Walmart Security
Lock you up unless you show your reciept

After having been 'victimized' by the Walmart security system, (we've all heard it beeping when we leave the store with our purchased goods) I'd finally had enough. I promised myself months ago I was not going to be stopped ever again to prove I paid for my merchandise. I don't steal and I don't appreciate having to PROVE myself honest before I can leave the store. I made my way out of the Mukwonago, Wisconsin Walmart last Sunday after ringing up a few items in the electronics department, one of which was a $34.00 DVD player in a box. As I approached the exit I thought to myself, here we go, the bell and whistle machine is going sound off, convict me of shoplifing and I'll be chased down by the greeter who will demand that I fumble for my receipt. What Tony the greeter didn't know was this customer was no longer willing to be treated like a lemming. Sure enough as I passed Walmart's Checkpoint Charlie the alarm sounded and Tony the greeter was in hot pursuit.'Sir, sir, SIR' he said several times. I ignored his ranting and continued on my way. As I neared the second set of sliding doors Tony started yelling.'I need to see your receipt!' 'Can I see your receipt?' I turned around looked him directly in the right eyeball and said, 'NO, you can't!' Making the foolish assumption that my answer would end this rediculous event I again went about the business of walking to my car, box and bag in hand, receipt in wallet. My ansering 'NO' to his request that I produce a receipt was an apparent insult. I can only assume Walmart has trained all of Wisconsin to comply with THEIR policy and I must have been the first person that ever refused to prove that I'd paid for my merchandise. Tony was now screaming at me, 'Stop, STOP!' I continued walking as a great number of Sunday afternoon shoppers stopped in their tracks to watch the Tony Show. I felt that I would tolerate his yelling 'stop' but then he crossed the line. Tony began yelling 'THIEF THIEF!' I spun on my feet and immediately admonished him. I'm not a thief Tony, I'm a man that has had it up to his throat with Walmart's faulty security system and poorly written policy. I'm NOT showing you a receipt and I'm NOT going to tolerate you calling me a thief. Leave me alone I said. Again, one more failed attempt to get the Walmart lion off my back. He then began yelling out to the assembling crowd, 'He's got electronics! He's not stopping!' Having previously worked in the field of retail loss prevention I am well aware of the fact that citizens often and without request, charge in (sometimes violently) to assist in apprehending shoplifters. This became a real concern for me as I looked about and saw several Walmart patrons taking more than a passive interest in me.innocent though I was, the only thing the patrons heard was 'THIEF' and 'He's got electronics!' I knew then it was time to turn myself over to the Walmart Police Department, whomever they might be. I felt I was left with limited choices. I was going to walk back into the store of my own accord, be tackled by the Good Samaritan shoppers or be dragged back in by the soon charging team of the Walmart Militia men. Did I fail to mention that Tony had reentered the store quickly? Yes indeed. He was falling back to fortify troop support. I felt it was in my best interest to go back inside and throw myself at the mercy of the Walmart Court. As I entered of course EVERY eye was on me and, you guessed it, the security system announced my arrival. After some looking I found Tony and diplomatically but firmly insisted on speaking with the manager. I was not leaving until I did and Tony walked away, returning about five minutes later with a manager in tow. JP was his name, according the the tag dangling from his neck. I asked JP if we could discuss my concern in a private area and he shrugged his shoulders but agreed. I was marched to the other end of the store where we had to pass by yet another greeter and, of course, another security system. You know where this is going don't you? BEEP, BEEP - Criminal Alert - Criminal Alert! Shoplifter approaching... Stop em, drop em and roll'em for his receipt! By this time my humility had been stripped to the point that all I had to offer was a sheepish look. The greeter at this set of doors gave me that deep stare that says, 'We got you, you shoplifting cad! Three Walmart cheers for JP!' Once inside JP's office I gave him a brief rundown of what had transpired. Without provocation he told me that he'd spoken to Tony and Tony admitted calling me a thief and said, 'he shouldn't have done that.' No kidding! I informed JP that I had no choice but to return to the store for several reasons and I articulated them in this order. 1. I had openly, loudly and very publicly been called a thief by his staff. 2. Walmart shoppers were eyeing me up for the kill. 3. Tony returned to the inside of the store quickly, my perception being that he was going to get reinforcements. 4. I feared that even if I did make a 'clean escape' from the parking lot I very well could have been stoped down the road by police and detained further. 5. My professional position is high profile and I'm very recognized in the community. Being tagged in public by Walmart staff as a thief (if the wrong person saw the incident) would potentially be very damaging to my career. I had absolutely no choice. Walmart won! My dignity removed, my options limited, I had to submit. Never mind that I paid for my merchandise. Forget that once an item is paid for the property is 100% the buyers property, Walmart still would not let me out the door without a fight. I informed him in no uncertain terms how very upset I was. I was forced by Walmart to now clear my name as best I could.interrogate me, strip search me, do what you must in order to document that I was in fact NOT a thief. JP told me that their security system is often 'set off by credit cards in a wallet.' My response was, you're kidding me aren't you? You're stopping people when your secrity system sounds off and you KNOW that it malfunctions?'Well' he said, 'it does catch shoplifters.' I asked him this question. Taking into account all the times your security system beeps, what percentage of shoppers are found to have merchandise they have not paid for.'Forty percent' was his immediate retort. A figure that I am certain he fabricated but non-the-less I ran with it. So assuming Walmart stops 100 people and 40 of them have products in their cart that have not been paid for, 60 of those 100 people are honest people being harassed, humiliated and detained based solely on the fact that their security system is beeping. That's absolutely outrageous! After telling him that I though it was rediculous that credit cards were the cause of my setting off their system he directed me to walk through the security system without my merchandise. I complied and of course, no beeps. JP asked me to produce a receipt and inspected my purchse.'Yup' he claimed, 'it's all there!' I was impressed with his ability to match words on a receipt with actual products.'It had to be the DVD player' he said.'The sensor must not have been deactivated.' He looked for the sensor on the outside of the box and in an apparent epiphany blurted, 'oh yeah, they put them on the inside of the box now. That can't be deactivated.' Walmart is selling products that are sold with sensors on the inside of the box. Without opening the box the cashier cannot deactivate the sensor and still Walmart sells products they KNOW will set off the security system. Why? It's quite simple. They are dumbing down the American shopper to the point that most people honestly believe they are obligated to stop when the machine is beeping. One of my coworkers actually told me they had 'no idea' they didn't have to stop when the alarm went off. They thought they'd 'get in trouble' if they didn't immediately comply with Walmart staff. This seemed an unbelievable statement to me but actually, Walmart makes CERTAIN you get in trouble if you don't stop! How did our society get this beaten down? After obtaining a security clearance from JP I felt as though I might qualify to work in Area 51. You know, hang out with the guys that take apart fallen UFOs and dissect deceased aliens and all that. But instead, I set my sights to the lofty goal of just getting off Walmart property. I was now very late for my daughter's birthday party. I was released with my merchandise but Walmart still owes me. I want what THEY stole from me. Dignity, reputation and time for starters. Just before leaving I asked JP if he was going to create some type of report outlining the incident.'Yeah, if you want me to' he blurted. JP, if you're reading this, I don't care if you make a report but I think your corporate office will wish you had. I think it's in YOUR better interest to get YOUR version on paper because mine is, and it's going to be examined by an attorney. I found this web site, Ripoff Report, while researching what it takes to sue the Walmart empire. From what I can tell, it's not easy. I like the fact that Walmart likes thinks they can intimidate when it comes to filing a legal claim. It makes the process much more challenging and you know what they say, if it were easy everyone would do it. I may not make a huge punitive dent in Walmart's wallet but when the dust settles they will know that THIS American is tired of their antics. I wonder if Walmart's policy is 'MADE IN CHINA!'

Company: Walmart Security
Country: USA

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