Would you cheat at self checkout?

[buystoys]

There's a surprising number of people who will.

When Voucher Codes Pro, a company that offers coupons to internet shoppers, surveyed 2,634 people, nearly 20 percent admitted to having stolen at the self-checkout in the past. More than half of those people said they gamed the system because detection by store security was unlikely.

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[Mrs. Dinero]

No! I have lots of faults but stealing isn’t one of them.

[bobosensei]

That's crazy to me.

[resolution]

Once I missed a small item that had fallen to the corner of the cart. I noticed it when I was loading my trunk, went back in, scanned, and paid for it. I almost just left with it because I didn't want to get caught sneaking it back into the store. The last thing I need is to get banned from a store 2 miles from my house.

[Deleted]

No

[Deleted]

I wouldn't be able to sleep at night.

I once got out of the grocery store and found a pack of mushrooms under the store circular in the front basket. They hadn't charged me for it. I almost went back in to pay for it.

[steph08]

No. When Walmart had those self-scanners that you could carry around the store and scan as you put items in your bags, that was great.

However, one worker told me that they were discontinuing them (and they did) because people would steal stuff. 

I'm not a thief and don't need a record because I decided to not pay $3 for some random grocery item.

[Tennesseer]

Why take the chance of being caught? Not worth it.

[chiver78]

never intentionally. I got out to my car once to notice I had completely forgotten the diet coke 12pks on the bottom of my cart. I think it was $8 or $10? I thought about heading back inside, but I figured it would end up becoming a huge thing.    I'm now way more careful about making sure I grab everything. this had been a huge order at one of those little kiosks. I had been putting bags back in the cart before I was done scanning everything, b/c I ran out of room on the kiosk. 

[giramomma]

No.   Like Chiver, I think once I've forgotten about ringing something off the bottom of the cart.

But, I think people do get caught. My son monitors the self check out lanes as part of his job.. He's come home telling us when people try to lift things.

[Deleted]

Sept 30, 2020 8:38:09 GMT -5 resolution said:

Once I missed a small item that had fallen to the corner of the cart. I noticed it when I was loading my trunk, went back in, scanned, and paid for it. I almost just left with it because I didn't want to get caught sneaking it back into the store. The last thing I need is to get banned from a store 2 miles from my house.

Yes, I did that too when I forgot the case of bottled water in the bottom of my cart.  I went in and asked a checker to ring up a case and paid for it.

[NomoreDramaQ1015]

Not on purpose.   I bought a skein of thread at Wal-mart and apparently the scanner didn't catch it and it was so light it didn't register in the bag.  We got all the way home with it before I noticed it was not paid for.  I wasn't going back and trying to explain to Wal-mart I did not intentionally steal a 59 cent bunch of thread.   If that makes me a hardened criminal oh well.

I am more careful though to check the screen before I leave if the things I am purchasing are fairly light in weight.

[Lizard Queen]

I once forgot to pay for a gallon of organic milk in the bottom of my cart next to my feet. I went back to pay for it later, and they said not to worry about it.

[bean29]

I really don't like self check out at the grocery store unless I have just a few items, otherwise the system seems to stop at every 4th item and call the clerk over to approve stuff b/c something does not weigh the correct amount.  Idk what it is, maybe they have me on their system as a potential criminal, but I like others here, my attitude is that I am an honest person and stealing is not worth either a record, or my loss of self worth.

A few weeks ago, I used self check out, and had store coupons.  I scanned the coupon and dropped it in the slot they have for coupons.  It actually made me have a clerk come over (I think it was the 3rd time on that transaction) and she played back video of me scanning the coupon and dropping it in the coupon slot, so yeah, if you steal - good luck with that.

[swamp]

I have also missed an item in my cart, something didn't scan, whatever, but no, I won't steal.

I have a license to practice law which is much  more valuable than anything I could take from a store.  


ETA:  If I'm going to steal something, it will have lots of 0's in the value, and you won't see me again.  

[Deleted]

On FB someone said that if they don’t ring something up at self checkout, it’s the store’s fault because they have customers working without having received on the job training.

I do not like using self checkout. I feel like I should get a discount if I have to ring my stuff up and bag it myself. But I’m not a thief, so no I wouldn’t use it to steal. I can’t stand liars and thieves.

I’ve used regular checkout and got to my car and realized a CD was in the corner of the basket and didn’t get rung up. I took it inside to customer service and had them ring it up. The cashier seemed a little surprised, but I’m sure I’m not the only person that’s done that.

[mollyanna58]

I recently scanned an item, and then the system called over a clerk when I scanned a second item.  She pushed a few buttons on the screen, and I continued scanning the rest of my items.  When I got home, I found the first item had been erased when the clerk did whatever she did.  I figured I would pay for it the next time I go to that store.

 

[Clifford]

Sept 30, 2020 10:02:21 GMT -5 @pinkcshmere said:

I do not like using self checkout. I feel like I should get a discount if I have to ring my stuff up and bag it myself. 

This right here. I would never steal, but either hire people or give me a discount. (I would prefer if they hired people)

[oped]

There have been 2 occasions where the machines are so fucking annoying that I’m not sure if everything rang through correctly and after checking the receipt multiple times said fuck it and just did the best I could. I wouldn’t do it intentionally, I can’t say it never happens. I can’t say it never happens when the cashier was ringing me up either.

Only once did I knowingly steal from a Walmart, maybe 15 years ago? They gave me shit about returning unused white t shirt packs I had purchased for a community arts project. I don’t remember particulars but they were going to refund me a lower price than I paid? And had to manually put that in to the machine. The machine actually just added the manually inputted price to the full price and they refunded me more than I had spent and couldn’t even do the math to realize it and I didn’t tell them .

[justme]

No, but when they were first rolling out I saw someone doing it hard core. Like only scanning their cheap items and I forget whether it was a TV or a gaming system, but some electronic thing was not scanned and then they just walked out. The cart was decently full so they were scanning a bit.

Over the years the stores where I shop are a bit better at watching the self checkout lanes, but I'm sure some things still happen at stores that don't check the receipts. 

But I guess the savings in labor dollars is worth any increased theft. 

[sesfw]

No ......... Not something I could live with

[Gardening Grandma]

DH came out of the hardware store last week and looked at his receipt.  It was not self checkout. The clerk had failed to ring up an $8 item.  He went back in and paid for it.  Pretty sure he would not cheat at a self checkout.  

Me?  Oh hell not.  I always get caught if I break any rule... Not worth it (nor worth how I'd feel about myself)

[souldoubt]

No and it's never crossed my mind.  A few months back I went to Home Depot for 2 things and went to use the self checkout.  My transaction took less than a minute during which time two people tried walking out of the store with something they didn't pay for.  What both of these people did and I'm assuming is very common at Home Depot and the like is that they had a plastic bag with them, a receipt and whatever they were trying to steal placed in the bag inferring they already paid for it or it was a return they had replaced.  The worker stopped both and asked to see their receipt.  To the guy his response was "really a jack in the box receipt?  Get the **** out of here" and I could tell the worker deals with this situation more than he'd like.  Funniest part was the guy looked like he was the one being wronged when he got caught.  The woman he caught just flat out handed him the bag and continued walking out.  In both cases the individuals simply walked out of the store and since most people are wearing masks these days I'm sure they were back later that day or a different day trying it again. 

[dannylion]

No.  Maybe no one else would know, but I would know.  

Integrity is what you do when you think no one is watching. 

I'm a weird, annoying, socially awkward hot mess, but I am doing my best to be a trustworthy weird, annoying, socially awkward hot mess.  

[Deleted]

No and why is that even a question?

[jeffreymo]

Wow! I would never.

[imawino]

I despise self checkout and will only use it when the line at regular checkout is just ridiculously long.  Like many others here I have on a few occasions gotten out to the car and realized there was something small in the bottom of the cart or under my purse that I missed and did not get scanned or paid for.  Honestly, at least once I just shrugged it off and left because it was small and seemed like more hassle than it was going to be worth for to go back in and deal with, and other times have gone back in and checked out again with the forgotten item.  

I wouldn't lose sleep over a small mistake that I didn't take back in but I would never skip items on purpose at the self checkout, that's intentional and would make me feel bad about myself.  Plus, getting busted in a store as a shoplifter?!  eeeeks!  Not a risk I'm willing to take for sure.  

[TheOtherMe]

Sept 30, 2020 9:51:22 GMT -5 swamp said:

I have also missed an item in my cart, something didn't scan, whatever, but no, I won't steal.

I have a license to practice law which is much  more valuable than anything I could take from a store.  


ETA:  If I'm going to steal something, it will have lots of 0's in the value, and you won't see me again.  

This was me when I worked for the IRS.  We got taught how to recognize we were being bribed.  I never figured out the amount I would take, but it would have had to have been billions of dollars so I could have disappeared.

I have never considered not ringing things up at self checkout.  Never.  That's is theft and I don't steal.  My parents taught me better than that.  I've never even been tempted to steal.

I lived in a condo in a middle sized town.  Went to an HOA meeting on day and all the others were talking about how one of the residents had been caught shoplifting at Walmart.  It was in the newspaper I read later in the day.  It was a very small amount.  

[The Walk of the Penguin Mich]

Sept 30, 2020 8:46:09 GMT -5 chiver78 said:

never intentionally. I got out to my car once to notice I had completely forgotten the diet coke 12pks on the bottom of my cart. I think it was $8 or $10? I thought about heading back inside, but I figured it would end up becoming a huge thing.    I'm now way more careful about making sure I grab everything. this had been a huge order at one of those little kiosks. I had been putting bags back in the cart before I was done scanning everything, b/c I ran out of room on the kiosk. 

I have done this too, only for me it was calculator batteries.  I had to put them in a special place, or they’d slip though my cart.  I went through the line and paid (I picked up the batteries first because I had forgotten them in the past) for the rest of my groceries, but forgot those $7 batteries.  

I was shopping at Walmart, and there is a huge sign on the store that there was zero tolerance for shoplifters.  Quite frankly, I was afraid that if I went back and admitted I had forgotten them, I’d get arrested.

[tallguy]

Sept 30, 2020 12:24:24 GMT -5 TheOtherMe said:

Sept 30, 2020 9:51:22 GMT -5 swamp said:

I have also missed an item in my cart, something didn't scan, whatever, but no, I won't steal.

I have a license to practice law which is much  more valuable than anything I could take from a store.  


ETA:  If I'm going to steal something, it will have lots of 0's in the value, and you won't see me again.  

This was me when I worked for the IRS.  We got taught how to recognize we were being bribed.  I never figured out the amount I would take, but it would have had to have been billions of dollars so I could have disappeared.

I have never considered not ringing things up at self checkout.  Never.  That's is theft and I don't steal.  My parents taught me better than that.  I've never even been tempted to steal.

I lived in a condo in a middle sized town.  Went to an HOA meeting on day and all the others were talking about how one of the residents had been caught shoplifting at Walmart.  It was in the newspaper I read later in the day.  It was a very small amount.  

I have on occasion tried to argue with cashiers that they were charging me too little.  I figure it balances out the times I had to argue they were charging me too much.  Just a few days ago I brought to the attention of the cashier that my bakery outlet order was supposed to be $12 instead of the $10.80 she said.  She then found her mistake and said, "Oh, don't worry about it."  My feeling is that I put the item in my cart, so I am apparently willing to pay what the store's price is for it.  No, I would never try to scam things at the self-checkout counter.  I hate those f****** things anyway and use them as little as possible.  That all being said, your response does raise a question:  "Do you really think you could not effectively disappear on only one billion dollars, or even a measly couple hundred million?"