Safeway Oakland Rockridge- Security Measures

[storewanderer]

A plastic gate and you have to scan your receipt to leave self checkout? What? I've never seen that before anywhere. Looks like a public transit exit gate. Where is the employee who watches self checkout? They need to be able to freely walk around the area... that gate seems to prevent that. That gate also seems like it would prevent security, etc. from monitoring self checkout by standing nearby. This seems like a terrible idea and I'd avoid a store with this kind of set up.


https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/ ... 920035.php

California needs to eliminate its plastic bag ban and stores need to have the option to stop allowing reusable bags to combat all of this theft. Those super thick plastic bags everyone is using anyway generate so much plastic waste the whole thing is not accomplishing its intended goal anyway. Perhaps rich person stores in rich neighborhoods like Whole Foods would continue the bag regulations on their own but out in the neighborhoods that are more middle class there is too much theft to continue this way, unless the stores want to.

[ClownLoach]

A plastic gate and you have to scan your receipt to leave self checkout? What? I've never seen that before anywhere. Looks like a public transit exit gate. Where is the employee who watches self checkout? They need to be able to freely walk around the area... that gate seems to prevent that. That gate also seems like it would prevent security, etc. from monitoring self checkout by standing nearby. This seems like a terrible idea and I'd avoid a store with this kind of set up.


https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/ ... 920035.php

California needs to eliminate its plastic bag ban and stores need to have the option to stop allowing reusable bags to combat all of this theft. Those super thick plastic bags everyone is using anyway generate so much plastic waste the whole thing is not accomplishing its intended goal anyway. Perhaps rich person stores in rich neighborhoods like Whole Foods would continue the bag regulations on their own but out in the neighborhoods that are more middle class there is too much theft to continue this way, unless the stores want to.

This article is a political mess.

Safeway installed the bars and gates to make people of certain ethnicities feel uncomfortable like they're in a prison? Seriously?!! Do they really think management called up their fixture vendor like, "Hey could you guys get us some barricades for this Oakland store? We really want them to look like a prison, so be sure to do your research. Go visit Alcatraz and such, we want to discriminate against certain groups and make them feel uncomfortable shopping here."

It's okay to steal baby formula because it's a basic need?!! No, it's not. If you actually need baby formula and can't afford it then you will qualify for government assistance, and furthermore those programs make it easy to enroll. In fact the State was calling the news media a few years ago after they expanded eligibility, rebranded food stamps to reduce the stigma, and moved to debit cards - they said based on tax returns there were 10 million Californians who qualified for assistance but had not applied for it.

And the rest of the article questions if theft actually is a reason for stores to close, when showing racks that have been swept of product by shoplifters?

Basically because the company brings in significant revenues it is not entitled to turn a profit?

Of course as they insinuate that closures aren't due to theft but to raise profits further they don't actually consult anyone with Wall Street experience to either support their case or debunk it. And because that angle is missing the facts and consultation needed, they also thereby miss the fact that retailers who dare say that they have any sort of shoplifting issue see their stock value plummet instantly - and since Wall Street demands that they buy back their own stock the lost value to the company can be 10X to 100X the cost of the shoplifting loss - thereby requiring closures and price increases to offset the earnings impact. And then if you bring up shoplifting you also get the folks they interviewed here who say it is okay to steal baby formula and such because they are basic needs. OF COURSE they aren't going to admit closures and security measures are due to rampant theft because it is FINANCIAL AND POLITICAL SUICIDE TO DO SO!

You couldn't pay me enough to run a store in that area and deal with that kind of thinking.

[storewanderer]

Yes it is quite an article.

The professor who says the bars and gates invoke images of a prison certainly draws some wild conclusions but gives some food for thought. I guess my cold hearted response to that comment is that is too bad but if the people in the community are going to disrespect the store by shoplifting so excessively, they are going to get a store with bars and gates. It sucks for the folks who are honest but too many people doing the wrong thing gets you this result. If they don't like it, then they should not shop there and consider moving to a different community. If the store continues to have these losses even after the bars and gates are installed then the store will close and the boarded up padlocked building will also invoke images of prison. The only possible win here is to somehow get the community to quit the excessive shoplifting.

As far as the random customer who thinks it is okay for theft of baby formula because it is a human need all I can say to them is okay, you go buy a store and operate it with this kind of policy/thinking and see how you do financially. Unreal.

This type of thing makes me question how valuable Safeway NorCal Division actually is. How many stores are in this type of situation? These bay area stores - the ones I thought were some of the most profitable, seem to have turned into some pretty troubling targets for shoplifting. And I think a lot of the changes they are making are turning away honest customers. Somehow competitors like Trader Joe's do not have to undertake measures like this in their stores and are really inviting even in areas with tough shoplifting. It is like Trader Joe's isn't a huge target for the theft rings because they don't have much stuff worth reselling.

I am not sure how Kroger is going to handle this. Perhaps major growth for the FoodsCo banner.

[HCal]

In Denmark, and perhaps other European countries, having to scan your receipt at a gate to exit the store is standard, whether you used a traditional register or self-checkout. So I don't think this is inherently a bad thing, although it can feel a bit awkward. How about Costco's receipt checks at the exit, are they also "hostile" and "alienating"?

The most hostile setup I have seen was at a Kroger near downtown Atlanta. The entire middle section of the store, basically 3 or 4 entire aisles, was walled off with only one entrance, and a security guard. Now that was "hostile", and I've never seen anything like it in the bay area.

I'm glad that Safeway is trying these things rather than just closing down the store. It's only a burden if they become like Walmart and you can't find anyone to open the case and give you what you want, which has happened to me a few times recently.

[storewanderer]

In Denmark, and perhaps other European countries, having to scan your receipt at a gate to exit the store is standard, whether you used a traditional register or self-checkout. So I don't think this is inherently a bad thing, although it can feel a bit awkward. How about Costco's receipt checks at the exit, are they also "hostile" and "alienating"?

The most hostile setup I have seen was at a Kroger near downtown Atlanta. The entire middle section of the store, basically 3 or 4 entire aisles, was walled off with only one entrance, and a security guard. Now that was "hostile", and I've never seen anything like it in the bay area.

I'm glad that Safeway is trying these things rather than just closing down the store. It's only a burden if they become like Walmart and you can't find anyone to open the case and give you what you want, which has happened to me a few times recently.

I think the receipt checks at any store exit are hostile but not necessarily alienating. I can see how it may be alienating if you get stopped for nor scanning all of your items. But getting stopped during the receipt check (and at a point when you can still go back and pay for the items not scanned) is far better for all involved than being stopped by security on the sidewalk and escorted to the security room instead.

The Vons on Twain in Las Vegas has the set up you describe including a security guard and one cashier dedicated to the section in the middle of the store. The Smiths on Rampart in Las Vegas (Summerlin- not sure why in this neighborhood they felt the need to do this) has a similar physical set up but there was just a cashier there, no visible security.

Wal Mart's locked cases are hopeless. If you must buy those items from Wal Mart, better do a Pick Up order.

The reaction of the community to what Safeway is trying, if the article is any indication, is so overwhelmingly negative, I question how much of the community will continue to support the store. It also sounds like it is really treading on the employees badly.

[jamcool]

Yes it is quite an article.

The professor who says the bars and gates invoke images of a prison certainly draws some wild conclusions but gives some food for thought. I guess my cold hearted response to that comment is that is too bad but if the people in the community are going to disrespect the store by shoplifting so excessively, they are going to get a store with bars and gates. It sucks for the folks who are honest but too many people doing the wrong thing gets you this result. If they don't like it, then they should not shop there and consider moving to a different community. If the store continues to have these losses even after the bars and gates are installed then the store will close and the boarded up padlocked building will also invoke images of prison. The only possible win here is to somehow get the community to quit the excessive shoplifting.

As far as the random customer who thinks it is okay for theft of baby formula because it is a human need all I can say to them is okay, you go buy a store and operate it with this kind of policy/thinking and see how you do financially. Unreal.

This type of thing makes me question how valuable Safeway NorCal Division actually is. How many stores are in this type of situation? These bay area stores - the ones I thought were some of the most profitable, seem to have turned into some pretty troubling targets for shoplifting. And I think a lot of the changes they are making are turning away honest customers. Somehow competitors like Trader Joe's do not have to undertake measures like this in their stores and are really inviting even in areas with tough shoplifting. It is like Trader Joe's isn't a huge target for the theft rings because they don't have much stuff worth reselling.

I am not sure how Kroger is going to handle this. Perhaps major growth for the FoodsCo banner.

There isn’t many high dollar/high demand items in a Trader Joe’s. A Safeway has things like baby formula and Liquid Tide which are easily resold on the black market

[BillyGr]

In Denmark, and perhaps other European countries, having to scan your receipt at a gate to exit the store is standard, whether you used a traditional register or self-checkout. So I don't think this is inherently a bad thing, although it can feel a bit awkward. How about Costco's receipt checks at the exit, are they also "hostile" and "alienating"?

Sounds perfectly logical, so long as the receipt is available and there is a way to open it if someone doesn't have one (either due to a failure of the equipment or for someone who wound up not buying anything).

[ClownLoach]

This type of thing makes me question how valuable Safeway NorCal Division actually is. How many stores are in this type of situation? These bay area stores - the ones I thought were some of the most profitable, seem to have turned into some pretty troubling targets for shoplifting. And I think a lot of the changes they are making are turning away honest customers.

This is really a good discussion point.

News articles recently state that the Bay Area is the "second most targeted" market in the US for shoplifting and ORC theft. But they state Los Angeles is #1.

My experience over the last decade of reviewing shrink reports has been that the NorCal stores are far and beyond higher shrink in percent to sales than LA. And it's not even close.

Yes I see very bad things in LA and have grown to avoid the area at all costs as I've watched it deteriorate severely over the last 5 years.

But... I'm not seeing the rollout of these draconian measures (aside from glass cases) in LA aside from Walmart who seems to put weird measures everywhere probably preventing more sales than shrink. But not in supermarkets. Anywhere. No weird mazes with bars. No high shrink corrals with their own registers in supermarkets (although I've heard Ralphs has taken some LA stores and blocked the back end of the aisles in some shrink departments with an alarming gate). Certainly no scan to exit gates.

So this makes me start to wonder why as I compare the two areas. And I don't have all the answers but some of you might.

It is very well known that the massive strike at the "big 3" in SoCal in the early 2000's led to a catastrophic loss of their market share. Traditional competitor Stater Bros' volume exploded in the areas they cover where they traditionally were a minor player outside of the San Bernardino market. Walmart quickly expedited conversion of nearly every store to a mini supercenter format in SoCal, taking share. Trader Joe's blew up and became a real alternative to mainstream stores. Costco also exploded and became a top choice for more affluent shoppers. The result was hundreds of stores culled by Ralphs, Vons, and Albertsons over the decade after the strike and an explosion of ethnic markets taking their place.

So my question is: did the mass closing of mainstream stores in SoCal, especially the LA market, ultimately drive up volume enough to offset shrink percentage so that they don't need these lock down measures? Is this an event that hasn't yet happened in NorCal - is store count too high there, causing lower volumes and higher shrink percentages (plus more stores meaning more exposure to theft)? Does this factor of too many stores and not enough volume mean they have little choice but to build these "prison bars" and elaborate entry mazes and such?

How many stores does Safeway operate per capita there versus say Ralphs in SoCal? I recall Ralphs (separate of F4L) peaking around 350 stores and I believe there are less than 175 left, nearly a 50% reduction. Quite bluntly there are no quiet little neighborhood Ralphs stores left anywhere - only the "A" and "B" volume type stores.

Could the reasoning for Kroger's desired NorCal re-entry be to duplicate the store purges of 2005-2015ish in NorCal in an effort to leave a slimmer, leaner group of high volume, higher profit, and thus lower shrink stores? Meaning the closure of hundreds of Safeways? With the added incentive of high building ownership which means big profits from finding a developer to replace the site with high density housing? Or is there a fear that there is enough competition and/or limited transportation there that if a Safeway is closed then the next store over won't pick up any of the sales?

[veteran+]

Great questions!

Deep research from reliable sources would be required to answer most of these questions.

Anecdotal, empirical observation and a biased employee/customer might not be enough.

I believe the answers are complicated at best.

Side note: IMHO, if anyone can answer some of these questions, it's you!

[mbz321]

California needs to eliminate its plastic bag ban and stores need to have the option to stop allowing reusable bags to combat all of this theft. Those super thick plastic bags everyone is using anyway generate so much plastic waste the whole thing is not accomplishing its intended goal anyway. Perhaps rich person stores in rich neighborhoods like Whole Foods would continue the bag regulations on their own but out in the neighborhoods that are more middle class there is too much theft to continue this way, unless the stores want to.

No, California and associated cities need to start getting tougher on Crime...period. Otherwise you are going to keep seeing 'creative' security measures pop up such as this, if the stores don't close altogether.