The Supermarket Scoundrels; How to Protect Yourself

You are at the supermarket.   The shopper in front of you is still at the counter, looking through her purchases, as your goods are being scanned and passed down to the same bottom.  Maybe you are looking at the prices coming up on the register, maybe you are talking to someone.

Your groceries are tallied, packed, and when you get home, the olive oil, on your bill, is not in your bags.

Can you go back to the supermarket and say that the olive oil you were charged for is not in your bag?  How would you prove it?

The reality is that the person in front of you was looking through her bags with one eye, another on your groceries, and seeing she had the ‘blind spot’, took your olive oil, put it in her bag.

This is not a fantasy.

The first time it happened to me was the last.

When you are at the supermarket and the person in front of you has not taken her goods and moved away, tell the cashier either to wait before ringing up your goods or stand near to that previous shopper and watch her.  Don’t be afraid to talk in a loud voice.

Often the person in front of you will try the ‘ugly baby’ trick.   She comes with a wild toddler who likes to hit people.  The child’s ‘job’ is to distract you so her mother can steal your groceries.

I indicated this to the managers who came and stood and watched, and the grocery thief made up some noise to embarrass the manager.   I spoke in an even louder voice making public service announcements that this woman brought this child to this supermarket for the purpose of stealing other people’s groceries.

At some supermarkets, the cashier will not start cashing until the previous customer has moved away because she has been alerted to the scam.

A some supermarkets the bag boys know how to separate the groceries and keep their eyes open.

If you find yourself on line, and the person in front of you does not move, say, “Please wait until the customer has cleared the counter before cashing me.”

If the cashing has started, make that other customer fully aware you have your eyes firmly on her.   Do what you have to.   Make sure she knows you are watching her, and that you are monitoring your groceries.

You don’t need to watch the cashier.  If there is a problem, i.e. you were over charged, that is easily dealt with.  You can always look over the bill on the screen or paper before paying.

You can see that you were charged for three when you only have two, or that a product costing $124 was rung up at $142.   These problems are easily corrected.

But once you leave the supermarket and go home, and the olive oil is not there, you are out of luck.