Living on the edge: stealing at the self-checkout

You have two types of people in life: those who make a sport out of stealing cucumbers at the self-checkout and those who just shit their pants at the thought. Person X in the editorial team just confessed that she stole a red pepper at the supermarket by deliberately not scanning it. ‘Do you guys never do that?’

I remember one of my friends during my student days, when we had no money to spare (I really want to name names, HAHA), took whole gourmet platters worth fifteen euros in the summer without paying. A bottle of wine on the side? Expensive cheese, hoppa. ‘But don’t go to the supermarket looking all scruffy, okay, Kiek? Just look very neat.’ Of course, it’s forbidden, but being a little naughty or driving out of the supermarket while accidentally having a crate of beer under your cart, I know many who have done that.

I always wonder what kind of blind trust the supermarket has in people during the self-checkout era. Or does this system save them so much money on staff that that one grill sausage or gourmet platter can be overlooked?

NRC has investigated what the indicator is for a supermarket to pull someone out of the line at the self-checkout. What turns out? That sample is not done so ‘randomly’ at all. In fact, each store or chain can set its own rules. This is how the thief is recognized. Three rules.

1. If someone buys a product that is often bought together with another product

Apparently, people steal certain products more often in combination with another product. Think of shaving foam and razors. So when one of these products is in the cart and the other is not, the chance of theft, and thus a check, is greater.

2. If that person is dawdling
Apparently, shoplifters are present in a store longer than average compared to customers who are just doing their shopping neatly. The thought is that a thief doesn’t rush through the store in one minute but takes their time.

3. If there are also very few items in the cart...
...you are even ‘suspicious’. The ratio between the time you spend in the store and the total amount then partly determines the chance of a check.

So are you a student and are you tight on money? Ask yourself if that cucumber is worth getting a mark against your name? Don’t think so.

I PREFER TO STEAL EXPENSIVE WINE.
HAHAHA.

(That was a joke, Albert Heijn. Don’t put me on the blacklist, come on?)