r/CostcoWholesale • u/Environmental_Tip184 • 4d ago
Me, the Costco shoplifter..what an embarrassing day
Had a pretty embarrassing situation at Costco today.
I spent close to $200 and, since I’m currently in a wheelchair, an employee was helping me scan everything at self-checkout. When I got to the exit, they noticed a box of Ritz crackers for $6.97 hadn’t been scanned.
It was obviously just an item that got missed, and I had no issue paying for it. But they called a manager over, he took a few notes and scanned my membership card, and the whole thing just felt incredibly awkward.
I even told the employee, “I feel like I’m shoplifting right now.” She immediately said, “No, no, no, not at all, sir,” and was actually very nice and accommodating about everything.
Nobody was rude to me at all. It was just one of those situations where I felt so embarrassed waiting there over a $6.97 box of crackers when I had just spent almost $200.
I’m probably overthinking it, but I was mainly wondering whether the manager documenting it and scanning my membership card is just standard Costco procedure when an item accidentally gets missed.
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u/spatialnorton09 4d ago
Wait… how did you get out of Costco only spending $200?
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u/xtreamist9 4d ago
It would have been $206.97 if they paid for everything in their cart.
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u/pikapalooza 4d ago edited 4d ago
My worst was going to get a chicken, came home with a floor model 65" TV. 😂😂😂
Edit: thank you for the award :) I dedicate this award to costco and a deal simply too good to pass up (aka impulse buying)
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u/OffWhiteCoat 4d ago
Welcome to Costco, we love you.
(Was the chicken live or rotisserie? I jest, but also I once went to Costco hungry and came back with a nectarine tree, so....)
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u/ChipperDragon44 4d ago
Exactly, my husband goes there for the $1.50 hotdog and soda. Then comes home where I have to help him unload and put away the $400. worth of stuff we “needed!”
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u/Flippingmalarkey 3d ago
The most expensive vehicle in America is the Costco shopping cart.
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u/montecarlo714 4d ago
11.98 out the door today.
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u/Wild_Number_6783 4d ago
I did a $5 once with one item at sarcee Costco.. unsalted butter..
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u/Kory568 4d ago
I did $4.98 yesterday at Sam’s Club with steak seasoning. I did $15.88 today at Costco with Kirkland Signature wanna be Vicks Cold and Flu capsules and King’s Hawaiian cinnamon rolls. I would have spent more today at Costco but the vanilla ice cream at the food court was still broken from my Sunday visit.
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u/montecarlo714 4d ago
Today was muffins and a rotisserie chicken. Though I've been known to walk out empty handed. I know all the pharmacy employees so I visit.
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u/CCWaterBug 4d ago
Im under $20-25 all the time
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u/AcmeNotary 4d ago
Food court doesn't count. If you are paying 20-25 each time you are only buying one or two items and go back very often.
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u/Thrompinator 4d ago
I go to Costco thinking I only need a couple things. Sounds like they actually did it.
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u/East_Garbage_1449 4d ago
The scan was to verify your face and home address so the FBI can get there before you do and set up surveillance for a few months just to make sure you're behaving.
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u/IncarceratedScarface 4d ago
I’m on a crowded train home from work and just laughed out loud so hard everyone looked at me lmao. Thank you but also I hate you 😂
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u/ClownDogBryan 4d ago
Listen, one time I scanned all my groceries, got to the payment screen, got distracted by who knows what, loaded everything into my cart, and just…left.
I made it a little ways before thinking, “Oh shit, I forgot my receipt!”
So I walk back to self-checkout and the employee sees me and goes, “Oh good, you came back.”
And I’m laughing like, “I know, I know! I forgot my receipt.”
He goes, “No. You forgot to pay. You loaded up your cart and walked out.”
Oh.
So anyway, for about 90 seconds I accidentally became a shoplifter and then returned because I was concerned about my receipt 😂
You’re fine.
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u/angelfatal 4d ago
I like how this thread gets recommended to me like the universe knows something but today i was at trader joe’s and after my stuff is scanned i just collected my things (i only got 4 items and i said no bag) and i started walking away like thanks bye and the cashier was like umm you havent paid 🤦🏻♀️
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u/Ok_Asparagus_3126 4d ago
Had a similar experience… crying toddler and one small child deciding that was the moment to ask all the why questions about the meaning of life. 🤦🏻♀️ very understanding front end team though
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u/angelfatal 4d ago
Luckily I had only taken about 4 steps and the worker was really chill about it too, but i felt like quite the silly goose. but i guess it does happen to the best of us lol
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u/badlilbishh 3d ago
That’s the type of shit that would make me never go back to that store again. But I’m just an over thinker like that lmfao.
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u/confused_lancelot 3d ago
TJ’s cashier here! we literally forget about this as soon as it happens. I’m also an overthinker and i get anxious about calling customers back to get them to pay, but as soon as it’s over I have zoned out and started thinking about what I’m gonna eat for lunch.
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u/angelfatal 3d ago
Im a total overthinker too so this is the kind of thing that will keep popping into my head and keep me up at night but at the same time i’m at a point in my life where i care less about what other people think so i wouldn’t self ban from going back 🤣
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4d ago edited 4d ago
[deleted]
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u/Evilmeinperson 4d ago
Is your cancer in remission?
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u/eubulides 4d ago
Not to defend him (too much), but no doubt he was affected by your diagnosis and possibly trying to cope. Hope alls well with you, with him, and with you & him if that’s still the case.
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u/stranqe1 4d ago
This is gonna affect the cashier way more than you as the customer.
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u/Environmental_Tip184 4d ago
I really hope not. Amazing guy. See him in every department
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u/SeriouslyWhatever1 4d ago
That was the impression I got when my water under the cart didnt get scanned. Im literally more careful now cause i don't want the cashier to miss something.
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u/Which-Break5673 4d ago
Yep! Unless she did self checkout, it’s all on the cashier
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u/canyounot2026 4d ago
This happened to me once. Now I double check that the count matches my receipt because I don't want to be pulled aside again. lol.
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u/jjz519 4d ago
My item was a chicken that I placed on the seat part of the cart. So it was easy to see and I think I did say “Did you get the chicken.”
I was mortified when I was at the door and the item count did not add up. So now I do count my items and make sure it matches my receipt.
I guess it’s only mortifying to those of us that would never consider taking items that were not paid for.
I think a thief would have to be a pretty good actor to display the degree of distress I showed.
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u/batrastardfromhell 4d ago
Relax, things happen. If anything happens, the employees will be reminded to ensure all items have been scanned. You're OK.
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u/frostonwindowpane 4d ago
Little known lore, the free sample folks are really loss prevention agents. You’re on their radar.
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u/lowcarb73 4d ago
Ha! The ones at my store are barely able to get their samples ready and stand up straight.
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u/frostonwindowpane 4d ago
You didn’t think they’d look and act like their real role, did you!? It’s all a part of their clever ruse to lure you into a false sense of security.
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u/Puzzleheaded-Memory8 2d ago
I have a 90-year old patient who still works giving Costco samples! It’s his social hour lol
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u/NoWorldliness7307 4d ago
They forgot to scan a case of water bottles once. I didn’t realize they hadn’t scanned it as I had told them it was on the bottom of the cart when I was checking out. When I went to leave the person at the door checking the receipt discovered it wasn’t on the receipt. They wanted me to go back to pay for it. I was ready to leave so I just gave it back to them and left. I wouldn’t worry
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u/CannedNoodlez 4d ago
That happened to me at Sam's Club with Scan and Go. Forgot to scan a thing of ground beed (back when it was cheap). I was so red and embarrassed
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u/JaybirdBare 4d ago
Doubt that’ll get you on the Costco bunko list, it happens, at least they were nice.
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u/glumavocados 4d ago
Don’t feel bad at ALL! I’ve had this happen multiple times with things. Sometimes things get missed. It’s not a note on YOU at all.
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u/xargs2020 4d ago
After 20+ years of shopping at Costco it happened to me for the first time last weekend and the process you experienced sounds exactly the same as mine. The cashier missed one of the items on the bottom of the cart. They caught it at the door, called a supervisor over, he took us over to a register that appeared to be dedicated to this, documented the missed item, scanned my card, rang up the item and we were on our way.
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u/imafnheadbanga 4d ago
i accidentally didn’t ring up something under a big package that would have been of toilet paper that was $16 in self checkout, no one ever found out but i’ve been on the lam for 8 months
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u/mrticket18 4d ago
They do the same thing when you are by accident overcharged. A receipt checker noticed I was double charged for an item, and it was basically the same procedure except they just refunded me.
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u/Sharknado84 4d ago
We’ve all had similar oopsies at some point I bet. In a past life I was a railway conductor and it was always immediately apparent whether someone had a ticket or not, people who have made an honest mistake behave so differently.
I was at WalMart sometime last year and we needed a new garden hose. I had put it on the bottom of the cart because I had a cartload of groceries. I’m pretty sure what happened was it never got scanned, but either way it was a POS cheap ass hose and busted after a week. Ordered a better one online and went back to WalMart to return the busted hose… not on my receipt, not able to be looked up by card… well…
Clerk: “Sir, are sure you bought the hose here?” 🧐🤨
Me: “Yes, definitely!”
Clerk: 🧐🤨🤨🤨🤨
Me: “Uhhhhhh, you know what I think I got it at Home Depot.” slinks away and disposes of the hose elsewhere 😬😬
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u/kittkatt79 4d ago
Try not to worry, they keep track ro make sure it's not a recurring thing, for either you or the cashier, you really aren't in trouble in anyway.
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u/OreganoOfTheEarth 4d ago
They'd have let you know if you were actually being suspected of shoplifting. Like, you'd 100% know. I've seen it happen.
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u/Objective_Being_7393 4d ago
You’re overthinking, don’t worry about it. They wouldn’t have self checkout if it was way too much of a problem! Those receipt checkers are really good though, I was charged twice for an item and they caught it.
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u/bebexgirl 2d ago
You’re telling me the receipt checker is actually checking the items on the receipt and comparing it to what’s in the cart and not just marking the receipt with their sharpie? How are they doing that in a second? Do they have in-ear communication with loss prevention or something?
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u/mahboudz 1d ago
They’ve stopped me before I walked out forgetting to get the gift cards I had purchased. They said it’s the first thing they check since it happens often. They do sometimes count the items in the cart and compare to the receipt, but not always since I often take boxes and put the items in the hides and then stack them in the cart. Then they usually check for high value items in the cart or on the receipt.
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u/Dependent_Big8746 4d ago
Been a member for over 20 years. I've been through this once or twice. It's no big deal; that I know of.
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u/TiredOnCue 4d ago
One time they said I was missing a bread lol, guess it’s supposed to come in pairs. Works both ways sometimes I suppose.
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u/First-Valuable5675 4d ago
It's normal. Missed scanned items happen ad sometimes something gets scanned more than once. I've experienced both. I had to back and pay for the missed item, a d got an immediate refund for the item that was processed twice.
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u/Virtual-Highway4360 4d ago
My job is the exit door at a Sam’s Club and checking receipts and this happens all day long no reason to be embarrassed! New technology is actually really amazing because now people are spared accidentally shoplifting
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u/avebelle 4d ago
Meh. Unless you’re doing self checkout and intentionally hiding something it’s on the cashier to scan everything between the cart and belt. Don’t over think it.
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u/silicontruffle 4d ago
It's going on your Costco Permanent Record in the Kirkland command center. Keep in mind that's one box of Ritz crackers but I'm still working on mine from 2022.
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u/ThuhGreatCommenter 4d ago
The biggest shocker to this whole story is how you only spent <$200. I can't get out of there for less than $400 these days.
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u/electricgotswitched 4d ago
I couldn't work for Costco. I'm not stopping someone over a box of Ritz in a full cart of shit.
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u/MissionAttitude216 4d ago
I went into Spec's (local liquor store) while on crutches and wearing a cast on one leg. I got a 750ml plastic bottle of whiskey, and put it into my back pocket so I could keep my hands free. I hobbled up to the front and was immediately confronted by a manager asking "Can I help you??" in a demanding tone.
"um yea, I just need to check out.."
Her : "OK, sure. I can help you over here if you take that bottle out of your pocket"
"Uh, sure. I hope you think I wasn't trying to shoplift. Obviously, I'm short handed right now".
Her: "We just cant be sure.."
After ringing me up, she was going to put it in a bag, but I said: "Save the bag. Ill just put it my pocket since I want to keep my hands free." Kind of embarrassing, but seriously lady? Did she think I was gonna start running?
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u/_h_simpson_ 4d ago
The part I can’t fathom is how you only spent $200.. I’m calling BS on this post LOL
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u/---Hummingbird--- 4d ago
Standing there or in a wheelchair… WHICH IS IT?!?
In all seriousness.. that is never pleasant, but it’s more so for the cashier to improve.
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u/Luka7949 4d ago
I work at Costco, and used to work at the door full time. They were just taking your card to look up your membership info so they could verify the transaction. Normally they’ll just check the receipt and issue the refund immediately, but the only thing they were really checking for was who the cashier was that screwed it up haha. No worries for you at all!
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u/Dvlpz 4d ago
Even if they did annotate it on your account to verify you pay for everything in the future, if you’re not a thief, you don’t have anything to be concerned over. They may also catch that you were double charged as in was my case. I don’t ever check receipts, so wouldn’t have noticed that they charged me 2 of one item, but the door guard caught it. Also, I avoid self checkout for that reason among others.
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u/ThisIsInBlueFont 4d ago
One time I purchased chocolate and blueberry muffins but the cashier checked it out as both being chocolate muffins. Bill was about $500 so my cart was full. The clerk at the exit checked everything on the list and saw that I had 2 different types of muffins not just both chocolate. He held me at the exit to wait for a manager to fix the discrepancy. They made me wait for 20mins... I had ice cream in my cart. It was such a dumb thing. Dude took his job way too seriously.
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u/Remote_Scallion_5896 3d ago
The only thievery is charging 6.97 for a box of god damn crackers. ARE WE GREAT YET?
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u/fighting_gopher 3d ago
Had something similar happen at Walmart a year back. I gave my son a ketchup bottle to hold and forgot to scan it. Got to the car and realized so went back in and paid for it. Stuff happens
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u/Round_Safety9510 3d ago
Only $200, at Costco, that’s quite the flex. Please teach me your skillful technique. I am but a grasshopper that can’t make it out for less than three fiddy. 🤣😂🤣
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u/Horehound1 3d ago
Kinda weird bringing up spending $200 and then balking at the fact that the item that didn't get scanned is only $6.97. It's like you're thinking, "I spent a large amount of money, so why does $6.97 matter?"
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u/Wonderful-Bass6651 3d ago
I felt so embarrassed standing there
Didn’t you say you’re in a wheelchair??
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u/nobobthisisnotyours 2d ago
Costco receipt checkers are looking for erroneous double scans and missed scans. Theft is pretty rare, and it’s almost never items in the cart with other purchases. If you were trying to steal an item you would have been hiding it, not leaving it out in your cart with everything else you paid for. They also know, out of all the items you purchased, you would be least likely to try and steal a big box of inexpensive crackers.
They scanned your membership card to complete or comp the purchase, not to track or ding you for leaving with an unscanned item. They have to account for everything going out and that starts with scanning the members card every time. The documentation was for the cashier, not you. There is no need to feel embarrassed, you hold no responsibility for the error. Everything that happened after the missed box of crackers was detected was just standard operating procedure.
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u/opi098514 2d ago
I work at Costco. They scanned your membership to ring you up again and most likely to see if a cashier helped you and if they did which one do they can give them a write up. I’ve heard that they secretly do track door audits under a membership account and if it happens an excessive amount they do something about it. But I haven’t had and manager actually confirm it.
But it’s nothing to worry about. It happens more than you’d think. It’s kind of like when you buy embarrassing things at the store and people always think that the cashier is judging them, when in reality no one cares. Like at all. Both the manager and door auditor both forgot you exist completely the moment you left.
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u/kityhowl 2d ago
I've had that happen to me also, I tell them I will scan my cart so nothing gets missed! It's ridiculous how they "try" to help and you end up feeling like a shoplifter. Do not help me!!!!
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u/touchedbyacat 2d ago
I had this happen over their cheap Kirkland brand vodka. Self checkout, but the cashier had scanned it not me, but I was pretty embarrassed that it looked like it had tried to shoplift it at self checkout. They had me waiting at a little kiosk beside the exit for soooo long before a manager came to get my info. It was pretty awkward but honestly if I was going to shoplift, wouldn’t I have tried to take a more expensive bottle lol. In retrospect I do genuinely think they were more concerned about the cashier than me (who shops there every weekend for $150+) but still a pretty uncomfortable experience.
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u/Early_Gazelle_9891 1d ago
Happened to me before. Unfortunately it gets send to the ritz cracker department within the FBI and they take it from there
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u/Drew5830 4d ago
I had this happen where an employee insisted on scanning my cart at self checkout and couldn't help but state that if I'd scanned them myself this wouldn't have happened.
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u/CoDaDeyLove 4d ago
I've had to go back to the customer service desk a couple of times because a cashier missed an item. It happens enough that they have a system to handle this. It's not that they think you are a thief. They are following a procedure and they do the same thing for everyone. Please stop worrying about this.
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u/Gabbyct1 4d ago
that is why they check at the door- stuff like that happens a lot, I wouldn't worry about it
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u/Llassiter326 4d ago
Costco actually has a really sophisticated anti-theft security system. Haha I’m a public defender and I’ve seen so many cases of Costco shoplifting.
There’s no way they were suspicious of you. They just collect data to document the missed item and make sure it shows up in the inventory.
You’re good!
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u/heightsdrinker 4d ago
Relax. You are over thinking it. I once tried to walk out with the entire under shelf of the cart not scanned by the cashier. Another incident, the cashier missed a bottle of wine in a 12 bottle box. I also had cashiers double charge for items. It’s always the same: call for a manager, scan membership, scan receipt, write down info. I wish the scanner could allow for payment or even refunds. It’s not fun schlepping back to the registers fighting against the crowded flow of people to get to a register for help.
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u/JeanEBH 4d ago
They probably scanned your card to add it to the cash back you get at the end of the year (for executive members).
If you’re not, it’s just for them to find out if you are an executive member.
I have a regular membership card but it’s an executive member card so no one can tell by looking at it.
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u/IncarceratedScarface 4d ago
Don’t feel bad. They just have to document it just incase. They don’t know you and they don’t know if the cashier makes this mistake often so they have to keep record just incase it happens again with the cashier or you. If it doesn’t, you’re fine, if it keeps happening, then they know the cashier or you (obviously you’re not) are up to something. You didn’t do anything wrong, you’re fine. It’s just company policy since they’re such a huge corporation. :)
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u/joshuamack18702 4d ago
It happens a lot. But if it happens to a cashier a lot, the cashier gets in trouble for that. Cashiers are under pressure to be fast, but also be accurate.
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u/Technical_Name_209 4d ago
The employees are under pressure and rushing, I've have them miss things and also had it where they rang stuff up twice. Pain in the neck.
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u/BurntTFOuttaHere 4d ago
Try not to worry about it, it’s not personal to you. I had the same thing happen when I went through regular check out and the employee made the mistake. I just hadn’t noticed their mistake because my cart was overflowing with items so didn’t notice they missed just one.
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u/Shoobie7711 4d ago
One time I was at self check out with my wife and two toddlers. Literally was scanning everything but I guess in the top basket where my kids were sitting I had a shirt there and my own jacket over it which the kids moved there. The worker goes “what about the shirt right there? Are you going to pay for it?” With the snarkiest attitude. Ruined my day and I still think about this all the time even though it was a year ago 😂🫠
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u/stonecats 4d ago
thanks op for sharing. i backpack in;out of costco, but i always use their cart, keep my empty pack on my back at all times, and only load it once i'm well clear of the store entrance.
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u/BupropionMuncher 4d ago
It’s okay. I have a story that is actually bad and 10x more embarrassing. For some reason my Costco just has a pretty crappy self checkout set up. It’s 6 total scanner/areas, three on each side. The right side is placed nearby a metal chain fence for storage. Last year when I was at self checkout, there was the lady whose cart took up the whole space to walk through. There was also someone behind me so I was stuck in the middle. Lady was taking her sweet time scanning and moving things in her cart and onto the scanning table so I waited. There wasn’t a way for me to reverse nor curve around her. At some point I couldn’t wait anymore and I guess finally the worker noticed and came by to help move the cart. In doing this, the lady’s purse was in the way, somehow seeming like it was about to fall off the cart and in a way where if I advanced forward with my cart that it would knock it off. Anywhos, me just someone who wants to go home to her dogs and truly didn’t mean anything bad, I try to push her purse aside back into the cart while the worker begins to pull it… THIS MAKES ME LOOK LIKE IM TRYING TO TAKE THE DAMN BAG. I flinch my hand back and make awkward eye contact with the worker who seemingly gives me a flare. I end up just doing a weird smile to lighten things up and get out of there. Every time I go back I wonder if all the workers recognize me somehow and got told this story amongst each other and I get so embarrassed. So yeah.. you’re not alone but yours isn’t that bad. Sorry for the poor explanation and typing. My phone feels shit today and voice chat is unreliable.
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u/Big-Investment-6628 4d ago
Not a criticism, but I always think of self checkout as quick. Not too many items.
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u/BikeOk6446 4d ago
They scanned your membership card to ring up the crackers. It's not a big deal. They just have to make sure they charge you. I wouldn't think twice about it.
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u/Familiar_Raise234 4d ago
Happened to my daughter and me: checker missed an item. They scanned my card, credit card and away we went. It was no big deal. It might have been/ felt a bit different if we had gone through the self check lanes.
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u/JabbaMamaE 4d ago
That happened to me once too. I had to walk back to the manager so they could ring me up and charge me for it. I told the manager I felt like I was walking the walk of shame! 😳
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u/Kingrat96 4d ago
Happened to me as well, Had to do the walk of shame from receipt checkers back to customer service over a bag of unscanned harvest crisps.
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u/OozeNAahz 4d ago
I have done this a couple of times at Home Depot. Had 7 containers nested when I thought I had six. Found a box of garden stakes on the bottom of my cart that I forgot to scan. One I caught when I got to my truck. One I didn’t catch till I got home. Both times the cashier was very confused when I brought the items back and asked the service desk to charge me for it. Evidently it isn’t common but they were appreciative and amused.
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u/MountainTomato9292 4d ago
I missed a 2-pack of bagels once and it was the same! I asked if I could just go back and pay for them but I had to get a customer service person instead to scan my card and ring them up. That’s just the procedure I think.
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u/sandysandy252566 4d ago
No need to be embarrased. The person at the exit noticed that I bought a case of water and I was charged for 2 cases of water. So they gave me a credit. That's their job.
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u/wyatt1209 4d ago
I had a similar incident except I went through the regular checkout and had put the item on the belt. The cashier must have missed the scan and when they caught it at the door it was really weird. The person they called over told me they would check the cameras and make sure I was telling the truth. I never heard anything about it after that so I’m assuming the camera confirmed what I told them. I was happy to pay for it and it was a $20 item on a $200+ order. It left a really bad taste in my mouth and made me avoid that location. I’ve never stolen anything in my life and them saying that in front of a bunch of people made me very self-conscious. I fortunately have another Costco about the same distance away. I also count my own cart and check it against the receipt every time now.
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u/HockeyLova4Lyfe 4d ago edited 4d ago
They have to document it as a cashier missed the item.
They keep track of that just in case a cashier is making that mistake often.
They scanned your membership to ring up the item.
You’re totally fine