Walmart’s decision to install anti-theft technology in stores nationwide made customers ‘hostile and dangerous to untrained staff,’ employees say Insider.
The retailer’s computer vision technology, which closely monitors self-checkouts and deters potential theft, causes customers to act confused, defensive or sometimes aggressive, according to workers.
The system, known internally as Missed Scan Detection by employees, works by illuminating a light over each counter when the system detects an unscanned item.
Walmart’s decision to install anti-theft technology in stores nationwide has made customers hostile and dangerous to untrained employees
Walmart clearly instructed its employees to “play dumb” and strictly prohibited directly accusing anyone of theft
The retailer’s computer vision technology that closely monitors self-checkouts and deters potential theft causes customers to act confused, defensive or sometimes aggressive, employees said
The machine then interrupts itself and sends a text notification to a nearby member of staff, prompting the customer to ‘ask for help’.
Employees then act as if something is wrong with the machine and redirect the shopper to a cashier checkout.
Walmart clearly instructed its employees to “play dumb” and strictly prohibited directly accusing someone of theft.
But the loss reduction system began to backfire in the faces of store workers, with some even throwing goods in their faces. as said by Mendy, A 10-year employee of a Walmart store in Arkansas.
Joe Pennington, a Walmart spokesman said Insider: ‘As with other retailers, theft is always a challenge, and we are always looking for better ways to tackle this issue. This includes improved technology at our checkouts.’
The news of customers attacking employees comes a week after one woman on a motorized scooter punched a policeman in the face during a bust-up in the store after being accused of shoplifting.
The suspect is seen arguing with the officer at the checkouts before attacking him in the outrageous clip posted on Reddit.
While the police officer cannot be heard clearly in the video, viewers can hear the woman shouting: ‘Yes, I did. Yes, I did,’ over and over.
She repeatedly says ‘drag me the f*** out’ before the cameraman changes their angle to a shot from a nearby register.
The unidentified woman then picks items from the belt and throws a bottle of ginger beer at the officer and a bag of classic Lay’s chips at the cashier next to her.
She then rips through the aisle snack rack and stands up from the motorized scooter as she rummages through the other side of merchandise.
A plus size black woman in a gray tee shirt and bright purple leggings is seen riding a motorized scooter as a white male cop with glasses approaches her online
The cop and suspected thief were in a brief altercation when the woman pushed a shelf and candy and magazines to the floor just before the cop tackled her.
In an attempt to stop the customer from doing more damage, the cop grabbed her by the shoulders and she immediately punched him in the face and ripped off his glasses.
The two were in a brief altercation as the woman pushed a shelf, candy and magazines to the floor just before the cop tackled her.
Customers could be seen crowding around as Walmart employees tried to keep them as far away as possible.
The officer could be seen trying his best to control the woman by getting on top of her. Her left shoe fell off in the process as she said: ‘F****** white trash.’
At this point, another officer, who appeared to be dressed in off-duty clothing, began to clear the area around the other cop who continued to struggle with the woman.
“Take me to jail,” the woman screamed as the policeman continued to try to get her under control.
Soon he was able to start handcuffing her as she sang ‘Walmart is racist’.
More onlookers began to gather around the disturbing scene as the lone policeman struggled to handcuff her, but finally succeeded. He turned her to face her as she continued to shout: ‘Walmart is f****** racist’.
It is still unclear what she was accused of stealing and what happened after the wild encounter.
The Atlanta store will open in May 2024, following a nearly year-long closure after shoplifters set fire to the building to distract from their theft (suspect pictured)
In January, a Walmart worker was caught on camera being punched over the head after two would-be thieves tried to walk into the store while pushing some shopping carts to the curb.
In a short clip posted on TikTok, two shameless shoplifters were caught on cellphone footage pushing their fully loaded trolleys towards the exit of the store.
One of the thieves is seen grabbing several coat hangers and hitting a female shop worker several times over the head.
The employee ducks to avoid being hit, but it makes little difference.
A second shoplifting accomplice then appears wearing a bright red towel over their head, in an attempt to avoid being identified.
Rather than checking with the store clerk, they head straight out the door knowing the jig is up.
Last month, a Walmart in Atlanta announced it was ready to add an on-site police substation, or mini-precinct, that would serve as a deterrent to shoplifters and a workplace for officers.
The store will open in May 2024, following a nearly year-long closure after shoplifters set fire to the building to distract from their theft.
As well as acting as a deterrent to criminal activity, the mini precincts will act as an area for officers to recharge batteries and do paperwork.
Early this year, one Walmart employee took to TikTok and revealed that while he stopped 373 customers from shoplifting over the course of 12 months, he only received a 60 percent pay raise as a reward.
Alexander Buckner, of Alabama said, ‘I realized I caught 373 people stealing from Walmart last year and only got a 60 cent raise.’
Many were divided in the comments section about the reward of the company.
It was reported in September that Walmart alone lost a whopping $3 billion annually to theft and shoplifting.