(Gregory)
Andrew ran into an IKEA receipt checker who seemed to have used Paul Blart: Mall Cop as a training video. The un-uniformed shopping cop demanded to see his receipt, threatened his arrest if he didn’t comply and made him sweat out the shakedown as he took an unreasonable amount of time.
He writes:
I was shopping at the [redacted] IKEA today and after going through the self check out a man not in any uniform (Ikea or otherwise) asked to see my receipt. What he said was ” I need to see your receipt.”I complied and after about a minute I said, “you have another 10 seconds and then I am leaving.” He replied with “you will let me finish.” I demanded my receipt and he told me that “if you do not let me check you could be arrested”. Needless to say I became irate and demanded both my receipt and a manager. He refused to give me the receipt and then pointed to a phone on the cashier podium and said “you can call the manager yourself.”
We got into a yelling argument all the while he refused to give me the receipt. Finally an employee called a manager.
When the manager came, he had no name tag, refused his own name and told me “you have to let us check, if not you will go to jail.”
I demanded his name and the name of the “security” person, both refused.
Finally after several minutes I was given my receipt. This can not be normal for Ikea to operate this way and detain people.
A reminder: Unless a store requires you to sign to a receipt-checking agreement under a membership or you’re under a reasonable suspicion of shoplifting, you don’t have to submit to store security forces on receipt-scanning power trips.
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“Unless a store requires you to sign to a receipt-checking agreement under a membership”
WRONG. In that case they have a right to terminate your membership. They do not gain the right to detain you or check your receipt just because you are a member.
Legally they can only detain you if they reasonably suspect your of shop lifting and refusing to show a receipt does not create reasonable suspicion. Please fix your post. As incorrectly stating the info may result in some manager at a costco somewhere incorrectly thinking he can detain people. When in reality all they can do is cancel your membership.
I would suggest taking pictures of the “employee” if he does not give his name to you. You can also take a video and post it on YouTube.
Obviously, whoever was this “security guard” or his “manager” was on an extreme power trip. As many have already suggested, I would’ve upon getting my receipt back took everything I bought back for a refund, then made a stink not only here, but on local “old” media (the TV station, newspaper, whatever.) Personally, my only encounters with receipt checkers happen when, for instance, I buy a TV from the back of the local Best Buy (yeah, here come the boos from all you BB haters, but Canadian BBs are not as subject to the ire of American ones) and at the main exit I’ll be asked to show the receipt. Perfectly acceptable, as I’m not walking from the checkout corral to the exit with this big-screen TV in my hands. Also sort-of acceptable is if the cashier didn’t rub the thing I was buying vigorously enough on that RFID-loss-prevention-thingy pad, thus setting off that alarm when I’m going out, yeah, I best behave and let them see that in fact I paid for it. Otherwise, get out of my way.
Here is a really good question:
“If reciept checking is such a violation of your rights then what type of process would you suggest to curb shoplifting?”
Oh, and “it’s not my problem I have rights”, is not a good answer.”
Simple. Make it impossible to get out of a non-emergency exit door without passing through a checkout lane. RFID tag all merchandise so that simply passing through a checkout lane with it registers it on that lane. And anyone who bulls through a checkout lane with registered items without paying is obviously a shoplifter, so there’s no need to check receipts or search bags.
You could even eliminate the cashier position entirely, if you build your self-check lane right.
Although, to be honest, it really isn’t my problem, because I do have civil, constitutional and statutory rights. Stores need a more compelling reason than “we didn’t feel like designing our store layout to minimize theft” to justify infringing them.
So either the stores come up with a design for their stores that is ineffiecient and unappealing for browsing, or they don’t try to stop shoplifting because you feel as though showing your reciept and letting someone glance in your bag violates your rights.
I find the “not my problem” answer, less of a way of defending peoples rights, and more of a lack of empathy.
If the person isn’t obviously an employee (and we won’t go into faking vest or whatever) I’d take them up on the offer to call the police. And yes by all means if you have your camera/video phone record away.
can we stop with the redacted? it only protects the stores from corporate.
And Consumerist from being sued if they happen to publish a story they can’t confirm happened, or accidentally publish identifying info.
Remind me not to shop at IKEA.
If some non-uniformed, anonymous person starts making demands of me, I won’t give them the time of day. IKEA opened a few stores out my way, but I haven’t shopped there partly because of these aggressive receipt checker stories. Manager threatening jail over a receipt check? That’s over the top, not to mention that a store manager doesn’t have that authority — only an LEO.
I love when they refuse to give you their name, as if you can’t eventually find out.
sounds like the rent-a-cop was just being a douche. unless they are in uniform, produce a badge they don’t have any right to detain you. people panic and forget their rights.
Make sure you EECB or write a certified letter to the heads of IKEA. That is seriously uncool; like others here, I have *never* been receipt checked. For you to be threatened with arrest … it’s unacceptable, and needs to be addressed. I am a big believer in second chances, but threatening someone with arrest like that? Fireable offense.
If you are asked for your receipt, and you refuse, and they refuse to accept your refusal and prevent you from leaving, then turn around go to customer service, pull out your receipt and return everything you just bought.
You can vote with your wallet, but you have to make sure your vote counts, don’t just walk out and not return to the store, make them pay right then and there.
Yes they have a right to prevent shoplifting, but that is their problem not yours.
Since neither of them had any form of ID I would have called 911 and charged them. Then I would have would returned all my merchandise.
I’m sure that IKEA corporate would like to read about this.
Just leave. They have no right to detain you, and if they do it’s a big lawsuit.
I realize IKEA has some unique things that might not be available from other sources but I would have immediately returned everything I just purchased, take my refund, and walked out.
” To all merchants:
You failed to recognize me today. I’m not one of your buddies sitting on the couch and belching after a few beers. I’m not the brother in law you can abuse. I am not a guest. I’m the one who keeps the lights on. It’s my money that fills up your paycheck. I’m a customer. I deserve respect and a smiling face when I hand over my money. And you had better say, “thank youâ€, or I won’t be back.
- BB”
That’s what you get for needlessly complying with this fool.
It should be pointed out that this is NOT a universal Ikea policy. Some stores do this intense checking. Some do not.
The Ikea in my area does not check receipts and does nothing to block the doors or do any of that other stuff. I took a friend to shop at our Ikea last weekend and our purchases weren’t questioned whatsoever.
It IS still disappointing to see all the human checkers replaced with the self-check lines. When this Ikea opened, they had a human at every register and the place was hopping. Now, it’s just two lines of self-check and one human supervising.
I guess this cuts payroll but it makes the place less comfy. Or something. I dunno.
When you submit to unwarranted searches which receipt checking is without prior acknowledgement that this is an accepted practice by a written agreement between yourself and the store you allow you civil rights to be violated.
Now why would you allow your civil rights to be violated? That is like saying go ahead and beat me I am just a black person. While it may be only 1 to 3 minutes it is an imposition that need not be tolerated.