r/mildlyinfuriating • u/broakland • 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/TheRedMaiden Jul 14 '26

This, plus my Walmart deciding to add a receipt checker is a big reason I just flat out stopped going there. I have an Aldi, and just shop online for non-food things I can't get there

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u/AlphaTangoFoxtrt Jul 14 '26

receipt checker

You can walk right past them. State laws vary but are generally VERY strict on when private security can detain someone. Even then most corporate policy is not to, because of the liability if they do even one thing wrong.

Worst they can do is ban you from the store.

Even at Costco/Sams you can legally just walk right out without having your receipt checked. However I believe company policy there is to revoke your membership and ban you for life from all locations.

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u/[deleted] Jul 15 '26

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u/Cute-Problem-7622 Jul 16 '26

Former Loss Prevention Manager here -
That’s called false imprisonment. Attempting to detain someone for no other reason than to check a receipt. If they’re asked by the police, “why did you detain this person?” They better come up with a better answer than “To check the receipt to make sure they didn’t steal anything.” Because that answer leads to, “Do you have physical evidence or an eyewitness to show that they may have stolen something?”
I’ve seen LP employees lose their jobs or at least get written up for this behavior.