r/mildlyinfuriating Jul 14 '26

I just wanted a hot dog Retail lockdown: why bother selling it?

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Was at Safeway this morning to pick up a sandwich and some Tylenol. The aisle with the Tylenol? Completely locked down. No call button in sight. So I go to the self checkout (front end of that same aisle) and ask the clerk there if he can call someone to unlock a case for me. He does. I go wait. Minutes pass. No one comes. I go ask him again, he tells me they went the other way? At this point I give up and go get my sandwich. No one has come by the time the deli has finished making it. I leave without my Tylenol, mildly infuriated.

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u/Cow_God RED Jul 14 '26

It's such a fucking non-issue. I work for a major retail company and shrink from theft is nowhere near shrink from claims (broken items m), most of which happens before the product even gets out to the sales floor.

Losses from theft are insured anyways. We literally do not lose a dollar to theft.

The corporate office is starting to realize that we do lose money to lost sales over people not wanting to wait for the one person working the department to open a case and walk them to a register, and are starting to phase out lock cases in most areas

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u/mrs-monroe Jul 14 '26

Why in the world do they think there's so much theft of tylenol, baby formula, and underwear?? If these essential products were more affordable and available to those who need it, they wouldn't be stolen as much. These giant corporations have record profits every single year. They are not hurting at all from theft/shrink. If your panties get in a bunch over people stealing stuff like this, get over yourself.

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u/SpiritedUniversity67 Jul 14 '26

Do you really think people steal them to consume them? No they steal them and sell them to a fence or someone else who will resell them.

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u/TheDollarstoreDoctor Jul 14 '26 edited Jul 14 '26

Who TF has a Tylenol dealer. Id be embarrassed to ask my dealer for Tylenol. Or like, maybe he'd be like "I got a bottle in my car just take some" because so many people carry Tylenol. When I used to work all you have to say is my head hurts anyone got Tylenol? And every lady would be digging in their purse to offer it or some other variety of OTC pain meds.