Yes, yes… if we just shit upon the poor and desperate just a little bit more, capitalism will finally work and we will all live in a Utopian meritocracy. Remember hygiene is a privilege, not a right!
It always gets under my skin that my local grocery store has two camera screens to deter shoplifting. The first is in the liquor aisle, which is fair enough, fine, whatever.
The second one, however, is in the baby supplies aisle. Absolutely go fuck yourself Kroger. This and the self-checkout that accuses you of stealing and calls an attendant if you rearrange your bagged groceries to fit on the stupid scale makes me wish there were better options where I live.
I’m a Food Lion man. The reason being is that aside from the checkout line, I’m rather certain no Food Lion has had its interior updated in 25 years. It’s a normal, bog-standard grocery store, that is so frill-less and basic that the only Shin Ramen is spicy and it isn’t because black and gold are out of stock. It’s all they thought to get.
Food Lion man
A terrifying chimera
Piggly Wiggly Man appears
Who called the cops‽
Ok but green is so good…
To bad Reasors bought out our Food Lion and now Brookshires bought out Reasors groceries. So I have that or Walmart for choices where I live.
While I can’t speak for that store I used to put up and manage security for a blue store. The formula was put under higher watch mainly to make the drug dealers and the scam artists.
Had a case happen at my store a yongish guy came in and “swept” the entire stock he could reach into the cart and rush out an e door. Talking to pd he was linked to using the formula for the mix in of some drugs.
When it comes to shoplifting supermarkets, I’m of the opinion that that is a symptom of the state failing to, or worse, choosing not to, take care of those who, for whatever reason, can’t take care of themselves and those they are responsible for.
You don’t know what it’s like, you don’t have a clue.
And if you did you’d find yourself doing the same thing too.
~ R. Halford et al, 1980Next it will be curb pickup or delivery only. Customers won’t be allowed in the stores at all.
And, as soon as they can, it will be robots in the stores filling orders.
Honestly, I could see this model work for households who rely on large, predictable, repeat orders (i.e. families with small children), but I don’t think it’ll ever replace normal grocery stores, because a lot of profit is generated by people just browsing the aisles and buying stuff they didn’t even know they wanted, and online stores are still fairly bad at replicating that experience.
I agree that online stores don’t do it as well as in person ones (being committed to being in a specific place where you buy stuff I think makes people engage more intentionally and consider items in front of them), but I wish more people talked about how shitty SEO (search engine optimization) is one of the ways online stores do this, so I wanna take this opportunity to share that idea
Instead of having to walk to the back corner of the store to get milk or Christmas decorations, you have to scroll past a million items that aren’t quite what you’re looking for but are closely related by keywords. And in this metaphor the store can be infinitely big.
I hate shopping online 🥹
It should be called SED (de-optimisation).
This would be where you type in exactly what you want (including SKUs or product codes) and it suggests a million different things that are either tangentially related or not related at all, in an effort to distract you from buying what you want.
This has already been happening; before the GenBS search apocalypse, it was quicker to use a search engine query for “store product” to take you direct to the listing.
For example “M10 bolts Bunnings” would show me exactly what I asked for, instead of using the useless Bunnings search feature.
For prepackaged and bulk it would work good, but I’m not buying fresh produce sight unseen.
100% my biggest pet peeve when ordering grocery delivery, and no robot will ever be able to solve that.
and no robot will ever be able to solve that.
Well, they theoretically could, but they never would, because the robots are owned by the company and the company wants to screw you over.
Well, they theoretically could
I don’t see how. No robot could ever imitate your preferences for produce selection 100% accurately. I don’t think even any human could (unless you provide them with an unlimited budget).
you just have to find someone who’s grown the crop and is a chef. have them cook for you a few times, talk to you about what you did and didn’t like about it. you know, farm to table type shit, right? then they buy the food for you and move in, and are named Hikaru and cook for you every day and we have a pony named Glue Factory who likes to eat caramel.
fuck you bezos. there’s no way AI could ever match that.
yeah, part of successful grocery management is knowing how often to rearrange the store that your customers don’t hate you for moving the damn kefir. my bagels need kefir!
also i don’t trust a robot to pick the right fruit for me. a good onion smells different than the rest of the average shit in the pile.
yes, this is how i
traveldriveconveyexist dammit
This is why I like shopping at Aldi rather than Woolworths or Coles (besides the corporate Duopsony screwing over suppliers and Duopoly screwing over customers).
I have the choice of queuing for a checkout, and chatting to the other customers (if I am in a social mood), or going straight to the automated checkouts which don’t treat you as a criminal for not having a loyalty card.
I miss Aldi. My region really needs to get it
I’ve had this thought for a while. I don’t know how big of an issue loss from theft actually is, but if you own a store and perceive it to be a major issue, why give the customer access to anything? You could make it distopian and shitty like you’re saying it could be, but honestly, if you do it right it doesn’t have to be. Reorganize the store so the customers can see what is available, but they get a code or ticket instead of the item. Then have the employees pick the items once the customer is ready to pay. We already have a counter serve model like this for a butcher or baker. Convenience stores do this for highly regulated items like cigarettes and liquor. Just do it for everything. If that was the premise from the start, I wouldn’t mind because it would be less hostile. The current half asses model of I pick most of my stuff, but then I have to call one of 2 pissed off overworked employees to unlock the other half individually is hostile to the customer and the employee.
That’s how stores used to work until I think the early 20th century
Stores will turn into warehouses.
They largely already are
Vending machines
What was old becomes new again
I hate ordering things online… but I think you’re right
Both of these statements are correct. And if you blame the locked cases on shoplifting rather than blaming the shoplifting on the fact that greedy, soulless merchants will jack up their prices in response to sunrises, sunsets, or passing fancies, then fuck you along with capitalism.
Funny enough, the products locked behind glass at my store have actually been getting cheaper while everything else has been getting more expensive.
Turns out if it is inconvenient enough to buy certain products people will just not buy them there
Literally every store in the area does the same so it’s probably not that
If what I want to buy is under $200 and locked up, I usually go to another store to buy the item. I am not waiting for an employee to show up and unlock $200 item.
It often only takes a few months of huge losses in sales for the shelves to all be unlocked at a store.
*next store has the same locked cage because they too don’t want their $200 items stolen*
From the store’s pov shit being stolen is worse than it taking a bit longer to sell
That really depends on how much is stolen.
If margin is idk 30% then losing 3 sales to prevent 1 stolen item loses you money, assuming you account for the stolen item at what you paid for it rather than the selling price (which makes sense unless you expect it to sell out, i guess you can add a bit for storage+set up cost but that’ll be near nothing for a single item).
the item doesn’t take time to sell. the item takes time to restock. you gotta think like a manager. where are the cost centers.
Item not being sold -> don’t have to restock. Win-win
corporate keeps fuckin sending these damn crates tho
Last time I was at Walmart I asked an employee (who I knew. I’m a known quantity in my town. If I was shoplifting, the shop deserved it. Or I forgot like idk a watermelon at the self checkout my object permanece sucks) if they minded if I just popped the lock one of these days if i was in a hurry. They laughed and assumed i was joking, because I joke a lot. I just gave them that “no, I’m good with locks and don’t like waiting” shrug. You know the one. Then they quietly said no I like having a job. And I dropped it.
But man those locks suck and are always right under cameras.
Bullshit 🤣
I am very tough internet shit.
The time it takes to call someone over is minimal. But yeah I’m sure you pay for your shit, then go into another store, wait for a person to unlock the item because you live in an area with theft and it’s all locked up 🤣.
Dude, no one comes. They used the door to replace a person, do you think they have the staff to man the doors they just installed?
People don’t shop for those items from those places unless they absolutely have to. I’m of the same opinion as OP, and I’m pretty sure it’s the majority opinion.
Dude, no one comes.
I needed something from Best Buy the other day that was locked up. I pretty easily found an employee who tried to be helpful but had to call a manager over to open the case. As frustrating as it I that I couldn’t just get the thing I needed, it has to be straight up demoralizing for the employees to know that they aren’t trusted either.
You think I don’t think this shit is demeaning as fuck? Rather than pay, what, $100 bucks a day on a LP employee, they installed doors and forced their remaining employees to deal with the irate customers who are pissed about being forced to ask permission to buy a $4 deodorant.
It’s not about theft, it’s about forcing 1 or 2% more out of a balance sheet. They don’t give a fuck that their service is less usable. We’re just the vessels for their profits.
I went to target and they locked up the underwear. I’ve never been back to target
The social contract is just that, a contract. The unwritten contract of most developed countries has long been:
*Work hard. Get an education. Don’t steal. Don’t commit acts of violence. Don’t try to foment unrest or rebellion. Walk the straight and narrow. In turn, you’ll have a peaceful and adequate life. You may not be rich, but you’ll have all your needs met during your working years, and you’ll be able to retire when old with a bit of dignity."
For generations, the social contract was that anyone who played along and did things “right” would have a decent life. That decent life might mean living in a modest apartment your whole life, but it was achievable by the vast majority. Traditionally, if you couldn’t achieve self-sufficiency, it’s because you either were excluded from the social contract (like certain minority groups), you were born with some debilitating disability, or because you did something very wrong (like commit a serious crime.)
But contracts are two-way streets. When one side breaks the contract, it breaks for both sides. In wealthy countries, this old social contract has been broken by the rich. Millions are finding they did everything they were supposed to, and they still can’t get a decent life. So with the contract broken, there’s far less reason to follow it.
Most people do not avoid committing crimes simply because they fear the law. Most folks have an ethical belief that stealing and violence is wrong. Most people wouldn’t do these things even if there were no police or prisons. But when you break the social contract, the portion of the population that finds committing crimes to be morally acceptable will inevitably rise.
Honestly, this is by far the best argument I’ve seen so far ITT, but I will say it does require substantiation. Like many people who did just as you said, I feel cheated because none of my efforts were rewarded according to my expectations, but I’m afraid a conviction requires more evidence than that.
Seriously, I am on your side. If you have information that will help to convict the boomers, I’m all ears.
You seem to be under the mistaken impression that this is a court of law…
Oh come on, man, I want to convict the boomers as much as anyone, please just give me a valid reason that’ll hold up to their own standards.
Honestly, this is bizarre and you’re creeping me out.
Why? Your initial argument was that the social contract is broken. Well, who broke it?
Because it’s cringe as fuck.
What is, the social contract? Your argument? I don’t think I follow…
Nah, this is probably suppose to make the poster look hypocritical, but I think the sentiment of basic life essentials still stands.
Imagine this person lives in an area where fracking, data centers, and beverage companies have stolen or destroyed access to water; then complaining about bottled water being locked up because of shoplifting.
Tooth decay can kill you eventually, but hydraulic despotism can kill you pretty quickly. The slowly boiled frog vs the one dropped immediately into the pan.
I’d like to see a single town or urban area that is directly affected by all three, otherwise I’m going to assume you’re overreacting.
Stores should be grateful when people steal condoms.
Why, then their crotch spawn don’t grow up to need baby formula from nestle. Then they become good little consumers, as intended
/S
All so that you can just steal the shit at self checkout anyway.
And they’re always understaffed. I hate having to wait several minutes for someone to come unlock the contact solution I didn’t realize I needed until I was trying to go to bed
Ask them to unlock it then leave it on a different shelf.
nah they gotta walk the item up to the cash for you
Like you’re a criminal
One thing about me is that if I see a customer pull out their hammer and break the glass deodorant safe, I pretend I didn’t.
That things are locked literally has nothing to do with capitalism. It is because people are shoplifting to such an absurd amount that it is cheaper for the store to invest in locks then let it happen. And if u shoplift, that’ll just raise the prices cos the store has to somehow compensate this loss. Not sure how it is in the US, but in germany grocery stores operate on a slim margin, so significant amounts of shoplifting can be really detrimental.
Ah no relation to capitalism got it, why are people shoplifting necessities?
People shoplift because their employers pay to little. But that’s not a problem of the grocery store, they can’t solve that.
Agreed, that’s not a personal problem of the grocery store but of capitalism.
No. LP can be done with people. It’s more effective (less shoplifting) and loses less sales. But, of course, hiring labor to do something that a door can do is something that bean counters hate more than anything. They’d rather stab their own eye out then have to hire labor. So everything becomes shittier cause every store needs to show 2% growth this year and every year into perpetuity, meaning a store that used to employee 4 people at a time needs to be able to function with only 3 people this year or it gets closed.
I guess it depends on the size of the store. Around here, every grocery store has their liquor cabinet locked up. Except Trader Joe’s, which only opened last year, and replaced a Rite Aid that used to be in the same location (and of course, had lots of stuff locked up).
Now, Trader Joe’s doesn’t sell most items that other stores keep locked up besides liquor. But they don’t lock up their liquor either (or anything else for that matter). However, it’s just a tiny shelf and conveniently placed right across from the manager’s desk, so pretty much always within direct view of a team member.
Also, they probably have almost the same amount of staff as the Kroger across the street that’s 4x as big, so I suppose what you say IS possible, but you do pay for it with a much more limited selection. Trader Joe’s has exactly one of everything (their store brand), and if you don’t like that, you’re SOL. Regular supermarkets have way more choices, and they’re paying a lot more in rent to afford the space to stock all of these items.
Stores: If anybody shoplifts, I’m gonna make everyone wait.
Stores, years later: Hey everyone is buying everything online these days.
