Viral Anti Self Checkout Copy / Paste Message on Facebook - Is There an Opposite View Message Going around?

I'm sure we have all seen this diarrhea (below message) being posting on Facebook.

Does anyone know if there is a copy / paste contrary opinion message going around also that I can post instead. I could not disagree more. It's not your right to decide how a business utilises their store. It's all bs anyway - they're not exclusively self checkout and I've never had my receipt seriously looked at. I avoid cashiers as much as I can because most of the time they are rude, continue chatting with their co workers and are useless at their job.

"Dear Woolworths Coles, Bunnings and all other stores that have self checkout —
You are almost exclusively self-checkout now. The last time I was there the lady checking receipts at the exit stopping everyone.
I didn't choose to participate in that nonsense, so I just skipped the exit line and left. I heard her saying "Miss, Um Miss” as I kept walking and raised the receipt above my head, leaving the store.
You can either trust me to do self-checkout, or you can put your cashiers back in place like it used to be. I'm not interested in proving that I did your job for you. You want me to be a cashier with no training then that's your problem not mine. Don’t Audit me for a position you refuse to employ any longer. "

Comments

          • +2

            @trapper: Not sure why you're being downvoted, you're technically correct. As per other threads, no person can forcibly search your property. You are allowed to violate their conditions of entry when you exit by not allowing a bag search, just as they are allowed to ban you from entering ever again.

            They can detain you and call the police according to the law, but there are too many risks involved for the detainer for that to really happen.

            • +1

              @Kill Joy: They cannot detain you for refusing a bag search or breaking any other conditions of entry.

              • +1

                @trapper: Sorry i wasn't clear;

                they can detain you if they have witnessed you stealing, but will face legal repercussions even if you have if for whatever reason you are found not guilty.

              • -1

                @trapper: They can't force you to do anything but can sure can detain you until the police arrives. Only a fool would detain someone for so long is they weren't 100% sure of them shop lifting though :)

                • -1

                  @kaleidoscope: You were asking if stores are allowed to enforce a bag search as a 'condition of entry'. The answer is no they can't.

                  If they catch someone actually committing a crime this is a totally different situation, and yes they can detain that person then.

                • +1

                  @kaleidoscope: For example, see Myer v Soo [1991] 2 VR 597.

  • +6

    I distinctly remember how much of a wait there was to get through checkouts before they introduced self service. The current arrangement is much better, and I don't feel like im being judged for whatever it is I buy. This is prob also good for anyone who is a bit shy when it comes to buying stuff like anusol or condoms or tampons etc.

    • +2

      I think the wait is worse because — at least at some of the stores I've been to — they are so keen to cut down on labor costs they are only willing to open a few checkouts.

      As a result the shopping experience sucks, so many people congesting the front of the store waiting to check out with noisy kids etc.

    • +1

      Very much agreed. The only time I've had to wait in a line since the introduction of self checkout is at Costco where they don't have it.
      And I'm always standing there frustrated wondering how we ever lived like this everyday

  • +1

    A few weeks ago I did a little shop at woolies, and I have selected in everyday rewards to not print a receipt.

    I can operate this things pretty quick, and pay before anyone has noticed. And that did happen. As I was leaving the team member asked “excuse me are you going to pay for that?”

    I turned around, said “I already have” as she was furiously trying to log into the machine. While doing this, she demanded “show me the receipt”… I just kept walking….

    • +3

      Yeah so why are they offering a no receipt option and then want to check receipts? Lol

      I don't think someone in HO thought this through

    • +3

      They call him lightning-mcself checkout, the quickest card payer in the west.

  • +1

    Why would you stay friends with anyone who copy & pastes anything on Facebook? or is the 'gotta friend em all' facebook friends still a thing in 2022?

  • +6

    Dear stores that don't have self checkouts, please add self checkout.

    Yours sincerely,
    - A person that prefers self checkouts

  • Unless I have a specific reason I never take my receipts anyway. So if they want mine they will most likely be out of luck lol

  • +1

    The only time they ever want to stop me is when I buy a carton of Coke. They always "need to check something" or have some other load of garbage excuse. After the first few times I said to the old hag (she really is, and she always seems to be on self checkout when I shop lol) you see me all the time and you haven't caught me stealing yet, give it a rest. She acted all confused and pretended she didn't know what I was talking about but funnily enough she has never asked to check my receipt since.

  • +7

    It’s pretty sad that people are so defensive and retaliatory about simple quick requests that are actually in our interest. It’s like morons who ask cops nowadays “am I free to leave” instead of just answering the enquiry that could be helping prevent crime in the area.

    Sure, you may have the ‘right,’ but it would be better if you just DO what’s right. Instead of being a twat, entering a private space with no intention of following their conditions, making a minimum wage workers job difficult, and making society a worse place to live.

    These brief interactions are clearly posted as conditions of entry, and cooperating helps keep shoplifting down. Just having someone briefly look over a docket or glance at a bag is not even an inconvenience, but that brief moment deters a great number of opportunistic thieves who might not otherwise try their luck.

    Woolies and Coles don’t just absorb theft. Store losses are passed on to the rest of us through higher prices.

    • Any shoplifter will just say no thanks and just walk out the door. So what's the point.

      • +3

        That’s simply not true. Most shoplifters will baulk at any confrontation, so a simple check deters a great majority of them. These billion dollar companies don’t just employ people to do tasks for fun, they’ve done the research.

      • +2

        Of course seasoned shoplifters won't be bothered by it because they've already got the stolen goods stashed away and know how to act during a check, but the majority of supermarket shoplifters are amateurs stealing petty stuff for the thrill of it, who will be scared off by or caught with bag checks

        Because you need different shoplifting prevention strategies for different types of shoplifters, and whether you like it or not conducting bag checks is probably the most effective legal way to reduce petty theft

  • +1

    Make a fuss about it if the staff request a routine check. Tell the staff they have no right to check your belonging now that you have paid for it and say you do not agree with the company policy of been inspected hence, you are leaving the store. That will teach the poor staff who is just trying to do their job.

    • You forgot the '/s' - this will definitely fly over a few heads.

  • Store security has existed long before self-checkouts, it's not like the former exists because of the latter. It's not a big deal to show your receipt on your way out. The other option is the stores raise their prices to account for increased theft. shrug

    The only instance that mildly irritated me was at Big W Hurstville. I had to go there twice in a week and the same person posted to security checked not only every item against the receipt and requested I open my bag, but also made me take my stuff out of my bag until she'd seen everything that was in there. That's a bit overkill and probably crosses the mark if it happens all the damn time, but I just brushed it off as someone overstudious at their job and moved on.

  • +1

    The opposite viewpoint of this copy pasta would be as much dribble as it so what would be the point? As with most things the sane view point is often somewhere in the middle not at the end of one extreme or another.

    I'm curious to know what you think you'd be accomplishing by having something to paste in response when you see such posts?

    • Exactly!

      Fancy being triggered by a facebook post and then going to a bargain site to ask for a copy/paste retort

  • +7

    Has no one mentioned KMart yet? Let's move the checkouts to the middle of the store and then have someone ask to see your receipt at the exit because those two areas are completely disconnected and invisible from one another.

    Another stupid design decision that doesn't work in real life.

    • Works for JB HI FI, no one gets angry at them

  • Out of all the stores I've been to in Queensland only been 2 that ask for receipt when exiting. Never had someone check trolley while shopping, maybe an interstate thing?

    1. Bunnings (very rare but they look / scan your receipt. Not all the time)
    2. Costco 100%, you need to show your receipt before you leave…. long queues sometimes because of this
  • +3

    I choose wether to self checkout of get it done by a person by the attractiveness of the checkout chicks.

    • +1

      The more attractive they are, the more nervous you get, so you pick the machines?

  • -1

    People crying about nothing as usual.

    • -2

      Keep complaining about KFC apps, clown.

      • that's the best you got? lol

  • There is no rationality to the situation, but do remember over the pandemic they were given absolute exemptions in the business to print money. They did not pass on any savings at that time and they continue to not pass on savings in the current inflationary market. Hence they are happy to pay dividends to shareholders.

    Before trying to edge the community out on they did this they did that, could've would should've. Remember big business isn't your friend, don't let them gas light you on what is 'fair'.

  • Rational response:

    • Unfollow them and move on
    • If it's on your posts/photos, shadow block them - set up default permissions so they don't see your posts
    • Unfriend

    If it's someone you care about, have a discussion in person.

    Irrational response:

    • Take them further down the rabbit hole.
      • "I am a sovereign citizen. That means I have all the rights and none of the conditions of entry apply to me"
      • "When you shop at Colesworths, they use the camera on the self-checkouts to encrypt your image into a Bill Gates controlled covid 5G network blockchain… which is why I live in a faraday cage and grow my own produce"
  • most of the time cashiers are rude…and are useless at their job.

    You should change your username. Saul Goodman would never say or think that.

    Sounds like you have issues. FWIW, I don't use Woolworths self checkout because I don't like having a video camera 30 cm from my face. Coles don't have video cameras in the screens.

    Bunnings - their face scanning biometric data collection is disgusting, and I do what I can to avoid that business. They've already leaked my personal details when their services got hacked, so they really shouldn't be collecting biometric data. No idea why authorities have not told them to stop.

    Bag checks - a farce. They don't even look properly, they're meeting bag check quotas. The worst experience I had was at Chef's Hat in South Melbourne. I purchased something, paid for it at counter. She asked to check my backpack, so I showed her. Then as I left the store, the security guy at door asked to check my backpack again. I said "No thanks I just did that at counter". He replied "Sir I need to check your bag". I started walking away down the street, he followed me, repeating that he had to check my bag. I reluctantly opened my bag, he looked in then walked off. Will never shop at that store again.

  • Maybe supermarkets should employ whatever technology Uniqlo users at their self service checkouts, that just scans everything you dump onto them in one go. Then do the same near the exit to find any discrepancies.

  • If you disagree that's fine, but your feelings does not trump law or people who do or do not participate in bag checks. There are two people, people who exercise their legal right (hopefully in a nice manner to employees) and people who oblige to checks whether it's self-volunteer or being asked.

    Each store is different regarding checking policies and processes but all fall under the same law, I can speak in NSW

    You pretty much need to know this
    1. They can ask but you can say no, it is your legal right
    2. If you do show, they can't touch you, your bag or what's inside your bag. They can ask for you to move stuff, but again, you have the legal right to say no
    3. If you decline for a search, they can ban you from the store
    4. They can ask for a receipt instead of a bag search but it leads to point 1
    5. They can't detain you unless an employee physically seen you on camera or in person putting it in your bag and you didn't check out with it. (Correct me if I'm wrong but it becomes unlawful detain If someone puts the item back, but still detained)

    At the end of the day, alot of people don't know the law which is fine, but that's how companies get away with policies like mandatory bag checking.

    There are forum posts out there revealing managers at woolies sending out a WhatsApp message that employees are forgetting to ask for bag searches. Also stories from employees getting abused for asking.

    It just depends on the store and employee at the time. There are employees who are obedient and loyal they will ask everyone then there are employees who don't care and let you walk out without a bag search.

  • self checkout was ment to save people in CBD supermarkets with 2 lunch time. now truly is thing i used no else open.

  • Facebook is getting less relevant every day!
    Supermarkets knew for way too long that staff interactions caused larger losses than direct theft.
    So the cost of self scanners, minus staff costs plus a few extra stolen items is at the end a huge winner for all retailers.
    Continental Europe got their fair share of self checkout haters. But for shoppers, their fast internet with ultra quick processing is a huge win for the modern shopper.
    Main issue is the retention of choice.
    In India, on every bus ticket the government message at the bottom reads: Please help India getting corruption free by asking for a receipt on EVERY purchase. At least a good chuckle for any outsider!

  • I seem to only get bag-checked at Aldi, or RNG randomly (computer rather than person) when I use Scan and Go, never when using self checkout. I must have lost my bad-boy vibe… could be the pram.

    I can see that it would be slightly annoying if you were overloaded with groceries, or (if like me) you don’t take a receipt, though it is making a mountain out of a molehill.

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