Scan your receipt to exit? Loblaw facing backlash as it tests receipt scanners at self-checkout

A few years ago I remember a solution to problems like this. The store would hire a person and that person would ensure all items a customer had in their cart were scanned. That person would then also help in processing the payment for those items. In exchange for this service the person would collect a wage from the store.

Brilliant! We could call it a... yob?
- I'm thinking a rob, because it robs the poor poor shareholders of profits

"Organized retail crime across the entire industry is a serious issue, and has only gotten worse," said spokesperson Catherine Thomas. She did not provide data to back up the claim.

Riiiight

Is she talking about how Loblaws is essentially an organized crime outfit?
- The grocery cartel.
Yes this statement was quite frankly hilarious. I'm certain that the mafia has moved onto stealing bread for black-market redistribution. Or maybe they themselves can no longer afford to shop at Lowblaws.
- You know times are tough when even the mafia isn't recession proof.
"You can trust us to know this," she went on to say. "We're the criminals, after all!"
Nah, she's being truthful. The retail stores have illegally collaborated in secret to raise prices to criminal levels, which is a serious issue.

Customers who go through self-checkout must use the device to scan their receipt's barcode — confirming that they paid something — which opens a metal gate, letting them leave.

How is that supposed to help at all in stopping theft? "Oh, you paid for something, you definitely aren't leaving with anything you didn't pay for." I can't see a way "organized crime" could possibly work around that. /s

Its the DRM of shopping.
Impacts legit customers, does very little for everyone else.
After the media hype of a shoplifting crime spree hitting world wide, i imagine this is some businesses answer to that, and they managed to sell it to supermarkets
Yeah, as much as I think this is a stupid idea I don't think it's as bad as Walmart trying to implement Costco style receipt checkers. The less human involvement the more I'm likely to screw up and miss scanning something. Definitely by accident obviously, I wouldn't want to steal from a faceless corporation that only reluctantly employs anyone.
- Small caveat, but Walmart isn't copying Costco. Sam's Club has always done the receipt checking, too, and Walmart/Sam's Club are owned by the same people. So in a way, they're bringing their Sam's Club behavior over into general Walmart. What makes this infuriating is not only being treated like a thief and having to go through more steps to get out of the fucking store, but I didn't pay for any perks or sign any contract that allows you to search my shit.

During the pandemic they forgot to close the store for the entire long weekend and people could just walk in with no employees there at all.

During that time, people grabbed what they needed and left the money at an unattended register.

I'm cynical enough that I suspect these anti-theft measures are an attempt to get people thinking "there must be a lot of theft these days, so the high prices make sense. The government is responsible for crime, not Loblaws".

I've stopped shopping at Loblaw's as they have make it increasingly clear that they don't care at all about their customers. I used to actually be a big fan, they had good selection and their house bands were actually pretty good. But I'm tired of continuously being treated like a criminal as they continue to cut costs and raise prices. Their self-checkout stands must be the most user-hostile thing ever. I actually enjoy using self checkouts when they don't suck. Have you used self-checkout at IKEA? Absolutely pleasurable. You just grab the scanner and go beep-beep-beep and you are done in like 3 seconds. But Loblaw's is like beep, place item in bagging area, wait for the bagging scale to stabilize, beep, wait for scale, beep, out of space try to put something on the floor, YOU HAVE ANGERED THE SCALE!!! LOCKING WHOLE UNIT UNTIL ATTENDANT COMES!!!, a minute the attendant—who is clearly also tired of these hostile machines—unlocks it without even looking at the error or what you have "stolen", then I can continue scanning hoping that I don't anger it again. When I am done it asks how many bags I used, they don't even have bags anymore. Then it asks if I want to make a charitable donation in their name, go away and donate yourself and I'll donate on my own. Finally I can pay. And now I have the pleasure being locked in until I scan my receipt.

Also who is this stopping? If I want to steal something I'm not going to sticker-swap or try to sneak it on the scale. I'm just going to leave it in the bag and never scan it. What happens if I didn't buy anything, am I going to be allowed out? Are they going to demand to pat me down? They don't have the right to do that.

I'm tired of this shit, I've recently been shopping at Farm Boy and they have a nice human who quickly scans my stuff and I am on my way. It isn't even any more expensive for most things. (though they do frequently lack bulk options which can result in a higher price.) I have the luxury of being able to pretty freely choose where I shop, and I appreciate that no everyone has that privilege, but I've started shopping mostly based on how they treat me. Loblaws and Canadian Tire can fuck right off, they treat me like a criminal. Shoppers and Amazon are bad, but not awful. IKEA and Farm Boy treat me like an actual human who's time and experience is valued, so they get my money.

I don't know if it's everywhere, but there's a Decathlon store near me that has RFID on everything. When you get to the register, you just chuck everything in the box and it shows you what you need to pay. Take something out of the box, and it takes it out of your purchases.

10/10 self-checkout experience.
- An old IBM commercial:
  
  https://youtu.be/wzFhBGKU6HA?si=NX5vVi6QhSPOOFTS
- Same thing at Uniqlo
They can't legally force you to show a receipt. From recent article on it.

it’s important for consumers to know receipt-checks are not enforceable by law and customers can decline and walk away, said Alex Colangelo, lawyer and business law professor at Humber College. Police officers have the power to arrest … but store security and loss-prevention officers are regular people. They have much more limited powers of arrest under the criminal code,” Colangelo said. “They can ask you to show your receipt and you can consensually allow them to do it. But there is no power or authority to detain you if you say no.”

Detaining someone who has not committed a crime can result in legal issues for retailers, Colangelo said, adding that a customer would “be able to sue for false imprisonment.”
- Yeah. Basically they can't stop you from leaving the store unless they have strong evidence that you committed a crime. Not showing a receipt is not strong evidence. Probably string evidence would be they saw you pick something up and followed you to the door without paying.
  
  Apparently one exception may be Costco because they make you sign an agreement before entering. But I don't think this has ever been tried in court.

My local zehrs setup those one-way gates that everyone just ignores. I've never stolen from them and yet I'm treated like a criminal.

Whats criminal is $9 for ground beef.

Whats criminal is $9 for ground beef.

With the amount of effort it takes to raise the cow, and the amount of environmental damage it does, beef only costing $9 per pound is almost criminal.
- While true, I think the point here is that Loblaw collects a high margin irrespective of the beef's cost to make. But yes, the cost of meat has been historically absurdly low. Another example of the market not pricing in externalities.
- People buying the premium cuts pay for the cow. Ground beef is the parts they can't sell as steak or roast or stir fry
  
  It should be cheap
  
  Low fat ground beef should be a little more expensive as trimming the fat before grinding takes skilled time

People leave grocery stores without buying anything all the time. The self-checkout area is usually the easiest way to leave because there's lots of empty space. I don't see what they can possibly accomplish with this.

I already hated shopping at Superstore. What they accomplished was turning me into a broken glass shopper.
Walmart had stuff like this, so when leaving with nothing bought, i would walk up to the chrome fence and duck and sidestep through it. A Fence with giant holes does nothing to stop somebody who wants to shoplift, it just make life hard for the majority of honest people
I guess it would be easier to leave through it since nobody is watching you leave. That's probably the idea

Customers who go through self-checkout must use the device to scan their receipt's barcode — confirming that they paid something — which opens a metal gate, letting them leave.

How can scanning a receipt prove that you scanned all the items, and are leaving with only what you paid for?

Also, how does this locking metal gate fall under the municipal fire code?

It is probably wired up to the fire alarm like many emergency exits are. They typically fail-open so that if the wire is cut or the power goes out they can be opened without trouble.

Stupid idea, but probably not a major fire risk.
- It is probably wired up to the fire alarm like many emergency exits are.
  
  And if there's no fire alarm? Maybe an active shooter or other situation that causes a stampede of people to try to leave the store?
  
  Seems like an unnecessary risk to public safety in the name of loss-prevention.
  
  These gates, if they plan to use them, should only lock if a security tag has not been deactivated (triggering an alarm).
  
  The way it seems to be designed is that everyone is guilty of theft until proven they haven't stolen anything. And it doesn't seem like scanning the receipt actually proves this.
The article makes it sound like you can push the gate open without a receipt, it will just set off an alarm.

All of this crap to avoid paying for a few cashiers.

3rd mansions aren't going to pay for themselves, yo!

At my local Loblaws store they installed stupid metal barriers all around the store entrance and checkout last year. Whereas I previously always returned my cart to the corral at the entrance, that area is now blocked off and it would be annoying to exit.

Now carts, including mine, are just left to pile up randomly near the door until an employee comes around.

Am I the only one who is more annoyed by the lack of efficiency for the consumer. Integrate the checkouts into the exits if you want to do this.

That’s how it works in Swedish grocery stores

At self checkouts I get it, its annoying but at least makes sense. But there is a Willy's grocery store near where I live where they do that for the normal cashier checkout too. I forget every time I need to keep my receipt to get out. That's just bullshit.

"Organized retail crime across the entire industry is a serious issue, and has only gotten worse," said spokesperson Catherine Thomas. She did not provide data to back up the claim.

Put up or shut up. I hope Catherine Thomas steps on a Lego.

Also everyone should just keep doing what the old people do and go through the gates without scanning.

I won't scan shit. They have the damn receipt already. Read that.
- I guess they're trying to protect themselves from me pulling random receipt from the 200 that live in my wallet I'll never do anything with.

Simple answer is to stop using the self checkout. If loblaws is stupid enough to let people scan their own items, then what do they expect? That’s like calling the insurance company to report a stolen vehicle and saying you left the keys in, the engine running and the door open.

If people don’t want to scan a receipt then everyone should stop using self checkout.

Sounds more like poor self-checkout design.

All the stores I've been to with self-checkout require placing your just scanned item into the bag on a scale. If the weight change doesn't match what it expects, it locks up and requires a store employee to check and clear it.

Downside is, it has problems with very light items.
- it has problems with very light items.
  
  If it doesn't work well on EVERY SINGLE ITEM in the store than the system is not designed well. Problem is that getting that last 1% of items to scan properly would probably increase the cost of the units or their software by more than a store is willing to pay. Your struggle costs them nothing.
- Sounds more like companies refusing to pay a human and relying on robots and the honor system. Doesnt matter how heavy or light items are if a cashier is ensuring every item gets scanned.
  
  The problems with self check outs are caused by the self check outs and corporate greed.
- My local supermarket (one of the big two Aussie ones) has this neat technology
  
  You can skip bagging things you buy, you can bag/weigh some things and not others, you can refuse a receipt
  
  They protect themselves by having a staff member in the self checkout area
The only up side of self checkout in my area is that everyone is either too stupid or frightened to use it (still pretty new), so they still queue at the cashiers while the checkouts sit empty. I skip the queue, use the self checkout and leave the store in less than 5 minutes. Everyone always looks at me as if I'm some sort of wizard. It's even faster with app scanning.
- I don't use it unless I have to but thats because its bs. friggin system needs to call in a person because I bought more than 6 2litter sodas. not to mention F these guys, give me a discount if I do it myself but no that is reserved for folks who accept the tracking app and cede their privacy to the almighty corp.
Don't forget to tip your cashier 100% when they tell you too.

Don't forget to only use Loblaws credit cards because they told you too

Parking now costs $150 an hour

You must now rent your shopping cart from Loblaws and you pay based on the amount of total weight that was put inside. Your own children sitting into he cart will also affect the cost.

You must now mop and sweep after you go through an isle.

Don't fight it...just comply

This is common practice here in Germany. All self checkouts I used have a gate requiring the receipt scan. I wasn’t aware that it’s controversial elsewhere. Seems only logical to avoid having personnel monitoring the exit, defeating the purpose of self checkouts.

I remember these from other EU countries as well. Seems reasonable enough.

Some larger stores in Germany have this. It's super annoying if you don't buy anything, and have to ask to be let out or wait until someone else leaves.

I just climb through the holes like a jungle gym. It's stupid.
Can't you just walk out the staffed checkout aisles without a receipt, or are they receipt-gated too?
They are usually easy to push through. They have to be in case of emergency

There is no way I would fucken do this.

We've had these in Finland at some stores. Seems to work fine imo. Sometimes I forget I put the receipt in my pocket and it's annoying but usually I do that mistake once and next time I remember.

The one in Woodstock was short lived, I hope it stays gone.

Arent the self check outs right next to the exit anyways? At least here in germany they are so it really is a non issue to just carry them 1 metre and scan them. They have a bin right outside so you can throw them away then.

I wonder what happens if you go in, don't find what you wanted and decide to leave without a reciept?

Y'all, just bust that gate down and keep walking. The alarm gives you extra style points.

Its clear the law is not going to enforce justice, and justice needs to be taken into our own hands.

This is great if we can find a way to exploit it. Otherwise it's just saving pennies on the dollar and costing people jobs so the elite can get another .000001% income. Not worth it. But they're arrogant pricks and won't see it that way :)

I hate this "costing people jobs". It is a sign of our broken society.

If this gate suitably replaces someone standing there we should implement it, raise taxes .000001% and put that money towards welfare/UBI. I'd rather just give people money than forcing them to do a useless job. Of course our society doesn't function nearly well enough for this to actually happen.

In this case the problem isn't the lost job but that this gate is an inconvenience for every shopper. They are wasting my time because it saves them .000001%.
- What seems to actually happen is that they implement this, raise taxes .000001% on the working class, and put that money towards ~~more corporate welfare~~ technology grants for the companies that implemented it.