I was a cart attendant at Walmart for almost a year …

and when ever Walmart didn’t schedule enough door greeters we got to come inside and play the part, when door greeting your given a rough, very fast explanation of what to do, at first I checked receipts, checked bags, and escorted customers back through the doors. For the short while I did this the only explanation I was given was simply, “to make sure all items were paid for…” which to me isn’t a good excuse, greeting them as they enter is one thing but to suspect them and search their bags was another.

…Greeting them as they enter is one thing but to suspect them and search their bags was another.

I gave up on checking bags because it made me feel like an asshole…

…then it got to the point where i wasn’t even checking receipts for the simple fact that i really didn’t have a reason to, I could plainly see that the customer had just come from a register. so whats the point of checking them? I didn’t want to make anyone feel like they had stole something.

Even the regular door greeters got to the point to where they didn’t care, only the ones that followed every rule to a “T” would check every receipt, every bag every time. It was quite annoying when as an employee I would be checked after buying something to drink.

I quit a week ago for the simple fact that i hated getting up a 6 in the morning to push carts for 8 hours a day.

So to those fighting them, you have my support.

1) Sign The “No You Can’t See My Receipt Petition”

2) Print Your “No You Can’t See My Receipt” Pass

3) Comment on the stories that made you the most frustrated

4) Tell Your Own Story!

Together we can make a difference!

I always have hated having them stop me to ask me for my receipt and treat me like I am a criminal. Especially since I have obviously just came from a register a few feet from them and all my things are in bags. Anyway one night my g/f and I went to walmart to get a “personal item”. We got said item and went to the furthest register to the left which happens to be right in front of the door. The two fascists that were working the door were right there and nobody was really coming in or going at that moment. They actually looked at us while we stood there checking out and my g/f has pink hair so we definitely stand out enough for them to remember us. Anyway we checked out and our item was placed in a bag with our receipt.

I had decided early on that I was sick of their harassment and that as a paying customer who pays their paychecks I would no longer put up with it. This is AMERICA after all. Not Nazi Germany.

So on my way out the door with my g/f in hand the older of the two “checkers” was busy harassing someone for their receipt. So I just walked around them and went to go out the door. He immediately turned his attention to me and was yelling after me… “sir! sir! siiiirrr!” and I just kept walking since I had no reason to talk to him. Then the younger and more ghetto of the two decided to come after me. He followed me out of the store and kept yelling “sir! Sir the man asked for your receipt!! Sir!!” I just kept walking to my car and was complaining to my g/f that I was sick of this treatment and that I was about to flip out.

Anyway I get to my car and the guy catches up to me and is next to me screaming at me and trembling saying that the other guy asked to see my receipt. I said so what? And he said well he asked you. And I said I have no reason to show him. I’m not a theif.

He looked perplexed for a minute. Then he started threatening me. saying he was going to call the cops and I said go for it. I have committed no crime and have no reason to be treated like a criminal. He used the whole… I’m just doing my job line on me. And said he was going to call the cops.

My g/f actually got mad enough when the guy threatened us with the cops to scream at him to leave us the fu*k alone and that we had done nothing wrong.

Anyway I was a little worried it was going to escalate further but I got in my car and drove home thinking the cops would stop me and give me a hard time etc. but it never happened. I actually felt pretty accomplished.

It was a while after that before I went back to the store again. Next time I was in there the same younger guy was working the door. Not sure if he just didn’t remember us but he didn’t say a word to me or my g/f.

This also happened to me at a Tiger Direct store once. They have a hired guard that stands sentry at the door. I went in to exchange my motherboard for a different one and he stopped me as soon as I went in and took the item from me. He gave it to a cashier and I waited in line to do the exchange. All of this is right in front of the guy. Anyway I’m there and he is watching me the whole time and watches them do the exchange for me and what seemed to be his releif (another security dude showed up) and was there to relieve him from work. They were standing there facing me joking around etc. anyway after all is said and done the cashier hands me the new item in a store bag with my receipt in it.

The 2 guards were harassing someone else who was trying to leave so instead of waiting to be illegally searched or bothered I walked past them and out the door. I got almost all the way to my car before I heard the one running behind me screaming “sir! sir! sir!”. I just kept walking and didn’t even acknowledge him. I got in my car with my heart pumping and turned it on. When I pulled out I looked back and saw him and the other guard outside looking so baffled and confused that I didn’t respond. I think he was yelling “can’t you hear me sir!” at one point too. lol.

Anyway stand up for yourselves and don’t take their crap. They have no right. I don’t care if it’s a “policy” its my policy not to be treated like a criminal without merit. And they have no governing control over us.

False Imprisonment is the tort to provide money damages for cases where someone’s liberty was unlawfully restrained by another. Wal-Mart has no right to detain you, or intimidate you into believing that you are not free to leave. Although your may only be detained a brief moument, because it is an intentional act on their part (not simply negligent), you may be entitled to an award of punitive damages.

Defamation is the tort to provide money damages for cases where false statements were made against you. Situations were buzzers sounded, or employees were loud (and could be overheard by other employees or customers) may create the requirements for defamation. Technically it would be slander (that is the defamatory statements are oral, and not written). In most states it is considered defamation per se to be accused of a crime of moral turpitude (i.e. shoplifting or larceny). That means that if you can prove defamation the Court will instruct the jury that nominal damages are established and again, you can ask for punitive damages.

Before anyone thinks this is frivolous, this is exactly what the Court system is created for. It is only frivolous when you have don’t have a valid claim, and although your claim for damages in these cases may be small, you very well may have a very strong case based on the normal operating procedures of WalMart.

Good luck.

I’m sick of standing in lines for 10 to 15 min due to the fact that the store only wanted to staff two checkers. I WILL NOT stand in line a second time to walk out the door with stuff I have purchased. For the last two years I have politely said no thank you and kept walking. This works 98% of the time, the other two percent I do dig my heals in and ask them to 1 take their hand off my cart or 2. if the refuse ask them to call the police.

The 1 time they did call the police, I politely told the officer that ” I do not consent to a search of any kind ” , people it is your RIGHT to make this statement. WalMart and other stores bank on you not saying these MAGIC words. I am an honest person, and refuse to just give away my AMERICAN right to say these words.

People there is NO way WalMart or any other company can ever justify using this tactic, they can and will throw fancy buzz words at you but that’s all they are. Do not back down !!!! Please be polite and if questioned say , “no thank you, I do not consent to a search of any kind.” Do not fall for store policy, this is a trick to have you wave your AMERICAN rights. In todays day and age if it was store policy to not let black people in the store would you have to follow that policy ? The answer is NO ! Any Policy that is unlawful is not even worth the waste of breath it takes to recite the bogus policy.

As stated before it is only a ploy to get you tricked into waving your rights. Also if an officer of the law says you have to show the receipt politely state one more time with the officer present that, you do not consent to a search of any kind. If the officer still insists you can show HIM the receipt and ask him politely that you would like a field report on the incident.

YOU MUST GET A FIELD REPORT. If the officer does not want to give one, please politely ask for a duty officer to come to the location. Once you get your field report take it to a attorney and have him file a case, you’ll be glad you did !!!!

If you don’t get a field report and if at any time you do not re assert your right that you do not consent to a search of any kind don’t even bother trying to fight it. Your time is worth something and that includes standing in lines to get out the door for whatever reason.

We were aware that staffing was somewhat lower at night, but we went to the computer department to get a replacement cartridge for our computer. We were also looking at purchasing another laptop that night. Upon getting to the cartridges, we found they were under store locked pegs. We tried for over 45 minutes to find someone to help us, even to the point of screaming “Anyone around here to help us?” Finally, needing to leave after looking at the cartridge and needing info about the laptop, my husband got aggravated and took his knife out of his pocket and cut the cardboard hole to loosen the cartridge from the peg. Then he handed it to me as he was trying to decide which laptop to pick up and buy. Then, all of a sudden, one of their employees arrived and jerked the cartridge out of my hand and asked, “Did one of you take this off the peg?” My husband replied that he had done so because we had waited over 45 minutes to get merchandise and no one was there to help us (yet we had observed cashiers just standing around and talking at the checkouts, not paying attention at all that someone needed help or was screaming for help). Honestly! We timed ourselves. WE searched and looked for help for over 45 minutes before the employee walked up. The

night store manager even saw us and did nothing to send help. Instead of asking could she help when the lady employee arrived, she rudely implied with her actions we were trying to steal something. The employee then informed us in a sarcastic manner that she would “have to escort us to the front checkout immediately to pay for the item since we had taken off the peg without permission”. My husband then told her that “no one” was escorting him anywhere and then turned to walk out, leaving the employee standing with the cartridge in her hands. My husband also had a few other small items to pay for, but after being treated like a thief, he threw them down and walked out. Walmart had made us feel like total thieves just because we were trying to get something we needed, were in a hurry, and they weren’t there to assist. By having someone escort you to the checkout to pay for an item implies in my/our book that they don’t trust you to go to the checkout with the item to pay for it. Also, I might add that at all the other local Walmart stores, the computer cartridges aren’t even under lock and key! If Walmart plans to keep everything locked from their customers, then they need to assure an employee is there to assist. We left the store furious after the way we were treated! It was their loss because it cost them over a thousand dollar sale!

Walmart’s policies are ridiculous in general and we have had numerous episodes of not being able to get “customer satisfaction” as the store implies. They seem to come up with all these “unknown” policies on certain items that only have a 15 day return time instead of their standard 30 to 45 day policy that is not on their return policy board at the service desk We took a picture today of the Walmart’s store policy inside the store today and their warranty did not show the items we had bought at all. There was no mention of yard equipment, mowers, or pressure washers, or specifics of what was warrantied for these items. Twice now, we have bought merchandise and found it to be defective, each being $200 to $300 dollar items. Upon trying to return the merchandise, we were THEN informed they were not covered or that they were out of the system because they had been clearance, etc. and their computers would not identify the item, although we had just purchased it.

It doesn’t matter if what you bought was defective or not, if you don’t take it back within “when they say”, then you can’t even get a refund, replacement, or the satisfaction they so broadly post throughout their store. One manager even stated that their store return policies were posted at the service desk. I asked him in all honesty, who checks out at the service desks and sees that when they are buying the item? I then told him if there is limited warranty other than their standard store policy which applies to most items, a sign is not posted over that item telling you so. I feel this a bit deceptive because who would want to buy a $300 or $1000.00 mower or pressure washer only to find out that it had a 15 day store policy on return. So, if you use it once and try to use it again, and it doesn’t work because of a defect, then you are either stuck with the item or have to await a long factory repair period instead of being able to use the product you needed when you bought it. So, who’s being the thief in this case? Who’s making false accusations and false advertising? This is just as bad as them accusing someone of theft only in reverse.

To add to the sitiuation, I took my 2004 Blazer to the automotive section for service. I had a flat tire in the back storage area which I asked them to fix and also specified that I wanted my four wheel drive fluids, Rear End Fluids and Transmission fluids all checked. They agreed to do so and told me they would page me when the vehicle was finished. I received the page and immediately paid them for their service. Uponj returning to the truck I discovered the tire in the back had never been repaired. I went back in and told them that if they fixed a flat it must have been on another vehicle as mine still had the flat in the back. I also asked that they recheck all the fluids in case there was a mistake. The gentlemen who had supposed done the work was at lunch so another young man agree to recheck. I asked if I could join him and he said yes. Once under the vehicle it was evident to both he and I that no screws to check the fluid levels had been checked. He placed the proper amount in the transfer case, differetial, and transmission and stated that when they serviced a vehicle they always used a sealant on the bolts threads to eliminate leaks. He fixed the flat also. Upon management asking the other repairmen who was supposed to have done the work, he stated that he had checked the levels and I was looked at with hate for reporting the situation. This is no more than fraud and theft. Another man came in with a van while I was waiting and they had forgotten to replaced the oil drain plug. He was on his vacation and made it about 15-20 miles out of town before the engine blew so may it was just a bad day or a day filled with negligence but it happened. Never ever have a vehicle serviced at Wal Mart.

My family has encountered numerous occasions when we were implied to have been a thief by certain comments without actually being called a thief.

In fact, my mother-in-law (now deceased) at age 78 went to Walmart one day to get some Ben-gay creme (which she kept openly in her hand). The garden department was right next door and their plants extended into the parking lot. Being a lover of flowers, she slowly drifted through their department to the outside beyond the gate looking at even more plants, but half their parking lot was filled with plants, etc. She realized at that point that she was outside the store, although she was still on Walmart premises in the parking lot. At once, she turned to go back inside the gate to pay for the item and was approached by security who then interrogated her, called the police, and banned her from Walmart for stealing and had her escorted out of the store by a  [sic] woman which totally humiliated her and caused degradation of character. The woman was a devoted Christian and had never had a thought of ever stealing a thing in her life! Because she was elderly, she did have episodes of dementia from time to time and had wandered outside admiring their products before she realized what she had done.She was looking for hanging flower baskets and the employees didn’t know where they were, so she walked outside to search for them.

The Called My 78 Year Old A Thief - Aloud!

It was shortly after this that she found out that their merchandise on the parking lot was not considered to be on Walmart property according to them–but rather City property. How convenient! THEY DID CALL HER A THIEF! She politely and courteously cooperated with them when they asked to search her purse, etc. and then they still banned her. Her sister was with her at the time of the incident and was also banned because of the episode! Looks to me like if they are going to accuse you of stealing outside the store, then anyone who buys plants outside the store gate is considered a thief by those standards! If you are still on the premises looking at their products, you shouldn’t be considered a thief until you jump in your car and drive away with the merchandise! At that time, they could collect your tag number and report you, but to arrest you when you are still on the premises is ridiculous!

Sign The Receipt Checking Policy Petition Here

By Lisa R.
London Ohio
Submitted on Mar 22, 2008

It was 11:45 PM when we left after almost an hour in line at the register.  We had two carts full of groceries and the baby was crying when we exited the store and an employee asked for the receipt.  I politely said, No thanks, and kept walking.  The employee grabbed my cart and said he wanted to see my receipt.  You can’t leave the store without showing your receipt, he claimed.

My wife had twice changed the baby’s diaper inside the store.  Each time, she took a fully-loaded cart with her into the ladies room, no problem.

I loudly asked the employee if he was accusing me of theft.  Three other employees came running and now I’m surrounded by four employees all talling me at the same time, Sir, you have to show your receipt, it’s store policy.

Within moments, a sheriff’s deputy approached and asked what was going on.  The employees say, he won’t show his receipt.  I told the deputy it was true, then I point out my wife is hysterically freaked-out and my baby is crying, can I take them to the car and then come back and resolve this?  I just paid $516.00 and they’re accusing me of theft.

At this point, the employees say they’re not accusing me of theft and not detaining me, I just can’t leave.  The deputy tells me I have to show the receipt–at which point my wife grabs the receipt and gives it to the Walmart employee.  They look at the receipt for all of 3 seconds, hand it back, and we go home.

I called the store to complain to the manager.  I spoke with Manager Sharon and was told that they have total right to stop anyone and everyone to demand receipts because it’s “store policy.”  I said fine, but where is that policy posted?  I didn’t see this policy when I shopped earlier.  Manager replies, and I kid you not, “we have so many policies that there’s just not room to post them all.

Sumbitted By By Joe R.
Orlando Florida Store#4332
Submitted on Mar 31, 2008

Share Your Stories Here - Make A Difference.

I have a full collection of stories that I will be adding as articles. I implore all of you to tell your stories of receipt checking, assaults, abuse both verbal and physical, criminal acts committed by the underpaid and overzealous Walmart staff.