storewanderer wrote: ↑April 17th, 2023, 11:38 pm
ClownLoach wrote: ↑April 17th, 2023, 11:19 am
They prove themselves to be incompetent operators with these high shrink tactics where you have $1 Band-Aids in a glass case (really, in Temecula, CA of all places one of the lowest crime areas in California I saw Band-Aids locked up). They're installing lockup cages inside departments with makeshift corrals like cosmetics then moving other unrelated categories that are already in cases into the area like electric toothbrushes and certain health products, resulting in customers thinking that Walmart doesn't carry the categories anymore because they're now separated from their category....
I recently needed some WD-40 at Wal Mart. They have most of that aisle in a big locked case. But the case just so happens to cut right where the WD-40 is. The small WD-40 was locked, and the larger sizes were not locked. The employee I asked for help told me to just get the larger one because it would take forever to get the keys. I was unhappy and he said let me see if auto has any keys. Auto had keys so he unlocked it and got me what I wanted, I asked if I had to pay auto, he said no, pay up front. What is the point? There is no point. And this is why many of the items in these locked cases STILL GET STOLEN.
The makeshift corrals are at a lot of retailers. Some consultant out there seems to have engaged a lot of retailers on these. These are very poorly done. I have been in Las Vegas and went into a Vons and a Smiths who have both done this. The Vons is the infamous Twain Vons so it is no surprise in that neighborhood. However the Smiths where I saw this was the store on North Rampart up at the base of Summerlin and that shocked me to see in that location. Both were exactly as you described- 4 aisles with a dedicated checkstand and random sets of items within the area. Other related items many aisles away. Just a jumbled up mess.
And what happens when you go through the register inside the corral with those items you wanted? You get bags and a receipt. Couldn't make it any easier for thieves to steal from the rest of the store now. They can just load up whatever else they want in those bags then walk out undetected. If a useless Checkpoint alarm goes off they've got a receipt to wave.
I think the majority of these corrals are store or local management "DIY" projects. The space planning elements and oddball fixtures give them away. I have seen a handful at Walmart where it was obvious that the company designed the setup and they were in center store, closer to the registers with different fixtures that had proper corner boxes to form a true corral and the other aisles cut down to 4ft high turned in a different direction. Corner parabolic mirrors were up along with several overhead screens turned so the cashier could see and supervise. These have an electronically alarmed one way gate for entry, a sensormatic gate at the checkout which is the only exit and the cashier can see everyone in the department. This might be an effective deterrent for non professional thieves.
The "DIY" ones usually just shove some rolling cart with the wheels removed along the side wall and then shoehorn a check stand at the front. This is a complete waste because the cashier can't see 75% or more of the product, nor are they positioned well enough to stop customers from walking right last them. Only the honest customers actually stop to pay in that environment.
I noticed that Home Depot is busting down all the remaining corrals for power tools now that they're 100% in lock up cages. They used to just have a "wall" at the back and some stores had a register in the department. All their padlocks have stickers on them reminding the employee "Bring It Up if it's Locked Up" and they seem to follow this religiously, so I'm going to assume that their LP folks monitor the video and will severely discipline or terminate employees who just hand off product to the customer. But if it's locking peg items they still hand off the single unit to the customer.
As far as glass cases go, they obviously require more payroll but these dumb chains like Walmart won't change their model. So they basically force malicious compliance as overworked employees just hand customers the product. And when it's low dollar product that really shouldn't be locked up in the first place they're just sending the message that the entire exercise is a waste of time.
I haven't spent much time at the Disneyland Target that has turned into a Walmart style lock down environment (Full glass cases for entire departments including cosmetics, laundry detergent, medications, small electronics) to see if they do a better job of handling the issue. I did see at least half a dozen uniformed LP people there and got the impression they handle the glass cases instead of regular team members so maybe that is the way to go if they just have to lock everything up? I still don't know why they changed that very old store (an original Target from the 80's in a converted Fedmart) from one entrance to two. The second set of doors must account for a significant increase in shrink.