Walmart Greeters Have Turned Into Walmart Stalkers (Strongsville, Ohio)

Walmart is hands down my favorite place to shop.  I love it because it’s almost the same as going on eBay or Amazon.  Pretty much anything that I’m looking for I can find, with ease and it can even be price matched in some cases.  For the most part shopping at Walmart, aside from some of the unique individuals that grace the store, has been painless and an enjoyable experience.  But recently or for the past year or so I’ve become increasingly aggravated by their stop, search & stalk process.  Walmart stalkers are the worst in Strongsville, Ohio.

What started out as an attempt by their theft & fraud division to cut down on thefts has now turned into, what I feel, is a blatant violation of my privacy and interruption of my shopping experience.  Walmart Greeters have turned into Walmart Stalkers.  It’s one thing to have to wait in long lines to check out with your items, but it’s an entirely different story when you have to then wait in another line to only show your receipt.

Granted, not every time am I asked to show a receipt, but I would say on average of about 50% of the time I have to stop, pull out my receipt and let them glance through my things.  I used to be fine with it in the beginning, but after about 2 years of this practice I’ve had enough.  I’ve done absolutely nothing wrong, I don’t steal, I always pay for each and every item that I put into my cart.  I’m done waiting in one line only to have to wait in additional line just to be “searched”.  I seriously feel like this should be illegal.

So what I have been doing as of late is just simply ignoring their calls for me to present my receipt.  In one case the worker when I asked him why the hell he was asking me stated “It’s because you don’t have all of your items in a bag sir and I need to make sure that you paid for them”.  To which I responded “How the hell am I supposed to be able to fit a 12 pack of Charmin 4x Toilet Paper into a small ass shopping bag”.  I refused to provide him with m receipt and went to my car.

I do this every single time now.  In some cases I’ve been followed all the way to my car, in many instances I’ve been threatened that they will call the cops on me and then there’s a handful that just leave me alone and let me go (probably because they realize what they are doing is ridiculous).  At the end of the day I like that the Walmart Greeters greet you in a friendly and welcoming way when you walk in the door but that’s all erased upon exit when they turn from Greeter to Security Stalker and want to do a thorough vetting of your shopping process.

Maybe it’s just me, maybe everyone else feels like it’s okay.  In my mind, it’s not okay.  I’ve done nothing wrong, I’m shopping and want to get out of there and back home as soon as possible.  Being bothered for a receipt makes me feel like I’ve done something wrong, like they are implying that I’ve done something wrong.  I think that it’s up to their security division to ensure that people don’t steal.  I don’t think the greeters get paid extra for this, maybe they do, I could be wrong, but no excuse in the world, no reason in the world is going to make me be “okay” with being almost frisked and stalked upon leaving the Walmart Supercenters.

The Bottom Line:  By law you don’t have to stop and show your receipt.  So long as you’ve paid for your items and done everything that you were supposed to do the legal way, you’re fine.  So if you don’t want to show your receipt the next time you walk out the door, don’t.  Be polite about it, explain to them why you’re not showing them as you’re walking away and go about your life.

SCUMBAGGED Tip:  Isn’t it hardcore enough at Walmart already?  They have security cameras in every isle, live recording sessions in make-up and prescription zones and even during the checkout process.  Staff watches closely at the self-checkout isles, there’s barcodes and scanners and a security team on staff watching everyones movements.  Isn’t that enough or does stalking have to take shape now at every Walmart nationwide?