkout person.

I think YABU to think it’s a Waitrose issue or that the fact you have a baby at home has anything to do with it. But YANBU to be annoyed in general, I had to have more than 40 items scanned in Tesco the other day and it was such a pain, it’s put me off scan and shop in the future.

I don't understand this. The guard asked you where the camera was. Why didn't you just answer? Were you seriously waiting for him to ask you if you had left it somewhere? What difference did a slightly different form of words make?

And why not take the camera back to the original display anyway? Why should some unfortunate underpaid shop assistant have to do it just because you were too lazy?

Normal has happened to me twice in a different shop. You’re being sensitive.

I can empathise with you @SensitiveSallySue, i would find it incredibly frustrating. I'm overseas and i've been stopped before (at random) having used self checkout. I had scanned all if my items and put them into the bottom of the pram. The assistant came over and asked to see my shopping. I pointed to the bottom of the pram and without saying anything ahe started pulling everything out of the pram including some groceries from a different store i'd been to beforehand. She then demanded to see the receipt from the other store which i didn't have (most stores don't print the receipt at self checkout unless you request it). So she got pissed off and told ke off for not havinf a receipt and accusing me of not scanning all of my items because she thought the other shopping was from her store. I ended up losing my temper as it was so embarrassing with everyone around and my toddler was fed up with waiting.

@BallaiLuimni wow you are heavily invested aren't you? how many times can you post saying something is shit. We heard you the first time.

No-one would have thought anything of it. People are too busy doing their own shopping.

You are massively overthinking this. You didn’t scan correctly and that was found. Despite your insistence you did scan it (which most people would say, thieves included), you clearly hadn’t. So they checked the lot just incase there were other items you hadn’t scanned. Being tearful about it is strange.

Well, the issue seems to me that the yellow tagged item did not scan, but how were you supposed to know this as the whole, 'Scan as You shop,' is to replace workers and you don't work at Waitrose.

Why didn't the yellow item scan, but the rest of your shopping did?

The response by Waitrose was disproportionate and they could have dealt with it way more diplomatically, and just scanned it themselves rather than the drama that followed.

But if it's any consolation, I had a yellow tag that didn't scan properly at the self check out at Tesco last year. The supervisor couldn't get it to scan, so they just waved it off.

Think it's the smugness of Waitrose that is such a wind up.

I have never done scan & shop at my local supermarket (not Waitrose) as I refuse to have one of their loyalty cards, & apparently that's part of the terms & conditions.
So I go shopping the old-fashioned way. I pretty much know what I want to buy, whizz around the aisles & then putting it thru the till really doesn't take long. So you can still use that system AND have time to read in a cafe (which is brilliant, and the most important part of the whole outing).

Yanbu . You’re not a trained staff member so if things don’t scan properly thats on Waitrose. Presumably they’ve lost you as a customer. Go to Aldi.

A bit annoying but there are far worse things. I would just not use the scan and shop next time

The fact you're making such a comment when you lack the basic understanding of the law involving it is embarrassing. Shoplifting requires proof of intent. Which considering she scanned every other item bar the reduced one is very clearly lacking. 🙄

Plenty of people here still believing that computer error is unlikely despite the Post Office Horizon enquiry. I guess the PO know where they can headhunt now MN

no I wouldn’t think anyone having a rescan was a thief, rescans are just part of the process. Particularly if you’re new to a shop, you’ve made this into a big drama. Why not just get home delivery and do something nice with your Sun morning instead?

Now you've said it was the first big shop you'd self scanned in Waitrose, I'm pretty sure they run a check the first time you use it/within the first few times as a matter of course.

I have been in exactly the same scenario where I missed something but wasn't aware of it. Shit happens.

No, I didn't feel like a thief.
Or a fool.
Or anything other than someone who'd made a mistake and the staff were doing their job.

Was it annoying - yes, it is annoying to make mistakes.
Was it time consuming - yes but whatever alternative would be equally (or more) time consuming.