At the grocery store on Friday, I saw a young lady walk out with a huge box of Pampers on the bottom of her shopping cart without scanning them.....intentional or not, I do not know. Even if she did it on purpose and got caught, I expect she would say she forgot they were there, go back in and pay for them and that would be that.

Now that the self checkout has been around for awhile, Stop-n-Shop has gone to a scan and bag as you go system. I haven't really checked out (no pun intended ) how this works but it looks like you take a handheld scanner, scan the items as you bag them in your cart, and pay the total at the end. What is to stop people from putting stuff in their bags that they didn't pay for?

I guess I just don't think that people are honest enough in general to have this sort of system. Do you??

cj/

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I was walking home one night and a guy hammering on a roof called me a paranoid little weirdo. In morse code. -Emo Phillips

I think they've determined that the amount they lose due to theft is less than the cost of paying the wages of a checkout person.

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We have had self check-outs here for a while. They have a cashier that has a podium right there and she watches, but I know that if you place an item in the bag with out scanning it, the machine says "please scan the item before placing it in the bag". It is possible, I am sure, to find a way to steal, but it is not easy.

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"When you're drowning, you don't say 'I would be incredibly pleased if someone would have the foresight to notice me drowning and come and help me,' you just scream."

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I am asking less about the self checkout and more about the new system where you scan and bag as you shop the aisles. Nonetheless, the person who oversees the self-checkout is often multi-tasking and can't see everything....and failing to scan things on the bottom of the cart is relatively "easy" way to steal as I saw on Friday. It's probably easy to steal lightweight items too....

cj/

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I was walking home one night and a guy hammering on a roof called me a paranoid little weirdo. In morse code. -Emo Phillips

Just like at a checkout counter, when you scan an item by hand it disarms the security on the UPC. If an item hasn't been scanned--be it at Target and the checkout counter or at a grocery store with the hand held scanner, the security alarm at the door should ring.

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E. Roosevelt

Oh, I have never seen scan as you go. As for the cashier at self check-out, usually, she keeps a good eye, but like anything else, she could miss something. You would have to put it in the bag after you remove it, though, and if you remove a bag before you finish, the machine tells you no-no. lol. How and where do you pay for your pay as you go stuff?

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"When you're drowning, you don't say 'I would be incredibly pleased if someone would have the foresight to notice me drowning and come and help me,' you just scream."

John Lennon

I've read just the other day that some stores were starting to put scanners at the bottom near the floor just for the purpose of making sure things on the bottom of the carts were being scanned.

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Since I also shop at a StopNShop I can easily imagine how you could steal. There is no "close-watching" person over the self-registers. There is one at Pathmark, but not here. Perhaps there are security cameras we are unaware of.

There is no beeping of unscanned items at the door like at Target.

There is a new system where you pick up a scanner at the door, and as you shop you scan and bag your items. Then at the register you just plug in your scanner and pay what it says (you don't unbag your items). Could you steal and put things in the bags as you go around....sure I bet you could.

I have also seen parents open a box of cookies, feed it to their kids and then place it back on the shelves.

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I have seen that many times at stores with no scan and bag.

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"When you're drowning, you don't say 'I would be incredibly pleased if someone would have the foresight to notice me drowning and come and help me,' you just scream."

John Lennon

It is my understanding that only certain items are "tagged" with security tags. The UPC itself is NOT a security device, kwim??? When I worked retail, we had a roll of security tags we would put inside of the boxes on certain items. Then, when it got scanned, there was a demagnetizer (deactivater) under the counter that would deactivate the security tag. For instance, the UPC on a can of soup is not going to trigger the alarm at the store. I know "some" UPCs are also security tags, but, not ALL of them.

I think the majority of people are honest. Where I have done self check out, you have to put the item in the bag after you scan it, or it won't let you continue. Likewise, if you put something in the bag that wasn't scanned, it will not allow you to continue. Each item is in the computer to add a certain amount of weight to the bag once scanned and bagged.

The people who "sample" the food are real jewels, too, arne't they?? We've alll seen the people horking down a banana or some grapes from their bunch. WTH???

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Wow! I have never seen this - or someone opening a box of cookies, taking some, and then putting the box back. The worst I've seen is someone trying a couple of grapes. Maybe I'm just not very observant.

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Here's how the Stop & Shop thing works:

At the door there are a rack of hand scanners. You scan your store card and it activates a scanner (by lighting up around it) that you take and put in the holder on your cart (made just for this).

You take a bag(s) and put these in the cart also.

As you shop, you scan each item, then place it in the bag. If you scan an item and decide not to buy it (more expensive than you thought, for instance), you push the remove button on the scanner and then scan again and it takes it off your bill.

When you get to the checkout (self or regular - I've only used the self checkouts), you scan a barcode marked end of order, then scan your card again. You then place the scanner in a rack at the checkout (again made for that purpose), it brings up on screen whatever you have bought, you (or cashier) then scan any coupons, choose how to pay and complete the transaction.

While you could put items in the bag, I believe I read somewhere that every so often they may pick a customer (at random?) where they will re-check your bags, which might make people less likely to add "extras". I've used it a few times and it hasn't asked for that (yet).

This is the only store I've seen something like this at, and only one location near here (so far) - I'm guessing they might limit stores where they place these based on past records of thefts and such?

As noted in another post, this store rarely has a clerk at the self checkouts anyhow (I have seen some S&S that do, so again maybe based on patterns of losses?).

The scanner is also handy, as you can use it like a price checker if needed, rather than having to run all over the store looking for one.

You are talking about those magnetized flat pieces of tape that you often find on items???. I know what those are and I have seen kind of a puffy plastic square with some items also. I made my point about UPCs being demagnetized during the price scan because I have seen the alarm at the door of stores go off and the security guard usually looks in the basket.....often an unscanned item is pushed up again the wall of the basket or under the store flier----either by error or intentional....and it can be something flat like a greeting card or scrapbook stickers and the alarm has gone off on itmes that inexpensive

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Nobody can make you feel inferior without your consent.

E. Roosevelt

I use the scanner her all the time, and havent witnessed any theft. Maybe I wasnt watching.
But I did see a lady change the prices on her chicken packages. Caught that and reported it.

I do think the stores factor in the loss of items. I have seen this same older man almost weekly at the grocery (has been going on for at least a few years) He takes handfuls of nuts and eats them, handfuls of grapes, even an apple or banana he does this every week and the store knows it. I have even said something a couple of times and so have several other people the manager says that the few cents in items that this man eats each week isn't worth his time trying to file charges on him.

This reminds me of a situation that happened routinely at a Jewel grocery store in Schaumburg, IL (do they still have those?) where my sister worked in the late 70's. They had a guy that came in all the time and ate raw meat in the store. Yuck. I can't remember the details of whether he paid for it or not....the raw meat eating just stuck with me.

cj/

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I was walking home one night and a guy hammering on a roof called me a paranoid little weirdo. In morse code. -Emo Phillips

We don't have self-checkouts in the stores in my city. We also don't have the open bins of bulk candy, salad bars, etc. I asked a manager of my local grocery store why they didn't put them in (self-checkouts) when they remodeled and he replied because theft would be too great so it wasn't an option. I wouldn't buy from an open grocery store salad bar in my city ~ yuck!

I think that no matter what the system is people will try to find a way around it. A few people that is. I do truly believe that most people are honest and most people know someone who works somehow within the grocery industry. I can't imagine not being so nervous and worrying that someone would show up at my house with the police. And the embarrassment factor alone of people at the stores I go to thinking or in this case knowing I was a thief! Even if it wasn't wrong that alone would make me not want to do it.

I do see people in stores even in Costco opening stuff and "sampling" it. And I often see half eaten packages on the shelves. I remember my Mom giving us food but we would pay for the whole package whether it was empty by the time we got to the cashier or not.

The store is watching maybe not literally but when they do inventory if they see that substantially more is missing since the new system was put in they will either dramatically raise prices and/or make adjustments to the system.

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Faith + Love = Happy

You'd be AMAZED at where all stores have security cameras! AMAZED....
reminds me of a work comp claim:
Cashier claimed she lifted a large bag of dog food on a specific date, in a specific time frame, and injured her shoulder.
In the claim investigation we had the store pull the register log and video (all registers have cameras at this particular retailer)--and lo and behold! She never had any dog food come through her line that day based on register logs and video. So, her claim was denied. When she called to demand her claim be accepted, I politely informed her about what we had obtained in the way of video evidence indicating that she had not picked up a bag of dog food. She actually said to me: "how did you know to put a camera on me that day??? Did you know I was going to file a claim?" Stupid, stupid, stupid!

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We have them here, but I never have used them. I feel that it takes a job from someone. I will do it when the store pays me

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