Ok Fess Up.. Who Has Stolen Something Through a Self Serve Checkout?

So I was shopping at Woolies the other day.

I saw this chick weighing a leg of lamb on the self serve scales and pressed onions.

The self serve attendant was about 16 and completely oblivious.

I told him as she walked out and he wasn't really too fussed and he casually walked off to tell someone else.

Got me wondering..

How does Woolies and Coles even make a profit with these things??

Have any of you guys ever accidentally or intentionally forgotten to pay for something? (weighing something as onions is stealing)

What are your thoughts on self serve?

Poll Options

  • 75
    Yes I have forgotten to pay for something
  • 78
    Yes I have intentionally stolen something
  • 631
    No I am absolutely honest

Comments

  • +33

    I don't intentionally steal.
    However, there have been times where I have been pretty bloody annoyed with the damn machine and no one is available to help, can't find the item I am trying to weigh in the menu so I just go for the closest thing (for example I may be buying red delicious apples but there is no option for this in the menu so I just pick the closest looking apples), I may be paying more or less, I don't know. It probably all evens out.

    • +1

      +1

      I was trying to buy some watermelon the other day and so I went to "W". Nope not there

      Asked the girl who said it's under "M" for melon. Fair enough.

      Took a look. Not there either. Asked her again. "No, it should be there"

      Turns out it was under "M" but labelled "seedless watermelon" and so it was at the end of the list on the next page.

      Go figure.

      • +11

        down the bottom there is a search on the coles ones. Type in three letter of the product and it show all that match it. Its been a massive time saver now.

        I don't bother 'hunting' anymore and searching for a item if its not on the opening screen of fruit/veg now. Cause of stupid things like you said!

      • +1

        For shame. You should've known :p

      • +1!!!! I had the same issue with woolies, coles does not have this problem at all….

    • +1

      I know with Coles, mostly fruits specially apple have 4 digit code sticker on apples. You also have the option to insert the 4 digit code in self serve checkout to process it without paying more or less.

  • +20

    They shouldn't have self-serve counters in low income areas like Western Sydney. One time I went to western sydney to visit a friend and at the local woolworths I saw these kids and their trashy parents scanning relatively expensive fruits and vegetables as herbs and cheap apples.
    THose people are disgraceful.

    I've seen kids (as old as 17/18) open packets of chips and lollies and not pay for it. They just casually walk out of the store.

    • +14

      hey, they must be the kid and mum from that recent video goes viral!? the 12 yo abusing police and the mum defendind him.
      sound very similar - or maybe their neighbour

      • +7

        i've seen that on the train, the 14 y.o kid just kept insulting them and when they finally called his mum, she just told him to punch the ticket officers. The ticket officers didn't do anything about the insults and attitude. They threatened to arrest him several times but i followed them and it never happened they just escorted the kid out of the station and let him go….

        where i come from he would have had multiple fines (which if not paid get deducted from welfare or your stuff gets seized) the ticket officers would have had him arrested and the cops probably show him the back of their hand if he acted up.

        it seemed a little unfair stupid kids with little moral get away with it. i guess the trains are a subject in itself

        • +1

          Yeah there does seem to be no consequences to their actions.

    • +22

      What do you expect from feral bogans?

        • +37

          Non-white people can also act like bogans…

        • +32

          @ProjectZero: Bogans can also act like non white people, and white people can also act like non white people, and purple people eaters dont even care

        • -2

          @RockyRaccoon:

          Bogans can also act like non white people

          That I've never seen lol, that would mean they weren't bogans in the first place?

        • +47

          are bogans necessarily white? i thought it was all about attitude and lifestyle.

        • +2

          @juki:

          are bogans necessarily white? i thought it was all about attitude and lifestyle.

          Bogans aren't necessarily white but I think if you mention the word "bogan" to an average person, close to 100% the image in their mind will resemble a white Australian.

          It's like if you're talking to a person on the phone (a business call perhaps) and you're meeting with clients. You ask the client what nationality he is and he says "Japanese".

          Then you meet him in real life, and lo and behold, he's a Caucasian with blue eyes and blonde hair, and who also happens to have lived in Japan his whole life and is fluent in the language so that doesn't make his reply to your question wrong.

          But let's be honest, anyone who read the word Japanese above immediately had an image of an Asian in their mind.

        • @DeafMutePretender: not really, i just imagine a person holding a japanese passport. a contrario to japanese, bogan isn't a nationality (yet?)

          I do get what you are saying however, and i'm only recently familiar with the term bogan, I wasn't being sarcastic and i have genuinely seen bogans of all shapes sizes and colors i take the train a lot…

          what you seem to call bogans i'd probably define as white trash (not very pc, don't mention it to your jap customer on the phone)

        • +3

          @juki:

          a contrario to japanese, bogan isn't a nationality (yet?)

          Well, I've certainly never heard someone call a non-Australian a bogan so there might be a correlation between bogans and Australians (and Australians aren't necessarily white for eg. a Vietnamese-Australian who talks and acts like a bogan is a bogan).

          what you seem to call bogans i'd probably define as white trash (not very pc, don't mention it to your jap customer on the phone)

          I guess "white trash" is a general term that refers to all lower class white people. Bogans are our (Australian) white trash, Hillbillies are America's white trash and Chavs are Britain's.

          Of course, in the interests of fairness, that's not to say non-white people can't be or resemble white trash. For example, we've got the caste system in India and the conflict between the city Chinese and rural (farmer) Chinese. So if we could generalise/be politically-incorrect even more, the all-encompassing general term that could refer to all these individuals is plebeians or if you're having a bad day, f!@#$%^ lower class scum.

          Anyway, I'm going to shut up now because I feel like I'm skirting close to a ban.

        • +5

          @juki: I'm over honest and often scan onions as lamb.

      • +1

        Im a proud Bogan (old school)i go to work everyday pay my bills and volunteer as a junior football coach.
        i dont steal and im not a ferral.
        you guys stereotype bogans and you probably have no idea what they even are

        • +2

          Do you have a mullet and thongs, perhaps with a flanno? If so I raise my XXXX to you.

        • +2

          Yes New Zealand are full off old school and new Bogans, you can even have different class levels of Bogans lol. I've heard that term from as long as I remember so at least 30 of my 40 years. So I guess you don't have to be an Australian

        • @voolish:

          mullet has gone with age but still have my desert boots, thongs and flano

          dont drink the XXXX (west australian) we drink the export :)

        • i go to work everyday pay my bills and volunteer as a junior football coach

          You don't sound like a bogan mate.

          The definition of bogan is quite opposite of you.

        • +1

          hell yeah, nothing wrong with an Aussie Bogan mate, be proud of Australia and be who you are, if they don't like it @#$%#@ em :)

    • +19

      People in other areas of Sydney never steal anything?

      • +2

        It's the same in Melbourne, people who have heard stories or never even visited the western suburbs think everybody who lives there is out to cause trouble.
        There's dodgy people everywhere, some people are just more pretentious than others.

        • +1

          Sure there are dodgy people everywhere, but statistically speaking, a range of demographic factors mean that there are higher offending rates in areas such as the Western suburbs.

          Some women are taller than men, but statistically speaking, most men are taller than women.

        • @soaringphoenix: That's exactly right, but i'm referring more to the stigma imposed by eastsiders or more expensive suburbs towards those who live in the west. There's some pretty shitty areas on the supposedly better side too, and there's some expensive areas out west with a stuck-up "i'm better than you" population.

    • +45

      I live in western sydney and i have never been dishonest using the self serve check out. For you to say that they shouldnt is just presumtuous and disgraceful in itself. Yes there are dishonest people here, but I bet you they're everywhere. Perhaps people do it in the eastern suburbs as well, but they just dress nicer? Who are you to judge based on one visit? Jackass.

      • +10

        This is true.

      • Should maybe amend it to "CBD/Inner West/Western Sydney".

        http://crimetool.bocsar.nsw.gov.au/bocsar/

      • I'm from the Western suburbs, have a law degree and a Master of Laws from Sydney Uni.

        I've corrected the cashier every single time they've undercharged me or given too much change.

        Guess my living in the West didn't infect me the way it apparently does to "our" people.

        • How does our suburb define our personality, principles or morals? It annoys the hell out of me when people judge based on that, and judge without knowing anything in general really.

    • +6

      They shouldn't put people like you who are happy to pre-judge people by their post code on planet earth. They're likely to make the place worse.

    • +3

      Unfortunately, the loss will be calculated in the price so you and rest of honest customers will pay for those arrogant trashy people
      They actually abuse the customer service definition.
      it should seriously stop somewhere.

    • +8

      I live in Western Sydney too :( I always read negative about WS but obvious there are good people here too please count me. I work hard, pay my tax, do charity work, donate and always think of others before myself.

    • -2

      Never underestimate the power of desperation.

      • Desperation? Have you ever been West of the ED? They're fine.

    • Good point. I see this often enough too in my Western Sydney :/

      @OP: care to share which area was this?

      • -1

        All of Western Sydney is just left of St. Peters, it's 1 giant suburb I heard.

    • +3

      You cDNA,are a presumptuous idiot ….seriously,some of the biggest scammers out there are NOT from Western Sydney (but some of the most upstanding people i will ever meet ARE).Check your ego "mate".

    • +2

      I guess Ikea figured it out, both stores at Rhodes and Tempe have self-serve checkouts but when I went to their new one at Marsden Park I was surprised to see no self-serve checkouts.

    • +3

      I've seen adults in their 30s and 40s steal cards from david jones. it's not an age thing.

    • +11

      As someone who has had quite extensive experience working in one of the major supermarkets in Western Sydney, it happens on a daily basis. I used to work for one of the big two, and we were one of few stores in Western Sydney that did not have a self checkout. Thats for understandable reasons really.

      We would regularly have kids come in as young as 12 to shoplift. There really is no point apprehending them, be it kids or adults.

      Firstly you'll get abused with pretty much anything imaginable under the sun, you'll get verbally and physically threatened, and even assaulted (it's happened to me and they follow you as you leave the store, work insurance doesn't cover you for anything when commuting to and from work either). It really is just not worth it to put your safety at risk for a mere $24 an hour as a duty manager, let alone as a supervisor or checkout/self checkout attendant who get paid even less.

      In regards to the young ones, if you do happen to catch them, there is only so little you can do. You can stop them, get your goods back, but they will be back. There is an unwritten rule that you cannot bar juveniles from the store or shopping centre. Further to that, actually processing a barring notice is a massive pain that requires time and paperwork, when you have had your hours cut, it really just isn't possible; you've already wasted your time to kick these shoplifters out, and to spend twenty minutes filling tedious paperwork and forms is not worth your time when you got a store to fill and customers to serve.

      Now if you really do have the time to push it and manage to apprehend the shoplifters, processing the barring notices, often with the help of loss prevention (some undercover) and centre/store security; getting the police involved is often a complete and utter joke. They will not want to hear it or be involved if it involves a child or is a very low valued theft (under $100), if they are to come, it is on the last of their priorities and may take an hour or two, even if the cop shop is next door to the shopping centre!

      As you have mentioned, its often trashy parents that do this as well, that is definitely the case, and often parents are there with their kids to steal, using them as dummies as well. The amount of times prams have been used to steal is higher then many may think, but there is a line that can't be crossed when inspecting prams. They know this and conceal goods under their infants, or just fill a pram up with goods and have it covered up, a poor checkout chick would not dare ask to check a pram in that manner fearing the backlash, and again the type of abuse being flogged out to some of these kids, it really isn't worth it for $10 an hour. I guess it does teach hem valuable life lessons, what they learn is worth the most from their first jobs.

      Guess it's just the typical retail horror stories.

      • We used to get 'decoys' that would intentionally make errors on the self check outs so that the SCO operator had to go help them thus creating a diversion for the hoodie crew to walk out with hundreds of dollars of razors/batteries etc. in the green shopping bags so nothing looked suspicious. We also never had security as lots of the smaller stores dont.

        • One of the better ones was to create a fake bottom in the enviro bags, so concealing the batteries and razor blades at the bottom of the envirobag, using a black bottom piece to disguise it as just a normal shopping bag.

          Worst ones are those who conceal in their pants, bras, underwear.

      • -1

        work insurance doesn't cover you for anything when commuting to and from work

        Yes it does. See the first bullet point under a)
        http://www.workcover.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0020/…

        This supplementary information is to be provided by:
        a) A worker in respect of:
        • an injury received while on the daily or other periodic journey between the worker’s place of abode and place of employment, or between the place of abode and
        any trade, technical or other training school, where there is a real and substantial connection between the employment and the accident
        • an injury received while on a journey between the worker’s place of abode and other places referred to in section 10 (3) (c) – (g) of the Workers Compensation Act
        1987, where there is a real and substantial connection between the employment and the accident

        • Well it's easy to prove you got abused by a customer while in the store, but when you're on your way home, it may not be easy to prove that? Is that the reason lambsie said that?

        • Usually true in NSW, although there are exceptions.

          I was working at one of the big 4 banks a number of years ago when they switched everyone to a national insurance policy, and we were advised that we were no longer covered travelling to and from work.

  • +1

    easy solution:
    set up camera video on each self checkout, if they find the thief, put up the video slide on big screen 100" in front of the store.
    let the whole town see them.

    • +17

      ….the number of screens they will need will greatly outweigh the cost of the stolen products….

      • nah, just one screen, do slide show 24/7 for town entertainment

      • +14

        And the amount of stuff stolen is greatly outweighed by the cost of employees who would be instead used to scan the food in. (profanity) employment and the economy as a whole, a supermarket these days only needs a manager, 30 non deodorant wearing shelf stackers, a 16 year old till supervisor and a token 16 year old check out chick.

        • +3

          @KaptnKaos: There is no racism there, merely an observation. The racism is in your head. I have noticed though that at Coles in Toronga village (next to the Coles head office), the body odour has been so offensive and overwhelming that I have had to leave the isle and not purchase the item I was looking for. I'm not saying this has anything to do with a persons race, merely their hygiene.

        • +9

          @ozyboy: Sorry, all in your head. No implicit or explicit racism whatsoever.

        • +24

          @ozyboy:

          Racist

          Only certain races can be smelly? Isn't that racist?

        • +1

          @eisniwre: you may want to review your definition of fact

        • -2

          @juki: i didnt say all, i say most..

        • @DeafMutePretender:

          Only certain races can be smelly?

          Smell like cheese??

        • you are absolutely right, it's not racism but the fact that Indian people do not wear deodorant. My Indian colleague stinks so bad that I offered her some deodorant to try but she told me she doesn't wear them in fact most Indian do not use deodorant for health and realigiois purpose. Apparently they like to sweat out to purify their body and obviously they do not care about others.

        • @Guilty Flamez:

          Oh, if we're talking about Indians then yeah, out of every group they have the uhh, strongest scent (a very pervasive curry or similar odor). You got downvotes but your observation is correct.

          But hey since we're all being racist here, can I be ageist too? You know how old men and old women have that "old person" smell?

          I don't particularly like it :(. The smell that is, I find senior citizens swell on a conversational level, usually.

        • @Guilty Flamez:

          That doesn't make much sense since deodorant doesn't stop you sweating

        • @majord: ya it's weird but may be that's how they think

        • +4

          @majord: I believe a large number of deodourants have anti perspirants included as well.

        • +1
        • @DeafMutePretender: can't agree more!

        • @OZBargain Police:

          Actually my friend said different ethnicities have different smells due to their diets. Apparently Caucasians smell like milk.

        • +1

          @DeafMutePretender: It has been scientifically proven that the skin microbiota of old people change which gives them that distinct smell. Don't know why you have so many downvotes…

        • @lux:

          the skin microbiota of old people change which gives them that distinct smell.

          TIL.

          It has been scientifically proven

          TIL science is ageist.

          Don't know why you have so many downvotes…

          But I only have 2 downvotes? How is 2 "so many"…

          …ohhhhh.

        • -1

          @Beethoven: Lamb chops, actually, is what the Asians are saying about them. 'Sheep', for want of a worse word (is what I've heard) :( :( :(

        • @OZBargain Police: Cheese smelling French shelf stackers!

        • @Michael15286:

          True.. Personally though I only spray a small under arms, which is enough. I wouldn't imagine if they did the same it wouldn't affect their total sweat output enough to bother them, surely? (yet a least tame the bad odor)

        • @Guilty Flamez:
          Can I add something to clarify some of the misconceptions,most of the Indians bath every day some times twice because of religious and cultural reasons and thus assume they are not going have body odour. The strong spices in their food also contribute to the BO.

          The following is from my assumption that in India when someone uses a perfume people assume that they didn't take bath. Another assumption is that they want to differentiate themselves from people following one of the middle eastern religion whom tend to use very strong perfumes.(Olden days people can identify the background of a person by the perfume they use).

          Things are changing and people started to realise about BO because of long working hours or traveling and started to use perfumes.
          People from the subcontinent tend to use traditional fragrances which most of the westerners not used to, which again contributes to the misconception.

          (http://www.incenseaustralia.com.au/perfumes.php)

          I noticed that the international students from the subcontinent working for lower wages and long hours some times more than 12hours a day and their poor hygiene contributes to general assumption.

    • +15

      KFL in springvale have loads of photos of theives and tries to shame them. Being chinese owned, the description is funny and unintentionally discrimintive.

      eg: "This OLD White women is banned for SHOPLIFTING!"

      • +11

        That's probably my grandma, sorry

      • yeah but the population featured is quite a mix of ethnicities, nobody is spared ^^ public shaming doesn't seem to be a deterrant

    • That's a good idea cause, a big screen full of screaming bogan's wielding legs of lamb and an attitude. Nothing could go wrong…

    • +1

      Not really. Would you shop at a place that names and shames their customers? Even if the majority of people are honest, I bet most of them would be anxious.

      • Why would anyone be anxious if they aren't guilty of any crime? Would you rather the persistent thieve doesn't get shamed and keeps doing it so that ultimately the supermarket's losses result in higher priced items for the honest shoppers? I say name and shame - my local IGA does it too. Color photos pasted at the checkout counter to teach the thief a lesson - bet he/she'd never shop there again, no loss for the store.

        • +2

          Why would anyone be anxious if they aren't guilty of any crime?

          That's like saying people shouldn't be against the government tracking their internet usage. Just because they may not necessarily be guilty of anything, it doesn't mean the idea is warranted.

      • +1

        Yes I would shop there. Shaming thieves is the right thing to do.

      • "No Soup for You! Come Back One Year."

    • They also face defamation? lawsuits if they are wrong. This is more a vigilante solution.

    • Would of assumed the said person who stole, would also throw something at the big screen, Can't imagine how much it would cost to replace a 100"

      lol.

    • 100" screen? Sure if you had 40k to mess around with, probably less costly to advertise the person's face on a billboard and call em "Theif". But more importantly what decade is this? Put that shit on social; media for God's sake!! Upload it on you tube, Facebook, tag em on Instagram and tweet them out on twitter if you have enough. followers.

  • -3

    I am usually honest, however I must admit to occasionally scanning Pink Lady Apples as a cheaper variety or something similar, just cos you can.

    However, if I had seen a chick scanning Lamb as onions I would have called her out on it, not just spoken to the attendant.

    • +7

      …would you call it out if it was a big tattooed bikie? lol

      • +18

        Maybe in my younger days when I was capable of running faster

      • +10

        @hv

        I bought a tattooed bikie at woolies and scanned it as pink lady apples. He was none to pleased.

      • hv, I wanna upvote you x 3000000.

    • Not too sure but lamb is always pre-weighted & priced?

      • She must have chosen to weigh it and put it on the weigher like it was fruit or veg, that is the scam

        • +1

          *scales

        • Yeah, just thought it was quite obvious to self weigh something in a deli/meat dept wrapping. Well who gives a toss if the machine doesn't yell.

        • +2

          @swiggity swag: Lamb is a mammal, only reptiles have scales.

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