Filthy Ralphs Sparks Outrage

California. No non-grocery posts.
klkla
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Re: Filthy Ralphs Sparks Outrage

Post by klkla »

Locking things up is a barrier to people from buying them. Especially if they always have to wait for someone to open the cabinets or in the case of condoms they might be too embarrassed to ask someone.

One of the chains was experimenting with in-line vending machines for high theft items a couple years ago. A lot of progress has been made in the technology for these machines and this would seem to be a better solution.
storewanderer
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Re: Filthy Ralphs Sparks Outrage

Post by storewanderer »

In-line vending machines make a lot more sense than this. This would also better monitor the internal theft issue since the machines would only be opened/closed for refills at specific times and could be watched or just have the camera recordings monitored for that small amount of time.

The other alternative is displaying it all at a service counter (customer service). But then you have to staff it. And if these are high theft items when put out for customers, they may still be a "high theft item" even if kept behind the counter (like cigarettes are).
pseudo3d
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Re: Filthy Ralphs Sparks Outrage

Post by pseudo3d »

For what it's worth, when I worked at Village Foods (a descendant of a Safeway, really) the condoms were locked up because they were shoplifted (and it was not a high volume store). Not sure what they do now, since the pharmacy was the thing that was saved when they moved and just became a natural foods store.

As for cigarettes, I'm not sure if they're locked up due to high theft or for legal reasons. I've never seen a cigarette display that wasn't behind the counter and/or locked up, ever.
klkla
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Re: Filthy Ralphs Sparks Outrage

Post by klkla »

pseudo3d wrote:As for cigarettes, I'm not sure if they're locked up due to high theft or for legal reasons. I've never seen a cigarette display that wasn't behind the counter and/or locked up, ever.
When I was much younger packs of cigarettes were sold at every checkstand in the store I worked at. Cartons were stocked on regular shelving in-line (our store had a 20 foot cigarette set on aisle 5). How times have changed. That was typical back then, too.
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Re: Filthy Ralphs Sparks Outrage

Post by storewanderer »

I guess when I was very young, cigarettes were self serve. I have been accused by my parents of, when I sat in the cart, taking a pack of cigarettes and putting it into the cart, and my parents found it when they got home. I always wondered what that box was. Not a toy, I guess. I do remember this endcap of cigarettes in Raleys, it was on the front center endcap and there was a manager podium near it, but either it was self serve or it was unlocked. It was not unusual, at that time, for the Raleys to have lines that stretched into the aisles it was so busy. The store is now a low volume Food Source. How times (and neighborhoods) change.
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