.: bistan.net :.

Another Wal-Mart employee ticked me off tonight.  I don’t know why we continue to shop there.  The stores are a disaster, the people aren’t friendly, the lines are always long, and some of the other customers are somewhat scary.  Ahhh . . . the things we go through to save a few dollars!

Below is a letter I had published in the Macon Telegraph editorial section last September, which parallels with my experience tonight:

Dear Editor,

With the shopping season approaching, retailers are gearing up for a profitable quarter.  As a shopper, however, it is your responsibility to understand your rights and resist the anti-consumer practices becoming more and more popular among the major retailers.  These anti-consumer practices treat everyone as shoplifters by asking to inspect products, shopping carts, bags, and/or receipts – after the customer has already “checked-out”.

Some local big box retailers employ retired or physically challenged people to man the exits, while others (including a local electronics retailer) prefer a more intimidating approach by placing a large masculine male by the exit with a physique that resembles that of a strip club bouncer.  They may even go as far to tell you that the practice is in place to “ensure you have received everything that you paid for”, which is clearly not the case.

According to the National Retail Federation, only about 30 percent of retail shrinkage stems shoplifters.  The bulk of loss is the result of employee theft, administrative errors and vendor fraud, making these anti-consumer methods a waste of time and a violation of privacy.  After you leave the check-out stand, the merchandise is yours and no employee has the right to search your stuff or ask you to produce paperwork (such as a receipt) to verify that fact.  This applies to bagged and loose merchandise, as well as items that you owned before entering the establishment — such as your purse, wallet, pockets, etc.

After you pay for your merchandise, immediately place your receipt in your pocket.  As you exit the store and pass the little old lady shaking her highlighter at you, simply pass her and politely wish her a good day.  Feel free to ignore anything else she may command you to do.  Even if the embarrassing magnetic scanner alarms sound, you are under no obligation to submit to a search. 

If a store wants to accuse you of shoplifting, the burden of proof is on them to prove your guilt, not on you to prove your innocence.  A retailer has no legal basis for stopping and searching customers and any compliance on your part is strictly voluntary.  If a retailer (or a bystander who considers themselves acting heroically) physically touches you or attempts to detain you, it might be appropriate to call law enforcement on them.

Most stores have a “don’t pursue” policy anyway, making the entire anti-theft system — including the “greeter” and the merchandise scanners — a ruse.  The only real purpose of the system is to remind everyone that they are being watched.  All innocent shoppers should reject these anti-consumer practices and bypass the “greeters” without feeling remorseful.

Jonathan Brian Davis
Macon, Georgia

I included “PART ONE” on the title because I am pretty sure there will be a forthcoming part two.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, October 14th, 2008 at 10:57 pm and is filed under Stupid Retailers. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.