‘Physically try and stop me,’ fumes Walmart shopper after refusing receipt check – policy means they should ‘get paid’
A WALMART customer is up in arms about how she was treated after being asked to show a greeter her receipt.
Walmart’s controversial receipt checks have been the subject of several online rants and debates across all social media platforms.
Walmart’s receipt checkers have been the subject of many rants from customers (stock image)Getty
One shopper took to Facebook to complain about being asked to show her receipt (stock image)Getty
According to the customer, she would refuse to show the receipt saying they would have to “physically try and stop me from walking out.”
“When they say they need to see my receipt I’m like yeah not today,” the shopper seethed on Facebook.
“I haven’t even received my first check from being my own checkout.”
Morrow further stated, “Anything farther from that I let them know I have worked retail my whole life, go ahead and physically try and stop me from walking out.”
The woman’s statement was met with mixed reactions.
“Try handing them the receipt and keep walking…. priceless,” one user snarked.
One person slammed the original poster, adding that she should just “go to a register with a person.”
“That’s not right,” a second person chastised.
“They’re employees just going their jobs. Why make it a big deal? The world needs less of this.”
Walmart has come under fire several times for its receipt checkers and self-checkout machines.
Legality of receipt checks and detention
In an effort to curtail retail crime, stores are increasingly turning to receipt checks as shoppers exit.
Legally, stores can ask to see a customer’s receipts, and membership-only stores have the right to demand such checks if shoppers agreed to terms and conditions that authorize it.
Many legal professionals have weighed in and come to similar conclusions, caveating that all states do have specific laws.
Generally speaking, stores have Shopkeeper’s Privilege laws that allow them to detain a person until authorities arrive when they have reasonable suspicion that a crime, like theft, has been committed.
Declining to provide a receipt is not a reason in itself for a store to detain a customer, they must have further reason to suspect a shopper of criminal activity.
Due to the recent nature of the receipt checks, there is little concrete law on the legality of the practice, as it takes time for law to catch up with technology.
Setliff Law, P.C. claims that “there is no definitive case law specifically relating to refusal to produce a receipt for purchases.”
For stores that improperly use their Shopkeeper’s Privilege, they could face claims of false imprisonment.
“The primary law that applies to these types of wrongful detention cases is called ‘False Imprisonment’,” explained Hudson Valley local attorney Alex Mainetti.
“Of course, you’re not literally imprisoned, but you’re detained by a person who has no lawful authority to detain you and/or wrongfully detains a customer.”
It is likely that as altercations in stores over receipt checks continue, more court cases will occur giving clearer definitions and boundaries to the legality of receipt checks.
In one instance, a Walmart shopper revealed that he left his cart in the middle of the store after he realized that the only checkout lanes available were the self-checkout ones.
“I will not use self-checkout. I went to a Walmart that did not have a single breathing checker, only helpers in the self-check line,” the person wrote in a post on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, earlier this month.
“I left my buggy sitting there and walked out,” they concluded.
The customer’s post was in response to a social media thread asking users what the worst part of grocery shopping was.
One user agreed with the man.
“I won’t shop at a store that doesn’t have actual checkout people,” one responded.
“I don’t get paid to be a cashier. Fk Walmart,” he added scathingly.
Other users have claimed that they have been forced to pay to use the brand’s self-service stations.
The outrage began in February when shoppers noted that many self-checkout lanes had been designated for shoppers who subscribed to the Walmart+ program and Spark delivery drivers.
“So now Walmart wanna close the self-checkout to try and get you to buy the membership? Honestly. I’m done with Walmart. F**k yall,” blasted one shopper on X.
Walmart representatives clarified the change was not intended to ramp up subscriptions to the $98 yearly membership, but rather was a move by individual store managers based on customer traffic.
“It is not intended to increase the Walmart+ memberships,” Walmart spokesperson Joe Pennington previously told The U.S. Sun.
Another representative claimed the kiosks may sometimes be designated to shoppers with Walmart+ memberships, but the self-checkout lanes are not entirely reserved for these customers.
Some Walmart shoppers have found only the self-checkout lanes available in-storeGetty
Walmart has come under fire for its receipt checkers and self-checkout machinesGetty
Receipt checks have become a controversial part of the shopping experience for many (stock image)Getty
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