Comments on: Fry’s Pilferage Problem

By: Richard P. Schmitt

Richard P. Schmitt — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 15:46:10 +0000

The National Retail Security Survey, November 2002, http://www.jrrobertssecurity.com/security-news/security-crime-news0024.htm, stated that employee theft accounted for 48.5% of inventory shrinkage at the retail level compared to 31.7% from shoplifting.

Sad. Brings into question why a retailer would want to annoy customers by checking bags at exit.

Richard

By: Harry McCracken

Harry McCracken — Thu, 25 Dec 2008 19:11:12 +0000

Dave: The door guards may indeed check for items rung up at lower prices, but they typically count the number of items in my bag, or pretend to, so I assume they’re also checking for “purchases” that were never rung up at all.

I do tend to stop for the kabuki, but I long ago learned that if the cashier forgets to deactivate anti-shoplifting tags on an item (or you set off alarms for other reasons) there’s no reason to stop at the door. Just continue on your merry way,

–Harry

By: Dave Barnes

Dave Barnes — Thu, 25 Dec 2008 05:25:30 +0000

The kabuki is designed solely to prevent “your buddy, the cashier” from ringing up an item at an incorrect (lower) price and “passing the savings onto to you”.

There is no other purpose for the door ritual.

You have the legal right to walk straight out the door without participating in the ritual.

By: fred

fred — Thu, 25 Dec 2008 02:50:01 +0000

I have been avoiding Fry’s for more than 2 years. I buy something from Fry’s only if I can’t find it anywhere else. The prices are not that great, half of the boxes have been opened or returned from a previews buyers. Sales rep are useless even worst, annoying. Fry’s is not what it used to be.