I bought a fish. It was a beta fish in a bowl with rocks, plastic plant, water, and a little beaded decoration on the outside of the bowl. It cost $19.98. It had a sticker on it that said, "$19.98." The cashier did not put the fish in a bowl in a bag. I carried it out so happy in my arms. I bought about 10 things that day.
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The door greeter asked to see my receipt. It was a pretty short receipt. I handed her the receipt. She looked at the receipt and said, "You ain't paid for it." And she said it about 20 times. I looked at the receipt. What happened was when the cashier swiped the $19.98 ticket, the cash register rung it up as separate items. So the greeter was looking for a $19.98 item, but that wasn't on the receipt. Instead it said, "fish..." and gave a price, "rocks"...and gave a price, "bowl"...and gave a price. You get the idea. The more I tried to explain it to the greeter, the more she insisted I was trying to steal a fish. She called her door greeter friend over, and this person was also convinced I did not pay for the fish.
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Now I am getting angry. I asked them to call a manager. "Oh we can't call a manager." I replied, "Well if you can't call a manger, then you can't call the police!". I snatched my receipt and fish, and walked out.
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This has led to our "No thank you" policy.
Walmart stops shoppers who have unbagged items.
When I have unbagged items, first, I hold my receipt in my hand so the door greeter has physical, visible evidence that I may have paid for the unbagged item.
I also have bagged items in the cart, which also serves as evidence I may have paid for the unbagged item.
When the door greeter asks to see my receipt, I do NOT break stride, and very politely say, "No thank you", and keep on walking.
I secretly hope that someday the greeter calls security. I will demand security call the police. And then I will sue Walmart for what I believe is a civil rights violation. I think it is illegal SEARCH and seizure. I have provided them with two forms of evidence to show I have paid for unbagged items, and therefore they should have no reason to STOP me and SEARCH me. The fact that they don't have stickers or large bags is not my problem.
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The kids know the deal. When I am shopping with friends, I take charge of the cart if I have an unbagged item and explain what's about to happen. One time my son was really far ahead of me walking out with an unbagged case of gatoraide. He just kept walking. When I passed the greeter I said, "He's with me." She said she needed to see my receipt. I said, "No thank you." That time it didn't think it worked out the way it should have. He has to stay closer to me. When we got to the car, he said next time I have a decision to make. "What decision is that?", I asked. He said, "Whether or not you want to pay for the gatoraide."
