Reader T launched an Executive Email Carpet Bomb on Walmart because he was concerned about some improper receipt checks and searches going on:
Yesterday I sent an e-mail bomb to several executives at Walmart. The concern was that the store was requiring you to provide your receipt upon leaving the store (as in Sam’s club, but at Walmart). As we all know, this is a hot topic issue, and I expected Walmart to ignore my e-mails. But to my surprise, after writing my e-mail on Sunday afternoon, I got a reply shortly after 8am! Here is my letter —
Dear Wal-Mart Executive –
*In reference to your store located in Las Vegas, New Mexico, please be advised that the employees are illegally searching, seizing and detaining customers without cause. *
As a frequent visitor to this store, as well as a investor in Wal-mart, I write this letter to share my concerns that are being dismissed by the store level management. Calls to the regional manager have been fruitless, as have calls to your 1-800 phone number.
The issue of my concern is that this store has begun to require that customers show their receipt upon exit of the store, and if you do not, they will detain you from leaving, or at a minimum, yell at the customer for not showing their receipt. Both occur on a daily basis.
As you are aware, some of your membership stores, such as Sam’s Club, has clauses in the contract that the buyer signs when a membership is bought that allows for this activity. This is not the case at a Wal-Mart store.
I am sure you are familiar with many story’s and resulting law suits of various stores that have also attempted to implement this policy (I would refer you to the website – http://consumerist.com/ for further information on this issue) that have caused not only poor relations, but large law suits that favor the defendant.
I respectfully request that this practice stops immediately. We have a Constitutional right to freedom from unreasonable search and seizure, and therefore we can’t be made to submit to a search without prior consent unless a police officer has a reasonable cause to search. A private individual can’t force you to do so, either — touching you is assault, and taking something from you without your consent is theft. Both are criminal charges as is detaining someone.
I do realize that store shrinkage is a problem. But as we are both aware, store shrinkage is a problem related to primarily to in store theft by employees. Please put your energy and focus where it needs to be – not the honest customer.
I would appreciate a reply regarding this issue. Thank you. I may be reached via e-mail at the return address of this e-mail, or via phone at 505-XXX-XXXX. Thank you.
—– Then this morning, I got a call from Michael Moore, Executive Sr. Vice President. He stated that he would talk to his sales people and see what could be done. He also offered me a gift card for my time. After work today, I stopped at Walmart…and they were no longer checking receipts….one of the employees stated that they no longer were supposed to do that!
Way to go Consumerist! Your tips and advice were great!
For more information about how to learn to launch your own EECB, click here.
(Photo:kandh07)
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Ah walmart still sucks
I like how the person who went ahead and made the shopping experience better for everyone was just a concerned shopper, not someone who had a big confrontation they wanted to vent about. Good job!!
p.s. walmart is still evil.
Unless you are a member to a private shopping club like Costco, the store does not have any right to detain you or ask to see your receipt after you have purchased the item. They can ask for proof of payment if for example, an employee sees you steal or you walk out and the theft alarm goes off. Other than that, just walk right out and if they detain you, you can sue them.
Michael Moore called you?! Bad luck there…
Michael Moore a VP for WalMart… “The ironing is delicious.”
I just state “I am not a theif” and keep on walking.
I don’t see what the big deal is. I’d much rather just show my receipt than be an a-hole like this and demand that they stop.
There are things in life worth fighting for, and there are things that are NOT worth fighting for. Not having to show my receipt when leaving a store is NOT worth a fight.
@ChrisC1234:
The BIG DEAL is that they are BREAKING THE LAW! And by going along with it, they are getting by with it.
They have been pulling this crap at the store by me in Antioch, IL. Normally, I ignore them but it’s hard to push your way around a seventy year old lady who has a bug up her ass about looking at a reciept.
It is worth fighting for. When do you finally decide to not let your rights be violated.
Does anyone else’s local Best Buy ask to see receipts? Mine does, sometimes. They definitely should not be checking unless they have reason to believe you are shoplifiting, in which case they should call the proper authorities (police).
@ChrisC1234: I think it makes total sense if you have something large not in a bag (like a big screen tv) but when you’ve just walked from the register, it’s rediculous for them to look over your reciept. It implies that you stole/are attempting to steal something without reasonable evidence.
@ChrisC1234 said:I’d much rather just show my receipt than be an a-hole like this and demand that they stop. Not having to show my receipt when leaving a store is NOT worth a fight.
Oh yes, anyone who doesn’t have your values is automatically an asshole. It may not be a big deal to you, but it is to him. If it doesn’t bother you, that’s fine. But don’t tell other people what to think, or how to run their lives. The only asshole here is you!
@ChrisC1234: Yea, but the fight is SOOO profitable! Because of this website, I now file small claims lawsuits on every company that detains me, touches me, or otherwise tries to grab my bag. I live in Illinois, and am allowed up to $10,000 in small claims. My favorite is still best buy, I purchased an Airport Extreme, something that has those protective cables around it. I refused a bag because it’s a waste of plastic for one item and walked out the door after paying, They did the whole “Sure I need to see your receipt” and I kept walking, they grabbed me by the arm that had the box in my hand, with my free hand I called 911 on my cell. They settled very quickly as the associate who touched me, I had arrested and pressed charges on. I got the max for small claims in cash, as well as a lot of gift cards for the trouble. Now when I do in store pickup from best buy.com I automatically get the $10.00 off for it taking longer than a minute.
To me it’s been worth the fight. I always get discounts, made enough money to fund my partner and I’s IRA this year and get treated like a high roller in Best Buy. I’m in and out in under 20 minutes. Including parking in the geek squad parking spots and cutting lines if need be. So yes, I’m an asshole, but life is also to short to waste time being a lemming standing in a rat maze of que’s at stores.
@ChrisC1234: The problem is, if everyone eventually accepted the idea of being detained for not showing their recpit, it will eventually grow to being patted down for not showing the recpit…or just patted down in general every time you leave the store. You need to take a stand before it gets out of hand.
The key to all of is is to ride the coattails of someone else who does stop to show their receipt. Walk near them and when they stop, continue. Eyes forward, don’t look back.
The people who talk about the erosion of our rights that will inevitably result due to our receipts being forcibly highlighted as we leave a store need to realize something. This is a trivial fight! Look at what our government is doing to our rights! Where is the outcry for that?
@AlteredBeast: I don’t usually like the slippery slope argument, but it’s very easy to see it go from “show your receipt” to “let me wave this metal detecting wand or pat you down”. I just hate it when people make illogical jumps.
@ChrisC1234: It doesn’t sound like he got into a “fight” over it. He just sent a respectful email off and got a respectful reply. Sounds to me like he handled his dissatisfaction in a very mature manner.
Receipt-checking at the door bothers me too, mainly just because it’s a hassle for me. They don’t have a legal right to do it without your permission, so I’m under no obligation to comply and waste my time waiting for them to do it. A receipt check is a search of MY property (since I’ve already paid for it). The fact that so many people submit to it just shows how submissive people are when someone presents themselves as a pseudo-authority figure.
@twoply: Yes, there are bigger fish to fry than a store’s recipt policy, but it is like a leak in a dam. It isn’t like you need to ignore one issue to pay attention to another. Fight both fights, as no fight for your rights is ever small.
Every once in a while, some detached middle manager will get the idea that it’s worth it to screw with customers. It’s lazy and lousy. If they want to have a better handle on loss prevention, they need to beef up their security and fraud monitoring in a way that doesn’t involve imposing demands on customers.
ChrisC1234:
A couple times I’ve left Lowe’s with something in both hands and had someone expect me to stop, but the stuff down, and dig into my pocket for the receipt. I just said “sorry, my hands are full” and kept going. I don’t think I was being an asshole, but it did make me feel uncomfortable and I’m reluctant to go back.
@Mr. Gunn: One way I think they could really cut down on internal theft would be to treat their employees better. If people were paid a decent wage and not treated like disposable human garbage by managers and corporate, they might not be so inclined to steal from their employer. When you have a work environment (like at Wal-mart) where the company views employees as the enemy and uses them for all they can get away with, it seems unsurprising to me that some employees feel less qualm about stealing from the company. Pay them decently and build some employee loyalty instead of using surveillance measures and searches of your customers because you don’t trust your own cashiers.
@qwickone: I agree, I prefer not to make moutains out of mole hills, or come of as a conspiraciy theorist. But this story, in conjuction with the story about Best Buy and the 2 for $25 DVDs, shows that a store manager (or assistant manager) can let power go to their head. As shoppers, we need to keep corporate aware of when these stores get out of hand.
Then again, I could always just save money, time, and grief and shop online!
@ChrisC1234:
So now standing up for your rights or the rights of others is “being an asshole”? What do you think of those assholes who threw all that tea into Boston Harbor?
You may deem your rights to be without value. That is your business. But when you insult condescend to those who think rights are worth fighting for, or, as in this case, worth taking the time to write a short email for, it becomes apparent that the only asshole in this discussion is you.
Sadly, there are far too many people like you in this country. People who, like you, are ready and willing to submit to whatever presumed “authority” may cross their path. People who will gladly allow small incremental bites to be taken from their freedoms for the sake of security, or worse, convenience. Someday you’ll wake up and discover that all those little bites have, over time, eaten away all your liberties.
Maybe if you took your rights out and exercised them occasionally, you might be more aware of what they are and why it’s offensive when people try to violate them.
@DjDynasty: Way to give in to the dark side.
My local Wal-Mart will actually call the police and ban you from the premises for refusing to show your receipt. Apparently, that’s well within their rights, and, since the typical Wal-Mart customer can’t even *spell* “Consumerist”, they don’t appeat to be losing any business by pursuing this strategy.
Come to think of it, the Receipt Nazi at the door has been replaced with a guy sitting on a stool. One less meaningless hassle!
I’ve only shopped at that Walmart 3 times in the past 9 months, but each time I was able to walk out without incident. The receipt checking practice needs to be abolished imo.
@twoply said:This is a trivial fight! Look at what our government is doing to our rights! Where is the outcry for that?
Sad but true, but at least with a store you can fight back. Try sticking up for your rights at an airport or in a plane.
@ChrisC1234: Your CIVIL RIGHTS are very much worth fighting for! It’s this “I don’t care and I’ll bend over” attitude that is leading to the constant erosion that’s gone on lately. Stand up and fight for things that very much DO matter.
Illegal search and seizure was such an important issue to the founding fathers of the US that it was enshrined in the Bill of Rights way back in the 1700s.
Good job and all, but seriously? WalMart? And you INVEST in WalMart? Seriously?!
The only time i have EVER shown my receipt was on sunday night at bestbuy when i bought a new lap top. I thought me trying to walk out of the store with a large box in my hand that i didn’t pay for at the register (i paid at the computer counter) would look suspicious so i just sucked it up. Other than that one time, i hate being stopped and asked for a receipt. It makes me feel like a criminal when i have done nothing wrong. If i non-membership store requires a receipt check, i dont shop there. Plain and simple. There are plenty of other stores that will appreciate my business and not treat me like a shoplifter for no reason.
@zouxou: That would be an act of futility. At least one man can make a change in this case. At an airport he’d be denied boarding and probably arrested.
one day you will be able to buy children and organs from walmart, you will have to have a walmart tag implanted into your body.
Wait till walmart gets bigger. Walmart is the beast heh heh
666
@ChrisC1234: As said in the past perhpas by Ben Franklin;
“Those who would give up Essential Liberty to purchase a little Temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety.”
[en.wikiquote.org]
[en.wikipedia.org]
Freedom and Liberty are something tis country was founded on.
Our judicial system was founded on the pretext of innocent until proven guilty. Who the heck is Wal*Mart to change all that. You go right ahead and forfeit your rights and liberties, I for one will not.
With respect to sams club…from my understanding you do not have to be a member to purchase alcohol and/or prescription drugs. so, if you do not have to be a member to enter then how would they know if you are or are not a member, when only members are obligated to show a receipt. seems to me that they have no right to ask for receipts of anyone who leaves their stores. What do you think?
IIRC I think in order to detain you, they must see you take the merchandise, conceal the merchandise, and then attempt to leave the store. They must do this without losing sight of you. Otherwise they can be in trouble for illegally detaining someone. However they are well within their rights to refuse service to you in the future.
@headon:
“Ah walmart still sucks”
Not nearly as bad as Best Buy, which still uses this practice.
One of the last times I was in BB, and had this happen, the clerk asked if he could see my receipt, to which I responded, “No thank you.” and continued to walk out. He half-way chased me, calling me a thief.
I turned around and he was right in my face, ready to drag me back into the store. “You must come with me now.” he said.
“Touch me, and I yell rape, and you will be known as the Best Buy rapist. Good-bye.”
I’ve never been asked for a receipt at that store since.
What does showing a receipt have to do with your “civil liberties”? Sheesh…
@gregne: You don’t have to be a member to buy ANYTHING at Sam’s Club. You pay an extra 10% or so on your purchases, but you can still shop there.
i don’t really care about showing the receipt if they don’t touch me or ask dumb questions. (“are you hiiiding anything?” “uh, no sir, but i can certainly return this $400 item that corporate wants and buy it at circuit city!”). if they go there, they will annoy me.
now costco, different story. you agreed to it in your membership contract. that said costco checkers have caught errors all of once and it was in my favor; i forked over the cash without knowing i was double-charged, and the dude watched my cart while i ran back to get another bottle of gummi bear vitamins (i’d just buy it in a month anyhow.) of course, costco associates are head and shoulders above 90% of Best Buy’s children.
Because we all have to share your values and hate Wal-Mart, right?
I’m pleased this worked out for you, OP. If the right people get your e-mails/letters/phone calls, they generally do something about it. The EVP I worked for always took such letters seriously and dealt with them immediately.
@dualityshift:
That was a good one-
Remember on the shrinkage problem, often it is the cashier working with a buddy who pretends to buy one item, and is rung up for something cheap. For instance – the buddy gets a PC in a box and a mousepad, and their cashier friend just rings up the mousepad and deactivates the tag on the PC. That’s what the receipt checking is all about – not that you are doing the traditional shoplifting. Now, I think the reciept check is a bunch of BS anyways, but that is the vector they are trying to eliminate.
“If you have nothing to hide, you won’t mind us searching your bag” is George Bu**sh**. If they have no evidence to accuse you of theft, then they have no reason or right to search.
Put the burden of proof back where it belongs: on the accuser. If any store asks to see your receipt, do this:
(1) Refuse to consent to a search by the store staff or manager.
(2) Tell them you will consent to a search by a police officer.
Or call the police yourself on your cell phone. The store cannot claim you uncooperative if you do this. If they call your bluff and call the police, you will have an impartial and credible witness who will say you did not steal anything. This would be very handy in a harassment suit against the company.
I have found just the willingness to consent to police-only searches is enough to make most stores back off, and the threat of a lawsuit gets rid of the rest.
@dualityshift: Nice! But you could, seriously, have charged him with assault had he touched you, and maybe kidnapping and definitely unlawful detainment.
@KJones: The police have to have grounds to search. There’s no reasonable suspicion if you weren’t actually observed, by store staff, taking something. Only step one is necessary.
Note to everyone: legally the store can ASK. That’s all they can do. You can, and should, refuse and just leave.
When I used to shop at Costco, I didn’t mind showing my receipt as much as seeing the stupid sign they had at the exit explaining why: “We ask customers to show their receipt so we can make sure they didn’t overpay for any item.” WTF? Are these average-looking clerks actually robots equipped with large internal databases that they instantly query with just a glance at my receipt as they slash a line over it with their pink highlighter? Why couldn’t they just have a sign that says “We check your receipt to make sure you’re not a thievin’ bastard like so many of our customers.” I’d probably still shop there if that were the case.
There are two Walmarts near my house – one checks receipts at the door as well as requiring ID to use a credit or debit card; the other store does neither. You can guess which one I go to when I absolutely must shop at Walmart. The manager of the “bad” Walmart tells me that no, he cannot legally force me to show my receipt, but he can “ban” me from shopping in his store for not doing so. I haven’t tested his theory, but curious if he is right.
Haha, this happens at all the Home Depots around my area, I thought it was due to the fact they installed the self checkout machines…
Is Home Depot one of the stores that is a Costco / Sam’s club type of store that you have to allow???
@Buran: Yeah but yelling rape is more “Ferris Bueller-y”