Walmart Enlists Help Of Local Police Officer To Force You To Show Receipt
One would think that Walmart would have had enough of the drama that results from receipt checking — but according to reader Eric, that's just not the case. He says he politely declined to show his receipt to the Walmart employee who asked to see it because, unlike with Sam's Club, he had not signed an agreement obligating him to show it. Walmart didn't see it that way.
Eric writes (to Walmart):
Mr. Duke/Mr. Menzer,
I'm writing you today to fill you in on unfortunately yet another receipt issue at one of your stores. In addition I will be forwarding this email and complaint to "TheConsumerist.com", Consumer Reports, the FTC and the Baltimore City Police Department (as my own complaint to them).
Today (July 19th 2009 @ 10:30am), I was scrambling around to find a local store that had large coffee brewing urns. I found the closest location was the "Port Covington" location located in Baltimore City. I fully expected to drop and drop out after picking up the two urns for a event I'll be hosting in the Baltimore area this weekend.
Upon being asked for my receipt and politely declining, I was asked to wait for another employee then ultimately the assistant manager [redacted]. I was asked again to show my receipt at which time I politely declined. When asked why, I replied that it was not in Wal-Mart's legal rights to ask me to show a receipt after I had already made my purchase. There is no legally binding contract I must sign, or is posted prior to walking into the store that alerts me that I will be giving up my rights as a consumer (and constitutional right) to decline unlawful search and seizure of my own property. I am a member at Sam's club which I fully understand under my contract I am obligated to show my receipt, and I do.
This was then relayed to the manager of the Port Covington location [redacted]. I explained my situation to [redacted], who didn't understand why I was wasting their time and my own for such a simple request. I let [redacted],, who claimed to be an 8 year veteran of the US Army, know that of all people he should understand the importance of standing up for one's rights regardless of how remedial or wasteful it might seem to do so.
I alerted the manager to the fact that, I have given plenty of my time (at this point about 10 mins) as a consideration of their job and that I would be walking my vehicle at this point. At which time the assistant manager [redacted], intercepted a Baltimore City Police offer that was apparently doing loss management detail or security and expressed his concern at why I wasn't showing my receipt. I explained the same thing to [redacted], of the Baltimore city police and that I was no legally obligated to show anything once I have made my purchase. She began to bait the manager into feeling suspicious about my legitimate purchase. "Do you feel this customer did not pay or walked out of the store and took the items". At which he replied "I can't say, we didn't see him". At this point Officer [redacted], had no legal basis to request my receipt. She began to ask the manager a second time, I interjected and mentioned, "She is baiting you into saying you feel I stole these items so she has a basis to search me". After denying the fact Officer [redacted], then claimed she had a suspicion I had stolen the product and that I needed to show my receipt.
At this point I was unsure of my legal rights and stopping short of being arrested, I gladly gave up my right to walk away by showing the receipt to the officer (see attached receipt).
I find it very unfortunate that an Ex Army Veteran of 8 years and two officers know less about my consumer/constitutional rights than I do. I will say that once [redacted],understood my position and got past the assumption that I was automatically a thief even though I wasn't seen nor suspected to be one, he was very nice gentleman, just in need of some education on American Law vs. Wal-Mart "policies".
Mr. Duke, Mr. Menzer, I don't want anything in return for this email. I don't want free swag or even a claimed heartfelt apology along with the typical corporate slang that you're "taking my issue very seriously". Because we all know that in the world of business and the reality of true thieves you will continue to ask paying legal customers to give up their rights at the door in order to check and see if they in fact paid for their item, because most people will do so without question. There is one thing I do expect from you however. I expect you to educate your door personnel, managers and assistant managers that in the event someone with a clue comes through your doors, and declines to show them their receipt your staff understand the legal ramifications and not pursue the wasting of anyone's time. Because I will continue to stand up for my rights as a consumer.
After all the negative press that has become of your receipt practice, I can't imagine why this is still an issue. My only regret was that I didn't have the fore thought to record the conversation so you could in-fact see how far off your employees are, in treating LAW ABIDING GOOD CUSTOMERS.
Here we go again! Try to behave yourselves in the comments, please. 
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Comments:
I hope he never mistakes his large coffee brewing urn with any *other* urn. The resulting beverage might taste a little... off.
Does anyone honestly need any more reasons to not shop at W-M?
I know I'm in the minority in this, but I hate these self righteous pricks. Just take the 10 seconds to show the receipt and go home. Nobody get hurt. Nobody wastes any time. Wasting the time of a police officer, not to mention a retail manager, over showing your receipt is ridiculous. Just show the damn thing and go home with your product.
At the point that showing a receipt starts hurting people, I'll start railing against it. At this point, all that's happening is causing needless drama with stores.
These articles shouldn't see the light of day. If it is a problem for you, don't shop somewhere that is known to check receipts. The rest of the population will get along fine without you.
"When asked why, I replied that it was not in Wal-Mart's legal rights to ask me to show a receipt after I had already made my purchase."
If you're going to do something to make a point, you should probably understand the point you're making. There is nothing wrong with their asking you to show your receipt. They are wrong to prevent you from leaving if you don't show your receipt.
An officer can't ascertain Reasonable Suspicion by your refusal to show a receipt, just like they can't if you refuse their search of your vehicle.
That said, I probably would not feel so bold were the cop standing right in front of me. It was definitely misconduct on the officer's part, though I daresay it'll go unpunished.
@JustinSane07: Wow I am Captain Redundant with my writing sometimes. I think I'll go to Wal-Mart and get a Thesaurus.
I somehow doubt Walmart's greatest shrinkage is from people walking in with walmart bags and receipts in their pockets and slinking through the checkout lines to try and make it appear they bought something that they placed in a bag while hiding in a clothes rack.
Kind of like how software companies penalize their legit customers with DRM, limited activations and rootkits, when pirates bypass all of that. Why punish the paying customer?
I say no thank you, smile and keep going. Works 99% of the time.
I also make a note to never shop at that particular location ever again (I still shop at Home Depot but not the HD's that has the receipt checking policy). I also never shop at Wal-Mart, Best-Buy, etc. (any of the stores that seem to have an institutional policy of receipt checking).
I just smile, say no thanks, and walk out... I've never been detained after that. If they want to come outside and grab me, well then they can risk the lawsuit. Of course they wouldn't be that dumb.
For the people saying just show the receipt, that seems a little crazy. How would you feel about having to show your id to cops on every street corner or frequent checkpoints to prevent "suspicious characters"? Since basically that's what Walmart is doing - suspecting everyone of theft.
If you shop at Walmart you lose my sympathy in a overall sense. That said, if some store puke tried the same game with me, I would just keep walking and enjoy what remained of the cash after my contingency lawyer finished raping them. Let them tackle you, let them do whatever illegal act they wish, it will all be on their tapes.
my question is why bother with walmart in the first place?
I've seriously thought about getting a job there and wreaking havoc as the worst employee in the history of jobs (not towards the customers) without actually stealing anything or breaking any other laws, just to see what you'd have to do to get fired there. Judging by the stories that pop up on here so often about how horrid walmart is, it would take a lot.
Well if you want to give up some of your rights because it is more convenient to do so that is your prerogative.
You calling people who don't want to do so childish names is hardly justified.
I guess I'm the opposite. I offer them the receipt and they decline to review it. I keep walking and I'm on my way within seconds. I wish I had your free time...
Not sure if you can really blame the police officer for their reaction, its what they are there for. Its purley the wall marts employees fault for bringing the officer over under false premises, or at least an implied premise, of you possibly stealing. Its crazy that none of the higher ups you talked to didnt just tell the door checker to let you leave.
As long as people allow this, it will continue. Just say I purchased these item(s) and I am leaving the store. If you touch or arrest me I will sue the store, the offending employee(s), Wal-Mart and the police. It works every time with me.
Let me guess, you are the same person that when the government says they are going to start illegally tapping your phone, emails, etc., you say "what do I care, I'm not doing anything wrong."
What's funny these are usually the SAME people saying "support our troops, they are fighting for our rights overseas!", then they turn around and give those rights away without a peep back on the homefront.
They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety.
Benjamin Franklin.
You did nothing wrong, do not allow someone to treat you as if you have. Wal-Mart policy is not law!
@JustinSane07: You're missing the point completely.
Yeah it's a waste of time, but if he's not required to go through that additional step and well within his legal right to decine, the underpaid Wal-Mart employee who's sole job is to check receipts should've been trained the extra tens seconds to understand that.
@JustinSane07: And some people feel much strongly about their constitutionally garunteed rights, and even more strongly about not letting them be eroded. That's their perogative. It's yours to not care about the slow and steady declines this country has seen.
I'll tell you which viewpoint I respect more, though...
The words "Have I comited a crime, or do you suspect me of a crime?" to the clerk are what you should be asking. If they say no, you are free to go. If they say yes, then they better be right or it's false imprisonment and defamation of character.
I hate these self righteous pricks.
@JustinSane07: Why? It's not like it hurts you when people don't show a receipt.
Wasting the time of a police officer, not to mention a retail manager, over showing your receipt is ridiculous.
They could have just let him leave. They choose to waste their time.
@Saboth:
A significant percentage of shrinkage comes from employee theft, and one way that employees get things out of the store is by having an accomplice pose as a shopper. They ring up a few inexpensive items and put the expensive items in the bag without scanning them. Or they put a UPC sticker over the product's regular UPC sticker so they can scan an expensive item and a less expensive item rings up.
All this could be resolved by making the check-out line exit lead straight through a door that exits the store.
I wonder what happens if you throw away your receipt before you reach the door.
@JustinSane07: I agree. And what's particularly obnoxious about this is that the urn was likely not in a bag. So there's nothing obvious that saids he made a purchase. Does he expect to be able to roll out a 50" LCD TV with no receipt?
The only issue I have about receipt checking is when they only check certain people -- which at least at one Walmart near me means people of color.
I hope:
a) he got the badge number of the cop, and
b) he had better spell and grammar checking in the letter he sent. He's missing several words there.
@JustinSane07: There are many ways to look at this, and for the most part are completely agree. But these people seem to want to make a big stink out of nothing. You want to fight the power, stand up for your rights? Fine. But don't complain you are wasting your time when you have plenty of stuff to do. Fight about it when you are at Wal-Mart on a lazy morning, and are going home to sit around for a few hours. That way, you can make a spectacle of the whole thing in the middle of the store. If you are in a rush, just deal with it. It's a couple of coffee urns, for Pete's sake. It's not like you just bought 200 condoms and a dozen cucumbers.
Oh, hell no!!
Once the store accepts your form of payment for a product they have relinquished their ownership. Unless they saw you conceal an item, you do not have to show a receipt in a store with open public access (no membership required). This blows my mind that stores still attempt to strong arm their own customers. I just politely decline and keep walking. Nobody has ever so much as followed me to my car, much less tried to detain me.
Enough with these stupid stories about receipt checking. I noticed you told everyone to behave themselves but you know god damn well that it's going to turn into a argument between the people that care about showing the receipt and the ones that do.
You are beating a dead horse. Let me put this in simply: NO ONE IMPORTANT CARES! I haven't heard of any laws being made to allow them enforce receipt checking or ban them from asking; this is because it is insignificant nonsense that will never get anymore attention than some ex-gawker that believes the customer is always right.
Guys, the overall purpose of checking receipts is a theft deterrent. How do you relate this to illegal wiretaps? Does my receipt violate privacy? No, I just walked up to a cashier or an obnoxiously loud self check out machine and bought it. Not to mention I carried it around the store with me for at least the five minutes it took me to walk back to the register. It's not a secret, the greeter barely looks at it anyway and forgets you the moment you walk off. Unless you refuse of course. Now everyone knows you.
Show the receipt, go home. The people that want to fight this stupid policy are what is taking America in the wrong direction.
I also shop at Walmart and Sam's Club, and Sams's club always check the receipt I mean even for a hot dog combo for $1.70. To me that's just waste of time and money.
On to the Walmart issue, I personally think ... JUST SHOW THE GOD D*** RECEIPT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! You are making it harder for everyone, I know you value so much about your rights, but really? Can you just make an exception? By showing your receipt does it really do any harm to you? Probably none at all. At my local Walmart, the greeter and receipt is a very nice old lady. I gladly show her the receipt any days. :D
@JustinSane07: Unless theres some racial profiling going on, like Hoss mentioned, i think its just silly to blow things out of proportion.
Also, I love when people get all puffed up about "your rights being trampled". God people, have some perspective. Its just a receipt check for crissake.
Also, if you hate it so much, dont shop at walmart. Arent you the same people who say that big corps can do whatever the fuck they like because its a free market? let them do it.
@SadSam: How about if you're at Home Depot loading some of the lumber or sod that they keep outside. Would be still refuse to show a receipt if you're loading something kept outside?
@solareclipse2: You can be detained without being arrested, but they didn't have enough p/c or even "reasonable suspicion" to even detain him. You can be detained though without being arrested. There is a distinction there.
@Dethzilla: They should at least stop putting merchandise between the check out and the exit. I always thought that was stupid.
In the grocery store I usually shop at I have to go past the check out lines if I want to buy a cold drink. I can't help expecting someone will think I'm up to something.
I think the way we should all deal with this is an EULA. If someone asks you to show a receipt, have a 3-4 page document in small type and bad margins for them to sign. If you're kind, make it innocuous non-disclosure of contents and plenty of exclusions which may not apply (don't forget to write a few sections in all caps). Tell them it is merely to protect the privacy of the purchaser and such.
Alternatively, throw in a few clauses negating binding arbitration, or other nonsense that companies try and foist on you. Provide them with a copy "for their records."
In short, they want something of value without negotiation; don't refuse, negotiate.
n.@Rectilinear Propagation: Thats exactly what I do. Then if they want to see it, you can't show it and you either slide, or they make a big stink about it, ask the checout lady, call the cops, look at tape, and end up looking like morons...while you can just say "why would I keep the receipt for a 2 dollar coffee urn?" to every question.
@Saboth: There is a huge difference between checking a receipt and wire tapping. Huge. Not even in the same category. Don't make them sound like they are one in the same. Most of us who don't care about the minor inconvenience of showing a receipt WOULD care if our Government were spying on our daily lives.
I blame walmart's poor layout and design for this more than anything else. If they were truly worried about theft, they would not have so many open and exposed areas that allow anyone to walk through as if they were going through a register.
They have way too many registers, most of which are not used.
They have a 100 yard frontage with stores, restrooms and the like past the registers that anyone can walk around.. They usually have 2-3 entrances that have free-access from any direction or point..
Way too much free-flow traffic..
To control this, they are trying to make due with singular posted guards that are seated facing out of the store..
It makes NO sense at all..
Seriously? "Standing up for your rights?" This is creating a problem where none exists. Showing your reciept takes less than 1 second and causes no harm to anyone. No "rights" are stripped from you by showing the nice old lady at the Walmart door a piece of paper that indicates that you purchased the items that you're walking out with.
I imagine the OP firing his hunting rifle into the air randomly from his backyard because "there are no laws that say I can't!"
If they want to see the receipt so bad, then they can follow you to the customer service desk where refund the item and then take your business elsewhere.
@JustinSane07: You're completely right. Only, the ones wasting someone else's time were Wal-Mart and the cop.
The problem I have with this individual is the method in which they went about protecting their rights. No one likes to to be made a fool of, and if you try to educate a doorman, or manager, or officer... well you should expect nothing less. This is a problem in any position of authority, it is your little bit of power that will you will fight to maintain. Even if you are just a doorman, that little bit of power you have over exiting customers is worth fighting for. Is is right? No. But trying to supersede human nature with big words and self righteous lecturing isn't going to make the situation any better.
You can say what you want about "standing up for rights" but this person sounds like a bully, using intellect to make others feel inferior. If anyone tried this shit with me, whether they were right or not, I would be sure to make their life as miserable as possible without putting myself in danger of violating company policy.
I am reminded of the assholes that drive EXACTLY the speed limit in the left lane during rush hour. Are they within their rights? Yes. But look at how it affects the flow of traffic. Why do they do it? To prove a point. In my opinion they deserve every profane comment, honk, finger,tailgating and cut-off situation they encounter.
Just like this individual deserves every wasted minute they asked for.
//rant over
When the police officer was brought over I think that would have been the cue to ask if he was being arrested or if he was permitted to leave. If he wasn't being arrested but they wouldn't let him leave then they are in the wrong.