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Walmart’s efforts to use anti-theft technology to crack down on shoplifting at self-checkouts has led to a spike in “hostile” encounters between hourly workers and shoppers, according to a report.
The large chain, one of many retailers battling a rise in theft that is hurting profits, has equipped employees with mobile devices that track purchases at self-checkout lines, an insider report says. It was revealed.
But employees claim they weren’t properly trained to deal with sticky-fingered shoppers, many of whom threw things at them and didn’t scan all purchases. It is said that they become aggressive when confronted with something.
“It’s really unpleasant and it’s a safety issue,” one Walmart employee in Illinois told Insider.
A former employee who posted a TikTok video about Walmart’s procedures said employees were instructed to disable the register if they suspected someone had failed to scan an item, leaving customers with “no choice but to call for help.” “No,” he said.
The employee is then instructed to “pretend there is something wrong with the machine” and direct the customer to an aisle where a cashier will check out, according to the video.
The company installed large video screens in self-checkout aisles to capture the moment customers place items in their bags without having to scan them.
Employees are taught to call managers to avoid accusing customers of theft, but anti-theft technology “makes it seem more confrontational than before because the evidence is right there and visible to the customer.” “It feels like it’s going to be,” an employee told Insider.
Customers “often act defensively,” an employee told Insider.
Another added: “Mostly the people who try to scam you at the register are the ones that piss you off the most.”
In-store theft has become a serious problem for retailers across the country, resulting in major chains closing affected stores.
Target announced last month that it would close nine stores in major cities, including one in Harlem, primarily due to theft and employee safety.
“We cannot continue to open these stores because theft and organized retail crime threaten the safety of our teams and customers, leading to unsustainable business results,” the Minneapolis-based chain said in a statement. Stated.
Walmart closed stores earlier this year, including its last two stores in Portland, Oregon, but said the closures were not directly caused by theft but by “underperformance.”
Walmart CEO Doug McMillon said earlier this year that theft was “more prevalent than in the past.”
An arsonist set a Walmart store in Atlanta on fire last month, and the company announced it would reopen with a new police “work space” inside the store.
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