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 wouldn't assume it was a thief. I would think that they need to do their job. You wouldn't do this for a cashier, so why should this be any different?

Honestly, I don't understand your complaint at all. Your feelings are hurt but she was only doing her job.

Rubbish! In any walk of life you’d be checked if you were leaving without paying for something. Intentionally or not, if she’d left the shop (which she would have done) without paying for something, she would be a thief! As a regular user of this technology, along with other comments, I find it hard to understand how something wasn’t scanned. I’m not suggesting it was deliberate but even a lapse in concentration warrants a full check!

You sound an awful boss to work for I really feel for your staff. A good boss supports their staff and doesn't undermine them. Do better

It would be interesting to know what the item was that wasn’t paid for! Talking to a friend who works in Tesco, she says if it’s a low value item as part of a large shop, you’d normally be advised about taking better care, but if it’s a high value item they would rescan all the shopping. Apparently it’s amazing how many people ‘forget’ to scan high value items or blame the scanner!

Nope. Im an excellent boss.
I dont need to do better. I do fabulously.
As do my staff.

Well considering you can't read terms and conditions and aren't willing to follow policies I find that very hard to believe. I would love to hear what your employees actually think of you as it sounds like it's your way or the highway as your their superior (your words)

Stealth boast.

"I'm a Waitrose shopper, go me. Peasants."

Rubbish. Im not obliged to buy my shopping anywhere and if i dont like their policies i walk.
You do sound rather bitter though.

You think I'm bitter because I'd be mad if my manager undermined me infront of a customer. The fact you don't see a problem with this says a lot about you as a manager. Nobody is saying you are obliged to buy your shopping anywhere but when using scan and go you can't just throw a tantrum and say you will leave if you need a check doing if you did this more then once in the store I work in you would be banned along with all the other shoplifters who do this exact same thing. Your photo would also be taken. By using scan and go you are agreeing to random checks being done if this hurts your feelings don't use scan and go.

Still talķing rubbish.
No one threw a tantrum. Give up.

Context. OP did an entire shop and the one item that hadn't scanned was a reduced item. If someone had a shop that has 5 packs of steak which hadn't been scanned it'd be different.

Shop staff especially security are experienced in dealing with shoplifters. They don't assume all incidents are shoplifting/theft. They had to check all shopping as it is shop protocol not because they thought she was a thief, which some people have wrongly deemed OP.

You didn't want to follow the rules so said you will leave a whole £250 shop behind and storm out if you dont get your own way. Whether you like it or not that is a tantrum.

100% this its very obvious by the item/items and the way the customer acts to whether it was intentional or not

Nope. No tantrum. No storming out.
And its not a rule lol. I dont have to buy my shopping anywhere i dont want to. I can change my mind for any reason. Its my money.
Still cluthching at straws. Dont bother.

I work at a supermarket, we do 20+ rescans a day.
You know you’re not a thief but the staff don’t. They came across something that wasn’t scanned and the system won’t let them continue without a full rescan.
No one cares that you’re having a rescan, not the staff or the customers. When you sign up to Scan, pay, go rescans are in the Terms and Conditions.

This has happened to me before (not in Waitrose mind you), and though embarrassing I accepted that it was just procedure and the staff member was doing their job. You really can’t take this sort of thing seriously, if this is the only thing you have to worry about you’re lucky! I wouldn’t think of complaining, the staff member was doing exactly what they needed to.

You were randomly subjected to a check and they found an unscanned item so had to redo your whole shop. Presumably they were courteous to you throughout the process? Nothing to be embarrassed about if it was a genuine mistake, happens to all of us at some point.

https://thewalrus.ca/the-scourge-of-self-checkout/

“There’s a term for the steady decline of so many aspects of contemporary life, online and off: enshittification. Coined by author and journalist Cory Doctorow in 2022, it initially referred to a decline in service quality on the part of tech giants who had so thoroughly captured users that they could extract value from them without being sensitive to their preferences or needs.”

I’d urge everyone to read this article - it’s really good. The bug-filled technology and the fact that it tempts morally borderline people to steal, is leading retailers to equip stores with more and more heavy-handed surveillance. Customers are not only doing more and more of the work (unpaid) but having to put up with an increasingly menacing atmosphere in stores. I’m baffled by all the people on here defending this.

I’m baffled by all the people on here defending this.

Are you usually easily baffled?

Scanning as you go round is quicker and more convenient.

Jesus jealousy is a terrible thing.
And accusing me of being a shoplifter lol.
Thanks for the laugh.

Thats how they do it, i’ve had full trolley scans at tesco. It’s inconvenient yes, but i never felt embarrassed or made to look like a thief, more pissed off cos i had to wait while they rescanned it and then repack. Think you are massively overthinking it. Maybe you should go back to the traditional tills to avoid this again.

But why would you put it down in a different aisle?
If I change my mind about something, and can't be bothered to put it back in the correct place, I just take it with me to the checkout and ask a member of staff if they can get someone to return it as I no-longer want it.

Jealous of what exactly

Scanning as you go round is quicker and more convenient.

It isn't though. If you think about it, every time you take something off the shelf you have to handle it, locate the bar code and then put it in your trolley. It might be seconds but for each item it takes longer than just flinging it in the trolley.

On the flip side you have to unload on to a conveyer belt but the scanning process by a person at the checkout is much quicker as the items are all there at the right height moving towards them - and most important of all scanned by someone who is scanning items all day so can do it quicker than a customer by a long way.

Then add on to that the random re-scan which will double the time - even if you only get called up on these once or twice a year if you are doing big shopping that will be a huge delay because it's unpack, rescan and then repack.

The idea that doing the work yourself is quicker and more convenient is an absolute illusion sold to the masses like opium.