Receipt Checkers

Something that has been a minor annoyance has seemed to get more common lately. This is checking receipts at the door as you leave a retail establishment. I am not talking about places like Costco or Sam's Club, where the receipt check is part of the membership agreement. At least in those places, I know that it is required and that to become a member requires I allow their employees to search my purchases.

Two days ago, I was at Wal-Mart and purchased three items. I stood in line well over ten minutes and watched as the receipt checker carried her duties to the extreme. What bothered me more than her looking in women's purses, opening up items people had bought and just generally being way too zealous, was that these people were watching and consenting to this. As I watched this happen, I became aware that this apathetic attitude toward invasions of our privacy are the reason we will soon be a country completely willing to let anyone do anything to us. As long as it fights terror or keeps the prices low on chinese crap at Wal-Mart, people will put up with just about anything.

As I watched her go about her job, I knew it was going to be a fight. The last time I was at this particular Wal-Mart and the receipt checker was out, I purchased a bag of dog food. On that exit attempt, the woman actually got in front of me, and stopped me from leaving. Normally I just say "no" and walk past them when they ask to see my receipt and there are no problems. But she was actually preventing me from leaving. So I said no, and she just stood there, a battle of wills. So I asked her, "are you accusing me of stealing this?" She seemed taken aback and just said "no." But she did not move. So finally, I had to show her the receipt to leave. And I have regretted not taking a stand ever since.

As I continued to watch her, I also noticed she wasn't checking everyone's receipt. The "random" check appeared to only affect those who did not have items in bags -- even if they were too large to fit in bags. Oh yeah, and minorities, even if they did have stuff bagged. All of the women who had to have their purses examined were minorities. Unbelievable.

So as I'm leaving, she comes running over and tells me that she needed to see my receipt. I just replied, "no, you don't," and kept walking. I did not look back and she said something to me, but I did not hear it. From there, I went straight home and wrote a letter to Wal-Mart, both the store and their corporate office, explaining how violated and insulting this is to customers. I felt better, but I doubt anything will change.

What they do not seem to understand, or at least acknowledge that they understand, is that by asking to see a receipt, they are by default accusing that person of stealing the item. Why people are not insulted by this and just let it happen exasperates me.

So why would I feel that this is anything of concern? Call me paranoid, but this is how people are conditioned to accept and comply with unreasonable requests. If you could go back in time and tell airport travelers ten years ago that they would have to take their shoes off and not have any liquids to fly on an airplane in a few years, what do you think the reaction would be? People complain about this all the time. Scientists have commented on the likelihood of destroying an airplane with liquids. Yet we all still put up with it.

Wal-Mart is large part of many people's lives, whether they choose it or not. For many people across this country, Wal-Mart is the only source of media, food and other essentials because everything else is gone. And when people will accept this treatment from a minimum wage worker at Wal-Mart, it will not be hard for them to accept having it done by a person in authority, such as a police officer on the street at any time. Every day, I am more and more apprehensive about the future of our nation.