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In my experience, this is not a general Walmart policy, it is store-specific. Not too long ago I was looking for a product that only Walmart seems to keep in s
by rootusrootus 5y ago
In my experience, this is not a general Walmart policy, it is store-specific. Not too long ago I was looking for a product that only Walmart seems to keep in stock, but they don't keep much of it. And their online system is not very accurate. So in the space of two hours I visited four different Walmarts, ranging from one in a nicer area of town, to one in a poor area. Security was nonexistent at the first Walmart. The store was relaxed, there were plenty of associates, they were helpful, etc. The store was actually pretty nice, the only thing out of place was the weirdly low prices compared to any other store in that area. At the other end of the scale, the store in the poor area (which is also majority black, whether or not this is actually a factor in their behavior I can only speculate) had a half dozen security cars in the parking lot with their little flashing yellow lights. Gates at the entrance manned with security personnel, uniformed security inside the store. And the icing on the cake? They were checking 9 out of 10 people's bags on the way out of the store, sort of like Costco. Except me. Waived me right on through. Because I'm not black? I have no idea. But it sure did weird me out.
- quitethelogic 5y agoI know the bag check isn't the focus here, but I always just politely decline. After I've paid, I own whatever is in those bags and no, you can't look in them.
- josephcsible 5y agoYou can just decline in stores that anyone is allowed to just walk in and shop, but at places that you need a membership for, your membership contract usually requires that you let them look.
- abfan1127 5y agomy friend employs the sunglasses and headphones technique where blatantly ignore them. They can't touch you, so they just shout a few times, and realize the futility and move on to the next shopper.
- acdha 5y agoThe availability of that option depends on your appearance: affluent middle-aged white people can usually do it but if you’re a teenager or match whatever demographic is poor in the area, you have to weigh that versus escalation possibly including armed police response.
- techbio 5y agoWhich escalations the store would have to weigh against a loss of business they should expect after racially targeting innocent (if so) customers. Know your rights and exercise them, keep your chin up and communicate. Fear is a trigger of suspicion.
- teddyh 5y agoWhen has “I’ll never shop here again!” ever been a useful threat? Shops care about people in aggregate, not you in particular. And anyone they decide to bother is someone they already have decided they don’t care about the opinion of.
- techbio 5y agoWhen "I will never" becomes "we demand".
- teddyh 5y ago> we demand Can you name a few, or even one, consumer-level boycott in, say, the last 50 years, which actually accomplished its goal? Accomplished by the actual boycott alone, I mean.
- techbio 5y agoAdd up all the businesses that have failed and you'll find plenty that disrespected some of their customers. Walmart is a much higher bar geopolitically, but bet they have to jump too when word gets out of malfeasance. But it is a prisoner's dilemma when they are the main one-stop value shop.
- ggggtez 5y agoI know a lot of tech people don't go to Walmart, but this also matches my experience. More brown neighborhoods have more security. But important note: you can just leave. You don't have to let them check your bag. They aren't cops.