LivingWaterPlease Posted August 31, 2020 Share Posted August 31, 2020 When I was leaving Walmart recently, pushing a cart with four or five bags of groceries  in it, a security guard jumped out from behind a protruding wall near the exit doors, got in my face, and claimed loudly, "You didn't pay for your groceries!" The guy was dressed shabbily, dark grey t shirt, had bad teeth, was very tall and large. It was scary for me to have this big guy in my face yelling at me. I was stunned and can't recall exactly what I replied. Probably something such as, "What are you talking about?" He followed up with asking to see my receipt. I had two which I showed him and then he said I was OK to go. I then told him he should get his facts straight before making accusations, that I have no problem showing my receipt if there's ever a question. He replied that I had been reported by someone as not having paid for the items in my cart. He wouldn't tell me who the person was that reported me. Then he headed back to the manager's office telling me he was going to confront the person who falsely reported it. So I called for the manager who came to meet with me and I recounted the experience to him. He also wouldn't tell me who reported me as having taken items without payment. It really bothers me that someone in the store would do that. I like to shop there for some items, though I shop other places for groceries mainly. It's one of the nicer Walmart stores. I've been in some I wouldn't want to shop at again. And, in fact, there's a nice Walmart store in our city that has a lot of crime in it. But, this one is in a good area of town and the people who work and frequent there are pretty low key. As Walmarts go, it's a nice one. I wonder if there's any way I can find out how they arrived at the conclusion I was shoplifting? It has put a damper on the idea of going back there to shop and I depend on it for some items I buy. I"ve thought of filing a law suit because it was a socially awkward (humiliating) experience but wouldn't that be considered frivolous since the security guard and manager both apologized to me? Interested in thoughts of those with experience in dealing with this type thing. Thanks! Link to post Share on other sites
schlumpy Posted August 31, 2020 Share Posted August 31, 2020 Could it be that the security guard got you mixed up with someone else? If that was true they still wouldn't tell you what happened. The would only apologize which is what they did. If you want some personal satisfaction it's going to be tough to do. No matter what you do Walmart is a giant operation and we are only ants. Have you thought about writing a letter to the district office? Might be worth a discount coupon. 2 Link to post Share on other sites
CautiouslyOptimistic Posted August 31, 2020 Share Posted August 31, 2020 I agree that it was probably a case of mistaken identity. I'm sorry you had to go through this :(.  If it makes you feel any better, or at least makes you giggle, last summer I reported my credit card stolen after getting two emails within about 30 minutes that my card was used at Kohl's and Michael's while I was inside my home making no purchases. An officer from our small local PD came out to my home to take my statement, then went to Kohl's to view the security camera. The next morning when I logged on to Facebook I saw that the police department had a "WANTED: RETAIL THEFT" post and photo up on their page/in my feed about my complaint. It was a photo of my MOM! My poor elderly, godly, innocent and naive mother, just pushing her cart through Kohl's lol! The week before we'd been on vacation in Sedona together, both used our identical looking Chase Amazon cards to pay for dinner our final night, and then picked up the wrong cards. She had mine and I had hers. She had also tried to go to Lowe's and use the card but by that time I had already called Chase and reported it stolen so the card was denied. Ah, we still tease her about the time she appeared on America's Most Wanted!  Do you think they would let you view the Walmart security cam and at least point out to you who the person reported for stealing something, and if it was you, where you were in the store and why there was a misunderstanding? Maybe if you threaten legal action they would.... (I'd want to know, too!) 3 2 1 Link to post Share on other sites
mark clemson Posted August 31, 2020 Share Posted August 31, 2020 Possibly some mildly sociopathic person thought it would be a fun prank. It's completely understandable that you're a bit upset due to the security guard's aggro, but I'd try to let it slide and try not to think too much of it. Life's too short, etc... 2 Link to post Share on other sites
Author LivingWaterPlease Posted August 31, 2020 Author Share Posted August 31, 2020 I hadn't thought of that angle (getting me mixed up with someone else). It happened at night right before closing time and there weren't as many people as usual in the store, thankfully! I have no problem with showing my receipt anytime. I guess the part that is so troubling to me is that the guard made a point of trying to frighten me, it seemed. He got right in my face, a big guy! And he was freaky-looking to me. It's just such an odd thing to happen and had a big effect on me. Link to post Share on other sites
Author LivingWaterPlease Posted August 31, 2020 Author Share Posted August 31, 2020 8 minutes ago, CautiouslyOptimistic said: I agree that it was probably a case of mistaken identity. I'm sorry you had to go through this :(.  If it makes you feel any better, or at least makes you giggle,... Do you think they would let you view the Walmart security cam and at least point out to you who the person reported for stealing something, and if it was you, where you were in the store and why there was a misunderstanding? Maybe if you threaten legal action they would.... (I'd want to know, too!) That's funny, CO! They need a laughing response button on LS! 2 Link to post Share on other sites
CautiouslyOptimistic Posted August 31, 2020 Share Posted August 31, 2020 5 minutes ago, LivingWaterPlease said: I have no problem with showing my receipt anytime. I guess the part that is so troubling to me is that the guard made a point of trying to frighten me, it seemed. He got right in my face, a big guy! And he was freaky-looking to me.  As I was reading your story I thought the ending was going to be that he didn't even work there and was trying to steal all your groceries. 1 Link to post Share on other sites
Author LivingWaterPlease Posted August 31, 2020 Author Share Posted August 31, 2020 7 minutes ago, mark clemson said: Possibly some mildly sociopathic person thought it would be a fun prank. It's completely understandable that you're a bit upset due to the security guard's aggro, but I'd try to let it slide and try not to think too much of it. Life's too short, etc... That was my first reaction, to let it slide. But after telling the manager and him saying he wasn't going to tell me who reported it because he didn't want to cause any problems it irked me. He was thinking of himself, not, me, the customer. I replied to him, "It may be a problem for you guys, but it would be helpful for me to face my accuser."  1 Link to post Share on other sites
Author LivingWaterPlease Posted August 31, 2020 Author Share Posted August 31, 2020 Just now, CautiouslyOptimistic said: As I was reading your story I thought the ending was going to be that he didn't even work there and was trying to steal all your groceries. When he first jumped out at me he sure seemed like someone who was up to no good. He looked so sleezy.  1 1 Link to post Share on other sites
Luna66star Posted August 31, 2020 Share Posted August 31, 2020 How humiliating to go through this experience, especially when you know you are innocent! Did you notice anyone lingering around you around in the store while you were shopping? Do you have any enemies, like someone who might have a grudge against you? Acquaintances, co-workers, friends, family members? It sounds like maybe someone in the store misread your behavior in some way?? What a horrible experience though. I would be totally shaken up for sure and want to find out who was responsible for falsely reporting me.  1 Link to post Share on other sites
major_merrick Posted September 1, 2020 Share Posted September 1, 2020 Really strange. From what I've noticed, Walmart's loss-prevention people are pretty easy to identify, and don't wear sleazy gray t-shirts. And they aren't confrontational. I'd for sure write a complaint to the district, or send it to their Home Office in Bentonville, AR. Back in my poverty-stricken youth, I actually shoplifted a fair bit from Walmart. **You do what you gotta do when you aren't old enough to work, but have a starving sibling to feed.** Most people are not observant enough to notice a shoplifter. At least, not a skilled shoplifter. And those who do notice probably don't care enough about the profit margin of the Big Blue Devil to report it. I'd say that someone was either pulling a prank or had malicious intent. Since it was reported to private security, you basically have no recourse. If it went to the cops, then you could press charges for filing a false police report. 2 Link to post Share on other sites
CautiouslyOptimistic Posted September 1, 2020 Share Posted September 1, 2020 56 minutes ago, major_merrick said: Really strange. From what I've noticed, Walmart's loss-prevention people are pretty easy to identify, and don't wear sleazy gray t-shirts. And they aren't confrontational. I'd for sure write a complaint to the district, or send it to their Home Office in Bentonville, AR. Back in my poverty-stricken youth, I actually shoplifted a fair bit from Walmart. **You do what you gotta do when you aren't old enough to work, but have a starving sibling to feed.** Most people are not observant enough to notice a shoplifter. At least, not a skilled shoplifter. And those who do notice probably don't care enough about the profit margin of the Big Blue Devil to report it. I'd say that someone was either pulling a prank or had malicious intent. Since it was reported to private security, you basically have no recourse. If it went to the cops, then you could press charges for filing a false police report. I'm not skilled enough to notice a loss prevention employee lol! What do they usually look like? 1 Link to post Share on other sites
schlumpy Posted September 1, 2020 Share Posted September 1, 2020 My wife and I were very young and we into a bargain shoe store. I was waiting when she ran up to me all excited showing a pair of leather shoes priced at five dollars. The look in her eyes was of triumph. Over to the counter we went and then the clerk looked at shoes, reached in and pulled off a price tag to see 20 dollar price tag underneath. Every employee in the store was staring at us. I knew exactly what they were thinking and so did my wife. The clerk told her the new price and my wife calmly replied she not being taking the shoes at that price. We then turned walked out. Since we had not done anything, we only suffered a bit of embarrassment because we had been judged guilty so quickly. After talking about It we both agreed it was an interesting learning experience but we NEVER went back there again. The store name just came back to me. It was a Payless Shoe store. I think they are long gone from our area at least. 1 Link to post Share on other sites
major_merrick Posted September 1, 2020 Share Posted September 1, 2020 (edited) 23 minutes ago, CautiouslyOptimistic said: I'm not skilled enough to notice a loss prevention employee lol! What do they usually look like? The obvious ones who check receipts at the exits wear yellow Walmart vests. The plainclothes ones usually wear khaki pants and a button-up shirt. Loss prevention is usually expected to present a decent appearance, precisely to avoid the kind of experience the OP had. They are also supposed to be trained in conflict resolution. If I had somebody surprise me, shout at me, get in my personal space, and do that while looking as scruffy as what the OP described....they'd be rolling on the floor in pain within 2.5 seconds. I wouldn't assume they were loss prevention, I'd assume they were trying to assault me. Edited September 1, 2020 by major_merrick 2 Link to post Share on other sites
Author LivingWaterPlease Posted September 1, 2020 Author Share Posted September 1, 2020 Thanks, Luna and Major. No, I don't have any enemies that I know of.  I tend to be friendly with people where I shop (not hang out with them, but just be kind to them). I have two ideas of what may have happened but don't like to assume anything, just as I don't appreciate them assuming, falsely, something about me that wasn't true. I like to deal in facts not assumptions. When I was checking my things out at the self checkout I got to the last item, a watermelon. It had a bad spot on it so I told the young lady there who was overseeing the area that I was going to get a different one, pointing out the bad spot.  She said, "OK, just leave your cart here." It had bagged groceries in it that I hadn't paid for yet.  I told her that I preferred to take my cart with me to get a different watermelon. She then said, "I'll get your watermelon then." And I told her, "I like to choose my own watermelons." So, she began to walk with me to the watermelon section which was fine with me. But, she didn't stay with me. I didn't think anything of it, chose a melon and went back to the self checkout where I scanned it and paid for all the groceries. On my way out, I remembered I'd been meaning to buy some cottage cheese. So I took my cart with paid-for groceries in it and headed to the back of the store where the cottage cheese was. On the way back I picked up a couple of cans of baked beans. Then walked back to the self check out and paid for the items I'd just gotten. So I had two receipts, not just one. When I paid for the second items the watermelon was in the top of the cart where little kids can sit. So, even though I'd already paid for it, if someone was watching through the machine they may have seen me checking out the second time and not seen the other paid-for items in the cart already, but have seen the watermelon in the child seat (since it was up higher in proximity to the screen which has a camera on it,) and noticed I didn't scan it, not realizing I'd already been through once. So, it could have been security watching through the screen and assuming I didn't scan the watermelon. Or it could have been the young lady who wanted me to leave my cart there when I got the watermelon as I checked out my first batch of groceries. Maybe she thought I was trying to steal a watermelon and went back and told management that. If either, the manager could have just told me, "Oh, we saw the watermelon in your cart and didn't notice you scanning it" or something like that. But they were very secretive about why they thought I'd shoplifted. That's the part that bothers me the most. The young lady who originally didn't want me to get the watermelon myself was a different color than I am. So possibly the manager didn't want to tell me it was she because he didn't want any racial problems. Which wouldn't have been an issue with me but maybe they're super sensitive about it right now with all the racial unrest in the country, I don't know. He did say he didn't want to reveal who it was because they didn't want to have any problems. 1 Link to post Share on other sites
Author LivingWaterPlease Posted September 1, 2020 Author Share Posted September 1, 2020 24 minutes ago, schlumpy said: My wife and I were very young and we into a bargain shoe store. I was waiting when she ran up to me all excited showing a pair of leather shoes priced at five dollars. The look in her eyes was of triumph... The store name just came back to me. It was a Payless Shoe store. I think they are long gone from our area at least. Very interesting experience, schlumpy! Thanks for sharing! I get it. I'm having trouble thinking of going back into the store. Not just because I was falsely accused, but because in addition to it they won't explain how it happened. Link to post Share on other sites
Author LivingWaterPlease Posted September 1, 2020 Author Share Posted September 1, 2020 13 minutes ago, major_merrick said: The obvious ones who check receipts at the exits wear yellow Walmart vests. The plainclothes ones usually wear khaki pants and a button-up shirt. Loss prevention is usually expected to present a decent appearance, precisely to avoid the kind of experience the OP had. They are also supposed to be trained in conflict resolution. If I had somebody surprise me, shout at me, get in my personal space, and do that while looking as scruffy as what the OP described....they'd be rolling on the floor in pain within 2.5 seconds. I wouldn't assume they were loss prevention, I'd assume they were trying to assault me. Wish you'd have been there, MM! LOL, sorry to laugh but I like the idea of you punching the guy! He was tall and large, looking as if he works out regularly. His shirt was dark grey and he had some kind of necklace on. I think he had gold in at least one tooth and might have been missing another.  Pretty sure he had on blue jeans. His hair was fairly short, medium brown. And he had lots of tattoos, but many people do these days. He and I are both caucasion. I point that out because I mentioned the girl who may have reported me was of a different race so that may have been why they didn't want me to know it, if she was actually the one who reported it. When he apologized he put his hand on my back! I told him then, "Don't touch me!" I'd really like to know if they assumed it from watching through the machine or if the girl told them. Because that way I'd be careful with the machines from now on. Link to post Share on other sites
Wiseman2 Posted September 1, 2020 Share Posted September 1, 2020 They have security cameras and personnel who walk around under cover. You have no case because you were not arrested, just asked to present your receipt. Your only recourse is to not shop at Walmart and support a company whose ethos and policies offend you. 1 Link to post Share on other sites
Author LivingWaterPlease Posted September 1, 2020 Author Share Posted September 1, 2020 1 hour ago, major_merrick said: Really strange. From what I've noticed, Walmart's loss-prevention people are pretty easy to identify, and don't wear sleazy gray t-shirts. And they aren't confrontational. I'd for sure write a complaint to the district, or send it to their Home Office in Bentonville, AR.  How do I find out the address of the district office? I think I'll write a letter to them and send a copy of it to Bentonville, AR. Or send letter to Bentonville and copy to district office. Link to post Share on other sites
Author LivingWaterPlease Posted September 1, 2020 Author Share Posted September 1, 2020 (edited) 5 minutes ago, Wiseman2 said: They have security cameras and personnel who walk around under cover. You have no case because you were not arrested, just asked to present your receipt. Your only recourse is to not shop at Walmart and support a company whose ethos and policies offend you. I get what you're saying and haven't believed I have a case, though I've wondered about it because of his aggressive nature. I've been asked to present my receipt there before and have no problem with that. The part I have a problem with is the guy jumping into my personal space and yelling that I didn't pay for my groceries. Editing to add: And then to be so secretive about why they accused me. That's a problem for me, too. Edited September 1, 2020 by LivingWaterPlease Link to post Share on other sites
Wiseman2 Posted September 1, 2020 Share Posted September 1, 2020 Don't shop there. Give your money to stores that respect and value your business.💰 If a store promotes mob scenes with people trampling each other to death in the name of greed, find better stores If they don't care that people get killed, they are not going to care that you were inconvenienced. Also being upset when no harm came to you is not actionable Don't shop for thier overpriced low quality junk. Find better stores to do business with. 2 Link to post Share on other sites
major_merrick Posted September 1, 2020 Share Posted September 1, 2020 19 minutes ago, LivingWaterPlease said: Wish you'd have been there, MM! LOL, sorry to laugh but I like the idea of you punching the guy! He was tall and large, looking as if he works out regularly. His shirt was dark grey and he had some kind of necklace on. I think he had gold in at least one tooth and might have been missing another.  Pretty sure he had on blue jeans. His hair was fairly short, medium brown. And he had lots of tattoos, but many people do these days. He and I are both caucasion. I point that out because I mentioned the girl who may have reported me was of a different race so that may have been why they didn't want me to know it, if she was actually the one who reported it. When he apologized he put his hand on my back! I told him then, "Don't touch me!" I'd really like to know if they assumed it from watching through the machine or if the girl told them. Because that way I'd be careful with the machines from now on. He sounds like SUCH a creep! Totally unprofessional. Plus, a man should never touch a woman he does not know. 🤮 I'd have given him a firm, openhanded slap just for that. 15 minutes ago, LivingWaterPlease said: How do I find out the address of the district office? I think I'll write a letter to them and send a copy of it to Bentonville, AR. Or send letter to Bentonville and copy to district office. I would start by contacting the corporate customer service line and requesting a relevant address. If that doesn't work, write a letter directly to the person in charge of customer service/experience for all of Walmart. Name will be available online, I'm sure. I'd send 3-4 identical letters to different folks. 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites
Nuntius Posted September 1, 2020 Share Posted September 1, 2020 Another possible angle as an alternative to the mistaken identity theory is that someone simply thought you didn't pay for your groceries because they weren't paying close enough attention and jumped to conclusions. I had an incident many years ago where I was sick, bought a pack of Hall's cough drops, started to leave the store, then decided that I'd better get a couple of other items while I was there. I went back into the store, opened my purchased pack of Hall's, popped one in my mouth, and then put the pack in my pocket. After I paid for the other items, I was heading towards the exit when an undercover security guard of some sort (perhaps this "loss prevention employee" that others have mentioned) stopped me and said that I didn't pay for all of my items. I told him that I had and produced the receipt, then he told me, "I'm talking about that pack of cough drops I saw you slip into your pocket after taking one." SMH If he'd been paying attention he would have seen me go through the checkout line and pay for it, but instead he assumed I'd swiped it off the shelf and pocketed it. The guy looked like an idiot when I showed him the receipt for the Hall's so that was enough justice for me. It's your choice as to whether or not you report it to the higher ups and keep shopping there, but you don't have a lawsuit. Link to post Share on other sites
LuckyM Posted September 3, 2020 Share Posted September 3, 2020 Actually in order to know something was not paid for everything in your cart must be checked with the receipt. Wal-Mart is not doing this are they? And customers are supposed to leave the store before they are accused of theft This is very annoying and probably just a mistake by an inexperienced guard 1 Link to post Share on other sites
Author LivingWaterPlease Posted September 4, 2020 Author Share Posted September 4, 2020 12 hours ago, LuckyM said: Actually in order to know something was not paid for everything in your cart must be checked with the receipt. Wal-Mart is not doing this are they? And customers are supposed to leave the store before they are accused of theft This is very annoying and probably just a mistake by an inexperienced guard They seemed to be interested in just one of the orders I'd paid for and seemed to me to indicate that was the csse . It was the watermelon they were focused on. I had four or five bags of groceries but only about two or three items per bag so there wasn't that much involved. I've written a letter I plan, as some have suggested, to send to customer service, the headquarters, etc. Link to post Share on other sites
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