How do you guys handle with product shrinkage in self-serve?
Our store has a huge self-serve area (10 machines), so it can be difficult to keep an eye on everybody, especially when it's busy. I work 25 hours a week, and 20 of them are in self-serve, so I spent a lot of time in the area, and I see a lot of customers trying to sneak products into their trolley without scanning it. Today a guy came in with five packs of 12 x soft drink cans in his trolley, with other items. He scanned his loose items, putting them in a bag and then on top of his can packs. Then he quickly paid, grabbed the receipt, scrunched it up and put it in his pocket, and walked out quickly. Blocked his exit and asked if I could check his receipt, he reluctantly agreed and of course, no soft drink anywhere. Asked him whether he forgot to scan them, and he did the classic "Ohhh bloody hell, I can't believe I forgot them, silly me!"
Our store has changed the self-serve policy. The bagging area no longer picks up item weight, so you can put whatever you want in the bag without scanning it. Makes it so much easier for customers to steal. A guy today (or girl, I couldn't really tell..) was basically picking two or three items up at a time and putting it across the scanner before dumping it in the bag. Of course, this isn't how it works, as you need to scan one at a time. We sprung him/her/it, and they had over $60 worth of items that they hadn't scanned properly.
I used to be really tentative with asking people for their receipt, thinking I was invading their privacy, but I don't seem to care anymore. Every item stolen is my fault basically, so I got to do what I got to do.
