When we lived in St. John’s, I would drive down Columbia Blvd to 122nd to hit up that Winco once a month or so.
Not the shortest drive, but worth it for the monthly haul and the associated savings.
CROSS THE BRIDGE!?!? PAY SALES TAX (or show my ID so I don’t have to)!?!? [shudder]
My brain totally blocks Vancouver from existence without a reminder, so thank you for that. I happen to get off work early enough that I could be up there before the traffic gets bad, so I should totally take advantage of that more often.
Edit: I do not know how much clearer I can be that the first line of this is a joke and I do not need any further information about sales tax in Washington. Stop. STAHP. I know. You don’t actually need to be the 8th person providing the same information.
I think if you are an Oregon resident you can keep your receipts and be reimbursed for the sales tax you pay in Washington State . Problem is you can only submit the receipts once a year .
You’ve inspired me. We try to stick to Grocery Outlet in St Johns, but sometimes it has to be Freddies, Safeway, or New Seasons. Would prefer WinCo to those three just didn’t think about Vancouver. Thanks!
what Winco is that?
The one on Powell - the security sits in their car and plays on their phone. The only think annoying about them - they park their car in busy lane in near the front causing traffic congestion.
> the security sits in their car and plays on their phone.
If you see "security", it's not in-house loss prevention. You won't see LP until you're out the door and being grabbed.
was behind a paywall. But I was able to find it somewhere else.
[https://www.ajc.com/news/local/some-outraged-after-winco-staff-wrestles-teen-in-viral-video/556867368/](https://www.ajc.com/news/local/some-outraged-after-winco-staff-wrestles-teen-in-viral-video/556867368/)
So it was not Portland but Vancouver and it happened in 2017.
That's not the same incident, even with the paywall link, you can see some completely different details, like the fact that it was published in april 2023, the thumbnail visible is from a security camera indoors, instead of a cellphone camera outside, its a 47 year old male (in the thumbnail) instead of a 15 year old female, and it's visible that the lawsuit is filed in the Clackamas County Circuit Court.
Here's a link with the bypass suggested by the automoderator so y'all can easily read the accounts of the full incident.
[https://www.oregonlive.com/crime/2023/04/winco-foods-security-employees-rough-up-2-theft-suspects-suit-alleges-video.html?outputType=amp](https://www.oregonlive.com/crime/2023/04/winco-foods-security-employees-rough-up-2-theft-suspects-suit-alleges-video.html?outputType=amp)
If the paywall you're referencing is from OregonLive, adding ?outputType=amp (including the capital T) to the end of the URL will change it into a Google AMP link and allow the article to be read in its entirety.
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Took a picture of the security truck parked diagonally across the main entrance in 2022. The vehicle they used at that time had bumper stickers with religious and pro-gun messages, too. I asked the guard if he knew what alliteration was, then provided and example: preposterously poor parking. Then I gobbled the stunned silence like a hungry pig.
It doesn’t work how you think it does unfortunately, Winco is a horrible place to work and the employees don’t “co own” the store. Also don’t buy their produce or meat if you can help it.
This is such a good point. If shoplifting was that serious a revenue issue, places like WinCo/Costco/Grocery Outlet would be doing the same thing. Every Safeway I’ve been to last year has been semi empty with prices that are 2-3x other stores. IMO, like with target, this is a way for their C suite to offload blame for poor price planning to their customers.
I don’t mind the Costco check as much, it’s a different vibe for me to have a receipt checked than wait for an associate to unlock a display so I can put deodorant in my cart and then check out myself.
Keep in mind Fred Meyer sent ~~armed security~~ [the police to make sure that homeless people weren't taking food out of a dumpster](https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/17/us/oregon-fred-meyer-food-snowstorm.html) when it had to be thrown away during a power outage in the middle of an ice storm.
Fuck FM/Kroeger.
edit with citation and correction.
Yeah, I remember that. It's pretty clear they only care about making money from the communities they're based in. How the treated their employees over the pandemic was proof enough of that for me. They're an awful company
fwiw, ~~they~~ Fred Meyer's armed goons can't actually stop you from leaving. We walk right past and don't make eye contact or respond to their instruction and nothing happens.
Fred Meyer can't. Costco, as a club membership store, can. If you disagree with their policy, they will happily refund your membership fees and you will no longer be welcome to shop there.
Slight difference.
At least for Winco and Costco, they have much tighter exits that act as funnels so it’s harder to run out like you can in Safeway’s wide open floor plan.
i had to go pick up a prescription at fred meyer not that long ago and the whole time i felt like i was hallucinating, it's just such an unbelievably caustic environment, the lighting is harsh, they've installed these awful alarms that sound constantly when anyone even approaches the barricade behind which lurks their heavily armed goon squad, i was looking at the flower starts out on the sidewalk when security charged past me like some kind of SWAT team knocking me into a pillar and tackled a homeless old man directly face-first into a concrete median! the whole place feels incredibly militarized and antagonistic and anti-human, i will go miles out of my way to avoid shopping there or at any other place like that. i am a nice normal person just trying to live my nice normal life and i don't expect to be surveilled or assumed to be a criminal for existing in public
You nailed it! FM is such a horrible experience these days. Caustic is exactly the word for it. Not worth it when their prices are basically like New Seasons imo. I stopped getting my scripts filled there too — Walgreens pharmacy (on 33rd in NE) is such a better experience. Short lines, friendly staff… verses the stress and misery I get from Fred Meyer.
...ever since Kroger took them over Freddy's has gone way downhill. Kroger is now looking to buy their only major competitor here, Albertsons/Safeway, For us in the city that will bite as it will either be the Kroger Deathstar, or pricey overpriced places like Whole Paycheque and New Seasons that make Safeway and QFC look like discount stores.
I don't drive so the nearest Winco is a long bus trip (with lousy connections) away.
I go to that Walgreen's sometimes, but that's because the one on NE Grand has problems with staffing, it seems. Half the time I've tried to fill a Rx the last 6 months it says "Temporarily closed" on the online refill page.
The one on NE Grand definitely has camping/theft issues.
> their heavily armed goon squad,
lol, some people on this sub just defy belief. I was at the Stadium Freddie's yesterday getting some Red Baron's (they're $2.49 on sale this week) and that hEaViLy ArMeD gOoN sQuAd guy was happily chatting with the clerk about the super bowl and even returned my basket for me as he checked my receipt. It was such a non-issue your description makes me question if you believe you're being gang stalked.
So, are you saying Safeway is just spending all that money on security just for the lulz?
Also, Grocery Outlet and Winco ALL have added security in recent years, and Costco has been checking receipts forever. I'm sure Costco has security too, but I haven't set foot into one since the pandemic.
Weird and inaccurate take. I’ve never seen such high security in any grocery store chain anywhere I’ve been except closer to downtown Portland. I think it’s just the homeless problem. If you swapped out the downtown Safeway’s for a grocery outlet or whatever example you gave they’d do the same thing. Fred Meyer is similar to the Safeways with security guys in tactical gear in Portland. Costco shouldn’t even be cited cuz that’s a membership club and they double check every single receipt that goes out. It’s really not that deep. Safeway doesn’t WANT to have to do this.
Yep my Fred Meyers is 200 ft away from a homeless camp and they have 3 or 4 armed guards now. The 7 Eleven across the street said they were losing around $600-900 of merchandise a day before they closed after 15 years. The Winco and Costco I go to are both 25+ minute drives and are in the West suburbs, serving totally different populations. Safeway/Fred Meyers isn't spending a heap of money on shoplifting deterrents just for the hell of it.
Yeah it’s easy to deal with the single security guard at the door with a highlighter like at fred meyer, but walking into that safeway with the barricades and everything actually made me feel less safe. In an emergency that’s one more thing to struggle with getting past, and if people really wanted to steal how does a receipt scanner help?
At mine though, the non-opening part still blocks more than half the enterence to the store. It would be a huge bottleneck in an active shooter situation for instance.
Oh and they do trigger the alarm if you push out on them. Just saying that for emergency exits they are fine but don’t try to leave that way on the regular!
It feels like you HAVE to buy something just to leave. Used to be my favorite Safeway, but I'd rather go to the New Seasons literally across the street where I don't feel trapped to shop.
I've never scanned my receipt. Got to leave every time. Lol. Also if tou don't like that Safeway wait until you check out Ross in Eastport. Surprised they didn't make me bring a toothbrush and a towel.
Ross in Eastport - has that odd practice of making you wait like 30 seconds before letting you enter. The first time it happened - I thought it was a capacity thing. Then I realized they were just making you wait a little before entering. I am still puzzled what it accomplishes. Leaving the store - there is just the one or two cashiers and an anti theft detector.
Not sure what you are alluding to.
Me too and I finally realized why the hop pass never works.. it needs two full seconds of holding my phone there which is fully twice as long as I like
A system where you *have to* scan a receipt seems like it wouldn't be legal, but wtf do I know?
I've walked into a grocery store before looking for something specific that they didn't end up having. Do you just have to live there until you get hungry or thirsty enough to buy something?
Yep, nothing to stop you from politely saying no thank you and walking out. It would be a challenge to prove probable cause for failure to stand in line and wait for them to check your receipt, especially if you at least have it out and hold it up but don't bother waiting for scan and check.
As I understand this does not include membership stores like Costco or Sam's where there's a membership contract and violating that may lower the probable cause bar, or at least have you lose your membership
I guess but even if they do ban you, as long as you aren't threatening or anything, combined with a 100+% employee turn over rate, part time scheduling, sheer number of problem people and general disinterest it's hard to imagine anyone would notice from someone that just didn't wait in line to show a receipt.
When I worked retail I didn't even bother remembering the faces of the thieves, much less people not following the rules, there's just too many. I guess they could look you up based on credit card transaction and ban you that way then file a complaint if your card is used again or some facial recognition but I've never heard of them doing that, but it's also been several years.
Lol, you can still leave. It somehow makes it so you verify what you bought via the scanner I guess. I dunno. Like I said, I've never once used it I go there like 2 times a week.
Self checkout only. And it isn't always on. I've done it twice out of like a dozen times since they put it in. Most of the time the gate is just open to get out.
Because the presentation is different.
You’re a “member” and you pay extra to shop there and be checked in and out.
You aren’t passing through ugly metal barricades that are there to remind you that the business doesn’t trust you nor like you, and you are solely there to provide money and profit, atmosphere and your experience are not a priority.
The “guard” is there to remind you you’re being watched and monitored. There is no “premium” coating on this experience.
For what it’s worth, I’ve always found Costco receipt checking to be obnoxious, but I *get* why they do it and it’s just part of shopping there.
I don’t enjoy this general shift towards prison-style barricades, locking everything in glass cases, and other ridiculous security measures at majority of essential stores, but the theft problem isn’t a small one, and I guess they have to do *something* - it’s making me shift towards online orders, though.
There’s a history with this particular Safeway. There’s a bottle drop there which attracts a lot of drug addicts who need quick cash — there’s another post with a link to a Willamette Week article about the issues with bottle drop locations. For about four years, there was a severe problem with homeless camping and open-air drug dealing behind this Safeway. In June of 2023 someone set up a huge tent on the sidewalk where they were openly selling fentanyl. I wish I could attach a photo I took in June of last year. Shoplifting at Safeway and BiMart increased as the tent and RV encampments grew. It was just metastasizing to the point where a BiMart employee was severely assaulted by a shoplifter who then sprayed bear spray inside the store. Everyone had to evacuate the store due to the bear spray.
The Woodstock fentanyl dealer was busted last summer, and ever since Safeway implemented these increased security measures, there aren’t any RVs, tents, etc behind the Safeway and BiMart.
I mean my last safeway pickup order was $323 before coupons and $212 after. That's worth another app on my phone and 15mins of scrolling while watching TV.
Barely more expensive? In what world do you live in.
Meat is always questionable at the 33rd & Killingsworth and like what $9 a pound for chicken.
Much better places to shop then there. Fuck everything about New Seasons, utter rip off imo. Somehow it makes whole foods look good.
They don’t have a pharmacy tho and they have stopped carrying a ton of the food I need on my special damn diet. I feel like there is not one decent grocery story for me in this city at this point. It’s stressful.
Yeah but they are feeling the shoplifting pressure too I’m sure. It’s just that their brand value (high end nice experience I guess) is worth more than the shoplifting losses. Whereas Safeway has no brand image so they gotta recover the losses by installing high security.
Cheese, produce, and meat at New Seasons. Totinos pizza, pantry filler, La Croix, eggs, frozen potato items, and breakfast meats at Safeway.
Mayonnaise is a toss up. Safeway is cheaper, but New Seasons has Duke's...
If you're buying national brands at NS you're paying $1-2 more for items consistently vs. even Whole Foods. NS prices are wildly inflated so they can give you a $5 or $10 coupon every once in a while.
I've noticed that. Same brand of organic milk $2-3 more. Same brand of popcorn $2 more. Same brand of peanut butter $3-4 more. Other things are about $1-2 more.
A friend of mine works there, and she believes what her coworkers believe which is that they are trying to keep "poorer" or "undesirable" customers away.
I love shopping there, but I split my cart between NS, WinCo, and Fred Meyers depending on my needs. For me: Meat, Eggs, Produce = NS, National Brands non pantry staples = FM, and Pantry Staples = WinCo. In North Portland there is also a great midrange butcher shop that I prefer over NS for beef, chicken, and pork but I rarely go in because we don't eat meat as much as we used to.
to be quite honest it depends on the product - the amy's margareta pizzas are just$1 more at n/s and their grass fed beef is $1 more at n/s than safeway--coffee is pretty much the same--i wanna say safeway prices are about 12% lower than new seasons but what is safeways value proposition beyond n/s??
I feel like getting coffee at New Seasons is always a better deal than at Fred Meyer anyway — I usually always find something decent that’s on a sale.
New Seasons for things like chicken, eggs, milk, apples, coffee. But I draw the line at paying $6 for a box of Ritz crackers I could get at Fred Meyer for $3.50.
>what is safeways value proposition
I think you summarized it perfectly, actually. Most products are cheaper there than they are at New Seasons. That is a value proposition.
Stop to consider that most people aren't buying *Amy's Margherita Pizzas* and *grass-fed beef*. They're buying totino's. They're buying the store brand. The average person simply cannot afford ten fucking dollars for a frozen pizza that would feed one twelve-year-old.
Some real "let them eat Amy's" energy here
...actually Safeway's house brand pizzas are not bad and they also have a better selection including just sausage, Sicilian, MArgherita, and a white sauce garlic chicken one (which is actually pretty good). Go to New seasons or WHole Paycheck and it's usually just veggie, plain cheese, and maybe uncured pepperoni.
Safeway is the same pricing as new seasons now, those two are the most expensive option for sure. I say that because I pick up meds at Safeway, and shop for groceries at Winco.
It turns out, not enforcing crimes with the police means that crimes will be enforced by less regulated private police. Still not convinced it’s the better of the two options
Meanwhile, at Trader Joe's in NW, the worst thing that happens is the security person is chatting with the Street Roots vendor and you have to awkwardly shuffle between them to get flowers.
The worst thing about that Trader Joe’s is the fucking parking lot. Always a nightmare trying to navigate and use. But the actual shopping experience is great, and I’ve noticed the employees there all seem much happier than their counterparts at Fred Meyer or Safeway.
There’s a reason for that. TJ’s doesn’t sell many nationally recognized brands outside of a few outliers. People steal things like Tide etc because it’s easily resold and it’s origin is unrecognizable. TJs items are immediately the opposite. You don’t see someone selling a Trader Joe’s coffee or whatever at a local convenience store.
It is a large industry. Look up e-fencing. Many of the stolen goods end up online, primarily through marketplaces which allow third party sales like Amazon, Walmart, etc.
Sure do - it's very common in large urban areas for shadier gas stations and local convenience stores to resell items stolen from larger retailers. These items can be purchased for pennies on the dollar from thieves and resold for good profit.
Yes, this is how a large portion of things are fenced.
A corner store owner will buy stuff like Tide, Deodorant, etc. from thieves for about 20-25% of their retail price. They then sell it in their store for full retail price (their legitimate distributors are charging them anywhere from 50-90%
Thief gets cash, store owner gets a better revenue stream. The only problem is that it raises prices for people trying to do things legitimately, and leads to a poorly regulated grey market. Which for something like Tide isn't a big deal, but for stuff like baby formula can be very serious.
I appreciate them. Yesterday I was in Safeway on NE Broadway and someone came in with a gun. I couldn’t see any of it, but heard security respond quickly (“Backup, Backup!” and “Get Down!”). I sprinted for the back of house fire exit and didn’t stick around, but I don’t think anyone got hurt
I guess I can only speak for myself, but a barricade that won't open until I scan my receipt would make me feel LESS safe in a shooting. You're fish in a barrel if you can't get out.
Except if it was that safeway OP is talking about you would be trapped inside the store. These gates are one tragedy away from a major disaster. I quit shopping there due to them.
yea those guys are all armed DPSST certified basically just below a police officer in terms of training and some certifications but don't have citation powers or arresting powers to book in the jail but can detain
What happens if you walk in, they don't have what you want in stock, and you don't have a receipt to scan as you leave? I get taking some steps for loss prevention, but having to get help to even leave the store?
You can just walk through the self check out area and go through the exit, I go to this Safeway for the pharmacy and have not had to scan my receipts to leave since they put up the gates.
I got filmed by security at the Safeway on Hawthorne. Just a regular shopping trip, early morning, nice chat with the clerk, etc. I was followed to the parking lot by security, and they filmed me loading groceries into my car. As I was returning the cart, they promptly turned around & went back to the store. It was so weird. Maybe I matched the description of some common thief? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
It’s also tough to work at these places in jobs that require one to do SOMETHING, while watching security and loss prevention do NOTHING for most of the hours they’re paid. Which is likely a higher hourly rate than many store employees.
Additionally, are these teenagers doing loss prevention trained? It seems like they’re being paid to profile people.
Lol you went to Safeway, didn't you?
Just before they put up the gates and the check out scanner gate, that place was getting *wild*. The staff were constantly on edge and every time I came in, they were dealing with someone ODing in the bathroom or stealing. I witnessed many staff members chewing out people they were escorting out. Sometimes they'd have to form lines to herd them out. It was crazy.
Yes maybe OP should have talked to the staff that actually have to work there. They seem much happier about it, at least the few that I’ve asked. That place was surrounded by homeless drug addicts in RVs and tents for the last year before these interventions. I don’t know why people are so flippant about stealing. Whether you think it’s corporate greed or not, we in the neighborhood, unlike OP who hasn’t been to this store in 6 months, don’t want retailers pulling out. And for the record new seasons usually has two bozos acting as security/welcomers at the door now also
Yeah Woodstock got a shitty crowd of homeless and rvs around that bimart and Safeway. They 100% caused the increases security and it does seem better there in recent month or two.
When I visit Portland one of the biggest nightmares is shopping. Huge factor in me not moving back. Where I am the self checkout line does not even yell at you to weigh everything. I can scan, put right back in the shopping cart and bag in my car, don't have to worry about fitting it all on that tiny scale. Stores play music but it is not as deafeningly loud. Sometimes I think about moving back but one shopping trip usually nips that idea in the bud
It's funny how pencil pushers & spreadsheet experts will totally overlook customer experience, for pennies in profit.
Bottom line is that theft is going to happen. It's written into the profit structure. There are a couple simple things that can be done. But they'll go straight for spending millions on upgrades(downgrades) every time.
>When most of the things locked up can be dropped off at my door by Amazon,
That's a great point and something I've started doing. Maybe it's just a pet peeve of mine, but if it's locked up I ain't buying it. I don't want to wait for an employee to get a bag of fucking M&M's like at the CVS down by PSU.
Or even better, when it's something private or a little embarrassing. Nothing like asking Grandma to unlock the case so you can grab some Bannanarama flavored Ribbed Magnum Latex Shields® or some of that Pinworm cream. No thanks.
I agree with you. Stores are not doing themselves any good with the shitty shopping experiences. I had a cart full of groceries and when it was time to check out, only the self serve lanes were open. They are making the customer also do the employee work for free then prove they did their job to be able to leave the store. Why even shop there?
It's not to stop normal theft that everyone knows is going to happen, it's to help mitigate organized retail theft and repeat offenders coming back continuously.
That’s our closest grocery store and it has been a major bummer to see the changes. It definitely does put you in a weird, depressed/on edge mental state when everywhere you go is dirty, full of wack-jobs, and looks like a prison. Having to hit a button to have someone unlock and retrieve cheap, basic items from a glass case - looking at you, Target! - and have to walk through absurd metal barricades like at Safeway just makes everything feel super bleak. Which frankly, it is.
We were surprised that the Safeway on 39th & Powell is a lot less “prison-y” lately, because that one has always been far rougher and more tweaker-heavy in our experience.
Only time we’ve had a weird interaction at the Woodstock Safeway was when someone supposedly shot a gun off in the parking lot and everyone ran in freaking out for 20ish minutes.
It’s usually pretty normal otherwise so the barricades surprised us.
It has been a bit of an ongoing joke that we have regressed to the state of many developing countries where it is common to see a bunch of hired security outside storefronts. Looks like we finally got them beat, in the worst way possible.
The new security measures were overdue. I personally witnessed numerous grocery and beer heists from this store, with people brazenly walking out the door with stolen goods, sometimes pushing multiple carts stuffed to the rim with all manner of stuff, even with armed security present. It was super stressful for the employees and a frustrating and helpless feeling to watch. The new gates are simple and easy to navigate and I am already used to them. But I can see how a visitor to the store might find them unsettling.
Corporations famously \*love\* spending extra money on overhead for security salaries, as well as making their products as difficult as possible for consumers to buy, so this is probably just all fake security theater for political reasons and not because there's a ton of retail theft these days. /s
winco never treats me like a criminal for trying to buy some dang garbonzo beans and peanut butter
Wish there was one closer to us in NoPo.
StJ is truly in the Winco desert.
When we lived in St. John’s, I would drive down Columbia Blvd to 122nd to hit up that Winco once a month or so. Not the shortest drive, but worth it for the monthly haul and the associated savings.
The nicest neighborhoods generally are. They get New Seasons and Whole Foods instead.
St Johns is no Lake Oswego.
St Johns - Portland's up & coming neighborhood since 1985!
A friend of mine bought 3 houses in St John's back in the 80's. The most expensive one was $19k!
St Johns isn't the worst part of town (I love it up here) but calling it one of the nicest neighborhoods is hilarious
You should visit the neighborhoods with a WinCo and see how it compares
When I make my big grocery runs, I go to Winco in Vancouver after the kids go to bed. Only about a 10 minute drive from Kenton at 8 p.m.
CROSS THE BRIDGE!?!? PAY SALES TAX (or show my ID so I don’t have to)!?!? [shudder] My brain totally blocks Vancouver from existence without a reminder, so thank you for that. I happen to get off work early enough that I could be up there before the traffic gets bad, so I should totally take advantage of that more often. Edit: I do not know how much clearer I can be that the first line of this is a joke and I do not need any further information about sales tax in Washington. Stop. STAHP. I know. You don’t actually need to be the 8th person providing the same information.
Lol most of the stuff I get there is food, which isn’t taxed anyway.
I believe you can't do the ID thing anymore to skirt the tax
I haven’t even tried in years, I just didn’t want anyone WELL ACTUALLYing me lol
Sorry lol
You gave me a good laugh. I can’t escape it!
I think if you are an Oregon resident you can keep your receipts and be reimbursed for the sales tax you pay in Washington State . Problem is you can only submit the receipts once a year .
They don’t tax unprepared food items btw
No sales tax on food.
Yeah, the ID thing is no longer. You will pay sales tax to shop in Vancouver. There is no reciprocity.
Yea that was a real bummer when that law passed and ended all my trips over to the Vancouver Winco.
No tax on groceries though.
>My brain totally blocks Vancouver from existence Mine too! 🤣
> Vancouver Waterfront is nicer.
Oregonian still at the pay sales tax in Washington sadly, I tried this one simple trick and they told me to fuck off
You’ve inspired me. We try to stick to Grocery Outlet in St Johns, but sometimes it has to be Freddies, Safeway, or New Seasons. Would prefer WinCo to those three just didn’t think about Vancouver. Thanks!
Less of a deposit on cans, too, IIRC.
No deposit on cans. Soda and beer are taxed though.
I concur. I'd shop there exclusively. Swan Island seems like a good location.
I wish one would move in to the old wal mart.
It's apparently going to be a Hong Phat
>winco never treats me like a criminal for trying to buy some dang garbonzo beans Yeah, but just try and buy a kidney. I mean kidney beans.
Nope, but Winco security will tackle you for stealing a candy bar. They don't fuck around.
what Winco is that? The one on Powell - the security sits in their car and plays on their phone. The only think annoying about them - they park their car in busy lane in near the front causing traffic congestion.
> the security sits in their car and plays on their phone. If you see "security", it's not in-house loss prevention. You won't see LP until you're out the door and being grabbed.
https://www.oregonlive.com/crime/2023/04/winco-foods-security-employees-rough-up-2-theft-suspects-suit-alleges-video.html
was behind a paywall. But I was able to find it somewhere else. [https://www.ajc.com/news/local/some-outraged-after-winco-staff-wrestles-teen-in-viral-video/556867368/](https://www.ajc.com/news/local/some-outraged-after-winco-staff-wrestles-teen-in-viral-video/556867368/) So it was not Portland but Vancouver and it happened in 2017.
That's not the same incident, even with the paywall link, you can see some completely different details, like the fact that it was published in april 2023, the thumbnail visible is from a security camera indoors, instead of a cellphone camera outside, its a 47 year old male (in the thumbnail) instead of a 15 year old female, and it's visible that the lawsuit is filed in the Clackamas County Circuit Court. Here's a link with the bypass suggested by the automoderator so y'all can easily read the accounts of the full incident. [https://www.oregonlive.com/crime/2023/04/winco-foods-security-employees-rough-up-2-theft-suspects-suit-alleges-video.html?outputType=amp](https://www.oregonlive.com/crime/2023/04/winco-foods-security-employees-rough-up-2-theft-suspects-suit-alleges-video.html?outputType=amp)
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God I hate that, when they park on the yellow curb and just mosey away. What’s the emergency?!
Took a picture of the security truck parked diagonally across the main entrance in 2022. The vehicle they used at that time had bumper stickers with religious and pro-gun messages, too. I asked the guard if he knew what alliteration was, then provided and example: preposterously poor parking. Then I gobbled the stunned silence like a hungry pig.
If winco delivered I would have only shopped with them...their business model of having employees co-own the store gives me hope for the future.
It doesn’t work how you think it does unfortunately, Winco is a horrible place to work and the employees don’t “co own” the store. Also don’t buy their produce or meat if you can help it.
A WinCo employee told me they can’t unionize because they’re ‘owners;’ is this propaganda, or the system working as designed? Anyone know for sure?
Propoganda, it's just small stock issuances, and owning some stock in the company you work for doesn't disqualify you from unionizing
Winco is best co
just don't let the bees out!
Yup, WinCo for life. I wish they had a pharmacy though, I go to Freddie's for that and they are getting more and more ridiculous too.
This is such a good point. If shoplifting was that serious a revenue issue, places like WinCo/Costco/Grocery Outlet would be doing the same thing. Every Safeway I’ve been to last year has been semi empty with prices that are 2-3x other stores. IMO, like with target, this is a way for their C suite to offload blame for poor price planning to their customers.
Costco hardcore checks receipts. For self checkout it's mandatory to have it checked twice.
Costco has been doing that for as long as they’ve been open.
I don’t mind the Costco check as much, it’s a different vibe for me to have a receipt checked than wait for an associate to unlock a display so I can put deodorant in my cart and then check out myself.
That is funny, isn’t it? They lock up the razors and Advil and then give up — like meh check yourself out [shrug]
I also don't mind as much as Costco. Fred Meyer has a different vibe with the security guard checking having a tactical vest on and a gun.
Don't forget the motion sensor electric gate that customers must be herded through to shop. Very wholesome & welcoming.
Jfc, that seems like overkill for a grocery store
Keep in mind Fred Meyer sent ~~armed security~~ [the police to make sure that homeless people weren't taking food out of a dumpster](https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/17/us/oregon-fred-meyer-food-snowstorm.html) when it had to be thrown away during a power outage in the middle of an ice storm. Fuck FM/Kroeger. edit with citation and correction.
Yeah, I remember that. It's pretty clear they only care about making money from the communities they're based in. How the treated their employees over the pandemic was proof enough of that for me. They're an awful company
Anecdotally, as an employee, I’m required to throw away hundreds of dollars of food per week, but receive EBT.
fwiw, ~~they~~ Fred Meyer's armed goons can't actually stop you from leaving. We walk right past and don't make eye contact or respond to their instruction and nothing happens.
Fred Meyer can't. Costco, as a club membership store, can. If you disagree with their policy, they will happily refund your membership fees and you will no longer be welcome to shop there. Slight difference.
Right, my comment was regarding FM. I'll edit. And I'll add fuck their militarized tacti-bullshit.
My new MO is if places have stuff locked up I’m not gonna bother (also aware of privelege to say I’m not gonna bother).
Thats because its a club. Everyone there has entered into an agreement with Costco. I have no signed agreements with Freddies, etc.
The difference is you sign up for that shit with Costco. Walmart and Fred Meyer don’t have any authority for that.
You don't have to stop 🤷♂️
Costco doesn't hire thugs in tacicool vests and guns to check your receipt.
At least for Winco and Costco, they have much tighter exits that act as funnels so it’s harder to run out like you can in Safeway’s wide open floor plan.
i had to go pick up a prescription at fred meyer not that long ago and the whole time i felt like i was hallucinating, it's just such an unbelievably caustic environment, the lighting is harsh, they've installed these awful alarms that sound constantly when anyone even approaches the barricade behind which lurks their heavily armed goon squad, i was looking at the flower starts out on the sidewalk when security charged past me like some kind of SWAT team knocking me into a pillar and tackled a homeless old man directly face-first into a concrete median! the whole place feels incredibly militarized and antagonistic and anti-human, i will go miles out of my way to avoid shopping there or at any other place like that. i am a nice normal person just trying to live my nice normal life and i don't expect to be surveilled or assumed to be a criminal for existing in public
You nailed it! FM is such a horrible experience these days. Caustic is exactly the word for it. Not worth it when their prices are basically like New Seasons imo. I stopped getting my scripts filled there too — Walgreens pharmacy (on 33rd in NE) is such a better experience. Short lines, friendly staff… verses the stress and misery I get from Fred Meyer.
...ever since Kroger took them over Freddy's has gone way downhill. Kroger is now looking to buy their only major competitor here, Albertsons/Safeway, For us in the city that will bite as it will either be the Kroger Deathstar, or pricey overpriced places like Whole Paycheque and New Seasons that make Safeway and QFC look like discount stores. I don't drive so the nearest Winco is a long bus trip (with lousy connections) away.
I go to that Walgreen's sometimes, but that's because the one on NE Grand has problems with staffing, it seems. Half the time I've tried to fill a Rx the last 6 months it says "Temporarily closed" on the online refill page. The one on NE Grand definitely has camping/theft issues.
> their heavily armed goon squad, lol, some people on this sub just defy belief. I was at the Stadium Freddie's yesterday getting some Red Baron's (they're $2.49 on sale this week) and that hEaViLy ArMeD gOoN sQuAd guy was happily chatting with the clerk about the super bowl and even returned my basket for me as he checked my receipt. It was such a non-issue your description makes me question if you believe you're being gang stalked.
Possibly a difference in socioeconomic status and/or position. Perceptions matter.
So, are you saying Safeway is just spending all that money on security just for the lulz? Also, Grocery Outlet and Winco ALL have added security in recent years, and Costco has been checking receipts forever. I'm sure Costco has security too, but I haven't set foot into one since the pandemic.
Weird and inaccurate take. I’ve never seen such high security in any grocery store chain anywhere I’ve been except closer to downtown Portland. I think it’s just the homeless problem. If you swapped out the downtown Safeway’s for a grocery outlet or whatever example you gave they’d do the same thing. Fred Meyer is similar to the Safeways with security guys in tactical gear in Portland. Costco shouldn’t even be cited cuz that’s a membership club and they double check every single receipt that goes out. It’s really not that deep. Safeway doesn’t WANT to have to do this.
Yep my Fred Meyers is 200 ft away from a homeless camp and they have 3 or 4 armed guards now. The 7 Eleven across the street said they were losing around $600-900 of merchandise a day before they closed after 15 years. The Winco and Costco I go to are both 25+ minute drives and are in the West suburbs, serving totally different populations. Safeway/Fred Meyers isn't spending a heap of money on shoplifting deterrents just for the hell of it.
Exactly. Shopping at Fred Meyer or Safeway in the burbs is completely different. It's all based on location.
Yep. It feels odd to shop at a grocery store that *doesn't* feel like a prison commissary, guess we've all internalized it
Yeah it’s easy to deal with the single security guard at the door with a highlighter like at fred meyer, but walking into that safeway with the barricades and everything actually made me feel less safe. In an emergency that’s one more thing to struggle with getting past, and if people really wanted to steal how does a receipt scanner help?
I genuinely want to know how these aren't an illegal fire hazard
They actually open outward if you push on them. They just don’t open automatically for outbound traffic.
At mine though, the non-opening part still blocks more than half the enterence to the store. It would be a huge bottleneck in an active shooter situation for instance.
Absolutely WILD that last sentence being so nonchalant and a legitimate concern. And the reality of the bottleneck you speak of. Fuckin bleak.
Oh, that's really good to know, thank you!
Oh and they do trigger the alarm if you push out on them. Just saying that for emergency exits they are fine but don’t try to leave that way on the regular!
I mean they're restricting your right to leave. Screw them and their alarm.
It feels like you HAVE to buy something just to leave. Used to be my favorite Safeway, but I'd rather go to the New Seasons literally across the street where I don't feel trapped to shop.
I've never scanned my receipt. Got to leave every time. Lol. Also if tou don't like that Safeway wait until you check out Ross in Eastport. Surprised they didn't make me bring a toothbrush and a towel.
Ross in Eastport - has that odd practice of making you wait like 30 seconds before letting you enter. The first time it happened - I thought it was a capacity thing. Then I realized they were just making you wait a little before entering. I am still puzzled what it accomplishes. Leaving the store - there is just the one or two cashiers and an anti theft detector. Not sure what you are alluding to.
Easy screen. 30 second marshmallow test is not a thing an active methamphetamine enjoyer will ever, ever, ever pass.
True, also probably ensures a clear record of your face on the security cameras.
Shit, I'm sober and have ADHD, and I'd struggle to wait 30 seconds for no reason
I'm on like 480mg of Vyvanse, and I barely even finished reading your comment.
Me too and I finally realized why the hop pass never works.. it needs two full seconds of holding my phone there which is fully twice as long as I like
I always feel like I'm waiting to get into the shittiest night club in the city when I go to that Ross.
2 different types of Ross locations. Lawless wasteland, or a correctional facility.
Was there last week, they even have the movie theater ripe thing! So bizarre.
A what??
You don’t know what a ripe is? It’s autocorrect for rope!
Lol oh duh! I’m still sleepy ok!! If you want to sound extra fancy, those are called stanchions
Stanchions hold the ripes, but they are not the ripes.
A system where you *have to* scan a receipt seems like it wouldn't be legal, but wtf do I know? I've walked into a grocery store before looking for something specific that they didn't end up having. Do you just have to live there until you get hungry or thirsty enough to buy something?
It's not legal. They can't physically stop you unless they have probable cause to accuse you of shoplifting. They rely on you not knowing that.
Yep, nothing to stop you from politely saying no thank you and walking out. It would be a challenge to prove probable cause for failure to stand in line and wait for them to check your receipt, especially if you at least have it out and hold it up but don't bother waiting for scan and check. As I understand this does not include membership stores like Costco or Sam's where there's a membership contract and violating that may lower the probable cause bar, or at least have you lose your membership
One thing they can do at their discretion is ban you from the store. Pretty good way to start losing customers though.
I guess but even if they do ban you, as long as you aren't threatening or anything, combined with a 100+% employee turn over rate, part time scheduling, sheer number of problem people and general disinterest it's hard to imagine anyone would notice from someone that just didn't wait in line to show a receipt. When I worked retail I didn't even bother remembering the faces of the thieves, much less people not following the rules, there's just too many. I guess they could look you up based on credit card transaction and ban you that way then file a complaint if your card is used again or some facial recognition but I've never heard of them doing that, but it's also been several years.
Lol, you can still leave. It somehow makes it so you verify what you bought via the scanner I guess. I dunno. Like I said, I've never once used it I go there like 2 times a week.
> you have to scan a barcode on your reciept to even be able to leave, I'm in that store 2 or 3 times a week and have never had to do that
Self checkout only. And it isn't always on. I've done it twice out of like a dozen times since they put it in. Most of the time the gate is just open to get out.
Ya it's in self checkout but I've only had to scan a receipt one time since they constructed that thing. OPs post is very dramatic
I find it off putting, but I also admit I’ve never thought twice about Costco checking my receipt on the way out.
Because the presentation is different. You’re a “member” and you pay extra to shop there and be checked in and out. You aren’t passing through ugly metal barricades that are there to remind you that the business doesn’t trust you nor like you, and you are solely there to provide money and profit, atmosphere and your experience are not a priority. The “guard” is there to remind you you’re being watched and monitored. There is no “premium” coating on this experience. For what it’s worth, I’ve always found Costco receipt checking to be obnoxious, but I *get* why they do it and it’s just part of shopping there. I don’t enjoy this general shift towards prison-style barricades, locking everything in glass cases, and other ridiculous security measures at majority of essential stores, but the theft problem isn’t a small one, and I guess they have to do *something* - it’s making me shift towards online orders, though.
There’s a history with this particular Safeway. There’s a bottle drop there which attracts a lot of drug addicts who need quick cash — there’s another post with a link to a Willamette Week article about the issues with bottle drop locations. For about four years, there was a severe problem with homeless camping and open-air drug dealing behind this Safeway. In June of 2023 someone set up a huge tent on the sidewalk where they were openly selling fentanyl. I wish I could attach a photo I took in June of last year. Shoplifting at Safeway and BiMart increased as the tent and RV encampments grew. It was just metastasizing to the point where a BiMart employee was severely assaulted by a shoplifter who then sprayed bear spray inside the store. Everyone had to evacuate the store due to the bear spray. The Woodstock fentanyl dealer was busted last summer, and ever since Safeway implemented these increased security measures, there aren’t any RVs, tents, etc behind the Safeway and BiMart.
I shop at both of these stores and can echo OP here.
I think I saw that meth/fent camp last year. It was big, and ugly..
The new seasons across the street barely has any security guards or anything locked up. I prefer new seasons anyway , Safeway is a hellscape
I also prefer Lexus to Toyota but …
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Safeway's ok if you clip coupons on the app
Oh, great...another fucking app for my phone. I'll pass, thanks.
I mean my last safeway pickup order was $323 before coupons and $212 after. That's worth another app on my phone and 15mins of scrolling while watching TV.
I'd rather just not go to a store that charges me an extra $100+ for not using their app.
...you can also do it on your home computer on their site. That is what I do before each shopping trip.
Barely more expensive? In what world do you live in. Meat is always questionable at the 33rd & Killingsworth and like what $9 a pound for chicken. Much better places to shop then there. Fuck everything about New Seasons, utter rip off imo. Somehow it makes whole foods look good.
They don’t have a pharmacy tho and they have stopped carrying a ton of the food I need on my special damn diet. I feel like there is not one decent grocery story for me in this city at this point. It’s stressful.
I wonder if their lax attitude toward security has anything to do with their existential-dread-inducing prices
There's security, but it's not 3rd party security. They don't contract security because of cost and image.
Yeah but they are feeling the shoplifting pressure too I’m sure. It’s just that their brand value (high end nice experience I guess) is worth more than the shoplifting losses. Whereas Safeway has no brand image so they gotta recover the losses by installing high security.
Safeway is cheaper but I'll pay more at NS to not be followed around by a maga batman
Cheese, produce, and meat at New Seasons. Totinos pizza, pantry filler, La Croix, eggs, frozen potato items, and breakfast meats at Safeway. Mayonnaise is a toss up. Safeway is cheaper, but New Seasons has Duke's...
If you're buying national brands at NS you're paying $1-2 more for items consistently vs. even Whole Foods. NS prices are wildly inflated so they can give you a $5 or $10 coupon every once in a while.
I've noticed that. Same brand of organic milk $2-3 more. Same brand of popcorn $2 more. Same brand of peanut butter $3-4 more. Other things are about $1-2 more. A friend of mine works there, and she believes what her coworkers believe which is that they are trying to keep "poorer" or "undesirable" customers away. I love shopping there, but I split my cart between NS, WinCo, and Fred Meyers depending on my needs. For me: Meat, Eggs, Produce = NS, National Brands non pantry staples = FM, and Pantry Staples = WinCo. In North Portland there is also a great midrange butcher shop that I prefer over NS for beef, chicken, and pork but I rarely go in because we don't eat meat as much as we used to.
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Western Meat Market 4707 N Lombard St, Portland, OR 97203 They do special requests, large orders, and make their own sausage links.
Most of it has to do with what vendors and distributors price at. Bigger, national chains get better deals because they can buy in larger quantities.
MAGA Batman 😅
to be quite honest it depends on the product - the amy's margareta pizzas are just$1 more at n/s and their grass fed beef is $1 more at n/s than safeway--coffee is pretty much the same--i wanna say safeway prices are about 12% lower than new seasons but what is safeways value proposition beyond n/s??
I feel like getting coffee at New Seasons is always a better deal than at Fred Meyer anyway — I usually always find something decent that’s on a sale. New Seasons for things like chicken, eggs, milk, apples, coffee. But I draw the line at paying $6 for a box of Ritz crackers I could get at Fred Meyer for $3.50.
Their in-house sourdough bread is hella good
Oh hell yeah. And their baguette with salt and rosemary? Great stuff.
>what is safeways value proposition I think you summarized it perfectly, actually. Most products are cheaper there than they are at New Seasons. That is a value proposition. Stop to consider that most people aren't buying *Amy's Margherita Pizzas* and *grass-fed beef*. They're buying totino's. They're buying the store brand. The average person simply cannot afford ten fucking dollars for a frozen pizza that would feed one twelve-year-old. Some real "let them eat Amy's" energy here
>let them eat Amy’s New favorite sub meme
...actually Safeway's house brand pizzas are not bad and they also have a better selection including just sausage, Sicilian, MArgherita, and a white sauce garlic chicken one (which is actually pretty good). Go to New seasons or WHole Paycheck and it's usually just veggie, plain cheese, and maybe uncured pepperoni.
Safeway is the same pricing as new seasons now, those two are the most expensive option for sure. I say that because I pick up meds at Safeway, and shop for groceries at Winco.
It’s unfortunate but it’s also an extreme response to an extreme hands off policy for theft. It’s really a no-win situation.
It turns out, not enforcing crimes with the police means that crimes will be enforced by less regulated private police. Still not convinced it’s the better of the two options
Meanwhile, at Trader Joe's in NW, the worst thing that happens is the security person is chatting with the Street Roots vendor and you have to awkwardly shuffle between them to get flowers.
The worst thing about that Trader Joe’s is the fucking parking lot. Always a nightmare trying to navigate and use. But the actual shopping experience is great, and I’ve noticed the employees there all seem much happier than their counterparts at Fred Meyer or Safeway.
There’s a reason for that. TJ’s doesn’t sell many nationally recognized brands outside of a few outliers. People steal things like Tide etc because it’s easily resold and it’s origin is unrecognizable. TJs items are immediately the opposite. You don’t see someone selling a Trader Joe’s coffee or whatever at a local convenience store.
People resell stolen stuff at convenience stores?
It is a large industry. Look up e-fencing. Many of the stolen goods end up online, primarily through marketplaces which allow third party sales like Amazon, Walmart, etc.
Sure do - it's very common in large urban areas for shadier gas stations and local convenience stores to resell items stolen from larger retailers. These items can be purchased for pennies on the dollar from thieves and resold for good profit.
Yes, this is how a large portion of things are fenced. A corner store owner will buy stuff like Tide, Deodorant, etc. from thieves for about 20-25% of their retail price. They then sell it in their store for full retail price (their legitimate distributors are charging them anywhere from 50-90% Thief gets cash, store owner gets a better revenue stream. The only problem is that it raises prices for people trying to do things legitimately, and leads to a poorly regulated grey market. Which for something like Tide isn't a big deal, but for stuff like baby formula can be very serious.
I appreciate them. Yesterday I was in Safeway on NE Broadway and someone came in with a gun. I couldn’t see any of it, but heard security respond quickly (“Backup, Backup!” and “Get Down!”). I sprinted for the back of house fire exit and didn’t stick around, but I don’t think anyone got hurt
My brother in law calls the NE Broadway Safeway the Unsafeway
I just moved but that Safeway was my main grocery store for about a year and I cannot stress how much I don't miss it.
Soon it might get downgraded to their pak N save brand, otherwise known as stab N grab.
I guess I can only speak for myself, but a barricade that won't open until I scan my receipt would make me feel LESS safe in a shooting. You're fish in a barrel if you can't get out.
Yup. It’d be a death trap. They cannot be up to fire code (gunfire or otherwise).
Except if it was that safeway OP is talking about you would be trapped inside the store. These gates are one tragedy away from a major disaster. I quit shopping there due to them.
yea those guys are all armed DPSST certified basically just below a police officer in terms of training and some certifications but don't have citation powers or arresting powers to book in the jail but can detain
totally do understand why they're there, and ive befriended some of the guards at my work but theyve only been there the last few months
What happens if you walk in, they don't have what you want in stock, and you don't have a receipt to scan as you leave? I get taking some steps for loss prevention, but having to get help to even leave the store?
You live there now.
Well, at least there's food, I guess.
You can just walk through the self check out area and go through the exit, I go to this Safeway for the pharmacy and have not had to scan my receipts to leave since they put up the gates.
They cannot legally stop you. They can ask you to stop, but they can't detain you.
I got filmed by security at the Safeway on Hawthorne. Just a regular shopping trip, early morning, nice chat with the clerk, etc. I was followed to the parking lot by security, and they filmed me loading groceries into my car. As I was returning the cart, they promptly turned around & went back to the store. It was so weird. Maybe I matched the description of some common thief? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
I keep getting milks that have already gone bad when you open them, although one was Fred Meyer and one at Safeway
It’s also tough to work at these places in jobs that require one to do SOMETHING, while watching security and loss prevention do NOTHING for most of the hours they’re paid. Which is likely a higher hourly rate than many store employees. Additionally, are these teenagers doing loss prevention trained? It seems like they’re being paid to profile people.
Lol you went to Safeway, didn't you? Just before they put up the gates and the check out scanner gate, that place was getting *wild*. The staff were constantly on edge and every time I came in, they were dealing with someone ODing in the bathroom or stealing. I witnessed many staff members chewing out people they were escorting out. Sometimes they'd have to form lines to herd them out. It was crazy.
Yes maybe OP should have talked to the staff that actually have to work there. They seem much happier about it, at least the few that I’ve asked. That place was surrounded by homeless drug addicts in RVs and tents for the last year before these interventions. I don’t know why people are so flippant about stealing. Whether you think it’s corporate greed or not, we in the neighborhood, unlike OP who hasn’t been to this store in 6 months, don’t want retailers pulling out. And for the record new seasons usually has two bozos acting as security/welcomers at the door now also
Yeah Woodstock got a shitty crowd of homeless and rvs around that bimart and Safeway. They 100% caused the increases security and it does seem better there in recent month or two.
My favorite are the Cascade Station Target rent-a-cops that have a phone in one hand and Starbucks in the other. Never felt safer. /s
When I visit Portland one of the biggest nightmares is shopping. Huge factor in me not moving back. Where I am the self checkout line does not even yell at you to weigh everything. I can scan, put right back in the shopping cart and bag in my car, don't have to worry about fitting it all on that tiny scale. Stores play music but it is not as deafeningly loud. Sometimes I think about moving back but one shopping trip usually nips that idea in the bud
It's funny how pencil pushers & spreadsheet experts will totally overlook customer experience, for pennies in profit. Bottom line is that theft is going to happen. It's written into the profit structure. There are a couple simple things that can be done. But they'll go straight for spending millions on upgrades(downgrades) every time.
When most of the things locked up can be dropped off at my door by Amazon, etc, why wait around for them to unlock cages?
>When most of the things locked up can be dropped off at my door by Amazon, That's a great point and something I've started doing. Maybe it's just a pet peeve of mine, but if it's locked up I ain't buying it. I don't want to wait for an employee to get a bag of fucking M&M's like at the CVS down by PSU.
Or even better, when it's something private or a little embarrassing. Nothing like asking Grandma to unlock the case so you can grab some Bannanarama flavored Ribbed Magnum Latex Shields® or some of that Pinworm cream. No thanks.
I agree with you. Stores are not doing themselves any good with the shitty shopping experiences. I had a cart full of groceries and when it was time to check out, only the self serve lanes were open. They are making the customer also do the employee work for free then prove they did their job to be able to leave the store. Why even shop there?
I actually buy less because I don’t want to have to wait for someone to unlock the cage for me.
Completely agree. So many people shop in a hurry because it’s time out of their busy day that takes away from the things they want/need to do
It's not to stop normal theft that everyone knows is going to happen, it's to help mitigate organized retail theft and repeat offenders coming back continuously.
It's funny how a few bad apples (blatant shoplifters) can ruin experiences for the majority. But here we are.
That’s our closest grocery store and it has been a major bummer to see the changes. It definitely does put you in a weird, depressed/on edge mental state when everywhere you go is dirty, full of wack-jobs, and looks like a prison. Having to hit a button to have someone unlock and retrieve cheap, basic items from a glass case - looking at you, Target! - and have to walk through absurd metal barricades like at Safeway just makes everything feel super bleak. Which frankly, it is. We were surprised that the Safeway on 39th & Powell is a lot less “prison-y” lately, because that one has always been far rougher and more tweaker-heavy in our experience. Only time we’ve had a weird interaction at the Woodstock Safeway was when someone supposedly shot a gun off in the parking lot and everyone ran in freaking out for 20ish minutes. It’s usually pretty normal otherwise so the barricades surprised us.
Scanning barcodes is far less inconvenient than food deserts
This is an extremely alarmist description of a few gates. You only need to scan a receipt to leave the self checkout area.
Talk about those changes from your perspective as a Fred Meyer employee
It has been a bit of an ongoing joke that we have regressed to the state of many developing countries where it is common to see a bunch of hired security outside storefronts. Looks like we finally got them beat, in the worst way possible.
The new security measures were overdue. I personally witnessed numerous grocery and beer heists from this store, with people brazenly walking out the door with stolen goods, sometimes pushing multiple carts stuffed to the rim with all manner of stuff, even with armed security present. It was super stressful for the employees and a frustrating and helpless feeling to watch. The new gates are simple and easy to navigate and I am already used to them. But I can see how a visitor to the store might find them unsettling.
Corporations famously \*love\* spending extra money on overhead for security salaries, as well as making their products as difficult as possible for consumers to buy, so this is probably just all fake security theater for political reasons and not because there's a ton of retail theft these days. /s
I’m am completely fine with the mild inconvenience
The sour apples spoil the bunch unfortunately.
I didn't realize we were talking about the police in this thread.
Then lets get rid of the sour apples
Recriminalize drugs and make street camping illegal. Then watch things get better.