Idiocracy

[Seattle]

I went to the grocery store today and while I was there I bought some batteries. They were displayed on racks (rods) and there was a red plastic lock on the end of each rod so I had to call a store employee over.

Other than some alcohol, nothing else is locked up. I get that a pack of batteries is easy to steal (I guess) but so is a pack of batteries that a store employee has just handed you so what's the point?

 

[billvon]

Other than some alcohol, nothing else is locked up. I get that a pack of batteries is easy to steal (I guess) but so is a pack of batteries that a store employee has just handed you so what's the point?

I would guess that the store policy is that they take the batteries to the cashier and you have to buy them there, but you looked trustworthy and the employee was lazy.

 

[Seattle]

I would guess that the store policy is that they take the batteries to the cashier and you have to buy them there, but you looked trustworthy and the employee was lazy.

It was a grocery store, in a good neighborhood and batteries were the only thing locked up. Even in your scenario, they would just keep the batteries by the check-out line.

 

[wegs]

Hmm. You should ask one of the employees there. I’m curious to know why only the batteries are locked up? Doing a quick google search on “battery theft,” it sounds like Home Depot and other retailers are also keeping batteries from being taken off the shelf without associate assistance. I don’t buy batteries often although hurricane season is coming soon so I haven’t noticed if they’re secured at my grocery store.

 

[Seattle]

Hmm. You should ask one of the employees there. I’m curious to know why only the batteries are locked up? Doing a quick google search on “battery theft,” it sounds like Home Depot and other retailers are also keeping batteries from being taken off the shelf without associate assistance. I don’t buy batteries often although hurricane season is coming soon so I haven’t noticed if they’re secured at my grocery store.

I didn't use to use many batteries and the ones I did use were rechargeable but now I have "smart" locks on my 3 external doors and they use regular batteries and I have a motion activated light on the front of my garage that uses regular batteries as well.

The batteries last a long time but each device uses a few so when they start going I need to have a lot of batteries around.

It also seems odd to have to get someone to come over and unlock the batteries when the store also has more self-checkout stations than manned cashiers so they trust you to ring up your purchases but don't trust you to take the batteries off the shelf?

 

[sculptor]

A few years ago, I was at the home center buying polycarbonate panels and noticed that the 8 foot long panels cost more than the 12 foot long panels..............hmmm
So, I asked a retired carpenter that I knew who worked there: "Why"? And he said "We do not second guess corporate decisions".
OK
so I bought the 12 foot long panels

 

[C C]

In the big stores they keep gobs of small or easy-to-hide items locked up in glass cases. I've never selected more than one or two of an _X_ after they unlocked such, but I assume if I grabbed or requested more and was wearing shoplifter-accommodating apparel or whatever, the policy would be to escort me to get that checked out and paid for first (and whatever else was in the cart) before I shopped any further.

Maybe not, though, in which case it would be a bonkers anti-mass-theft approach.

Reports are that due to the inconvenience, many people just decide not to buy those goods, especially if they've got a solid love/hate relationship of ordering from Amazon (etc), or do a lot of curbside pickup.
_

 

[Seattle]

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-new...se-logs-zoom-court-hearing-driving-rcna154585

 

[wegs]

I didn't use to use many batteries and the ones I did use were rechargeable but now I have "smart" locks on my 3 external doors and they use regular batteries and I have a motion activated light on the front of my garage that uses regular batteries as well.

The batteries last a long time but each device uses a few so when they start going I need to have a lot of batteries around.

It also seems odd to have to get someone to come over and unlock the batteries when the store also has more self-checkout stations than manned cashiers so they trust you to ring up your purchases but don't trust you to take the batteries off the shelf?

Maybe it's easier to steal hidden away in an aisle of the store as opposed to self-check out. I'm not sure, that is odd. This is just making a better argument for shopping online. lol

Just curious, do you prefer self-check out? I kind of like it. The grocery store near me has someone lurking around the self-check out areas at all times, in case you need help.

 

[Seattle]

Maybe it's easier to steal hidden away in an aisle of the store as opposed to self-check out. I'm not sure, that is odd. This is just making a better argument for shopping online. lol

Just curious, do you prefer self-check out? I kind of like it. The grocery store near me has someone lurking around the self-check out areas at all times, in case you need help.

I like it better now that I have used it a few times.

 

[Seattle]

Speaking of idiocy.
The latest...a Redmond man died from a fireworks accident. He was in his neighborhood cul de sac with wife and kids at 2:30 am and decided to launch mortar style fireworks from the top of his head...

Culling the herd, one idiot at a time...

 

[exchemist]

I like it better now that I have used it a few times.

I think self checkouts are great. They have completely altered the way people like me in cities use the supermarket. We can pop in for half a dozen items when we feel like it, perhaps on our way home from work or whatever, whizz through the self checkout and out. Instead of having to accumulate a long list of stuff to buy at once, to justify the time taken to queue up at the checkout and lug it all back to the car. I find I pop into the supermarket most days now, which is only 5 mins away on the bike. The self checkout is a great way to uncouple shopping from the car. That’s a step forward for city life.

 

[exchemist]

Speaking of idiocy.
The latest...a Redmond man died from a fireworks accident. He was in his neighborhood cul de sac with wife and kids at 2:30 am and decided to launch mortar style fireworks from the top of his head...

Culling the herd, one idiot at a time...

I used to have somewhere a video taken on someone’s phone of an idiot pulling down his trousers and sticking the stick of a rocket up his arse before lighting it. He thought it would be cool to launch a rocket from his bum. Of course what happened was the stick stayed put, grasped firmly by his sphincter, and the video shows him yelling as the rocket fries his balls. What a berk. I imagine that was a hospital job.

 

[TheVat]

A few years ago, I was at the home center buying polycarbonate panels and noticed that the 8 foot long panels cost more than the 12 foot long panels..............hmmm
So, I asked a retired carpenter that I knew who worked there: "Why"? And he said "We do not second guess corporate decisions".
OK
so I bought the 12 foot long panels

The retailer's supplier ships them in the 12 ft length, therefore you have a labor charge because the retailer then has to cut them down to 8 ft. for those who prefer that more convenient length. (that's why those 2x4 ft quarter sheets of plywood are such a ridiculous price - it takes two cuts to make them)

The seemingly stupid battery thing is a form of psychological deterrence which apparently works somewhat....or stores wouldn't bother. The potential thief has to make FTF contact with an employee as they are handed the batteries - add in the heightened risk that said employee might notice the customer leaving without paying and the element of the customer not being quite sure if the red locking gizmo sends some kind of electronic blip through the system when it releases a package or what that might mean. Psychological deterrents play on anxieties about what we don't know, even if such are not rational.