Since 2011, we’ve followed the proliferation of tiny Walmarts across America (well, mostly Arkansas) as they fan out and threaten to take over our retailscape like the splinters that grew into enchanted brooms in the “Sorceror’s Apprentice” section of Disney’s “Fantasia.” In the chain’s hometown of Bentonville, Arkansas, they’re experimenting with yet another new store format: the “Walmart To Go” convenience store, complete with gas pumps and a deli counter.
convenience stores
Spider-Man Would Never Rob A Convenience Store, Insists Roommate
By 9.20.13
It’s not even close to Halloween yet, but a Pennsylvania college student was already out on the town wearing his Spider-Man costume. He visited a convenience store at 1 A.M., and police say that he tried to rob the store. No way, insists his roommate. [More]
Should Stores That Sell Cigarettes Have To Post Apology From Big Tobacco?
By 12.26.12
Last month, the government’s seemingly interminable lawsuit against the tobacco industry appeared to be nearing something resembling an end, as the judge ruled that cigarette makers must publish apologies for their deception in ads and on packaging. What’s still undecided is whether stores must also post the apology. [More]
Convenience Store Owner Calls Cops On Unruly Customer, Ends Up Getting Arrested
By 8.2.12
The owner of a Chevron gas station and convenience store in Georgia says that when she called the cops to handle an allegedly rude and unruly customer, things got turned around on her and she ended up being the one in cuffs — all because she couldn’t figure out how to operate the security camera system. [More]
How I Was Overcharged $23.42 For Gas At The Circle K
By 4.12.12
The problem seemed easy enough to solve. SMM asked a Circle K cashier to pre-pay $20 on a gas pump using his credit card. Only the pump didn’t stop at $20 like it should have: it kept going until it reached $23.42. No big deal: SMM headed back in the store to pay the extra three and a half bucks. That’s when he learned that somehow, the first $20 he paid didn’t count. [More]
Circle K Helps Place Bounties On Heads Of Anonymous Thieves On Facebook
By 1.12.12
Figuring cops shouldn’t be the only ones chasing down criminals via Facebook, convenience store chain Circle K has started going after small-time alleged thieves by posting surveillance video footage on Facebook. The chain’s partner, crime fighting nonprofit Silent Witness, gives as much as $100 to those who spot acquaintances and soon-to-be-former friends making off with beer. [More]
Cumberland Farms Fires Employee For Having Too Much Cash In The Register
By 1.5.12
Usually when we write about a store staffer getting followed in the wake of a robbery it’s because they dared to do something about it, but a man in Massachusetts says he was given the boot from his Cumberland Farms job because his register had too much cash in it when the store was robbed. [More]
Broom-Wielding Convenience Store Clerk Foils Sword-Packing Spider-Man Robbery Attempt
By 10.21.11
If you happen to be working as a clerk at a convenience store and aren’t sure whether or not the guy causing havoc at the counter is the real Spider-Man, check and see if he’s got a sword. Police say a North Carolina clerk confronted a ponytailed, Spidey-masked robber armed with a sword and managed to stop the heist by beating him down with a broom. [More]
Don't Rob A Convenience Store With A Cop Standing Right Behind You
By 10.3.11
While we at Consumerist never, ever, ever condone crime. We have covered enough retail crime stories to have gleaned a few tips on what not to do. For example, if you plan on robbing a convenience store, you might want to check that a police officer is not standing a few feet behind you the entire time. [More]
Robber Tries To Hold Up Clerk With Toy Gun, Foiled When Coworker Pretends To Be Cop
By 9.28.11
Proving once and for all that childhood games of cops and robbers offer training for real-world crime prevention procedures, a Florida convenience store clerk foiled a robbery by pretending to be a policeman. Naturally, the masked woman he subdued turned out to be wielding only a toy gun. [More]
Flash Mob Blamed For Maryland Convenience Store Heist
By 8.17.11
Authorities say a flash mob organized online descended on a Maryland 7-Eleven and robbed it in less than a minute. At least 28 youths are accused of bombarding the store, cleaning the shelves and leaving en masse without paying a visit to the cash register. [More]
7-Eleven Clerk Saves Customer's Life With CPR
By 12.27.10
Correct change for a Slurpee is all you’d expect from a 7-Eleven clerk, so you could say a Pittsburgh employee of the convenience store went beyond the call of duty when he administered CPR when a customer fell into cardiac arrest. [More]
What's The Right Way To Argue I Was Shortchanged?
By 8.5.10
Bobby is positive a 7-Eleven clerk mistook his $20 bill for a $10 and shafted him on change. He brought the issue up to the clerk, who shut him down and sent him on his way. Since Bobby is a regular at the convenience store, it made the situation more awkward and rendered him more inclined to accept defeat. [More]
7/11 Is Free Slurpee Day At 7-11
By 7.6.10
Free 7.11oz Slurpees can be had by one and all at 7-11 on Sunday, July 11th. Yes, that’s on 7/11. Schedule a doctor’s appointment now for the inevitable brain freeze! [More]
Can A Price Scanner Give You Tourette's? (No, Says Judge)
By 4.27.10
I’ve certainly fought back the urge to shout obscenities at the register over the years, but until now I never thought it might be because the laser in the scanner was triggering an inherited tic disorder; I just thought I was angry about something. A woman in Pennsylvania thinks otherwise and sued a convenience store, claiming that when a clerk shone a price scanner’s LED in her daughter’s face and told her to cheer up, the light burned her daughter and triggered Tourette’s-style symptoms. The judge threw out the case earlier this month for lack of evidence. [More]
Brooklyn Police Close 6 Stores On The Same Street For Selling Pot
By 4.6.10
Up until today, if you lived near a certain street in Crown Heights, Brooklyn and wanted some pot, you just had to go to the nearby variety store. Or the music store. Or the take-out restaurants. MyFox New York says police “made a sweep of the neighborhood” today and shut down six businesses for selling drugs either in the back or right alongside the regular merchandise. They also arrested 8 people, including a few store owners and employees, and are planning more arrests. Video below. [More]
Walgreens Has A Loose Definition Of The Phrase '50 Percent Off'
By 3.29.10
Jason spotted this photo at a Minnesota Walgreens. We ran the numbers and discovered that $7.49 is less than 50 percent off of $9.99. But the giant “50% Off” lettering looks so darn attractive that it’s tough to fault the store’s management from making the incorrect claim. [More]
Grocery Shrink Ray: Secret Weapon In The War On Obesity?
By 3.18.10
Consumerists, I think we’ve been wrong about this Grocery Shrink Ray thing all along. We’ve long believed that companies deploy the Grocery Shrink Ray to imperceptibly decrease the amount of product in a package without customers noticing. But maybe–just maybe–there’s a higher purpose. Maybe they’re trying to save us from consuming a precious few calories and use social engineering to get us to snack less over time until at some point we’re hardly snacking at all. Consider this exhibit: the shrinking Double Gulp cups at Chris’s local 7-11 in Maryland. [More]
